Continuation of the discussion on the importance of enjoining good and forbidding evil in calling others to Allah.
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The Shaykh : It is necessary for the one who enjoins good to have knowledge of the Shari'ah and knowledge of the reality, meaning he must know that this person has committed an evil or left an obligatory duty. The third is that he must have wisdom with which he weighs and assesses matters, so that the enjoining is done as it should be. Also part of the da'wah is a fourth matter, which is changing the evil. Changing the evil... he changes it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart. I think we gave an example of this previously, and I do not know if it was here or at the university. The example is a man who passed by a man playing the 'ud. Do you know the 'ud? Have you used it?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Well, the point is that it is not the firewood 'ud, but the 'ud that is played. A man passed by this 'ud. The first thing he must do is break it. So he changes it with his hand. If he cannot, he does it with his tongue, meaning he speaks to someone who can break it. If he cannot, he does it with his heart: he hates it and condemns it, and he does not keep the company of its owner. This is a matter that is hidden from many people. They think that if you hate the evil with your heart, you can sit with its people. This is a mistake, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:[An-Nisa 4:140] Recite the verse meaning, if you sit , then the condemnation with the heart does not involve sitting. Does it make sense for a person to hate something and sit with the one who does it? It does not make sense at all! Well, these are three matters: da'wah, enjoining, and changing. They are confused by some students of knowledge who think they are one, but they are different. Da'wah is presentation, encouragement, and warning. Enjoining is directing, commanding, or requesting an action or abstention in a position of authority. Changing is direct removal of the evil; you engage in it directly with your hand. So there is a difference between them. It is obligatory for the student of knowledge to know this so that things do not become mixed up for him.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Well, the point is that it is not the firewood 'ud, but the 'ud that is played. A man passed by this 'ud. The first thing he must do is break it. So he changes it with his hand. If he cannot, he does it with his tongue, meaning he speaks to someone who can break it. If he cannot, he does it with his heart: he hates it and condemns it, and he does not keep the company of its owner. This is a matter that is hidden from many people. They think that if you hate the evil with your heart, you can sit with its people. This is a mistake, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: