Is it permissible to forbid evil from the pulpits or in public?

The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O honorable Shaykh. Is it permissible for someone from the people who wants to forbid evil to forbid it from the pulpits or in public?

The Shaykh : What?

The questioner : Is it permissible for someone who wants to forbid evil to forbid it from the pulpits? Is this the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community?

The Shaykh : Yes. As for evil, if it becomes widespread, it must be forbidden from the pulpits. However, one should not speak about the individuals themselves, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he wanted to forbid evil among a group, would say: They say such and such. But if the evil is minor among the people, it should not be forbidden from the pulpits, because forbidding it from the pulpits means spreading it among the people. As the common people say: "He who does not know, knows". So if this forbidden act becomes widespread among the people, forbid it from the pulpits so that the people understand. But do not do anything that would cause the people to rise up against the rulers and reject them, because the danger of this is great. It may appear to the people, or Satan may make it appear to them, that if they do this, it will be pressure on the rulers to straighten out in the religion of Allah. But the matter is not so. If the forces are balanced, there may be harm, as in countries other than Saudi Arabia, for example, where you find that the rulers reach their positions through elections. In that case, announcing the evil done by the ruler may be pressure on him to straighten out until he is nominated for a second term. But in countries of power and authority, this matter will not straighten out at all. It is not wise for a person to incite the subjects against their shepherds until they hate them and do not obey their command, or think that they do not deserve to be rulers. We know that if we look at those around us, we find, and praise be to Allah, that we are in a good state. Our country, praise be to Allah, proclaims enjoining good and forbidding evil, even if there is some weakness in it. But there is no country that has a body called the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice. Also, all the courts are built upon the Shari'ah. What did the author of al-Iqna' say? What did the author of al-Mughni say? What did al-Nawawi say in al-Majmu'? What did so-and-so say and what did so-and-so say? They do not refer to man-made laws, but rather to the Book and the Sunnah and what has been derived from them in the books of the scholars. This is a great blessing. And whoever wants perfection in such a time, let him perfect himself first before trying to perfect others. Are the people, for example, perfecting themselves now?
No. The people have much deviation. There is lying and deception in transactions, bad morals, listening to songs, and other things. There are people in the community in this state. So if we are like that, we should not expect the rulers to be at the level of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali! He mentioned that a man from the Khawarij once came to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and said, "O 'Ali, why have the people disagreed with you?" I think you know what happened to 'Ali regarding the trials and the emergence of the Khawarij against him and other things.