Clarification of the guidelines for enjoining good and forbidding evil
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
And another says: What are the guidelines for enjoining good and forbidding evil so that this great pillar fulfills its mission? Because some people, through it, turn it into what the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij hold?
Answer:
Its guidelines are known. One does not say, as the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say, that sin is disbelief and misguidance, and that the sinner is a disbeliever. No, the sinner is in danger, but he is not a disbeliever as long as he is a Muslim who affirms the oneness of Allah, believes in Allah and the Last Day, forbids what Allah has forbidden, permits what Allah has permitted, and obligates what Allah has obligated. However, he may commit a slip or a sin.
So it is obligatory to forbid it with wisdom and good admonition, and to explain its ruling to him if he is ignorant, and to take him by the hand. If he persists in it, he is punished with a greater punishment that he deserves, and so on. And if he is in a sin that is one of the limits of Allah, it is established, such as the thief who is amputated, and the fornicator who is flogged if he is a virgin and exiled for a year, and if he is married, he is stoned. Everything has its limit, and its owner has what he deserves.
So the matters, praise be to Allah, have known guidelines. Disbelief has its state, and sin has its state, and the evils are different and have degrees. Forbidding them varies according to their evil, their magnitude, and their punishments are different. So it is necessary that the one who enjoins and the one who forbids be on clear insight, because Allah said: [Yusuf:108]. It is necessary that he be on clear insight regarding what he enjoins and what he forbids. He learns and gains understanding in the religion, and does not speak about the religion while he is without knowledge. He does not forbid or enjoin except with clear insight and knowledge. As for the one who has knowledge, it is obligatory upon him to speak, to say, and to help the one who stands for the truth, and not to neglect or remain silent.
And another says: What are the guidelines for enjoining good and forbidding evil so that this great pillar fulfills its mission? Because some people, through it, turn it into what the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij hold?
Answer:
Its guidelines are known. One does not say, as the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say, that sin is disbelief and misguidance, and that the sinner is a disbeliever. No, the sinner is in danger, but he is not a disbeliever as long as he is a Muslim who affirms the oneness of Allah, believes in Allah and the Last Day, forbids what Allah has forbidden, permits what Allah has permitted, and obligates what Allah has obligated. However, he may commit a slip or a sin.
So it is obligatory to forbid it with wisdom and good admonition, and to explain its ruling to him if he is ignorant, and to take him by the hand. If he persists in it, he is punished with a greater punishment that he deserves, and so on. And if he is in a sin that is one of the limits of Allah, it is established, such as the thief who is amputated, and the fornicator who is flogged if he is a virgin and exiled for a year, and if he is married, he is stoned. Everything has its limit, and its owner has what he deserves.
So the matters, praise be to Allah, have known guidelines. Disbelief has its state, and sin has its state, and the evils are different and have degrees. Forbidding them varies according to their evil, their magnitude, and their punishments are different. So it is necessary that the one who enjoins and the one who forbids be on clear insight, because Allah said:
Say, “This is my path; I call to Allah with insight,
قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.