The blameworthy (munkar) and the rules for forbidding it

Munkar is the opposite of the known good (ma'ruf). In law it is whatever God does not approve in speech or action; the word also names a solitary and unsupported hadith. ¹

All agree that munkar is forbidden, by the Qur'an, the Sunna and consensus; al-Nawawi records consensus that forbidding it is obligatory. The jurists differ on whether the duty is individual, collective or merely recommended. ^{1 2}

The munkar must be forbidden by the law, present in the case (the doer persists), open without spying, and known without disputed reasoning. Al-Ghazali holds that minor sins may be forbidden too. ^{2 3}

Protest is allowed when one is confident it will not lead to harm, and when one is safe for oneself and one's property. Permission of the ruler and the rectitude of the one who forbids are not required in the better-known view. Where the matter is doubtful, the stronger probability decides. ^{3 4}

Munkar is of three kinds: wrongs against God's rights, wrongs against people's rights, and wrongs that involve both. Those against God's rights concern worship, forbidden acts and dealings. ⁴

The degrees are: a reminder; exhortation and warning; rebuke; forcible change by the hand; punishment; and finally appeal to the ruler. ⁵

In mosques: careless prayer, reciting the Qur'an with errors, muezzins competing, preachers mixing innovation with their talk, madmen and children entering, a woman going out perfumed, eating garlic before going. In markets: lying in mark-up sales and hiding defects; selling musical instruments. In streets: obstructions. In baths: pictures and exposure. At hospitality: silk spread for men and the playing of stringed instruments. ^{6 7 8 9}

Al-Ghazali holds that the one who sits at home is not free of wrong by his idleness in guiding people, and that each Muslim begins with himself, then his household, neighbours, quarter, town, and the countryside around, as far as he can. ⁹