Ibn Daud - A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine

CHAPTER 3
BLAMEWORTHY
MODESTY
Blameworthy
Modesty
التَواضُعُ‏ املَلْؤُوم al-Malūm] [At-Tawā}u'
In general, modesty is something praised in Islām and is considered
virtuous. The type of modesty that becomes blameworthy is that
which prevents one from criticising clear brutality or corruption. This
form of modesty results in shyness at an unsuitable time, when one
instead needs to be direct and courageous. Something blameworthy
(munkar) is wrong regardless of the status of the wrongdoer,
whether he or she is a close relative or a person normally held in
high regard.
Apart from preventing a person from avoiding munkar, unwarranted
or blameworthy modesty is also the failure to seek sacred
knowledge.
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