Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Chapter on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil. First, we must know what is the good (ma'ruf) and what is the evil (munkar). The good is everything that the Shari'ah has recognized and approved, whether it be verbal or physical acts of worship, whether apparent or hidden. The evil is everything that the Shari'ah has condemned and prohibited, from the types of sins such as disbelief, open sinfulness, disobedience, lying, backbiting, talebearing, and others. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is obligatory; it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah) if those who are sufficient to perform it do so, thereby achieving the objective. If those who are sufficient do not perform it, it becomes obligatory upon all Muslims. As Allah the Exalted said: He began with the call to good, then followed with enjoining good and forbidding evil. This is because the call to good precedes enjoining good and forbidding evil. The call to good is explaining the good to people by inviting them to prayer, zakah, Hajj, fasting, dutifulness to parents, maintaining family ties, and the like. After this comes the stage of enjoining good and forbidding evil, where one commands, saying: "Pray," either in a general sense or in a specific sense, such as holding the arm of a man who is negligent in prayer and saying: "Pray." There is a third stage, which is changing [the evil], about which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He did not say "let him forbid it," because this is a stage above forbidding. The tongue is forbidding the evil, and the heart: if a person cannot speak, he condemns it in his heart by his dislike and hatred of that evil. Enjoining good and forbidding evil requires certain things. It requires: The first thing is that a person must be knowledgeable about the good and the evil. If he is not knowledgeable about the good, it is not permissible for him to command it, because what would he be commanding? He might command something he thinks is good but is actually evil, without realizing it. Therefore, he must be knowledgeable that this is from the good that Allah and His Messenger have legislated. He must also be knowledgeable about the evil, meaning he must know that this is evil. If he is not knowledgeable about that, he should not forbid it, because he might forbid something that is good, causing the good to be abandoned because of it, or he might forbid something that is permissible, thereby restricting Allah's servants by preventing them from what Allah has made permissible for them. Therefore, he must be knowledgeable that this is evil. Many of our zealous brothers may rush to forbid permissible matters, thinking they are evil, thereby restricting Allah's servants. It is obligatory that you do not command anything unless you know it is good, and that you do not forbid anything unless you know it is evil. The second thing is that you must know that this man is abandoning the good or committing the evil. Do not take people based on suspicion or assumption, for Allah says: If you see, for example, a person who does not pray with you in the mosque, it does not mean he does not pray in another mosque. He might pray in another mosque, or he might have an excuse. So do not go to forbid him until you know that he is neglecting it without an excuse. Yes, there is no harm in going and asking him, saying: "So-and-so, we miss you in the mosque. May there be no harm upon you, perhaps there is no evil," and the like. However, forbidding him, or worse, speaking about him in gatherings, is not permissible, because you do not know; perhaps he is praying in another mosque or has an excuse. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would first inquire before commanding. It is established in *Sahih Muslim* He did not command him to pray two rak'ahs until he asked him whether he had prayed or not, even though the apparent situation was that the man had entered and sat down, indicating he had not prayed. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) feared that he might have prayed and he was unaware of it. So he said: Similarly, regarding evil, it is not permissible to forbid a person unless you know that he has fallen into the evil. If you see a woman with a man in a car, for example, it is not permissible to speak about him or the woman, because that woman might be one of his mahrams, such as his wife, sister, or mother, or the like, until you know that he has taken a ride with a woman who is not one of his mahrams. There are many examples like this. The important point is that a person must know that this is good in order to command it, or evil in order to forbid it. He must also know that the one to whom the command or prohibition is directed has fallen into a matter that requires a command or a prohibition. Then, what is recommended for the one who enjoins good and forbids evil is that he be gentle, gentle in his command and gentle in his prohibition. If he is gentle, Allah the Exalted will give him what He does not give for harshness, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you are harsh with him, he might become repelled, and his arrogance in sin might take over him, and he will not submit to you. But if you come to him with the best manner, he will benefit. It is mentioned that a man from the people of hisbah (those who enjoin good and forbid evil) in a past era passed by a man who was drawing water (sani) from a well at the time of the Maghrib adhan. The custom of people who draw water is to sing to the camels, meaning they recite poetry to make the camels lighter, because the camels, glory be to Allah, are pleased by the singing. This man came with others and spoke to this worker with ugly words, insulting the worker who was drawing water. The worker was tired from work and his patience ran out, so he hit the man with the mawsuqah (a long, sturdy stick). The man was driven away, so he went to the mosque and met a Shaykh, a scholar from the descendants of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him). He said to him: "I did such and such, and the man hit me with the mawsuqah." The Shaykh said: "Okay." The next day, the Shaykh went himself to the place before the sun set, performed wudu, placed his shawl on a wooden beam around the well, then called the Maghrib adhan. He stood as if he wanted to take the shawl. He said to him: "So-and-so, my brother, may Allah reward you with good. You are doing good in this work, and you are on the right path. But now the adhan has been called; if you go and pray Maghrib and come back, you will not have missed anything." With gentle, easy words, the man said: "May Allah reward you with good. A rough man passed by me yesterday and started cursing and shouting at me, saying you have what you do not have, and I lost my self-control until I hit him with the mawsuqah." The Shaykh said: "No, no, there is no need for hitting. You are a rational person; speak to him with gentle words." So he leaned the mawsuqah (the stick used to hit the camels) against something, then went to pray in submission. Why? Because the first man treated him with harshness, and the second treated him with gentleness. And although this incident did not happen to us, we have a saying from a doctor. Who is he? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says: So strive to make your command and prohibition gentle. The rest of the conditions for enjoining good and forbidding evil will come, if Allah wills, in the next lesson.
The reciter: 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: " The Chapter on Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil. Allah the Exalted said:

And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.

ولتكن منكم أمة يدعون إلى الخير ويأمرون بالمعروف وينهون عن المنكر وأولئك هم المفلحون

[Ali 'Imran 3:104]

And He said:

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong

كنتم خير أمة أخرجت للناس تأمرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنكر

[Ali 'Imran 3:110]

And He said:

Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.

خذ العفو وأمر بالعرف وأعرض عن الجاهلين

[Al-A'raf 7:199]

And He said:

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong

والمؤمنون والمؤمنات بعضهم أولياء بعض يأمرون بالمعروف وينهون عن المنكر

[At-Tawbah 9:71]

And He said:

⁽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]

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