What is the reason for the absence of advice in this time?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Mumble. Honorable Shaykh, advice is almost nonexistent in this time. What is the reason for that in your view?
The Shaykh:
There is no doubt that the contradiction and its causes are the weakness of faith and the lack of insight. A person preoccupied with the matters of this world does not become one who has insight into his immediate reality, except for whom Allah has mercy. So when faith weakens in the hearts, which is the general case, and people become occupied with the matters of this world, and their knowledge and jurisprudence in the religion decrease, advice decreases, and enjoining what is right decreases. Whenever faith strengthens in a people, or in a village, or in a country, and faith strengthens and knowledge increases, mutual advice occurs, and enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong occurs, according to the strength of faith in the country, or in the tribe, or in the village. The more faith increases, and knowledge and insight increase, and jurisprudence in the religion increases, and the people of good increase, the more this increases among them. And whenever harshness becomes great, and ignorance increases, and knowledge decreases, and preoccupation with this world increases, patience decreases, and enjoining and forbidding decrease. And Allah is the One to be sought for help. Yes.
The questioner:
Is advice limited to one time, or does it continue?
The Shaykh:
It does not continue. The believer advises and continues, and enjoins what is right and forbids what is wrong and continues, and he has a good opinion of his Lord, hoping that Allah will make it beneficial, so he does not despair.
Mumble. Honorable Shaykh, advice is almost nonexistent in this time. What is the reason for that in your view?
The Shaykh:
There is no doubt that the contradiction and its causes are the weakness of faith and the lack of insight. A person preoccupied with the matters of this world does not become one who has insight into his immediate reality, except for whom Allah has mercy. So when faith weakens in the hearts, which is the general case, and people become occupied with the matters of this world, and their knowledge and jurisprudence in the religion decrease, advice decreases, and enjoining what is right decreases. Whenever faith strengthens in a people, or in a village, or in a country, and faith strengthens and knowledge increases, mutual advice occurs, and enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong occurs, according to the strength of faith in the country, or in the tribe, or in the village. The more faith increases, and knowledge and insight increase, and jurisprudence in the religion increases, and the people of good increase, the more this increases among them. And whenever harshness becomes great, and ignorance increases, and knowledge decreases, and preoccupation with this world increases, patience decreases, and enjoining and forbidding decrease. And Allah is the One to be sought for help. Yes.
The questioner:
Is advice limited to one time, or does it continue?
The Shaykh:
It does not continue. The believer advises and continues, and enjoins what is right and forbids what is wrong and continues, and he has a good opinion of his Lord, hoping that Allah will make it beneficial, so he does not despair.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 116 ما سبب انعدام النصيحة في هذا الوقت؟ للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.