Nahī ʿan al-munkar (forbidding what is wrong) is strongly attached to īmān; your level of īmān will determine your ability (or lack thereof) to forbid evil – even if it is a simple disapproval of something in your heart.
In a Ḥadīth, “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.” An-Nawawī, ḥadīth 34.
(Note: changing something with your hand comes with a condition of having authority to do so.)
Allāh the most Exalted describes the ṣaḥāba in the Qur ʾān by calling them the best of people. Right after Allāh calls them the best of people, He describes a trait of theirs that earned them this honour.
You are the best nation produced (as an example) for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allāh. – Āle- ʿImrān:110
They were the best nation; they enjoined good and forbade what was wrong.
Islām, unlike other faiths, teaches you to look out for yourself AND for those around you; your family, neighbours, friends, and your community – not just in this world, but you look out for their Ākhira as well; you do what you can to try and save them from Hell fire.
This simple formula of enjoining good and forbidding evil is what will see your success and that of your society,
And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful. – Āle- ʿImrān:104
So enjoin good and forbid what is wrong, but do so wisely, gently, with ʿilm, AND unapologetically. Don’t turn people off their dīn, but be firm in your beliefs. Forbidding what is wrong does not mean you are questioning or judging everyone (and their mother’s) intention. Sure there needs to be a whole lot of tact when doing this, so learn it. Learn from the sīrah of the righteous of the past eras.
Sadly, in our times, a person can’t seem to advise against an unislāmic act without people jumping down his/her throat with pitchforks and screams of, “ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE MEH!”
Jokes aside, this attitude has put people off of what Allāh commands us to do, people are simply too scared of being labelled judgemental and snotty and stuck up to speak out and advise. Be unapologetic!
Wrap your mind around the fact that an act contrary to Islāmic teachings cannot stem from a good intention.
Be honoured by your dīn.
“There is no goodness in a people who do not advise, and there is no goodness in a people who do not like being advised.” Omar b. al-Khaṭṭāb
[In: al-Istiqāmah fī Mā ʾah Ḥadīth Nabawī, p. 148].
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