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Dealing with and correcting mistakes is also a part of sin-cerity
in religion (naseehah) which is a duty on all Mus-lims.
The connection between this and the concept of en-joining
what is good and forbidding what is evil, which
is also a duty, is quite obvious (but we should note that
the area of mistakes is broader than the area of evil
(munkar), so a mistake may or may not be evil as such).
Correcting mistakes also formed a part of the wahy (reve-lation)
and the methodology of the Qur`aan. The Qur`aan
brought commands and prohibitions, approvals and de-nunciations
and correction of mistakes – even those on
the part of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). So it included rebukes and pointing out of
mistakes, for example (interpretation of the meaning):
“(The Prophet) frowned and turned away. Because
there came to him the blind man [(Abd-Allaah ibn
Umm Maktoom, whilst he was preaching to one or
some of the chiefs of Quraysh]. But what could tell
you that perchance he might become pure (from
sins). Or that he might receive admonition, and that
the admonition might profit him? As for him who
thinks himself self-sufficient. To him you attend.
What does it matter to you if he will not become
pure (from disbelief, you are only a Messenger, your
duty is to convey the Message of Allaah). But as to
him who came to you running, And is afraid (of Al-laah
and His Punishment), Of him you are neglect-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-5-2048.jpg)
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ful and divert your attention to another.” [(Abasa
678-86]
“And remember when you (Muhammad) said to him
(Zayd ibn Haarithah – the freed slave of the Prophet)
on whom Allaah has bestowed Grace (by guiding
him to Islam) and you (too) have done a favour (by
freeing him), (Keep your wife to yourself and fear
Allaah.’ But you did hide in yourself (what Allaah
had already made known to you – i.e. that He will
give her to you in marriage) that which Allaah will
make mainfest, you did fear the people whereas Al-laah
had a better right that you should fear Him…”
[al-Ah?aab @@7@]
“Not for you (O Muhammad) is the decision; wheth-er
He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes
them; verily, they are the ?aalimoon (polytheists,
disobedient, wrong-doers, etc.).” [Aali (Imraan @78$]
Qur`aan was also revealed to correct the mistakes of
some of the Sahaabah in some situations. When Haatib
ibn Abi Balta‘ah (may Allaah be pleased with him) made
the mistake of writing to the kuffaar of Quraysh and in-forming
them of the direction in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) headed on a
military campaign against them, Allaah revealed the
words (interpretation of the meaning):](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-6-2048.jpg)
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“O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your
enemies (i.e., disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as
friends, showing affection towards them, while they
have disbelieved in what has come to you of the
truth, and have driven out the Messenger and your-selves
(from your homeland) because you believe in
Allaah your Lord! If you have come forth to strive in
My Cause and to seek My Good Pleasure, (then take
not these disbelievers and polytheists, etc., as your
friends). You show friendship to them in secret,
while I am All-Aware of what you conceal and what
you reveal. And whosoever of you (Muslims) does
that, then indeed he has gone (far) astray, (away)
from the Straight Path.” [al-Mumtahinah %678]
Concerning the mistake made by the archers at the battle
of Uhud, who left the position where the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had commanded
them to stay, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of
the meaning):
“… until (the moment) you lost your courage and
fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed af-ter
He showed you (of the booty) which you love.
Among you are some that desire this world and
some that desire the Hereafter…” [Aali (Imraan
@78'$]
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) stayed away from his wives in order to discip-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-7-2048.jpg)
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line them, and some people spread rumours that he had
divorced them, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation
of the meaning):
“When there comes to them some matter touching
(public) safety or fear, they make it known (among
the people), if only they had referred it to the Mes-senger
or to those charged with authority among
them, the proper investigators would have unders-tood
it from them (directly)…” [al-Nisa´ G7@]
When some of the Muslims failed to migrate from Mak-kah
to Madeenah with no legitimate excuse, Allaah re-vealed
the words (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily! As for those whom the nagels take (in
death) while they are wronging themselves (as they
stayed among the disbelievers even though emigra-tion
was obligatroy for them), they (angels) say (to
them)7 (In what (condition) were you?’ They reply7
(We were weak and oppressed on earth.’ They (an-gels)
say7 (Was not the earth of Allaah spacious
enough for you to emigrate therein?’ …” [al-Nisa´
G7IJ]
When some of the Sahaabah believed and repeated the
rumours of the munaafiqeen accusing ‘Aa`ishah of some-thing
she was innocent of, Allaah revealed aayaat con-cerning
this lie, including (interpretation of the meaning):](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-8-2048.jpg)
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“Had it not been for the Grace of Allaah and His
Mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a
great torment would have touched you for that whe-reof
you had spoken. When you were propagating it
with your tongues and uttering with your mouths
that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it
a little thing, while with Allaah it was very great.”
