On the authority of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (RadhiyaAllahu ‘anhu) who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) say,
“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”
[Reported by Muslim]
Brief Commentary
- This hadith is pinnacle in setting the guidelines for a great aspect of Islam, which is to enjoin the good and forbid the evil
- Virtues of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil:
- All the previous prophets used to encourage it as mentioned in Surah Al A’raf [7:157]
- Allah describes the believers to have these qualities as mentioned in Surah At-tawbah [9:71]
- Allah describes the hypocrites to not having these qualities as mentioned in Surah At-tawbah [9:67]
- It is what signifies us and makes us the best nation as mentioned in Surah Al-Imran [3:110]. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “This is because the good affairs of this life and the hereafter only come about with the obedience of Allah and the obedience of the messengers, and that is not completed except with enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, hence this nation was the best of nations”
- The previous nations were led astray because they didn’t act on this as mentioned in Surah Al-Ma’idah [5:79]
- It is a status that comes after the status of prophethood as derived by Al Hassan Al Basri from Surah Al-Imran [3:21]
- The one who calls someone to good, gets the same reward as the one he called
- The prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “There are people from my nation who will be given rewards similar to the rewards of the ones before them (The sahabah). They forbid the evil” (Reported by Ahmad)
- It is not restricted to telling people off. It also includes teaching people their religion, showing them the right path, teaching them the basis of Islam/Aqeedah, etc.
- It ensures we maintain the five major objectives of the Shari’ah. These are:
- To protect the religion: By teaching people Islam and stopping them from doing innovations
- To protect life: By reminding people of sanctities, and forbidding unlawful killing
- To protect intellect: By forbidding alcohol and other forms of intoxicants
- To protect lineage: By enjoining people to get married in a lawful way
- To protect wealth: By forbidding theft and by preventing from becoming too attached to wealth by encouraging giving in charity
- The shari’ah revolves around fulfilling the above 5 major objectives
- Due to the severity of the matter of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, Sufyan Al-Thawree used to say, “I see something that I must command for or forbid from, and (this causes me to) urinate blood”
- Righteous people become really agitated when they see an evil
- The sahabah said when the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) was personally attacked, nothing would change but when the rights of Allah are violated, you can see it from his face and hear it from his voice.
Benefits and Action points:
- Benefits of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil:
- To excuse yourself from the burden of it as mentioned in Surah Al-A’raf [7:164]. Ali ibn Al-Husain said, “The one who abandons enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is like the one who discards the book of Allah behind his back”
- You establish the proof of Allah upon the creation as mentioned in Surah Al-Nisaa’ [4:165]
- It is a means of showing gratitude to Allah
- It is a means of expiating our sins
- It saves from the punishment of this life and the hereafter. In Surah Hud {11:116-117}, Allah said he saved the people because they were reformers (by enjoining the good and forbidding the evil), and didn’t say He saved them just because they were righteous
- Understand the five major objectives of the shari’ah and try to implement them
- Never feel comfortable when you see an evil being carried out, no matter how often you see this evil
Hadith Commentary 
May Allah help and rewarded you with His best rewards