A discussion on the ruling of enjoining good and forbidding evil without citing evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah

The student : ... Sometimes we frequently rebuke people, but we do not know the evidence. When they question us, we say to them: "The Shaykh said..." People say, "Do not say 'The Shaykh said'; tell them 'Allah said.'"
Another student: I did not say "The Shaykh said"; I said, "I ask the Shaykh."

The Shaykh : Let him finish.
The student : In many issues, especially regarding the pants and the pants, and so on, it clashes with people regarding... taking from the beard. He says, "The Shaykh said," but no, you should tell him, "Allah said." This is what he always rebukes him for, O Shaykh.
Another student: The Messenger of Allah said.
The student : Allah said, His Messenger said. He says, "Allah the Exalted said: ." So I told him: Yes, but so that people will be receptive, bring the legal evidence, then follow it with the explanations, words, and comments of the scholars.
Another student: I clarified it to him after the 'Asr prayer while we were on the way.
The student : You clarified it to him?
Another student: Yes, indeed.
The student : O Shaykh, he always clashes with people over the problem, and then he has, O Shaykh, anyone who takes from...

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.
The student : ... a hadith or athar that they accepted, or they do not say "So-and-so the scholar said" and "So-and-so the scholar said."
The student : I did not say "The Shaykh Ibn Baz said" in the sense that I want to adopt the saying of the Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him). Rather, I said: "It was reported to me from the Shaykh Ibn Baz that he permitted eating while standing." That is what I told him. I did not say that I want to adopt this.
Another student: We want you, O Shaykh, to speak on this topic. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : It is not in your best interest, O Abu Ayyub.
The student : No, by Allah, O Shaykh, religion is advice, even if I am mistaken.

The Shaykh : Now you have corrected a mistake.
The student : Yes, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : ... with you, here.
The student : Yes, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah be with you.
The student : O Shaykh, I...
Another student: I am with you in the truth.
The student : ... .
Another student: Say, "I am with you," and he says to you, "And I am with you."

The Shaykh : It seems from your words...
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : ... that both of you want every individual Muslim to be a scholar of the Book and the Sunnah. And first of all, this is imposing what is beyond capacity.
The student : ... I did not hear.

The Shaykh : You are telling him: Say "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said," do not say "So-and-so the Shaykh" or "So-and-so."
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : This statement is said to one who is a scholar. And the scholar... will not, naturally, say "So-and-so said." He will directly say "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said." But do you mean that you want every individual Muslim, even the common people among them, to say "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said"?
The student : No, O Shaykh, yes.

The Shaykh : Here, and your companion is with you.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : In that case...
The student : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : In that case...
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : We move to a second point.
The student: Go ahead.

The Shaykh : An individual Muslim who is not a student of knowledge, let alone a scholar.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : He saw something wrong. How does he know it is wrong? From "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said"? No, because the search is for a man from the common Muslims. But he is the last of the four mentioned in the athar: "Be a scholar, or a student, or a listener, and do not be the fourth, lest you perish." Pardon me, he is the third... a listener. So if he saw or heard something wrong, what do you see that he should do? What do you see that he should do?
The student : He should rebuke it.

The Shaykh : Political.
The student : Abu al-Walid.

The Shaykh : Political.
The student : Yes, Shaykh.
The student : The Shaykh is asking you.

The Shaykh : I am not with you.
The student : No, I am with you, O Shaykh.
Another student: What did the Shaykh say?
The student : He says: If he sees something wrong and he is of the third type.

The Shaykh : It is lost, it is lost.
The student : What should he do?
Another student: He means a common person, yes, yes.
The student : Yes, a common person.
Another student: Okay, answer.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : What do you see that he should do?
The student : He should rebuke it in a good manner, O Shaykh, meaning with wisdom.

The Shaykh : Is this the answer to the question?
The student : This is the answer I have.

The Shaykh : Of course, this is not from me; it is from you.
The student : But the question here is how this common person knew that this is wrong.

The Shaykh : I told you: a listener, he heard the scholar.
The student : Yes, he heard the scholar, okay.
Another student: Does he demand evidence?

The Shaykh : Do you see that he should rebuke?
The student : The common person?

The Shaykh : Or am I speaking about the scholar? I told you, I did not believe, O Abu 'Abdullah, Abu Ayyub is not with us.
The student : O Shaykh, he says to you, "He should rebuke in a good manner."

The Shaykh : And the student of knowledge rebukes in a bad manner?
The student : No, "in a good manner" means it is obligatory for everyone.

The Shaykh : Double.
The student : Meaning, the student of knowledge rebukes only by rebuking, or does he rebuke in a good manner?
Another student: All in a good manner.