[al-Noor $G78G]
Then Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And why did you not, when you heard it, say – (It
is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You
(O Allaah), this is a great lie’? Allaah forbids you
from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it for-ever,
if you are believers.” [an-Noor $G78%-8J]
When some of the Sahaabah argued in the presence of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and raised their voices, Allaah revealed (interpretation of
the meaning):
“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) for-ward
before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Al-laah.
Verily! Allaah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O
you who believe! Raise not your voices above the
voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk
as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds
may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not.”
[al-HuLuraat GI78-$]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-9-2048.jpg)
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When the caravan came at the time of the Friday khut-bah,
and some of the people left the khutbah and dis-persed
to engage in trade, Allaah revealed the words:
“And when they see some merchandise or some
amusement, they disperse headlong to it, and leave
you (Muhammad) standing [while delivering the
Friday khutbah]. Say7 (That which Allaah has is bet-ter
than any amusement or merchandise! And Allaah
is the Best of Providers.’ ”[al-Jumu(ah %$788]
Many other examples also indicate the importance of cor-recting
mistakes and not keeping quiet about them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
was guided by the Light of his Lord in following the
principle of denouncing evil and correcting mistakes
with no compromise. From this and other reports the
scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) derived the
principle: it is not permitted for the Prophet to delay
speaking up and explaining mistakes from its appropri-ate
time.”
Understanding the Prophet’s methodology in dealing
with the mistakes of the people he met is of great impor-tance,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was guided by his Lord, and his words and
deeds were supported by revelation, and confirmed or
corrected as needed. His methods are wiser and more ef-ficacious,
and using his approach is the best way to get](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-10-2048.jpg)
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Points to be Noted when Dealing with Mis-takes
Before we embark on our discussion we should note
some issues and considerations that we should bear in
mind before and when dealing with and correcting the
mistakes of others.
Sincerity towards Allaah
When correcting the mistakes of others, it is essential that
one’s intention be to earn the pleasure of Allaah, not to
demonstrate one's superiority or to vent one’s anger or to
impress others.
Al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported
from Shufayy al-Asbahi that he entered Madeenah and
saw a man with people gathered around him. He asked,
“Who is this?” They said, “Abu Hurayrah.” [Shufayy
said:] “So I approached him and sat down in front of
him. He was speaking to the people, and when he fi-nished
and they had gone away, I said to him, ‘I ask you
by Allaah, to narrate to me a hadeeth that you heard
from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and understood fully.’ Abu Huray-rah
said, ‘I will do that, I will tell you a hadeeth I heard
from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-13-2048.jpg)
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Qur`aan], (Did I not teach you that which I had re-vealed
to My Messenger?’ He will say, (Of course,
My Lord.’ Allaah will say, (What did you do with
what you were taught?’ He will say, (I stayed up at
night and during the day (to recite it).’ Allaah will
say, (You have lied,’ and the angels will say, (You
have lied.’ Allaah will say, (You only wanted it to be
said that so-and-so is a reader, and it was said.’ The
one who had a lot of wealth will be brought and Al-laah
will say to him, (Did I not give generously to
you so that you were not in need of anyone?’ He will
say, (Of course, O Lord.’ Allaah will say, (What did
you do with what I gave you?’ He will say, (I used to
give it to my relatives and in charity.’ Allaah will
say, (You have lied,’ and the angels will say, (You
have lied.’ Allaah will say, (You only wanted it to be
said that so-and-so is generous, and it was said.
