When [showing] respect is of no benefit then humiliation is firmer...
When [showing] respect is of no benefit then humiliation is firmer; when the whip is not successful then the sword is sharper. 7ـ إذا لَمْ تَنْفَعِ الكَرامَةُ فَالإهانَةُ أحْزَمُ، وَإذا لَمْ يَنجَحِ السَّوْطُ فَالسَّيفُ أحْسَمُ. He (‘a) said regarding those who enjoin good and forbid evil: From among them there is one who disapproves of evil with his hand, tongue and heart. He is the one who has perfectly attained [all the] virtuous qualities.
And among them there is one who disapproves of evil with his tongue and heart but not with his hand. He is the one who has attained only two virtuous qualities but lacks one. And among them there is the third one who disapproves of evil with his heart but not with his tongue and hand. He is the one who lacks the two better qualities out of three and possesses only one. Then, among them there is he who does not disapprove of evil with his tongue, heart or hand.
He is just [like] a dead man among the living. All the virtuous deeds, including fighting in the way of Allah, when compared to the act of enjoining good and forbidding evil, are just like drops in the ocean. Enjoining good and forbidding evil does not bring death nearer, nor does it decrease sustenance. And better than all this is a just word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler.
Enjoining good [was prescribed] as a reformation for the common people, and forbidding evil as a restriction for the insolent. 9ـ والأمرَ بِالمَعرُوفِ مَصْلَحةً لِلْعَوامِّ، والنَّهيَ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ رَدْعاً لِلسُّفَهاءِ. Be one who invites towards good, dissuades from evil, builds ties with those who cut him off and gives to those who deprive him.