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Hadith · Forty Ḥadīth of an-Nawawī 34
On the authority of Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “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.” [Muslim]
Forty Ḥadīth of an-Nawawī 34
The Prophet ﷺ described three tiers of responding to wrong — hand, tongue, heart — the last being the weakest faith.
Sahih Muslim
Recorded in Sahih Muslim, whose reports scholars accept as authentic. Hadith scholars grade how reliably the words reach us from the Prophet ﷺ. This is a separate question from the ruling drawn from it.
Muslim gives the occasion: when Marwan put the Eid sermon before the prayer and a man objected, Abu Sa'id said, "This man has done what was upon him," and then narrated the hadith.
Forbidding wrong is a communal obligation (fard kifayah) on those able to do it, by hand, by tongue or at least in the heart, so long as changing it does not lead to a greater harm.
How each of the four madhhabs treats the ruling drawn from this hadith.
| Madhhab | Position |
|---|---|
| HanafiAgrees | A communal obligation on the able; it becomes binding on an individual who alone knows of the wrong and can change it. |
| MalikiAgrees | A communal obligation on the able, provided it does not lead to a greater harm; changing by hand belongs mainly to those with authority. |
| Shafi'iAgrees | A communal obligation on the able; disapproval in the heart is never waived. |
| HanbaliAgrees | A communal obligation on the able, provided the attempt does not cause a greater harm; disapproval in the heart is always required. |
These gradings summarise classical hadith scholarship and the positions of the four schools. They are pending review by a qualified scholar; for your own situation, ask one.
Explained for
Same text. The explanation below changes.
It gives a measured framework for standing against harm.
When is speaking up the right level, and when is it not?
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