Then the one who was killed for the sake of Allaah
will be brought and Allaah will say to him, (What
were you killed for?’ He will say, (I was commanded
to fight in Lihaad for Your sake so I fought until I
was killed.’ Allaah will say, (You have lied,’ and the
angels will say, (You have lied.’ Allaah will say,
(You only want it to be said that so-and-so was cou-rageous,
and it was said.’ Then the Messenger of Al-laah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
struck my knees and said, (O Abu Hurayrah, these
three are the first people for whom the Fire will be](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-15-2048.jpg)
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Understanding this fact will also prevent an educator
from being greatly shocked by the kind of sudden mis-take
that could lead him to react in an inappropriate fa-shion.
This will remind the da‘iyah and educator who is
striving to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil
that he too is a human being who could also make the
same mistake, so he should deal with him on a footing of
compassion rather than harshness, because the basic aim
is to reform, not to punish.
But this does not mean that we should leave people who
are making mistakes alone, or find excuses for those who
are committing sins on the basis that they are only hu-man
or that they are just youngsters, or that the modern
age is full of temptations and so on. We must denounce
the actions and call the people to account, but at the same
time we must evaluate their actions according to Islam.
- Saying that someone is wrong should be based on shar‘i
evidence and proper understanding, not on ignorance
and that fact that one happens not to like it. Muhammad
ibn al-Munkadir reported that Jaabir prayed wearing on-ly
an izar (lower garment wrapped around the waist)
tied at the back [the reason for this is that they did not
have trousers, and they would wear their izar tied at the
back because this was more concealing when they did
rukoo’ and sujood. [Fath al-Baari, al-Salafiyyah edn.,
.DEFG], and his other clothes were on a clothes hook.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-17-2048.jpg)
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most important matter. Examples of this follow. Al-
Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said:
“There was an eclipse of the sun on the day that [the
Prophet’s infant son] Ibraaheem died, and the
people said, (This eclipse is because of the death of
Ibraaheem.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (The sun and
the moon are two of the signs of Allaah, they do not
become eclipsed for the death or life of anyone. If
you see them (eclipsed) then call on Allaah and pray
to Him until the eclipse is over.’” (Reported by al-
Bukhaari, Fath, 86%8).
Abu WaaPid al-Laythi reported that when the Mes-senger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) went out to Hunayn, he passed by a tree
belonging to the mushrikeen that was called Dhaat
Anwaat, on which they used to hang their weapons.
They said, (O Messenger of Allaah, make for us a
Dhaat Anwaat like they have.’ The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Sub-haan-
Allaah! This is like what the people of Moosa
said, “Make for us a god as they have gods.” By the
One in Whose hand is my soul, you will follow the
ways of the people who came before you.’ ” (Re-ported
by al-Tirmidhi, no. $86. He said7 (This is a
saheeh hasan hadeeth’)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-19-2048.jpg)
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stars; and as for him who said, we have been given
rain by such-and-such a star, he is a disbeliever in
Me and a believer in the stars.’ ” (Reported by al-
Bukhaari, Fath, no. G%)
Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that a man said,
“O Messenger of Allaah, whatever Allaah and you
will.” He said, “Are you making me ePual to Allaah?
[Say instead7] What Allaah alone wills.” (Reported
by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 8Q$@)
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) re-ported
that he caught up with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
who was with a group of people and was swearing by his
father. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) called them and told them that Al-laah
had forbidden them to swear by their forefathers;
the one who wanted to swear an oath should swear by
Allaah or else keep quiet. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath,
F.MN)
Note: Imaam Ahmad reported in his Musnad: Wakee’
told us that al-A’mash told us from Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaydah
who said: “I was with Ibn ‘Umar in a circle and he heard
a man in another circle saying, ‘No, by my father.’ So Ibn
‘Umar threw pebbles at him and said, ‘This is how ‘Umar
used to swear, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) forbade him to do this and said that
it was shirk.’ ” (al-Fath al-Rabbaani, .ED.FE).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-21-2048.jpg)
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[‘Umar] asked him, “Who are you?’ He said, “I am the
slave of Allaah, Sabeegh.” (Umar took hold of one of
the palm branches and hit him, saying, “I am the slave
of Allaah, (Umar.” He kept hitting him until his head
began to bleed, and he said, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen,
enough! [The ideas that] were in my head have gone!”
