Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (15/157)

He—may Allah be pleased with him—was asked about the words of Allah Most High:

“Say, ‘This is my way: I call to Allah with clear insight—I and those who follow me.’”

Is this call a general obligation incumbent upon every Muslim man and woman, or not? Does enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong fall within this call, or not? Whether or not they fall within it, are they duties incumbent upon every individual Muslim, as mentioned above? If they are obligatory, are they obligatory without qualification, even when they entail hardship? May someone who enjoins what is right and forbids what is wrong exact retribution from a person who harms him for doing so, lest that person be emboldened to transgress against the truth? If he may do so, is refraining from it always preferable, or not?

He—may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment—answered:

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Calling to Allah means calling people to believe in Him and in what His messengers brought, by believing what they reported and obeying what they commanded. This includes calling people to the two testimonies of faith, establishing prayer, giving zakat, fasting Ramadan, and performing pilgrimage to the House; and calling them to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers,

سُئِلَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: عَنْ قَوْله تَعَالَى {قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي} ؟ وَهَلْ الدَّعْوَةُ عَامَّةٌ تَتَعَيَّنُ فِي حَقِّ كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ وَمُسْلِمَةٍ أَمْ لَا؟ وَهَلْ الْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيُ عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ دَاخِلٌ فِي هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ أَمْ لَا وَإِذَا كَانَا دَاخِلَيْنِ أَوْ لَمْ يَكُونَا فَهَلْ هُمَا مِنْ الْوَاجِبَاتِ عَلَى كُلِّ فَرْدٍ مِنْ أَفْرَادِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ أَمْ لَا؟ وَإِذَا كَانَا وَاجِبَيْنِ فَهَلْ يَجِبَانِ مُطْلَقًا مَعَ وُجُودِ الْمَشَقَّةِ بِسَبَبِهِمَا أَمْ لَا؟ وَهَلْ لِلْآمِرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهِي عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ أَنْ يَقْتَصَّ مِنْ الْجَانِي عَلَيْهِ إذَا آذَاهُ فِي ذَلِكَ لِئَلَّا يُؤَدِّيَ إلَى طَمَعٍ مِنْهُ فِي جَانِبِ الْحَقِّ أَمْ لَا؟ وَإِذَا كَانَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ فَهَلْ تَرْكُهُ أَوْلَى مُطْلَقًا أَمْ لَا؟ . فَأَجَابَ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَأَرْضَاهُ -: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، الدَّعْوَةُ إلَى اللَّهِ هِيَ الدَّعْوَةُ إلَى الْإِيمَانِ بِهِ وَبِمَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ رُسُلُهُ بِتَصْدِيقِهِمْ فِيمَا أَخْبَرُوا بِهِ وَطَاعَتِهِمْ فِيمَا أَمَرُوا وَذَلِكَ يَتَضَمَّنُ الدَّعْوَةَ إلَى الشَّهَادَتَيْنِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءَ الزَّكَاةِ وَصَوْمَ رَمَضَانَ وَحَجَّ الْبَيْتِ وَالدَّعْوَةَ إلَى الْإِيمَانِ بِاَللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ،