Continuation of the explanation of the statement of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "."

The Shaykh : We have previously spoken about explaining the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: We clarified that there must be conditions. The first condition is that one must be knowledgeable about the ruling of Allah, knowing that this is good and that is evil, so that one does not command evil or forbid good. The second condition is that one must be knowledgeable about the state of the person being commanded or forbidden, because one might command a person to do something he is already doing, in which case the command is of no benefit, or forbid him from something he has already avoided, in which case the prohibition is futile and of no benefit. We gave an example of this: a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was delivering the Friday sermon and sat down. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: His sitting was a neglect of the good, which is prayer, when entering the mosque, because a person is commanded to pray two rak'ahs whenever he enters the mosque, at any time. So this man sat down and thus neglected a commanded good. However, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) feared that he might have already done so, meaning he had already prayed. Therefore, he asked him. When it was confirmed that he had not prayed, he said: The third condition is that the evil not be removed by replacing it with something greater. If forbidding this evil would lead to something greater, then it is not permissible to forbid it, in order to avert the greater of two harms by the lesser. Because if two harms conflict and one is greater than the other, we avert the greater by the lesser. An example of this is if a man is smoking in front of you and you want to forbid him and make him leave the gathering, but you know that if you did so, he would go sit with the drunkards. It is well known that drinking intoxicants is greater than smoking. So here, we do not forbid him; we leave him and deal with him in the best manner, so that the matter does not end up in something more evil and greater. It is mentioned that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) passed by a group of Tatars in Sham and found them drinking intoxicants. He had a companion with him. Shaykh al-Islam passed by them and did not forbid them. His companion asked him: Why did you not forbid them? He said: If we forbade them, they would go on to violate the honor of the Muslims and plunder their wealth, and that is greater than their drinking intoxicants. So he left them, fearing that they would do something greater and more severe. This is undoubtedly part of his jurisprudence, part of his jurisprudence (may Allah have mercy on him). The important point is that it is a condition for the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil that it does not include something that is more harmful and a greater sin. If it does include that, then the obligation is to avert the greater of the two harms by the lesser, and to avert the greater by the smaller. This is a well-known rule among the scholars and is recognized. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on the fourth condition: is it required that the one who commands and forbids must be doing what he commands and leaving what he forbids, or not? The correct view is that it is not required. If one commands good or forbids evil, even if he does not do the good and does not avoid the evil, his sin is upon him. But he must command and forbid, because if he left enjoining good and forbidding evil because he does not do the commanded thing and does not leave the prohibited thing, he would add a sin to his sin. So if he performs this duty, even if he is negligent in his own conduct, it is obligatory for him to enjoin good and forbid evil, even if he is doing the evil, or even if he is leaving the commanded thing. However, generally, according to the innate natural disposition, a person does not command people to do something he does not do; this is the norm, he feels shy and embarrassed. And he does not forbid people from doing something he does; this is the norm. The obligation is to command what the Shari'ah has commanded, even if he does not do it, and to forbid what the Shari'ah has forbidden, even if he does not avoid it, because each of them is an obligation separate from the other, and they are not interdependent. Then, it is recommended for the one who enjoins good and forbids evil to intend by that the reform of creation and the establishment of the law of Allah, not to intend taking revenge on the sinner or vindicating himself. If he intends that intention, Allah will not send blessing in his command or his prohibition. Rather, he should be like a doctor who wants to treat people and remove affliction from them. He should intend by his command and prohibition, first, the establishment of the law of Allah, and second, the reform of the servants of Allah. Likewise for his prohibition, so that he may be a reformer and a righteous person. We ask Allah to make me and you among the guides, the guided, and the reformers. Indeed, He is Generous and Bountiful.
The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in the context of mentioning the verses in the chapter on enjoining good and forbidding evil: "

⁽⁷⁸⁾ Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. ⁽⁷⁹⁾ They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.

لعن الذين كفروا من بني إسرائيل على لسان داوود وعيسى ابن مريم ذلك بما عصوا وكانوا يعتدون كانوا لا يتناهون عن منكر فعلوه لبئس ما كانوا يفعلون

[Al-Ma'idah 5:78-79]

And He said:

And say, "The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve."

وقل الحق من ربكم فمن شاء فليؤمن ومن شاء فليكفر

[Al-Kahf 18:29]

And He said:

Then declare what you are commanded

فاصدع بما تؤمر

[Al-Hijr 15:94]

And He said:

And when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We saved those who had forbidden evil and seized those who wronged, with a wretched punishment, because they were defiantly disobeying.

فلما نسوا ما ذكروا به أنجينا الذين ينهون عن السوء وأخذنا الذين ظلموا بعذاب بئيس بما كانوا يفسقون

[Al-A'raf 7:165]

".