(Sunan al-Daarimi, ed. by ‘Abd-Allaah Haashim Yamaa-ni,
.DI., no. .EF).
Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported
that Ibn Abi Layla said: “Hudhayfah was in al-Madaa`in
and asked for a drink, and a grandee gave him a vessel of
silver. He threw it at him and said, ‘I would not have
thrown it, but I told him not to do it and he didn’t stop.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade us from wearing silk and brocade, and from
drinking from vessels of gold and silver. He said:
(These are for them in this world and for you in the
Hereafter.’” (al-Fath, no. '%@$)
According to a report narrated by Ahmad, describing the
same incident, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Laylaa said: “I
went out with Hudhayfah to one of these areas, and he
asked for something to drink. A grandee brought him a
vessel of silver and he (Hudhayfah) threw it in his face.
We said, ‘Be quiet, be quiet, if we ask why he did it, he
might not tell us.’ So we were quiet, and a little while lat-er
he said, ‘Do you know why I threw it in his face?’ We
said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘I had told him not to do it. The Mes-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-25-2048.jpg)
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senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said:
(Do not drink from vessels of gold.’
…and Mu‘aadh said, ‘Do not drink from vessels of gold
or silver, and do not wear silk or brocade; these are for
them in this world and for you in the Hereafter.’ ” (al-
Musnad, IDHPF)
Al-Bukhaari narrated that Seereen asked Anas to write
him a contract of manumission, as he had plenty of mon-ey,
but Anas refused. Seereen went to ‘Umar (may Allaah
be pleased with him), who told Anas to write the docu-ment,
and Anas still refused, so ‘Umar hit him with a
whip whilst reciting the words (interpretation of the
meaning):
“… give them [slaves seeking emancipation] such
writing [of a document of manumission], if you
know that they are good and trustworthy…” [an-
Noor $G7@@]
…so he wrote the document for him. (Al-Fath, ID.NE).
Al-Nisaa`i reported from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri that he
was praying when a son of Marwaan came in front of
him, so he checked him, and when he did not go back, he
hit him. The boy went out crying, and went to Marwaan
and told him what had happened. Marwaan asked Abu
Sa‘eed, “Why did you hit the son of your brother?” He
said, “I did not hit him, I hit the Shaytaan. I heard the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-26-2048.jpg)
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Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) say:
(If any one of you is praying and someone wants to
pass in front of him, let him stop him as much as he
can, and if he refuses then fight him, for he is a de-vil.’
” (al-MuLtaba min Sunan al-Nisaa`i, Q%8; Sa-heeh
Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. G'8)
Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from
Abu’l-Nadr that Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri was suffering
from a sore leg, and his brother came in and saw him ly-ing
with one leg crossed over the other, so he hit him on
the sore leg, making it hurt even more. He said, “You
hurt my leg! Didn’t you know it is sore?” He said, “Of
course I knew.” He said, “What made you do that?” He
said, “Did you not hear that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to sit like
this?” (al-Musnad, HDEJ)
Maalik reported from Abu’l-Zubayr al-Makki that a man
proposed marriage to another man’s sister, and he [the
brother] told him that she had committed zinaa. News of
this reached ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, so he hit him or near-ly
hit him, and said, “Why did you tell him?” (Muwatta’
Maalik, no. .IIH, report of Abu Mus‘ab al-Zuhri, ed. by
Bashshaar Ma’roof and Mahmood Khaleel. Mu`asaasat
al-Risaalah).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-27-2048.jpg)
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Muslim reported in his Saheeh from Abu Ishaaq who
said: “I was with al-Aswad ibn Yazeed in the Great Mos-que,
and al-Sha’bi was with us. Al-Sha’bi told us about
what Faatimah bint Qays had said about the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
not providing housing or an income for her. Al-Aswad
took a handful of pebbles and threw them at him, saying,
‘Woe to you! You talk about something like this? ‘Umar
said that we should not leave the Book of Allaah and the
Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) for the words of a woman who we cannot be
sure has remembered things properly or not. Women
have the right to accommodation and an income. Allaah
says:
“… and turn them not out of their homes, not shall they
(themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of
some open illegal sexual intercourse…” [al-TalaaP
%'78].’ ” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 8G6)
Abu Dawood reported, with an isnaad in which two men
are maqbool, that two men entered from the doors of
Kindah, when Abu Mas‘ood al-Ansaari was sitting in a
circle. The two men said, “Is there any man who will
judge between us?” A man in the circle said, “I will.”
Abu Mas‘ood took a handful of pebbles and threw them
at him, saying, “Shut up! It is disliked to hasten to
judgement.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Kitaab al-
Aqdiyah, Bab fi talab al-qada’ wa al-tasarru’ ilayhi)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-28-2048.jpg)
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laah. He prayed, and I complained to (Umar about
what had happened. He said, (O Prophet of Allaah,
al-Mugheerah feels hurt by your rebuff, and he is
worried that you may be angry with him for some
reason.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said7 (I see only good in him, but he
brought me water to do wudoo’ after I had eaten
some food, and if I had done wudoo’ then, the
people would have followed suit [i.e., they would
have thought that they had to do wudoo’ every time
they had eaten something].’ ” (al-Musnad, GQ$'@)
We should note here that when the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed out the mis-takes
of these great Sahaabah, it did not have a negative
impact on them or put them off; rather, it had a positive
effect on them, and having been corrected in this manner
by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), they would remain anxious and worried, watching
their behaviour and feeling concerned until they could be
sure that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was pleased with them.
We may also note from this story that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed out
al-Mugheerah’s mistake, he was not angry with al-
Mugheerah himself; he did this out of mercy to the
people and to explain things clearly to them, so that they
would not impose something on themselves that was not](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-31-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
nounced the people who made the mistake in the case of
the man with the head wound. Abu Dawood narrated in
his Sunan from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him)
who said:
“We went out on a Lourney, and one of the men with
us was struck in the head with a stone and started
bleeding. Then he slept and when he woke up he
needed to do ghusl (he was in state of Lanaabah or
impurity). He asked his companions, (Do you think
I could get away with doing tayammum?’ They said,
(We don’t think you have any excuse because water
is available.’ So he did ghusl, and he died. When we
came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and he was told about this, he said,
(They have killed him, may Allaah kill them! Why
did they not ask if they did not know? The cure of
the one who does not know is to ask…’” (Sunan Abi
Dawood, Kitaab al-Tahaarah, Baab al-maLrooh ya-tayammam;
al-Albaani classed it as hasan in Saheeh
Abi Dawood, @$', and indicated that the extra ma-terial
[not mentioned]added at the end of the ha-deeth
is da’eef)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said that judges are of three types, one will be in Paradise
and the other two in Hell. The type that will be in Para-dise
is a man who knows the truth and judges according-ly.
A man who knows the truth but judges unjustly will](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-33-2048.jpg)
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be in Hell, and a man who judges between people with-out
proper knowledge will also be in Hell. (Sunan Abi
Dawood, no. HIGH; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-
Irwa’, J.FE). The third type is not regarded as having any
excuse.
Another factor in gauging the degree of rebuking is pay-ing
attention to the environment in which the mistake
occurred, such as whether it was an environment in
which the Sunnah is followed or bid’ah is widespread, or
how prevalent evil is, or whether there are ignorant or
overly lenient people, whose opinions are widely fol-lowed,
issuing fatwas to say that it is permissible.
- A good intention on the part of the one who makes the
mistake does not mean that he should not be rebuked
‘Amr ibn Yahya said: “I heard my father narrating from
his father who said: ‘We were at the door of ‘Abd-Allaah
ibn Mas‘ood before the early morning prayer. When he
came out we walked with him to the mosque. Abu Moo-sa
al-Ash’ari came up to us and said, “Did Abu ‘Abd al-
Rahmaan come out to you yet?” We said, “No.” He sat
down with us until [Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan] came out.
