Is it obligatory for a Muslim to engage in combating evil, or should he engage in his worship and voluntary acts?
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The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you, regarding, I mean, combating evil, is it obligatory for a person, I mean, one who is accountable, to combat evil? Is it obligatory for him to persist in combating it, or should he engage in his worship and voluntary acts, and so on, or what...
The Shaykh : As you know, there is what is called hisbah, meaning a man who dedicates himself and devotes it to enjoining good and forbidding evil. This is a good thing if he is qualified for it, because he should be from among the people of knowledge so that he weighs matters with the precise scale of the Shari'ah.
He may see, in some cases, if he is a scholar, that forbidding evil may result in more harm than remaining silent about it, so remaining silent is preferred over changing it. Therefore, if he meets this condition, then this is indeed a good deed if he specializes in this work. But, unfortunately, very few possess this quality.
The Shaykh : As you know, there is what is called hisbah, meaning a man who dedicates himself and devotes it to enjoining good and forbidding evil. This is a good thing if he is qualified for it, because he should be from among the people of knowledge so that he weighs matters with the precise scale of the Shari'ah.
He may see, in some cases, if he is a scholar, that forbidding evil may result in more harm than remaining silent about it, so remaining silent is preferred over changing it. Therefore, if he meets this condition, then this is indeed a good deed if he specializes in this work. But, unfortunately, very few possess this quality.