وَلۡتَكُن مِّنكُمۡ أُمَّةٌ يَدۡعُونَ إِلَى ٱلۡخَيۡرِ وَيَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَيَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ
Verse: "Let there be among you a community calling to good, commanding what is right, and forbidding what is wrong — those are the successful." (3:104)
Ruling: Commanding good and forbidding evil is a collective obligation (fard kifaya) — if enough people perform it, the rest are absolved; if entirely abandoned, all are sinful.
Three levels of changing evil (from hadith "Whoever sees an evil" — Muslim 49):
- By hand: Physical change — restricted to authority and those with jurisdiction.
- By tongue: Advice and clarification — obligatory on every capable person.
- By heart: Internal disapproval — the weakest of faith, never waived from anyone.
Conditions for objection:
- The evil must be unanimously agreed upon — not in legitimate matters of scholarly disagreement.
- The objection must not lead to a greater evil — averting the greater harm takes priority.
- It must be done with wisdom and good counsel — not with illegitimate force.
The verse shows this duty is the path to success — "those are the successful."
Question: What are the three levels of changing evil? What are the conditions for commanding good?
Answer: Hand for authority — tongue for every capable person — heart never waived. Conditions: evil is agreed upon, does not lead to greater harm, done with wisdom.