Guidance on the Method of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
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As Your Eminence knows, and as everyone knows, there is the presence of some apparent evils, especially in the large cities and the trials within them. It has become difficult for many to understand how to forbid evil: is it limited to the members of the Committee for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice? Most of the youth, may Allah guide them, who are committed to the religion, do not perform the duty of forbidding evil on the pretext that this duty falls off them because of the presence of the Committee members. Some do not forbid evil on the pretext of fear of falling into error and being held accountable. Therefore, O Shaykh! The evils are increasing day by day. We seek help from Allah, so what is your opinion?
My opinion: Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a collective obligation. If a sufficient number of people perform it, it falls off the rest of the people. If a sufficient number do not perform it, it becomes obligatory for the people to enjoin good and forbid evil. However, it must be done with wisdom, gentleness, and softness, for Allah sent Musa and Harun to Pharaoh and said: [Ta-Ha: 44] .
As for violence, whether in the manner of speech or in the manner of action, this contradicts wisdom and is contrary to what Allah has commanded.But sometimes a person is confronted with something and says: This is a known evil, such as shaving the beard, for example. Everyone knows that it is forbidden, especially the citizens in this country.And he says: If I were to stop every person I see who has shaved his beard—and there are many of them—and forbid him from this thing, I would miss out on many benefits. In this case, we might say that the duty of forbidding it falls off, because it causes him to lose many benefits. But if, for instance, you happen to meet this man in a shop, a restaurant, or a café, then it is good to warn him of Allah.And you say: This is a forbidden matter. And if you persist in the minor sin, it becomes a major sin in your case. And you say the appropriate thing. As for the fear of being violent in enjoining and forbidding, that is up to the person. A person is able to enjoin with gentleness and forbid with gentleness.
The questioner: Some members of the Committee are intimidated by the multitude of evils.
Answer: The members of the Committee are not in every place. For this reason, we said it is a collective obligation. If a sufficient number perform it, it falls off the people. If they do not perform it, it becomes obligatory for the people. And this is different from changing the evil;Because there are three matters: Calling, enjoining, and changing.
Calling is obligatory upon everyone, by presenting Islam and warning against associating partners with Allah and open sinfulness.And the command is to address the person specifically: Do such-and-such, or forbidding: Do not do such-and-such, directly.
And changing: That you yourself perform the changing of the evil.
For this reason, the command to call to Allah came in an absolute form,Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nahl: 125] And the command to enjoin good and forbid evil came in an absolute form,And the command to change came in a restricted form, and He said: (Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand, and if he cannot, then with his tongue, and if he cannot, then with his heart) And some people are confused by these situations. They think that the command to change is like the command to enjoin good and forbid evil, but that is not the case. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) distinguished between them. Indeed, he distinguished between all three of these. So if we do not find, for example, someone to enjoin good and forbid evil, it becomes obligatory for us to enjoin good and forbid evil. But if we direct the command to a specific person, his enjoining of good or forbidding of evil becomes specific. However, if we stand, for example, in this gathering and we speak about the sin that this man is afflicted with, this falls under the category of calling to Allah.
My opinion: Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a collective obligation. If a sufficient number of people perform it, it falls off the rest of the people. If a sufficient number do not perform it, it becomes obligatory for the people to enjoin good and forbid evil. However, it must be done with wisdom, gentleness, and softness, for Allah sent Musa and Harun to Pharaoh and said:
And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]."
فَقُولا لَهُ قَوْلاً لَيِّناً لَعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَىAs for violence, whether in the manner of speech or in the manner of action, this contradicts wisdom and is contrary to what Allah has commanded.But sometimes a person is confronted with something and says: This is a known evil, such as shaving the beard, for example. Everyone knows that it is forbidden, especially the citizens in this country.And he says: If I were to stop every person I see who has shaved his beard—and there are many of them—and forbid him from this thing, I would miss out on many benefits. In this case, we might say that the duty of forbidding it falls off, because it causes him to lose many benefits. But if, for instance, you happen to meet this man in a shop, a restaurant, or a café, then it is good to warn him of Allah.And you say: This is a forbidden matter. And if you persist in the minor sin, it becomes a major sin in your case. And you say the appropriate thing. As for the fear of being violent in enjoining and forbidding, that is up to the person. A person is able to enjoin with gentleness and forbid with gentleness.
The questioner: Some members of the Committee are intimidated by the multitude of evils.
Answer: The members of the Committee are not in every place. For this reason, we said it is a collective obligation. If a sufficient number perform it, it falls off the people. If they do not perform it, it becomes obligatory for the people. And this is different from changing the evil;Because there are three matters: Calling, enjoining, and changing.
Calling is obligatory upon everyone, by presenting Islam and warning against associating partners with Allah and open sinfulness.And the command is to address the person specifically: Do such-and-such, or forbidding: Do not do such-and-such, directly.
And changing: That you yourself perform the changing of the evil.
For this reason, the command to call to Allah came in an absolute form,Allah the Exalted said: