The Limits of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil in Western Countries
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Brothers, we are trying to take a question from here and a question from the written ones. Is there a question? Yes, please go ahead. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I have a question. I have two questions, O Shaykh. The first is about enjoining good and forbidding evil in the West. Does it have limits and regulations? Does it mean that any evil a person sees there, he must forbid it? Or does he leave everything alone? Because the prevalence of evil and sins in the West is such that you are not able to enjoin good and forbid evil with action or by hand, and you will not be able to...
Answer:
...you are able with the tongue. For example, if you see some of the Muslims there committing an evil, you forbid it to them with your tongue, you clarify it to them, because they are Muslims, you admonish them and remind them. As for the disbelievers, if you are able, you call them to the faith; it is not that you command them to do good, but you call them to Islam, you call them to Allah. And if you are not able to call them to Islam, then you forbid the evil with your heart only and you distance yourself from them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 49a. So there, you forbid the evil with your heart, you isolate yourself from the people of evil, and you do not sit with them. And do not mix with them in the way of companionship and love.
And if you are able to clarify it to them with your tongue, and you admonish and remind them, and you clarify to them that this is not permissible, and that the punishment is awaiting them, and that there is a Resurrection and there is a Reckoning, that is a good thing. And if you are only able to do so with your heart, then you isolate yourself from the people of evil.[Maryam 19:48] [Maryam 19:49] So this isolation is obligatory as much as possible. Do not associate with them, do not laugh with them, and do not sit with them. But in the seats of study, when you are delivering a lesson, you are not sitting with them; you are coming for the lesson, you are coming for your work, or in the office, you are coming for your work. You are not coming to associate with them, and they are not coming for your work only. So you perform your work and you isolate yourself from them. Yes.
Brothers, we are trying to take a question from here and a question from the written ones. Is there a question? Yes, please go ahead. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I have a question. I have two questions, O Shaykh. The first is about enjoining good and forbidding evil in the West. Does it have limits and regulations? Does it mean that any evil a person sees there, he must forbid it? Or does he leave everything alone? Because the prevalence of evil and sins in the West is such that you are not able to enjoin good and forbid evil with action or by hand, and you will not be able to...
Answer:
...you are able with the tongue. For example, if you see some of the Muslims there committing an evil, you forbid it to them with your tongue, you clarify it to them, because they are Muslims, you admonish them and remind them. As for the disbelievers, if you are able, you call them to the faith; it is not that you command them to do good, but you call them to Islam, you call them to Allah. And if you are not able to call them to Islam, then you forbid the evil with your heart only and you distance yourself from them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart
من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبهAnd if you are able to clarify it to them with your tongue, and you admonish and remind them, and you clarify to them that this is not permissible, and that the punishment is awaiting them, and that there is a Resurrection and there is a Reckoning, that is a good thing. And if you are only able to do so with your heart, then you isolate yourself from the people of evil.
And I will leave you and those you invoke other than Allah and will invoke my Lord
وَأَعْتَزِلُكُمْ وَمَا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَأَدْعُو رَبِّيSo when he had left them and those they worshipped other than Allah, We gave him Isaac
فَلَمَّا اعْتَزَلَهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-38-قضايا فقهية - 02|صالح الفوزان|العام|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (45:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.