University students in the lands of the disbelievers see a great deal of what is wrong; is it obligatory to forbid the wrong with the tongue and the heart?
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The questioner : Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: [Al-Ma'idah 5:78-79] the verse, He saysThe questioner : We are university students, and we see of the wrongs what makes one weep and what burns the heart of the true Muslim; is our role here limited to forbidding the wrong with the tongue and the heart only, in accordance with the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) Sahih Muslim 49a the hadith, or do we fall under the curse of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : What I believe regarding this issue, with its two branches:
The first branch: The well-known hadith which mentions that the third of its levels is forbidding with the heart, this is only valid for the one who is caught off guard and forced to see the wrong, and has no way to escape from it, flee from it, or forbid it with the hand or forbid it with the tongue, the third level; at that time, the last level comes, which is forbidding with the heart. This is considered a dispensation for this Muslim, in the case where he is unable to distance himself from this place.
There are hadiths that indicate to us the necessity of distancing oneself from places of wrong, like this verse. From those hadiths, for example, what comes to my mind now is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):, or before that: , the point is this passage. This hadith is an explicit text that it is not permissible for the Muslim to witness places of wrong, and that he should distance himself from them. If he is unable to do so, because evil has prevailed, as we see today in the markets, shops, and bakeries, and so on, anything a person might obtain; then his eye must fall upon a wrong, indeed wrongs. If he is overcome by the situation and cannot flee from it; then at that time, the effect of this hadith applies: if you are able to forbid with your hand, you are [the one who does so]; if you are not able except to forbid with your tongue, you are [the one who does so]; if you are not able either, then you are the weak one who forbids with his heart.
The meaning of this statement is thus: the first branch. The second branch is related to this study. My belief in this matter is that it is not permissible for the Muslim to attend places of wrong while he knows that they are places of wrong, in order to obtain what is not obligatory upon him, in order to obtain what is not obligatory upon him of knowledge. But if this knowledge is among what is obligatory to obtain; then at that time, there is what justifies for him to attend those places, even if he witnesses wrong in them, and it is sufficient for him to forbid with his heart if he is not able to forbid with the hand or the tongue. But this is on the condition that he is not able to obtain that obligatory knowledge in another place that does not have that wrong. As for if he is able to obtain the obligatory knowledge in a place that has no wrong, then his seeking this obligatory knowledge in a place of wrong does not justify this seeking for him, because he finds a way to seek it in another place. Then, if this knowledge he is seeking is not an individual obligation, then at that time, he has no justification at all to seek knowledge in the atmosphere of those wrongs about which he asked.The questioner .
(78) Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. (79) They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.
لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَى لِسَانِ دَاوُدَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوْا وَكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ كَانُوا لا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُHe who amongst you sees something abominable
من رأى منكم منكرًاThe Shaykh : What I believe regarding this issue, with its two branches:
The first branch: The well-known hadith which mentions that the third of its levels is forbidding with the heart, this is only valid for the one who is caught off guard and forced to see the wrong, and has no way to escape from it, flee from it, or forbid it with the hand or forbid it with the tongue, the third level; at that time, the last level comes, which is forbidding with the heart. This is considered a dispensation for this Muslim, in the case where he is unable to distance himself from this place.
There are hadiths that indicate to us the necessity of distancing oneself from places of wrong, like this verse. From those hadiths, for example, what comes to my mind now is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not bring his wife into the bathhouse
من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الأخير ؛ فلا يُدخل حليلته الحمامWhoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not enter the bathhouse except with a waistcloth, and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not bring his wife into the bathhouse, and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table over which intoxicants are circulated
من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ؛ فلا يدخل الحمام إلا بمئزر ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ؛ فلا يُدخل حليلته الحمام ، ومن كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ؛ فلا يقعد على مائدة يُدار عليها الخمرThe meaning of this statement is thus: the first branch. The second branch is related to this study. My belief in this matter is that it is not permissible for the Muslim to attend places of wrong while he knows that they are places of wrong, in order to obtain what is not obligatory upon him, in order to obtain what is not obligatory upon him of knowledge. But if this knowledge is among what is obligatory to obtain; then at that time, there is what justifies for him to attend those places, even if he witnesses wrong in them, and it is sufficient for him to forbid with his heart if he is not able to forbid with the hand or the tongue. But this is on the condition that he is not able to obtain that obligatory knowledge in another place that does not have that wrong. As for if he is able to obtain the obligatory knowledge in a place that has no wrong, then his seeking this obligatory knowledge in a place of wrong does not justify this seeking for him, because he finds a way to seek it in another place. Then, if this knowledge he is seeking is not an individual obligation, then at that time, he has no justification at all to seek knowledge in the atmosphere of those wrongs about which he asked.The questioner .
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