Law of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices
Scope of Application
Article Four: This law applies to all offices, public places, and individuals residing within the territory of Afghanistan.

Authority of Implementation

Article Five: The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices and Receiving Complaints is the authority responsible for implementing the provisions of this law.

Establishing Virtue and Prevention of Vice
Article Six:

1. The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and Receiving Complaints is obligated to command good and forbid evil in accordance with Islamic Sharia and Hanafi jurisprudence.
2. The Ministry is also responsible for ensuring peace and brotherhood among people and preventing them from tribal, linguistic, and factional prejudices.

Restricting the Establishment of virtue and Changing Vice
Article Seven: Anyone with the capacity can command good and forbid evil, but the specific responsibility is assigned to the overseer.

Abbreviation
Article Eight: From now on, Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and Receiving Complaints will be referred to as the "Ministry" in this law.

Articles 4–8 of the law codify the Taliban's religious authority as binding across all institutions and individuals within Afghanistan, marking a full merger of state power with religious enforcement. By centralizing control in the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the decree eliminates local discretion or pluralistic interpretation of ethics, imposing uniform Hanafi legal standards nationwide. The law permits all individuals to “command good and forbid evil,” but reserves formal enforcement for designated overseers—creating both a state apparatus and societal culture of surveillance. While the text gestures at preventing tribal or linguistic prejudice, it embeds religious conformity as a legal mandate, raising critical concerns under international human rights law regarding freedom of religion, expression, and non-discrimination.