Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei

How to Enjoin the Good and Forbid Evil

Q 1063: How should a son behave towards his parents who do not care about their religious duties due to their lack of complete faith?

A: He should orally enjoin them to the good and forbid them from evil in a soft language and with due observance of their respect as parents.

Q 1064: My brother does not observe Shar‘ī and moral norms, and advice has not been effective so far. What is my duty when I see his conduct?

A: It is obligatory for you to express resentment towards such conduct which is against Islamic law, and to remind him in a brotherly way which you deem effective and suitable. But breaking ties of kinship with him is impermissible.

Q 1065: What kind of relation can one have with persons who formerly used to commit such unlawful acts as drinking?

A: The criterion is the present behaviour of people. So, if they have repented of what they used to do, they should be treated presently like other believers. As for someone who commits ḥarām acts at present, it is obligatory to deter him from it through forbidding evil. To prevent him from committing a ḥarām act, it is obligatory to avoid his company and break relationship with him if it is the only solution.

Q 1066: A continuous invasion is going on against Islamic morals by Western culture, and some non-Islamic customs are being propagated. For example, some men hang golden crosses on their necks, or some women wear clothes with garish colours, and, occasionally, some men and women wear bracelets, dark glasses, and certain ornaments which attract attention and are generally considered improper. Taking into consideration that some of these people insist on such actions even after enjoining them to the good and forbidding them from evil, please explain how to treat such individuals?

A: Wearing gold or hanging it on the neck is absolutely ḥarām for men. It is, also, not permissible to wear clothes whose tailoring style, colour, etc. are considered imitation and propagation of the invading culture of non-Muslims in the common view. It is not permissible, as well, to wear an ornament in a way that is regarded as imitation of the invading culture of enemies of Islam and Muslims. The duty of others towards such phenomena is to forbid the evil orally. 

Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Sistani 

Enjoining good and forbidding evil

Ruling 1868. The following five conditions must exist for enjoining good and forbidding evil to be obligatory.

1. One must know what is good and what is evil, albeit in a general sense. Therefore, enjoining good and forbidding evil is not obligatory for someone who does not know what good and evil are and does not distinguish between them. Indeed, to enjoin good and forbid evil, it is sometimes obligatory to learn and know what is good and what is evil as a prerequisite.
2. One must deem it probable that it will have an effect on the wrongdoer. Therefore, if he knows that his speech and words are ineffective, the opinion held by most jurists (mashhūr) is that he is under no duty, and it is not obligatory for him to enjoin good and forbid evil. However, the obligatory precaution (al‑iḥtiyāṭ al‑wājib) is that he must express in any way possible his disapproval and displeasure with the wrongdoer’s improper actions, even if he knows that it will not have any effect on him.
3. The wrongdoer must intend to continue doing the improper and wrong actions. Therefore, in the event that the wrongdoer does not want to repeat his wrong actions, it is not obligatory to enjoin him to good and forbid him from evil.
4. The wrongdoer must not be legally excused (maʿdhūr) in his improper and wrong actions, i.e. he must not believe that the improper act he did was permissible (mubāḥ), nor must he believe that the good act he abandoned was not obligatory.

However, if the evil deed is something that the Holy Legislator [Allah] is never pleased with – such as the killing of an innocent person – then it is obligatory to prevent it, even if the perpetrator is legally excused and he is not duty-bound (mukallaf).

5. The person enjoining good and forbidding evil must not be in danger of significant harm being inflicted to his person, reputation, or wealth. Furthermore, it must not cause excessive difficulty (mashaqqah) or unendurable hardship, except in the case where the good or evil act in question is regarded by the Holy Legislator [Allah] as being so important that one must endure harm and hardship in its cause.

If the person who enjoins good and forbids evil is not in danger of any significant harm being inflicted on himself, but other Muslims are – whether that be to their person, reputation, or wealth – then it does not become obligatory for him to enjoin good and forbid evil. In this situation, the level of harm must be compared with the act in question, and sometimes even when harm is caused, he will not be excused from enjoining good and forbidding evil.

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi  

Conditions upon which Amr Bil Maroof va Nahi an Munkar becomes Obligatory

Issue No.2414 – Enjoining good deeds and forbidding from evil actions are incumbent on all sane and mature persons based on the following conditions:

1) A person wishing to enjoin good and forbid evil must be certain that the other party is committing a haram act or abandoning an obligatory act.

2) He should consider it probable that the enjoining good and forbidding from bad are effective, should the effect be immediate or slow and complete or partial. Hence, if he knows that it would not have any effect, it is not obligatory.

3) There should not be any corruption and harm in the enjoining good and forbidding from bad. Therefore, if one knows or fears that enjoining and forbidding will harm his life or his honour or it will cause substantial financial damage to him or to someone else, then it is not obligatory to do so. However, if good deeds and evil acts are among the things that are of paramount importance in Islam, like safeguarding Islam and the Holy Qur’an, the independence of Islamic countries or the protection of the indisputable Islamic laws, then in such cases, one should pay no heed to the harm or the loss and he should endeavour to guard and protect them by sacrificing his life and devoting his wealth.

Obligation of Renounce against Religious Innovations

Issue No.2415 – If a bid‘ah (innovation) is laid in Islam (such as mischiefs committed by some corrupt governments under the banner of Islam), it is obligatory upon all Muslims especially the scholars (‘ulamā) to declare the truth and to denounce the falsehood. And if the silence of the scholars leads to degradation of the position of ‘ilm (knowledge) or it may cause others to have suspicion towards Muslim scholars, expressing the truth, in any way possible, is obligatory, though they may know that it would not be effective.