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How can respecting individual privacy be reconciled with enjoining good and forbidding evil, especially when faced with responses such as "This does not concern me" or the invocation of the Hadith: "Part of the perfection of one's Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Complying with God's command, striving for His pleasure, and focusing on the afterlife are the most important concerns for a Muslim. This includes enjoining good and forbidding evil, as it is something that concerns a person, not something that does not concern them. Ignorance of the negative impact of apparent religious transgressions on society creates the misconception that enjoining good and forbidding evil conflicts with individual privacy. The well-being of people depends on enjoining good and forbidding evil, and it is through this that this nation became the best nation brought forth for mankind. If a sin is hidden, it harms only its perpetrator. However, if it is manifest and not condemned, it harms the general public. Therefore, forbidding manifest sin is not interfering in what does not concern one; rather, it is interfering in what does concern one, because its harm affects everyone.

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Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
164427
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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