your Lord, and do not be like the companion of the whale.”
Surah al-Qalam, 48

And He said:
“Be patient, and your patience is only through Allah.”
Surah al-Nahl, 127

And He said:
“And be patient, for Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.”
Surah Hūd, 115

These three qualities are therefore indispensable: knowledge, gentleness, and patience. Knowledge must precede enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; gentleness must accompany it; and patience must follow it—although all three must remain present throughout these stages.

This accords with a report from some of the early generations, also transmitted as traced back to the Prophet, which Judge Abū Yaʿlā mentioned in al-Muʿtamad:
“Only someone who understands what he enjoins and what he forbids, is gentle in what he enjoins and what he forbids, and is forbearing in what he enjoins and what he forbids should enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.”

It should be understood that requiring these qualities when enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong makes this duty difficult for many people. A person may therefore imagine that he is relieved of the duty and abandon it. Yet this may harm him more than undertaking it without these qualities would, or it may harm him less. Neglecting the obligatory duty of enjoining what is right is a sin, and committing what is forbidden while doing so is also a sin. Thus, one who moves from one sin to