Is It Permissible to Consider Someone Evil?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I was wondering if it is acceptable to see a person (Muslim or not) as evil if they have committed a sinful act or if we should merely state that the act is evil and not remark on the person.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

The Quran speaks of people as being evil. However, Allah Most High is aware of each person’s reality, not just what appears outwardly in their acts and character.

Allah Most High says, “Indeed, those who disbelieve from the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the Fire of Hell, to stay there forever. They are the worst of (all) beings.” [Quran, 98:6]

Judging by the Outward

As for us, we can only judge by people’s actions and outward behaviors. At the same time, knowledge of their reality is with Allah Most High.

In light of this, we should avoid making sweeping judgments of people’s realities. However, as you mentioned, evil acts are evil acts and must be called out as such.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.