The Shaykh : You are not following us.
The student : By Allah, it is possible, O Shaykh...
Another student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, like that, here. Stay close, do not be far.
The student : Now he will pass me, O Shaykh, here. Let me move away from him.
Another student: No, I am with you, we are both afflicted with the same affliction, O Shaykh...
The student : There is no deity but He.
Another student: Do you hear, O Shaykh, what they are saying about me? Do you hear, do you hear, O our Shaykh?
The student : How do you know what you intended?
Another student: O Shaykh, everyone complains about him in the gathering, correct. Now let us move to the rest of the topic.

The Shaykh : People are either a scholar, a student, or a listener. Is enjoining good and forbidding evil specific to one of these classes, or is it general?
The student : No, of course, it is general.

The Shaykh : Okay, so let us take the lowest class, the listener. He saw something wrong. Is it obligatory for him to rebuke it?
The student : He should rebuke it, yes.

The Shaykh : You, when you say "in a good manner," you are doubling up, because the issue is not whether the rebuke is in a good manner or a bad manner, because this condition is a requirement for the scholar, the student of knowledge, and the listener. But the issue now is: Is the rebuke of the wrong specific to one of these three individuals? The answer is no, praise be to Allah. You are now telling our brother Nabil, you say, "You must say 'Allah said,' 'The Messenger of Allah said.'" You are addressing him not on the basis that he is of the third rank, nor on the basis that he is of the second rank, but on the basis of the highest and first rank, which is being a scholar of the Book and the Sunnah. And this means you will sit with yourself in silence in most issues, because as we all know, among the issues, some are explicit in the Book and the Sunnah, and some are derived from the Book and the Sunnah. So what is derived is specific to the people of knowledge.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, so your saying that you must say "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said" is not said specifically in such an issue, an issue of newly invented matters, may Allah accept, shaking hands, and so on. For example, he distinguished between "May Allah accept" and shaking hands, and in reality, there is no difference; any newly invented matter.
The student : This is what I mentioned this morning, that the two are newly invented matters.

The Shaykh : Yes, you should memorize your mistake better than you memorize your correctness.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So the important thing is, how am I to say to him "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said" in an issue like this, where there is no text from the Book of Allah or from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, and it is only an issue in which the later scholars differed, some doing what is ugly and some doing what is good? How do you want him to say "Allah said" and "The Messenger of Allah said"? So you want him either to be silent, and this is contrary to what we agreed upon, that the three ranks have the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil, or to say, "My brother, I heard from the people of knowledge, so I am following them." Now, not following them is another topic.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because the issue is that he says "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said." My brother, first of all, if there was "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said," and he is not a scholar or a student of knowledge, he will not recall it. If a common Muslim man says to one who is drinking intoxicants, "My brother, do not drink," and perhaps... in the rebuke, you or someone like you would say he must say to him "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said." Does he not know? He knows that intoxicants are forbidden, and that is the end of the matter, so he rebuked him. So it is not said to such a person that he must say "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said," even if there is something in which "Allah said," "The Messenger of Allah said" can be said. So how in an issue like this? This is a religious innovation, and the later scholars are divided into two groups, most of them saying this is a good innovation. He will not be able to do anything but say, "I heard from the people of knowledge and those who are eager to adhere to the Book and the Sunnah and follow the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." As for it being said to him: "You must say 'Allah said,' 'The Messenger of Allah said,'" it means be silent and do not speak, and this is contrary to the consensus of the three.
The student : Yes, yes, but O Shaykh, may Allah preserve you.
Another student: ... in the same issue, for example, if the brother Fawaz were sitting, or Abu Ayyub, or Abu Faris, or anyone else, he could retract the error that this man committed, meaning he would state the matter that must be clarified, for example.
Another student: ... close the door, close the door.
Another student: wisdom and good exhortation.

The Shaykh: Was he present?
The student: I say if he was present.

The Shaykh: Yes, this is his obligation.
The student: He clarifies with wisdom and good exhortation, meaning he covers up the defect that occurred, for example, in his view.

The Shaykh: No, you made a mistake, there is nothing strange, you are his companion to Abu Ayyub, so he is pulling you toward him and you are pulling him toward you. The issue is not about enjoining good and forbidding evil in general; the issue is either to say "Allah said" or "The Messenger of Allah said," or to remain silent.
The student: No problem, our Shaykh, I am saying this in addition to your answer, may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh: We do not want additions now; we need to finish the first issue. Is it permissible for one who is not a scholar and not a student of knowledge to forbid evil when he is unable to say "Allah said" or "The Messenger of Allah said"?
The student : It is permissible.

The Shaykh: He was asked to say "Allah said" or "The Messenger of Allah said," or otherwise to remain silent.