And for this reason it has been said: “Let your enjoining of right be done rightly, and your forbidding of wrong be free of wrongdoing.”

Since enjoining right and forbidding wrong are among the greatest obligatory or recommended acts, their benefit must outweigh their harm, as must be the case with all obligatory and recommended acts. For this purpose the messengers were sent and the Scriptures revealed. Allah does not love corruption; rather, everything Allah commands is good. In numerous passages, Allah has praised righteousness, those who set things right, and those who believe and do righteous deeds, while condemning corruption and those who spread it.

Thus, whenever the harm caused by enjoining right and forbidding wrong outweighs its benefit, it is not something Allah has commanded, even if an obligation has been neglected and a forbidden act committed. For a believer must fear Allah in his dealings with Allah’s servants; he is not responsible for guiding them. This is part of the meaning of His words, Most High: “O