Enjoining good and forbidding evil is obligatory, but is it permissible for this forbidden act to extend if the forbidden act does not extend to others?
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The questioner : Do you have a detailed explanation regarding the issue of enjoining good and forbidding evil when the forbidden act extends to others, and when the forbidden act is obligatory in the sense that it does not extend to others?
The Shaykh : Yes, the obligatory one is milder.
The questioner : And in this issue, the forbidden act that is obligatory [to forbid] is when a man eats with his hand; he is not like one who opens a recorder to listen to songs. So if it is a matter of calling a man, should you not be patient with it?
The Shaykh : No, no, we said that this does not apply to this case. We said, for example, if we forbid a person from smoking and he quits smoking but then starts drinking intoxicants, or if he quits smoking but then transgresses against people in their wealth and honor, this is not of the same kind. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : What is the point of difference?
The Shaykh : The point of difference is that I am currently witnessing a forbidden act. If I forbid him from it and he stops, the desired outcome is achieved. If I do not forbid him, he will remain in his forbidden act. But there is no forbidden act if he leaves this forbidden act that I forbade him from and goes to something more evil. Our issue here, which I mentioned, is that if I forbid him from this forbidden act, he leaves it but goes to something more evil. Yes, yes, Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Yes, the obligatory one is milder.
The questioner : And in this issue, the forbidden act that is obligatory [to forbid] is when a man eats with his hand; he is not like one who opens a recorder to listen to songs. So if it is a matter of calling a man, should you not be patient with it?
The Shaykh : No, no, we said that this does not apply to this case. We said, for example, if we forbid a person from smoking and he quits smoking but then starts drinking intoxicants, or if he quits smoking but then transgresses against people in their wealth and honor, this is not of the same kind. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : What is the point of difference?
The Shaykh : The point of difference is that I am currently witnessing a forbidden act. If I forbid him from it and he stops, the desired outcome is achieved. If I do not forbid him, he will remain in his forbidden act. But there is no forbidden act if he leaves this forbidden act that I forbade him from and goes to something more evil. Our issue here, which I mentioned, is that if I forbid him from this forbidden act, he leaves it but goes to something more evil. Yes, yes, Muhammad.