Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

Opponents of "enjoining good and forbidding evil" (al-amr bi'l-maʿrūf wa'l-nahy ʿani'l-munkar) strive to portray this religious duty as an unethical and anti-social act. Their arguments cite consequences such as imposing one's own values on others, judging others, intruding into people's private affairs, polarizing society, creating discord and conflict within the community, and provoking negative emotional reactions, among others. Therefore, it is essential to elucidate the ethical and sociological foundations of enjoining good and forbidding evil. The goal is to re-frame this duty not as an unethical or anti-social practice, but as one grounded in solid ethical and sociological principles. To this end, the present research employs a descriptive-analytical method to identify these foundations. The criterion for selecting the *ethical* foundations was the innate and universal nature of the traits, while the criterion for the *sociological* foundations was their fundamental and infrastructural role for social life. The findings indicate that enjoining good and forbidding evil is underpinned by ethical foundations such as *ghayrah* (protective zeal), compassion, dignity, and the pursuit of justice. Furthermore, its sociological foundations include social conformity, social monitoring, social cohesion, and social responsibility.