Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I reached the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), he was in a (leather) red tent and about forty men were sitting with him. In another narration: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gathered us, while we were forty individuals. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was the last to arrive. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Victories will be granted to you, you will be helped, and you will acquire spoils of war. Whoever reaches such a time should fear Allah, enjoin good, forbid evil, and maintain ties of kinship. Whoever deliberately lies about me, let him prepare his abode in Hell. The person who helps a people in their falsehood is like a camel that has been thrown into a well and then pulled out by its tail.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Usama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him), he says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection, he will be thrown into Hell, his intestines will come out, and he will begin to circle around them like a donkey circles around a millstone. The people of Hell will gather and say: O so-and-so! Did you not use to command us to do good and forbid us from evil? He will say: Yes, I used to command you to do good, but I did not do it myself, and I used to forbid you from evil, but I did not refrain from it myself.

Sayyiduna Tariq bin Shihab says: The first person who delivered the sermon before the prayer was Marwan. A man stood up and said: O Marwan! You have opposed the Sunnah. He said: O Abu so-and-so! Those matters have been left behind. Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This man has fulfilled his responsibility. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest level of faith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: By Him in Whose hand is my soul! You will certainly enjoin good and certainly forbid evil, otherwise it is near that Allah the Exalted will send upon you a punishment from Himself, and then you will call upon Him, but He will not answer you.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me, and I recognized from his face that something had prompted him to do something. In any case, he performed ablution and went out without speaking to anyone. I came near the chambers and heard him saying: O people! Indeed, Allah Almighty says: Enjoin good and forbid evil before a time comes when you will call upon Me, but I will not answer you; you will ask of Me, but I will not grant you; and you will seek My help, but I will not help you.

Abu Ruqad says: I went out with my master while I was a boy, and when I was brought to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), he was saying: Indeed, in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), a man would say such a thing that because of it he would become a hypocrite, but now I have heard that same thing four times in your gathering. (Listen!) You must certainly enjoin good, forbid evil, and encourage people towards goodness, otherwise Allah Almighty will destroy all of you with punishment, or He will make your worst people your rulers, then your righteous people will supplicate to Allah Almighty, but their supplication will not be accepted.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Ubādah bin Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Strive in jihad for the sake of Allah against people, whether they are near or far; do not care about the blame of any blamer for the sake of Allah, and establish the limits of Allah in residence and on journey.

Syedna Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: None of you should consider himself so insignificant that when he sees a matter in which it is his duty to speak for the sake of Allah Almighty, but he remains silent. Then when Allah Almighty asks him: "What prevented you from speaking at that moment?" he will say: "O my Lord! I was afraid of the people." Allah Almighty will say: "I was more deserving that you should have feared Me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah Almighty will question the servant on the Day of Resurrection about various matters, to the extent that He will even ask: When you saw evil, what prevented you from rejecting it? So when Allah Almighty places its reasoning in His servant’s mind, he will say: O my Lord! I trusted in You and feared the people.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) also narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When a person sees the truth, recognizes it, and hears it, then the fear of people should not prevent him from expressing this truth. Indeed, by speaking the truth or by giving advice regarding a great matter, neither will his death come closer nor will his sustenance be taken away.