How do we know when we should report violations of Jama‘at policies and when we should overlook them?

The Jama‘at reprimands erring members according to common sense principles, a framework of which we find in 16:91 of the Holy Quran. Therein, Allah Almighty has divided evil actions into three categories of escalating harm (Tafsir-e-Kabir, vol. 4, p. 222, 16:92). First are fahsha’, evil actions that only the person doing them is aware of, second are munkar, evil actions that others see as well but are victimless crimes, and third are bagh’y, public evils where others are harmed and influenced. As a person’s actions escalate through these categories, the need for disciplinary action increases. This is a principle we commonly observe in life.

For example, if a student is daydreaming in class and not paying attention, he is hurting only himself; he is not distracting anyone else because no one other than the teacher can tell he is distracted. The teacher has no urgent need to reprimand him and could just speak with him after class. This would fall under the first category of fahsha’.

If a student puts his head down and falls asleep in class, he would not only be hurting himself but would indirectly be hurting others by setting a bad example. The teacher would now have more of an urgent need to reprimand him because if his behavior is permitted, other students might think there is nothing wrong with sleeping in class and would start to follow. This would fall under the second category of munkar.

If a student starts talking to other students in class, not only would he be hurting himself, and not only would he be setting a bad example, but he would also be directly hurting others. The teacher now has a very urgent need to reprimand him because if his behavior is permitted, it will directly hurt the whole class and discipline would deteriorate. This would fall under the third category of bagh’y.

Similarly, when we see someone doing something wrong, we can decide whether to report it based on this verse. If it is something that affects only the person himself, it may be better to try and help him our- selves. However, if it is something that is having a bad effect on others or is reflecting negatively on the Jama‘at, then it may be our responsibility to report it. For example, if an Ahmadi dances to music at home,

we could advise them that this isn’t Islamic behavior. But if an Ahmadi has dancing and music at his wedding, if we do not object, leave, and report what happened, it can motivate other Ahmadis to do the same, and it can reflect negatively on the Jama‘at.

This verse provides a simple but profound principle that we can use as a guide in such situations.