No One is excused from this Obligation

 

The word al-Ma’roof means devoutness and pious deed. It was named such because an upright nature knows it. Al-Munkar refers to every act of disobedience to Allaah. It was named munkar because hearts or upright nature abhors it. Therefore, the issue of enjoining good and forbidding evil is important in Islaam.

Allaah the Most High said:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

 “You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islaam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islaam has forbidden), and you believe in Allaah…” [Soorah Aali-Imraan: 110]

This involves transference of goodness from one person to another. It is not sufficient that you make yourself righteous; rather strive to make others righteous. If you guide someone toward goodness and caution him against evil, you have spent a huge amount of charity upon him. This is because Allaah could make it beneficial to him more than the way wealth would benefit him.

So, the merit and benefit of enjoining good and forbidding evil is great.  It should be in accordance with a person’s ability. So no one should say, ‘I cannot enjoin good and forbid evil for the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Whoever sees evil amongst you must change it with his hand; but if he cannot, let him change it with his tongue; and if he cannot, then with his heart; and that is the weakest level of faith.” This shows that no one is excused with regard to the issue of enjoining good and forbidding evil. However, this depends on the ability of each individual.

The one who has authority should forbid, change and remove the evil with his hand. But the one who does not have authority should forbid, explain, advise, admonish and guide toward goodness with his tongue. This does not cost him anything. But the one who is incapable of using his tongue should forbid with his heart. There is no one who is incapable of rejecting evil with his heart. One may be incapable of using the tongue and hand; however, there is no one incapable of rejecting evil with the heart.

When you forbid evil with your heart, you should stay away from the people of evil and places of evil and distance yourself from it. Do not sit there and cooperate with them in their evil and then say: ‘I am rejecting the evil with my heart.’ This is not sufficient. Rather, it is a must for you to distance yourself from the evil and people of evil without mingling with them except if you are capable of making rectification. But if you cannot make rectification, stay away and protect yourself.

Source: al-Minhatur-Rabbaaniyyah fee Sharh al-Arba’een an-Nawawiyyah, p. 209-210, by Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan, translated by Abdus-Samee’ Abdus-Salaam.