When can forbidding an evil become impermissible because it causes a greater evil?
2026-09-21
T100 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
Selected principle requiring that the benefit of commanding right and forbidding wrong outweigh its harm. The reference to jihad is retained as part of the historical text; the passage does not license private coercion. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
وَإِذَا كَانَ كَذَلِكَ فَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّ الْأَمْرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيَ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ وَإِتْمَامَهُ بِالْجِهَادِ هُوَ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمَعْرُوفِ الَّذِي أُمِرْنَا بِهِ؛ وَلِهَذَا قِيلَ: لِيَكُنْ أَمْرُك بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهْيُك عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ غَيْرَ مُنْكَرٍ. وَإِذَا كَانَ هُوَ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْوَاجِبَاتِ والمستحبات فَالْوَاجِبَاتُ والمستحبات لَا بُدَّ أَنْ تَكُونَ الْمَصْلَحَةُ فِيهَا رَاجِحَةً عَلَى الْمَفْسَدَةِ؛ إذْ بِهَذَا بُعِثَتْ الرُّسُلُ وَنَزَلَتْ الْكُتُبُ وَاَللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَسَادَ؛ بَلْ كُلُّ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ فَهُوَ صَلَاحٌ.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
Since that is so, it is known that enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and completing this through jihad are among the greatest good things we have been commanded to do. For this reason it has been said: “Let your enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong not itself be wrong.” Since this is among the greatest obligatory and recommended acts, the benefit of obligatory and recommended acts must outweigh their harm. It is with this that the messengers were sent and the books were revealed. Allah does not love corruption; rather, everything Allah commands is beneficial and sound.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 28/126
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.