HISBA is a four-month pilot for a new independent Islamic public standards monitor, whose purpose is to normalise good adāb, akhlāq and the limits of Islamic creed and sharia in the Muslim public sphere by:
Upholding Islamic Standards
Upholding Islamic standards by accounting the public bad behaviour or statements of Muslim Public Figures or Organisations (MPFOs)
Involving networks of Sharia councils with reputable scholars
Involving a council of reputable scholars to issue rulings on public bad behaviour in clear breach of Islamic shariah
Defending the Honour of Muslims
Defending the honour of Muslims and Islamic organisations from false slander
Reconciling Muslims in Public Dispute
Reconciling Muslims in public dispute and deescalating public conflicts of nafs (“ego”)
Educating the Community
Educating the community using the rulings of scholars on real-life examples of bad conduct, as well as other informational publications
About Hisba
Why Hisba?
The ongoing problem in the online Muslim sphere.
For decades, it has been the norm for many MPFs to engage in poor public behavior as well as misconduct against fellow Muslims whether individuals or Islamic-oriented organizations and groups.
Such behaviour includes (but is not limited to):
Using foul language
Publicizing the private affairs of others
Making false defamatory accusations
Mischaracterising the statements, beliefs, or conduct of others
Personal attacks and insults
Behaviors and statements contradicting agreed upon aspects of Islam (that have ijmāʾ across all schools of thought)
About Hisba
Effects of Public Poor Behaviour on Muslim Morale
Effects of public bad behavior by influential Muslim Public Figures and Organisations:
Lowers the standard of public Muslim discourse
Demoralises Muslims who feel that, even with greater knowledge of Islam, Islam cannot improve the behavior of people
Muslim in-fighting pushes non-Muslims away from considering Islam as the truth, while emboldening Islamophobes
Diverts the valuable time of Muslims away from dawah and education
Causes doubts about the efficacy of Islam in bringing peace and not being subjective like atheist morality (i.e. each person thinks Islam allows them to do bad conduct in certain situations with no clear way to disprove their beliefs)
About Hisba
How does HISBA Aim to Tackle Online Bad Conduct?
HISBA aims to uphold standards and tackle online bad conduct by:
Reversing the normalising of bad adāb, bad akhlāq, and falsehood by holding MPFOs to account for cases of their clear misconduct, using fact gathering investigations, Islamic sharia councils and the publishing of scholars’ rulings
Exonerating Muslims whose reputation has been attacked by (provably false) slander using fact-gathering and publication of these facts – thereby delegitimizings landerers
De-escalating online personal disputes between MPFs
Using real-life examples of bad conduct to guide and educate Muslims (using scholarly ijmāʾ) on practically applying the Islamic standards of adāb and akhlāq
Defending the public understanding of deen based on the agreed upon teachings of Islam (according to the ijmāʾ of the classical scholars)
About Hisba
HISBA’s Four Functions
To achieve it’s aims, HISBA undertakes four functions:
Accountability Inquiries
Investigating public misconduct by MPFs and holding them to account
Exoneration Inquiries
Investigating and publicly exonerating victims of provably false slander (at their request)
Mediation Process
De-escalating disputes by open mediated private channels of communication between disputants
Educational Publications
Publish articles on Islamic standards of conduct and creed, using real-life examples obtained from HISBA investigations as lessons for the public
