Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong (Arabic: الأمر بالمَعْرُوف والنَهي عن المُنْكَر, al ʿamr bi-l maʿrūf wa-n nahy ʿan al munkar) are two important Islamic requisites from the Quran, "you enjoin what is right and forbid what is reprehensible", and are considered positive roles in helping others to take the straight path and abstain from reprehensible acts.
Contents
This expression is the base of the Islamic institution of hisbah. It forms a central part of the Islamic doctrine for all Muslims. It is also explicitly referred to in two Ancillaries of the Faith in Shia Islam, commanding what is just and forbidding what is evil.
Some Quranic examples
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Other examples include:
Hadith examples
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri reported that the prophet Muhammad said, "Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest form of faith".
A standard medieval interpretation of this Hadith is, as Al-Nawawi had explained, that such passages of scripture had to be interpreted in accordance with established Shariah principles, such as the state's sole prerogative in declaring jihad. 'Changing the reprehensible by hand,' or by compulsion, was the purview of the state alone. 'Changing with the tongue' was the right of the ulama. Ordinary, individual Muslims should only reject the reprehensible with their hearts.
Conditions (interpretation)
A person should have knowledge of what is considered wajib (obligatory or duty) and haram (sinful or forbidden) in relation to interpreting the two requisites although in a broad-spectrum.