Question
Is the following narration authentic?
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ما ترك قوم الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر إلا لم ترفع أعمالهم، ولم يسمع دعاؤهم
Answer
Imam Abu Bakr ibn Abid Dunya (rahimahullah) and others have recorded this narration.
(Al Amr Bil Ma’ruf, Hadith: 64, Al ‘Uqubat, Hadith: 35, as part of a longer Hadith)
The chain is extremely weak. Some Muhaddithun have also declared the problematic narrator a liar. However, a similar subject matter is found in other reliable narrations, which are linked below.
(Refer: Mizanul I’tidal, vol. 2 pg. 531, number: 4778 and Taqribut Tahdhib: 4055)
Translation
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) reported that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “When people abandon enjoining good and forbidding evil, their actions will not be raised up [i.e. will not be accepted] and their supplications will not be answered.”
See other suitable Hadiths on this topic here and here.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar