they refer to a time when enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong are of no avail, and the person opposing wrongdoing lacks the strength to discharge his duty in this regard. The obligation then ceases to be binding upon him, and his concern is confined to his own conduct. He is required only to reject wrongdoing in his heart; so long as he does this, those who go astray cannot harm him.

It is reported that Abū Umāmah said: “I asked Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī, ‘How do you act upon this verse?’ He asked, ‘Which verse?’ I replied:

‘O you who believe, take care of yourselves. Those who go astray cannot harm you if you are rightly guided.’ [al-Mā’idah: 105]

He said to me, ‘By Allah, you have indeed asked someone well informed about it. I asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, about it, and he said: “Rather, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, until you see greed obeyed, desires followed, worldly life preferred, and everyone admiring his own opinion, and you encounter a situation you are powerless to address. Then attend to yourself and beware of involving yourself in the affairs of the masses. Ahead of you lie days when patience will be like grasping live coals. Whoever among them does good deeds at that time will have the reward of fifty men doing deeds like his.”’”

How closely our own time resembles that time! May Allah envelop us in His pardon and forgiveness. But when there are people who will support the truth, no one may remain silent about wrongs or refrain from changing them. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: ‘When people see an oppressor and do not restrain him, Allah may soon afflict them all with punishment.’” Success comes only through Allah.

Section
On Clothing for Men and Women and Related Matters

Clothing falls into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, forbidden,