قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ” إِنَّ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَفَاتِيحَ لِلْخَيْرِ مَغَالِيقَ لِلشَّرِّ وَإِنَّ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَفَاتِيحَ لِلشَّرِّ مَغَالِيقَ لِلْخَيْرِ فَطُوبَى لِمَنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ مَفَاتِيحَ الْخَيْرِ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ وَوَيْلٌ لِمَنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ مَفَاتِيحَ الشَّرِّ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ ”.
The Messenger of Allah said (ﷺ): “Some people open the door to good and close the door to evil, and some people open the door to evil and close the door to good. [Tuba] Glad tidings to those in whose hands Allah places they keys to good, and [Wail] woe to those in whose hands Allah places the keys to evil.” [Sunan Ibn Majah]
This is a beautiful and descriptive narration, let us quickly go over the main themes.
Goodness and evil has keys
Goodness and evil has keys. Allah has made some people as keys for good and some people keys for evil, time to time, people switch between the two, but in general, they gravitate towards one. Let’s examine the two types of keys.
Keys to goodness and locks for evil
A person of goodness; he opens the doors to all kinds of goodness. There is good news for them: Tuba (glad tidings) from Allah (i.e. good news of Paradise), or Tuba (given a tree in Paradise) about which the Messenger of Allah said (ﷺ) said:
“Tuba is a tree in Paradise, whose width is one hundred years. The clothes of the people of Paradise are made from its calyces (outer casing of its flowers).” [Ibn Hibban]
A person of goodness is a key to good and a lock for evil. He looks for every opportunity to open the doors of goodness for both himself and as well for others, and whenever he comes across evil, he blocks it for himself and for people. He is looking to make the community a place where goodness thrives and evil is suppressed. Allah encourages us in the Qur’an:
“Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining Al-Ma‘roof (what is right) and forbidding Al-Munkar (what is wrong). And it is they who are the successful.” [Al-Imran: 3:104]
Keys to evil and locks for good
A person of evil; he opens the doors to all kinds of evils. There is warning for him: Wail (woe) to him from Allah or Wail referring to a valley in Hell about which the Messenger of Allah said (ﷺ) said:
“Woe is the valley of Jahannam, the disbeliever shall drop into it for forty autumns before he reaches its bottom.” [At-Tirmidhi]
Woe unto the one who is key to evil and a lock for goodness. He is someone who is the door to evil, opening the way for himself and others. He promotes evil and even profits from it. Not only that, they are also a block for good, every time there is an opportunity to promote, perform or participate in goodness, he tries to shut it down. To a lesser degree, a person may not be the key to evil yet he is a block for good, or he may not be the key to open the doors of evil (i.e. he is not spreading evil) but he is not a lock for it either. Regardless, such people[1] are harming the community by allowing evil to thrive and bringing about harm to people.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” [Edmund Burke]
How to enjoin the good and forbid the evil
Abu Sa’eed (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever among you sees an evil action, and he is able to change it with his hand, then change it with his hand (by taking action); if he cannot, (do so) with his tongue then with his tongue (by speaking out); and if he cannot then with his heart (by hating it and feeling that it is wrong), and that is the weakest of faith.” [Suna Ibn Majah]
There are three ways to change evil: by hand, speech or hating. The least of the actions is to hate it in the heart so that we do not become accustomed to the sin lest we begin to accept it.
In conclusion
Going back to the Hadith we started with, goodness and evil has keys. Allah has made some people as keys for good and some people keys for evil. The question is to what are we the keys of?
[1] Example of such people are drug dealers, alcohol venders, gambling venues, prostitutes, pimps and other vice perpetrators.
