What is the ruling on remaining silent about evil out of consideration for a certain person?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
O Shaykh, is remaining silent about evil a sin, specifically when it is done out of consideration?
The Shaykh : Remaining silent about evil out of consideration is forbidden, and whoever sits with one who commits evil is like him, for Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:140].
As for the one who remains silent about evil out of sympathy, meaning that he is waiting for the appropriate opportunity to denounce it, there is nothing wrong with that, because this falls under the category of treatment, like a patient enduring the bitterness of medicine. So if you see, for example, a person who has status in society and possesses rank and honor, and you see him committing an evil, it is certainly not recommended that you stand up before people and say: "O so-and-so, you are committing an evil, you are letting your garment hang below your ankles, you are shaving your beard," and the like. This is because he considers himself to be in a higher position than you, so it will only increase his aversion, and perhaps, if he is capable of harming you, he will harm you.
But it is obligatory for you to keep this slip of his in mind and retain it. So if you are alone with him in a place, remind him of it. If it is not possible for you to be alone with him in any place, write to him. If that is not possible, you know that every person must have companions and friends, so contact his companions and friends who can convey to him what you say and deliver it to him.
O Shaykh, is remaining silent about evil a sin, specifically when it is done out of consideration?
The Shaykh : Remaining silent about evil out of consideration is forbidden, and whoever sits with one who commits evil is like him, for Allah the Exalted said:
And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together -
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً مِثْلُهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعاًAs for the one who remains silent about evil out of sympathy, meaning that he is waiting for the appropriate opportunity to denounce it, there is nothing wrong with that, because this falls under the category of treatment, like a patient enduring the bitterness of medicine. So if you see, for example, a person who has status in society and possesses rank and honor, and you see him committing an evil, it is certainly not recommended that you stand up before people and say: "O so-and-so, you are committing an evil, you are letting your garment hang below your ankles, you are shaving your beard," and the like. This is because he considers himself to be in a higher position than you, so it will only increase his aversion, and perhaps, if he is capable of harming you, he will harm you.
But it is obligatory for you to keep this slip of his in mind and retain it. So if you are alone with him in a place, remind him of it. If it is not possible for you to be alone with him in any place, write to him. If that is not possible, you know that every person must have companions and friends, so contact his companions and friends who can convey to him what you say and deliver it to him.