The Method of Advising Rulers and the Way of Forbidding Evil

The questioner:
What is the correct method regarding the hypocrites, especially the hypocrites among the residents? Is it by publicizing them through their companions and their blameworthy actions, or is it by opposing the blameworthy acts?

The Shaykh:
Infallibility belongs to no one except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Rulers are not infallible, there is no doubt about that. They have errors, there is no doubt about that; they are not infallible.
But we do not take their errors as an opportunity to publicize them and withdraw our obedience from them. This is not permissible, even if they are unjust and even if they oppress, and even if they disobey, as long as they do not commit clear disbelief, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. If they have sins, if they have injustice and oppression, then in patience regarding their obedience lies the unity of the word and the unity of the Muslims, and the protection of the lands of the Muslims. And in opposing them and repudiating them lie great harms, greater than the evil they are doing, in terms of the division of the word, the dominance of enemies, and the loss of security and stability, which is more severe than the evil that comes from them, as long as this evil is less than disbelief and less than shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is the ruling of Islam. And we do not say that one should remain silent about the errors that occur among rulers. No, rather they are addressed, but they are addressed in the proper way: by advising them in secret, and by writing to them in secret letters. What is the letter that is written and distributed to the people? That is not permissible. A secret letter is written containing advice and delivered to the one in authority. That is good. Or you speak to him verbally. That is good. But a letter that is written, copied, and distributed to the people, that is not permissible. That is publicizing. That is like speaking about them on the pulpits, and it is even more severe, because speech may pass away, but writing remains and circulates. And this is not for... And this is not the right of the rulers of the Muslims regarding opinion. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and their rulers. And in the hadith, Allah is pleased with them for three things: . And part of advising the one in authority is that a person performs the work entrusted to him, whether a job or a good deed, in the best manner. This employee is obligated to advise the one in authority by performing his work in the required manner, not cheating, not wasting work, not accepting bribes, and so on. This is part of advising through performing duties.
Also, they should be consulted regarding good, and the truth should be made clear to them in what they have erred in. And this should be done through a secure channel that does not lead to corruption or danger. All of this is required of the Muslims. And the most deserving to do this, to advise the rulers, are the scholars, the people of opinion and consultation. Not everyone among the people is suitable for this matter. Rather, this returns to the people of decision and binding, to the people of knowledge, and to the people of consultation, advice, and opinion . Publicizing a point and making it famous, even if the intention of its owner is good, forbidding evil with a claim, but what he did is more evil than what he forbade. Forbidding evil can be evil. When is forbidding evil evil? When it is done in a way other than the way Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has prescribed. If the forbidding is evil, it becomes evil because it did not follow the Shari'ah method that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) outlined in his saying: Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) divide people into three categories? Among them is the one who can remove the evil with his hand, and he is the one with authority, the one in authority or the one entrusted with it from the bodies, princes, and the capable, whose benefit indicates the authority given to him. If he cannot, if he does not have authority, then he makes clear to the people the evils they are falling into, such as neglecting prayer, undutifulness to parents, eating riba (usury or interest), and so on. He makes clear to the people what they are falling into, and he also makes clear to the one in authority what is happening, but in the proper way, which is not the way of publicizing and harshness, because this brings more harm to the speaker and to the Muslims in general. And there arises hatred between the Muslims and bad suspicion between the Muslims, and great harms, very great harms, occur, and evils greater than the evil that was addressed in the wrong way result. When a person has a wound, a skilled doctor treats it in the proper, established way, and it becomes a cause of healing by the hand of Allah. But if it is treated in the wrong way, the wound ends, and it may kill the person, or it may destroy the whole body, because it was treated in the wrong way. So too is evil; if it is treated in the wrong way, it expands, and then destruction befalls the nation.

The questioner:
I swear by Allah, everyone present, such that it enters upon them.

The Shaykh:
Do not gather newspapers and magazines over the heads of people and the heads of witnesses. Gather what is in them and study it. Study it with the people of knowledge and the people of decision and binding, and from that, a method for removing it is derived. As for answering in the mosques and removing this newspaper, this is publicizing. This is publicizing, not forbidding. And perhaps this is joy, joy in the evil, because some people rejoice in the reprimands in order to publicize them and spread them. And perhaps hypocrites mix with these people, wanting to spread evil and falsehood. So the matter is very serious, and this is not the method of treatment. No, by Allah, this is not the method of treatment. No, by Allah, this is not the method of treatment. The one who wants to advise the Muslims and the rulers of the Muslims and the common people does not follow this method, the method of gathering errors in the mosque and announcing them and publicizing them. This is the first thing that leads to falsehood. And as long as the matter is in this way, the matter is individual, and there is no blame on him for doing what he wishes. There are people who do not know about these things; the doors are opened for them. There are people who have no knowledge of these errors and no study. You go and teach them, you spread the errors to them so that they say, "Allah the Exalted, we are excused." After this, this matter is a weapon; we are excused, we do what we want. So you have opened the door for people in this history, in addition to the corruption we mentioned.

The questioner:
They say there are no newspapers in the recitation circle.

The Shaykh:
Not even the errors of individual people or the newspapers; they are not addressed on the pulpits or in the mosques in this way. No, it is not safe. If you see an article in a newspaper, write, write, save it, write a response to it, send it to the newspaper. If you do not send it to the second newspaper, it is not necessary. And by this, the treatment is achieved and the door is closed. But if you gather the newspapers and bring them to the mosque or to the preacher on the pulpit, this means teaching people the ways of the Shari'ah, no less and no more.