The Shaykh Al-Albani’s Explanation of the Guidelines for Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

The Shaykh : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: And here is the point of interest: he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left the Ka'bah as the polytheists had built it in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and he did not restore it to its original form on the foundations of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), fearing that this necessary reform—restoring the Ka'bah on the foundations of Ibrahim (peace be upon him)—would lead to consequences. He did not do this, even though he was capable of it and in a position to do so, especially after Allah opened up Makkah for him; he was militarily and materially capable of it. But he refrained from carrying out what he was capable of because he looked at the outcome of this matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) feared that restoring the building of the Ka'bah on the foundation of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would incite fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) among some of the weak believers who had recently embraced Islam. From this hadith, the scholars of the Muslims derive their well-known statement, which was also narrated as a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), but its chain of narration is not authentic. However, it is a wisdom derived from this hadith and its like: "Whoever commands what is right, let his command be what is right." And commanding what is right is not considered right unless the public benefit of commanding what is right outweighs the harm. Therefore, we say that when some individuals or some groups engage in certain commands that fall under the category of enjoining good and forbidding evil, they do not observe this principle I mentioned earlier, which is derived from the hadith of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "Whoever commands what is right, let his command be what is right." We say this is a wisdom stated by the jurists, derived from the hadith of 'A'ishah. It was narrated as a marfu' (a report traced to the Prophet) hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), but it is not authentic. It is sufficient for us to say that it is a wisdom adopted by the scholars from this great hadith in which the noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke in a state of strength and power, yet he did not rush to change the building of the Ka'bah, which the polytheists had established in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. He did not change anything of it, fearing the greater harm over the apparent text. Therefore, I said earlier that it is not befitting for some individuals or groups to step forward to change certain matters, whether by enjoining good or forbidding evil, if a greater harm results from it than the expected benefit. We hear in many Islamic countries that some groups engage in what we are discussing here—enjoining good and forbidding evil—but in an unwise manner. And our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), when He mentioned enjoining good and forbidding evil, coupled it with wisdom and good exhortation. We see that when many young people or Islamic groups engage in such changes, the harms of the change are greater than the good they expect from that enjoining of good and forbidding of evil. We want to mention that all Islamic countries today are in a predicament due to turning away from this wisdom. For this reason, we constantly and always advise the Islamic community in every country to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in reform. Indeed, he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not begin the call to Islam and to faith in the oneness of Allah by force, but rather by the tongue, argument, and clear proof. For that reason, Allah the Exalted said: Our Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), who began the call in this way, when his arm became strong and his back became firm, said: So the use of force has its time. But the call through wisdom and good exhortation is continuous and established in every place and every time. For this reason, we strongly condemn the use of force by some groups or individuals. And the call cannot be established in any Islamic country within the limits commanded by Allah unless there is a righteous government that performs the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil. And in our belief, we are certain of what we say, that the government is not such unless its command is as our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And there is no shura (consultation) except by consulting the people of knowledge and opinion in every field of knowledge, especially what is related to the rulings of the Shari'ah. It is this Shura Council that adopts when enjoining good and forbidding evil is to be done. It is the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) intended, and not the individual who, by the nature of human weakness, cannot encompass knowledge of the reality of the community or the group in which he wants to perform enjoining good and forbidding evil. Therefore, what we hear from time to time about some people engaging in breaking or destroying certain things that are religiously forbidden, while they have not yet established the foundations for this call and have not laid down its rules—these people, in my opinion, are described by the wisdom spoken by some of them: "Whoever hastens a thing before its time is tried with its deprivation." And on this occasion, we read the statements of some of the Imams of the Sunnah and of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). There are certainly matters that are religiously forbidden today, such as the spread of musical instruments and entertainment. Many of the old Muslim scholars said, and I specifically mention the Imam of the Sunnah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who said that it is befitting to break them, and he qualified this by saying "if one is able to do so and no harm results from it." On this basis, Muslims should act when their state is established, when their Muslim state is established, because this state is the one that will allow, through its system and methodology, the people of knowledge and the people of enjoining good and forbidding evil to change everything that should be changed. But if an individual or individuals, or a group or groups, engage in change, while the controlling ruler who has the power to change by force does not do so, we do not see it as wise to confront these people, because the authority and power are with them, and the harm would be much greater and greater than this benefit that the one who changes the matter according to the Shari'ah seeks, but he hastened the matter as we said, and at that time he is tried as much as... In summary, the principle is the beginning of the mentioned verse: And there is no doubt that whoever is given wisdom is given much good. Then the hadith of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), which clarified to us that it is not obligatory to change every evil or to establish every good unless no great harm is feared from it. This is what comes to my mind in answer to this question. And we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire the Muslims, both rulers and ruled, to adhere to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and to return to what the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) did in enjoining good and forbidding evil in the best manner.