It is said "A person is held responsible for what he knows." Can a person tell what he knows anywhere, or does he have to?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

Every Muslim has to act in accordance with what he knows. To do/practice something means tabligh. Therefore, a person who practices Islam conveys the message of Islam with his deeds, fulfilling the duty of tabligh.

It is also a duty to convey the message of Islam with the tongue. However, there are some rules that have to be taken into consideration while doing it.

Every Muslim has to fulfill his duty. The status of a person in a community lays some responsibilities on him. Every Muslim is held responsible based on his status and position. We can view the issue through the following hadith:

“When you see a mischief, change it with your hands if you can; but if not, try with your tongue; if it does not work either, disapprove it with your heart.” (Tirmidhi, Fitan, 11; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 20; Abu Dawud, Salah, 242)

That hadith may not be interpreted by every person depending on their own understanding. For example, if we see something wrong on the street and dare to change it with our hands and beat the wrongdoer, and if the man sues us, then a punishment will be applied on us. So, in what way should we understand the hadith?

It is the duty of the authorized people, that is, the state and the security forces to correct the mistakes by hand, the duty of the scholars to correct it with tongue and the duty of the others to disapprove it with the heart.

Besides, the place and time of tabligh and the state of the addressee are also important.

Accordingly, we can summarize what you need to do as follows:

To show the beauties of Islam with your lifestyle, to love people and to give people advice if it is not harmful.

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