108 – ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Maryam related to me, from Ibn Yazīd al-Raqqī, who said:

I asked Fudayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, “Tell me: if I see a policeman, an armed man, or a ruler committing injustice, am I to forbid him?” He replied, “If you are able, then do so.” I said, “As for speaking out ( … ), I fear the consequences.” He said, “If you can protect yourself, then speak—provided you bring no harm upon any Muslim. I am not telling you to speak in a way that fills your family, your neighbours, and everyone who knows you with fear. It may be that one of your neighbours has nothing but the earnings of his own two hands; if you alarm him, his dependants will be ruined. And it could be that your words bring no benefit to the Muslims at all: you utter a single sentence, then you extend your hands only to have them bound to your neck, and they will treat you according to what you have set in motion.”