Sahih Muslim — Hadith 49
Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri
مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ
Translation
The Prophet said: 'Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.'
Commentary
This hadith establishes a three-tiered framework for social responsibility in Islam. The highest level is direct action (changing evil by hand — through authority or physical intervention), followed by verbal opposition (speaking against it), and finally internal rejection (condemning it in one's heart). The descending order reflects both capability and circumstance. Critically, even passive internal disapproval is presented as a minimum requirement of faith — no believer may be indifferent to injustice. Imam al-Nawawi included this as Hadith 34 in his famous 'Forty Hadith' collection, calling it 'a great foundation of Islam.' This hadith is one of the most frequently cited narrations in discussions of civic responsibility, social justice, and the obligation to speak truth to power.