Is enjoining good and forbidding evil directed at Muslims and non-Muslims alike, or is it directed at Muslims only?
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The questioner : The questioner says: Is enjoining good and forbidding evil directed at Muslims and non-Muslims alike, or is it directed at Muslims only? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is general and includes Muslims and non-Muslims, but it differs in method. As for the Muslim, he is commanded to do every good deed and forbidden from every evil deed. As for the disbeliever, he is first called to Islam, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he sent callers to Allah. He said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), when he sent him to Yemen: As for the disbelievers residing in our lands who entered them under a treaty or safe conduct, they are forbidden from displaying evil or displaying any of their religious symbols, because that is an insult to the Muslims, and because it is among the conditions that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) imposed on the People of the Book, the dhimmis, and the musta'min, and a fortiori. They are forbidden from displaying the cross, whether on their houses, their vehicles, or what they wear. However, this is to be carried out by one whose forbidding is likely to yield benefit. As for one whose forbidding is not likely to yield benefit, his forbidding may only result in their persisting in what they are doing and their being more resolute in it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is general and includes Muslims and non-Muslims, but it differs in method. As for the Muslim, he is commanded to do every good deed and forbidden from every evil deed. As for the disbeliever, he is first called to Islam, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he sent callers to Allah. He said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), when he sent him to Yemen:
You will come to a people of the Book, so let the first thing you call them to be the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they respond to that, then inform them that Allah has made obligatory upon them five prayers in every day and night. If they respond to that, then inform them that Allah has made obligatory upon them charity in their wealth, to be taken from their rich and returned to their poor. If they respond to that, then beware of the best of their wealth, and fear the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.
إنك تأتي قوماً أهل كتاب، فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إليه: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله، وأن محمداً رسول الله، فإن هم أجابوك لذلك فأعلمهم أن الله افترض عليهم خمس صلوات في كل يوم وليلة، فإن هم أجابوك لذلك فأعلمهم أن الله افترض عليهم صدقة في أموالهم تؤخذ من أغنيائهم فترد على فقرائهم، فإن هم أجابوك لذلك، فإياك وكرائم أموالهم، واتق دعوة المظلوم فإنه ليس بينها وبين الله حجابThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.