Question: In the following narration, does the Prophet (ﷺ) encourage coexistence with a society in which there is evil (those who do not follow his guidance)?

 “Narrated Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman: The people used to ask Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me. Once I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We were in ignorance and in evil, and Allah has bestowed upon us the present good; will there be any evil after this good?" He said, "Yes." I asked, "Will there be good after that evil?" He said, "Yes, but it would be tainted with Dakhan (evil)." I asked, "What will its Dakhan be?" He said, "There will be some people who will lead (people) according to principles other than my tradition. You will see their actions and disapprove of them." I said, "Will there be any evil after that good?" He said, "Yes, there will be some people who will call others to the gates of Hellfire, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it (by them)." I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Describe those people to us." He said, "They will belong to us and speak our language." I asked, "What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my life?" He said, "Adhere to the group of Muslims and their Chief." I asked, "If there is neither a group (of Muslims) nor a chief (what shall I do)?" He said, "Keep away from all those different sects, even if you had to bite (i.e., eat) the root of a tree, till you meet Allah while you are still in that state." Sahih Al-Bukhari 3606.

https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3606

Upon contemplating the narration, it becomes clear that a corrupt belief (ignorance, Jahiliyyah) generates evil in society, while a sound belief (Islam) generates good in society. Furthermore, it also becomes clear that tribulations (fitan) are not a single event, but rather waves. Furthermore, it is evident that Islam - despite some shortcomings arising from erroneous interpretation (الاجتهاد) combined with credibility - can still generate a virtuous society tainted by some evil (Dakhan). This Dakhan is susceptible - in the absence of self-assessment, reform, and credibility - to mutation and transformation into a corrupt society dominated by deluded sects. These sects are governed by whim instead of revelation (evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah), by complexes instead of reed, and by esotericism – lies and deception - instead of transparency, as these sects vary in their extremism and misguidance. So, the narration distinguishes between:

1. The First Society of Evil: The era of absolute evil, before the mission of the Prophet (ﷺ). A society of ignorance, the majority of which is evil.
2. The First Society of Good: The era of absolute good, from the mission of the Prophet (ﷺ) until his death.
3. The Second Society of Evil (The First Major Sedition and Apostasy): Immediately after the death of the Messenger (ﷺ) until the conclusion of the Wars of Apostasy (Riddah) under Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). Here, evil and ignorance reappeared blatantly (false Prophets such as Musaylimah the Liar, Al-Aswad Al-Ansi, Sajah, and others).
4. The Second Society of Good with Some Evil (Dakhan): Continues since the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate onwards. It is a pious Muslim society containing immense good, but interspersed with several divisions and ideological tribulations, including:

• A Hidden Sedition: The assassination of the Rightly Guided Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He was an impenetrable barrier against any tribal or divisive tendencies. His awe, wisdom, and justice suppressed the latent seeds of evil in society. His murder was not an ordinary incident; rather, it opened a breach in the political immunity of the ‘Ummah’ (the Islamic Nation) and marked the beginning of the end for the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate.
• The Second Major Sedition: The assassination of the Rightly Guided Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) and the ensuing divisions and struggle over the caliphate. The sedition began with the killing of Umar (as a sign) and exploded with the killing of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them both), persisting and leaving deep scars on the body of the ‘Ummah’.
• Continuation of the Second Major Sedition: The tribulation of internal strife, and the Battles of the Camelالجَمَل and Siffin الصِّفِّين, and the assassination of the Rightly Guided Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
• The Sedition of Theological Sects: The emergence of the Qadariyy القدرية , Murji'ah المرجئة, Mu'tazilah المعتزلة, Khawarij الخوارج, and others.

As we see, the Second Society of Good is intermingled with the ‘Dakhan’ of divisions, creedal errors, and methodological deviations (guidance other than the guidance of the Prophet, ﷺ) - with good intentions and credibility - where truth mixes with falsehood. This requires the Muslim to distinguish and debate them (you recognize from them and disapprove). But the Messenger (ﷺ) did not classify this society as "callers to the gates of Hellfire," nor did he command us to boycott it despite the ‘Dakhan’ within it; rather, he called us to fairness:

1. Acknowledging the good within it (see their actions) and,
2. Condemning – debating - the deviation and evil within it (disapprove of them).

Then we find a completely different stance towards societies of the third evil, which arose from bad intentions, outright denial/rejection (juhūd, جحود), lies and deception, not erroneous interpretation (ijtihad). In these societies, extremist deviant sects are active - such as the Nawāṣib النَّوَاصِب and extremist Shiites - and spread evil within the community. They are the ones whom the Prophet (ﷺ) classified as “callers to the gates of Hellfire”. The Messenger (ﷺ) did not leave us without describing the remedy for their affliction, advising us to achieve unity and stability through adherence to the community of Muslims - religiously - and their neutral leader - politically - and by keeping away from those sects (all of them). This Prophetic remedy, if it indicates anything, necessarily indicates that one of the most important attributes of "those who call to the gates of Hellfire" is that they do not adhere to the community of Muslims nor to their Imam (leader)!!

In fact, neglecting to forbid evil makes the ‘Dakhan’ (evil/impurities) in the virtuous society susceptible to gradual growth and transformation into “extremism” and  - callers to the gates of Hellfire - so that society becomes mostly evil for the people. This precise understanding highlights:

1. The wisdom of Prophetic legislation in dealing with varying degrees of deviation.
2. Balancing societal unity with treating misguidance through risk assessment, according to the conditions set by Omar and the understanding of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud and Abu Dharr Al-Gafari (may Allah be pleased with them.
3. A gradual approach in rectification based on the severity of deviation.

Let us now return to the question of this inquiry: Does the Prophet (ﷺ) - in the narration – encourage coexistence with a society that contains “Dakhan” (those who do not adhere to his guidance)?

The answer is: Yes! The Prophet (ﷺ) - in order to ward off discord - encourages the community that adheres to the collective and its neutral leadership to coexist through sincere and frank dialogue - by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong - with those among them who hold “Dakhan” and ideas that do not follow his Sunnah and guidance, provided this dialogue does not lead to the sword and the undermining of stability. This approach explains Umar ibn al-Khattab's restriction of the Muhajireen's opinions by confining them to Medina to prevent sedition, and explains Uthman ibn Affan's restriction of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari's opinions by confining him to Rabdha - may Allah be pleased with them - just as it explains Ali ibn Abi Talib's - may Allah be pleased with him - coexistence with the misguided ideas of the Haroriyyah الحَرُورِيَّة until they rose against him and imposed their ideas by the sword, so he similarly confronted them with the sword.

It remains to be clarified, dear reader, that the objective of such inquiries is not merely knowledge for the sake of acquisition alone. Rather, the goal is to follow the methodology of the noble Companion Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) - the risk management expert - to purify thought and ward off tribulations from oneself, close associates, family, and friends. Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali said in his epistle "O Child, أيها الولد”: "Knowledge without action is madness, and action without knowledge is impossible." And truthful is the one who said: "Knowledge acquired merely for acquisition's sake, without practical application, is merely ego’s intellectual masturbation."