There is an ongoing battle between two sides: the faction of guidance and the faction of misguidance. Thus, Allah (swt) says:
(… يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ لَا يَضُرُّكُم مَّن ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ ) (O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided …): And Allah (swt) says as well:
وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
(Let there be a group among you who call (others) to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil—it is they who will be successful) (Ali-Imran: 104)
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ
(Except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance) (Al-Asr: 3)
And the Prophet (saws) said:
“Religion is sincerity, (Al-Nasihah).” They said; “To whom, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “To Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, to the imams of the Muslims and to their common folk.”[1]
A person might think that the meaning from the noble verse is that he is only responsible for his own affairs and not of his community’s. However, this verse does not mean at all this, as explained by Sayyidina Abu Bakr As-Siddiq when he ascended the pulpit and said: “O people, verily, you recite this verse: (O you who have believed, upon you is (responsibility for) yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided) and verily, I have heard the Messenger (saws) say:
“When the people see the wrongdoer, and they do not stop him (from doing wrong), then it is soon that Allah shall envelope them in a punishment.”[2]
So here, we find ourselves amid an important issue. The Messenger (saws) has said:
“Comply with (and order) the good and stay away from (and prohibit) the evil, until you see avarice obeyed, desires followed, and the world preferred, and everyone is amazed with his view. Then you must mind your own business and leave the common folk to their own devices. Ahead of you are the days in which patience is like holding onto an ember, for the doer (of righteous deeds) during them is the like of the reward of fifty of those who do the like of what you do”[3]
We can see that enjoining good and prohibiting evil is something which is required for us to do. Likewise, we are to remind each other of the truth and patience. However, it is not upon us to be hard on ourselves when people are not guided by us, if we see that we are not harmed by it. This indicates to us that there is no compulsion in religion. On us is to covey and inform of goodness and truth.
Likewise, when we read this Prophetic hadith:
“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”[4]
We must understand that the part about changing it with the hands refers to the one who has control over the one he is advising, such as having state control or fatherly control. Thus, a person is able to change evil he sees in his house, even with his hands, such as prohibiting cigarettes in it, for example. However, a person on the road who sees another person committing acts of disobedience or smoking cigarettes cannot come up to him and punch him in the face! This understanding has been distorted by the Wahhabis. Therefore, a person without any authority over another person can only change evil he sees from him with his tongue, i.e., by advising nicely. If he is unable to do this, then, he must dislike it in his heart, as informed by the Prophet (saws).
[1] Sahih Muslim, The Book of Faith, Chapter of explaining that the Religion is Sincerity, Hadith No. 55.
[2] Sunan at-Tirmidhi: The Book of Quran Explanation, Chapter of Surah al-Maida, Hadith No. 3057.
[3] Sunan at-Tirmidhi: The Book of Quran Explanation, Chapter of Surah al-Maida, Hadith No. 3058.
[4] Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter 20, hadith No. 49.