How does a Muslim know if another Muslim is sinning?

"If you wish to live free from harm
with untainted faith and unblemished honor
Keep your tongue away from the flaws of others
For you yourself are full of flaws,
and people have tongues.

And if your eyes fall upon the sins of others
Shield them and say:
"O my eye! People have eyes too!"
Be graceful, forgive those who wronged you,
And repel evil with the best of deeds. "

-Imam Shafi'ee

We have been ordered to forbid evil and enjoin good.


You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.

Qur'aan 3"110


We have also been told to use hikmah (wisdom) to call towards the way of our Lord.


Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.

Qur'aan 16:125




If you see someone do something which is un-Islamic, you are to forbid it. However, as you have pointed out, there are times when there is more than meets the eye. In such cases, it is best to proceed with caution.

Talk to the person.

Get him to open up about why he is doing what he is doing. That will tell you if he is ignorant about the ruling or has a valid excuse. Then, you can proceed to forbid evil and enjoin good.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: It should be known that Allaah, may He be exalted and glorified, is Wise in His commands and prohibitions. He does not command anything except that which is in peoples best interests and He does not forbid anything except that which is harmful. People may or may not come to understand the reasons behind these commands and prohibitions, although Allaah has His Wisdom in any given issue. Having said that, it is still not right to make following a command or prohibition dependent upon knowing the wisdom behind it; rather we should hasten to carry out the commands of shareeah, regardless of whether the wisdom behind it is clear to us or not. If it is clear, then praise be to Allaah, and if it is not, then the Muslim should not let the fact that he does not know it prevent him from acting in accordance with the ruling of shareeah. This is true submission to the command of Allaah, and Islam means submission to Allaah, may He be exalted, and obeying Him. If a person makes his actions dependent on understanding matters which may or may not convince him, he is in effect following his own thoughts and desires, not his Lord and Master.

The above does not mean that it is not important to look for the wisdom behind the rules of shareeah, or that doing so is forbidden, but we should not make knowing the reasons a condition for acting upon the ruling.

Secondly: there is no connection between things that are prohibited in this world and those that are allowed in the Hereafter. It is not correct to think of the Hereafter as being like this world; each realm has its own rules and laws. It is not correct to suggest that something is permitted in this world on the basis that it is permitted in Paradise or in the Hereafter, otherwise we would end up allowing things that we know from the basics of Islam are forbidden, such as drinking wine, taking more than four wives, singing etc. On this basis, the confusion reflected in the question about silk being forbidden in this world although it is permitted in Paradise should be cleared up.

format_quote Originally Posted by Constantineman

I’m a non-Muslim and I didn’t know this too much at all. What if a Muslim knows the person who wears silk and the person wears silk because of skin problems, will he say I will tell people if they judge you he has an exemption to the silk is haram rule, he is not sinning if they say he is to defend him?

If someone notices it he might say something as a reminder, and there's nothing wrong with that. In terms of wearing silk itself, it depends on the skin problems and whether they can be rectified with something else. Because if the problem can be solved in some other way, then the silk is still forbidden. It would have to be a last resort to wear it. Never heard of a doctor prescribing silk for skin conditions though, so this is something he would have to explain if someone questioned him about it. Best for him to seek out a scholar if he's not sure.

format_quote Originally Posted by Constantineman

Why would he forbid things in this world but not the afterlife?

Greeting

Hereafter is different world, it's not same as this world. In Jannah, there won't be any evilness, no jealousy, no hatred, no anger, no sadness, no worry. only this world has such things, Allah created them to test us. He gave us limited body, limited strength, we are all helpless and weak and need Him, while He doesn't need us. it is His creations, which needs Him. We depend on Him, while He is Indepedent Being. When He sends calamity to us, we need to turn back to Him, and must never forget Him when we are finally free of the calamities.

in this world. Allah is testing us, whether we are obedient or disobedient to Him. He gave us free will, ability to commit sins.

if we commit good, it is for our benefits, but if we commit sins, it is our loss. Allah does not need us.

Some forbidden things like wine and silk (for man only) are made halal in Jannah. Wine in this world have alcohol in it, which can make the drinker drunk, thus he ends up commiting corruptions. Drunk driving, killing people while drunk, raping etc, all these happens even still today. This is sign of Allah, the All-Wise. Silk is allowed for man who have skin problems and have no choice but to wear silk. Silk is femninine thing. But since Jannah is different place, it is different.

Allah knows best.

Reminding, advising, pointing out something which is wrong according to Islam, is ok and not considered judgement. We shouldn't get upset if someone advises us. Islam encourages us to remind each other of wrongdoing or helping one another stay on the correct path, especially when its done in a kind manner. If I told you you're doing something wrong and you're going to end up in Hell in the end, that's judgement, and it's not our place to do that to anyone because we don't know where a person's final abode is. These are of course separate from the judgement of committing crime which have repercussions and consequences on their own due to legislations of the land.

format_quote Originally Posted by Ümit

the answer to this qurstion is not that easy to explain and even more complicated to understand if you have little knowledge about Islam. It is a long story about free choice and predestination etc.
In short...God is omnipotent...He already knows the outcome so He does not need to test us...but...
long before we were born in this world we already existed and we were asked "am I not your God?"
and we answered "kealu balaa!" (no you are!). the kealu balaa covenant.
when we were born in this world that event has been erased from our memory...so we do not remember.
It is easy to believe in Him when He stays in front of us...so here we are in this world ... we seek our way to God on our own...we make certain decisions...good or bad...we take actions good or bad
and by doing so, we make ourselves witnesses of our own decisions...actions...and spoken words...
this test is not for God...it is for us...
in the end everything boils down to: did we really believe in God or not? our permanent destination (heaven or hell) is dependant on that.

agreed..