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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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The ruling on enjoining good and forbidding evil in Islamic sacred law.

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The Shaykh : The ruling on enjoining good and forbidding evil in Islamic sacred law is that it is among the best of righteous deeds, to the extent that this community was preferred over others because it enjoins good and forbids evil. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنْ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
[Ali 'Imran 3:110]
Enjoining good is a cause for the unity, gathering, agreement, and cohesion of the community. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(104) And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful. (105) And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And those will have a great punishment. وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَلا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمْ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
[Ali 'Imran 3:104-105]
This which Allah Mighty and Majestic mentioned, that enjoining good and forbidding evil is a cause for gathering and not separating, and for affection and not enmity, is a matter witnessed by reality. If some of us entered the mosque and prayed while some remained outside the mosque buying and selling, is this not separation? Yes, it is separation. These are praying and these are laughing and playing. But if we enjoin good, we say to the one outside the mosque, "Please, pray," then we gather and are cohesive and do not separate. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is obligatory, but it is a collective obligation. If enough people perform it, it drops off the rest. Its evidence is:
And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ
[Ali 'Imran 3:104]
The "min" in "min" here is for partiality, and the "min" in "min" here is for partiality. If enjoining good and forbidding evil were an individual obligation, it would be obligatory upon every member of the community. But the verse is explicit:
And let there be [arising] from you a nation وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ
[Ali 'Imran 3:104]
meaning: Be a community that enjoins good, forbids evil, and believes in Allah. However, if only a specific person is present, then enjoining good and forbidding evil becomes, in his case, what? An individual obligation. An individual obligation, like the other collective obligations; if no one is found to perform them, they become obligatory upon the rest. Accordingly, if you pass by a group engaged in evil and you find no one to forbid them from it, then your forbidding them is obligatory; you must forbid them.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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