Is forbidding evil obligatory whenever you see it?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : Is it obligatory for me to forbid evil if I see a person letting his garment hang below the ankles, or shaving his beard, or smoking, or listening to songs? Is it obligatory for me to forbid every evil, as if I were in the mosque, for example, in the Sacred Precinct, and I see many people letting their garments hang below the ankles?
The Shaykh : Fear Allah as much as you are able. It is obligatory to forbid evil to every one who commits it, but fear Allah as much as you are able. This is because it is not within a person's ability, for example, in a society where most of them shave their beards, to stop every single one of them and say, "This is forbidden." But fear Allah as much as you are able. Perhaps if you are gathered in a session with one of these people, you will advise them.
The Shaykh : Fear Allah as much as you are able. It is obligatory to forbid evil to every one who commits it, but fear Allah as much as you are able. This is because it is not within a person's ability, for example, in a society where most of them shave their beards, to stop every single one of them and say, "This is forbidden." But fear Allah as much as you are able. Perhaps if you are gathered in a session with one of these people, you will advise them.