It is a duty upon every Muslim to call others away from sinful behavior, and to do so with wisdom, within the limits of our various abilities.

Our Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

1. Whoever sees something wrong should change it with his hands.
2. If he is unable to do so, then he should do so with his tongue.
3. If he is unable to do so, then he should do so in his heart and that is the weakest of faith.” [Sahîh Muslim]

“အသင်တို့အနက် မည်သူမဆို

စက်ဆုပ်ရွံရှာဖွယ်အမှုကို ပြုသည်ကို မြင်ရလျှင်
ထိုအမှုကို မိမိ၏ လက်ဖြင့် ပြုပြင်လော့။
ထိုသို့ လက်ဖြင့် မပြုပြင်နိုင်လျှင် မိမိ၏ နှုတ်လျှာဖြင့် ပြုပြင်လော့။
ထိုသို့ နှုတ်လျှာဖြင့် မပြုပြင်နိုင်ပါလျှင် နှလုံးသားဖြင့် ပြုပြင်လော့။

ဤသည် ယုံကြည်မှု၏ အားအနည်းဆုံးအချက်ပင်ဖြစ်သည်။”
(မွတ်စ်လင်မ်ကျမ်း)

Enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong is an often quoted phrase, used in the Qur’an. This expression is the base of the Islamic institution of hisbah and sometimes referred to by this word. Hisbah forms a central part of Islamic doctrine, and is explicitly referred to in the two of the Shi’a Branches of Religion, Commanding what is Just and Forbidding what is Evil.

Islam teaches that standing for the truth (haqq) publicly is a fundamental moral and religious obligation for the masses, not merely an optional act.

This duty is deeply embedded in the core Islamic principles of justice and enjoining right and forbidding wrong, and it applies to all situations, including speaking out against those in power. 

Key Islamic Principles

• Truthfulness (al-Sidq): 
  • Islam places a high value on honesty in all aspects of life—in statements, actions, and intentions.
    • The Quran commands believers: “O you who believe, fear Allah and be with those who are true” (Quran 9:119).
• Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong (Amr bil Ma’ruf wa Nahy anil Munkar): 
  • This collective duty requires the Muslim community to actively promote virtue and prevent vice.
  • If an individual or a group in power commits a wrong, it is an obligation to warn and reprimand them publicly.
• Justice (Adl): 
  • Upholding justice is a divine command that must be applied universally, even to one’s enemies.
    • Muslims are instructed to “stand steadfast before God as witness for (truth and) fairplay” (Quran 4:135).
• Speaking Truth to Power: 
  • The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) emphasized the importance of moral courage. He said,
    • “The greatest of jihad is to speak the word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler”.
    • This highlights that public accountability and speaking against oppression are among the most virtuous deeds in Islam. 

Methods for the Masses

Islam outlines several ways for individuals and the community to stand for the truth publicly: 

• Verbal Advocacy: 
  • This involves proclaiming, explaining, and communicating the truth and divine guidance through speech and writing (known as da’wah, tabligh, etc.).
  • It must be done with clarity, gentleness, and wisdom, avoiding abusive language unless one is a victim of injustice and is seeking redress.
• Actions and Example: 
  • Actions must align with beliefs to provide a living testimony of the truth.
    • By practicing the principles of justice, honesty, and good conduct in daily life,
    • individuals demonstrate the positive impact of Islamic teachings to the wider society.
• Protest and Accountability: 
  • Islam grants the right to protest against tyranny and injustice.
  • This includes holding leaders and institutions accountable and
  • ensuring legal and social mechanisms for addressing grievances are available to all citizens.
• Community and Association: Muslims are encouraged to form communities and associate with truthful people to collectively promote virtue and discourage evil. 

In essence, Islam views standing for the truth in public as an ongoing, collective struggle that requires moral integrity, courage, and a commitment to justice for all humanity. 

Islam teaches a duty to stand for truth and justice in giving evidence through a strong emphasis on honesty, upholding justice even when difficult, and collective responsibility to confront wrongdoing. 

Core principles from Islamic teachings:

• Duty to speak truthfully: The Quran and Hadith emphasize
  • the absolute requirement to be truthful in all matters, especially when giving testimony, as it is a core part of upholding justice.
• Justice is a divine command: 
  • Islamic texts, such as the Quran, describe justice (“Mizan al-Adl”) as a fundamental principle established by God, and it is seen as an integral part of the divine order.
• Upholding justice for the vulnerable: 
  • Islam stresses the duty to protect the vulnerable and speak out against injustice to ensure no one is harmed by wrongdoing.
• Collective responsibility: 
  • Muslims are taught that they have a collective duty to stand against injustice.
  • Silence in the face of wrongdoing can have serious consequences for the entire community, not just the wrongdoers.
• Levels of action against injustice: 
  • A widely cited Hadith outlines a three-tiered approach to combating injustice:
    • Physical intervention: Change the injustice with your own hands if you have the ability.
    • Verbal condemnation: Speak out against it with your tongue.
    • Heartfelt disapproval: If you cannot do either of the above, condemn it in your heart, which is the weakest form of faith. 
    • Quranic examples
    • Sura 3.110 ^{translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali}

• Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors.
• Sura 3.104 ^{translated by George Sale}

• Let there be people among you, who invite to the best [in religion]; and command that which is just, and forbid that which is evil; and they shall be happy.Transliteration:Waltakun minkum ommatun yadAAoona ila alkhayri waya/muroona bilmaAAroofi wayanhawna AAani almunkari waola-ika humu almuflihoon
• Sura 7.157 ^{translated by Sale}
• “Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), – in the law and the Gospel; – for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, – it is they who will prosper.”Transliteration:Allatheena yattabiAAoona alrrasoola alnnabiyya al-ommiyya allathee yajidoonahu maktooban AAindahum fee alttawrati waal-injeeli ya/muruhum bialmaAAroofi wayanhahum AAani almunkari wayuhillu lahumu alttayyibati wayuharrimu AAalayhimu alkhaba-itha wayadaAAu AAanhum israhum waal-aghlala allatee kanat AAalayhim faallatheena amanoo bihi waAAazzaroohu wanasaroohu waittabaAAoo alnnoora allathee onzila maAAahu ola-ika humu almuflihoona
• Sura 9.71 ^{translated by Sale}

• And the faithful men, and the faithful women are friends one to another: They command that which is just, and they forbid that which is evil; and they are constant at prayer, and pay their appointed alms; and they obey God, and his apostle: Unto these will God be Merciful; for He [is] Mighty [and] Wise.