The Rules for Forbidding Evil and Its Ranks
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
I ask Allah for you. A professor asks, saying: What is the guideline for forbidding what is wrong, given that in this time there are those who forbid what is wrong and it leads to dangerous consequences for the society and the community?
Answer:
My brother, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) delineated the rules for forbidding evil in the authentic hadith:Sahih Muslim 49a Sunan an-Nasa'i 5008Sahih (Darussalam). The one who is able to forbid evil with his hand is the ruler, or those whom the ruler appoints from the men of the hisbah (public order), or they do not forbid with the hand. Likewise, the head of the household forbids evil with his hand against those in his house from his children and those with whom he lives.
If he does not have authority, he forbids by tongue through admonition, explanation, and evidence. He files a complaint with those responsible for this wrong so that they remove it. This is by tongue. If he is unable, whether he lacks the knowledge to explain by tongue, or he has knowledge but is prevented from explaining by tongue, he forbids in his heart and distances himself from the people of wrong and stays away from them.
I ask Allah for you. A professor asks, saying: What is the guideline for forbidding what is wrong, given that in this time there are those who forbid what is wrong and it leads to dangerous consequences for the society and the community?
Answer:
My brother, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) delineated the rules for forbidding evil in the authentic hadith:
He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand
من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيدهif he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart- and that is the weakest of Faith.
إن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه، ذلك أضعف الإيمانIf he does not have authority, he forbids by tongue through admonition, explanation, and evidence. He files a complaint with those responsible for this wrong so that they remove it. This is by tongue. If he is unable, whether he lacks the knowledge to explain by tongue, or he has knowledge but is prevented from explaining by tongue, he forbids in his heart and distances himself from the people of wrong and stays away from them.
Source
75-لقاءات مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 03----13-4-1432 — archive.org (43:41)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.