When he came out, we all stood up to greet him, and
Abu Moosa said to him: “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, earli-er
I saw in the mosque something that I have never seen
before, but it seems good, al-hamdu Lillaah.” He said,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-34-2048.jpg)
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opened the door of misguidance!’ They said, ‘By Allaah,
O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we only wanted to do good.’
He said, ‘How many of those who wanted to do good
failed to achieve it! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that people re-cite
Qur`aan and it does not go any further than their
throats. By Allaah, I do not know, maybe most of them
are people like you.’ Then he turned away from them.
‘Amr ibn Salamah said, ‘I saw most of the members of
those circles fighting alongside the Khawaarij on the day
of Nahrawaan.’ ” (Reported by al-Daarimi, al-Sunan, no.
J.M, ed. by ‘Abd-Allaah Haashim al-Yamaani. Al-Albaani
classed its isnaad as saheeh in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah un-der
hadeeth no. JMMI. See Majma’ al-Zawaa’id by al-
Haythami, .D.N.).
- Being fair and not being biased when correcting those
who make mistakes
Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“And whenever you give your word (i.e., Ludge be-tween
men or give evidence), say the truth…” [al-
An’aam %78'$]
“… and when you Ludge between men, you [should]
Ludge with Lustice…” [al-Nisa’ G7']
The fact that Usaamah ibn Zayd was the beloved of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-36-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
the son of his beloved [Zayd] did not stop the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from rebuk-ing
him most sternly when he tried to intercede regard-ing
one of the punishments (hudood) prescribed by Al-laah.
‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) re-ported
that Quraysh were concerned about a woman
who stole at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), at the time of the Conquest of
Makkah. They said,
(Who will speak to the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about her?
Who will dare to do this other than Usaamah ibn
Zayd, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ She was
brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), and Usaamah ibn
Zayd spoke to him concerning her. The face of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) changed colour and he said7 (Are you
interceding concerning one of the punishments pre-scribed
by Allaah?’ Usaamah said to him, (Pray for
forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allaah.’ When
evening came, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up and ad-dressed
the people. He praised Allaah as He de-serves
to be praised, then he said7 (The people who
came before you were destroyed because if one of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-37-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
stood up, praised Allaah as He deserves to be
praised, then said, (The people who came before you
were destroyed because if one of their nobles stole,
they would let him go, but if one of the weak among
them stole, they would carry out the punishment on
him. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Faati-mah
the daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I
would cut off her hand.’ Then he ordered that the
woman’s hand should be cut off.” (Sunan al-Nisaa`i,
al-MuLtabaa, Dar al-Fikr edn., QJ@. Classed as sa-heeh
by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no.
G'G).
The Prophet’s attitude towards Usaamah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) indicates that he was fair and just, and
that Islam came before love of people in his view. A per-son
may put up with the personal faults of whoever he
wishes, but he has no right to be tolerant or biased to-wards
those whose mistakes transgress the limits set by
Islam.
Sometimes, when a relative or friend makes a mistake, a
person does not rebuke him as he would a person whom
he does not know, so one may see un-Islamic bias or dis-crimination
in his dealings because of this, and a person
may turn a blind eye to his friend’s mistake while harshly
criticizing another person.
[An Arab poet once said:]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-39-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
him)? All his sins, past and future, have been forgi-ven.”
(They thought that the one who does not know
that his sins have been forgiven needed to go to ex-tremes
in worship and do far more than the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in the
hope that their sins might be forgiven). One of them
said, “As for me, I will pray every night from now
on.” Another said, “As for me, I will fast for the rest
of my life and will never break my fast.” The third
said, “As for me, I will have nothing to do with
women and I will never marry.” The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
came to them and said, “Are you the people who
said such-and-such? By Allaah, I am the one who
fears Allaah more than anyone, but I fast and I break
my fast, I pray and I rest, and I get married.”
Muslim reported from Anas that a group of the Compa-nions
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) asked the wives of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) about what he did in
secret. One of them (those Sahaabah) said, “I will never
marry women.” Another said, “I will never eat meat.”
Another said, “I will never sleep on a bed.” [The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] praised and
thanked Allaah, then he said,
“What is the matter with some people who say such-and-
such? But as for me, I pray and I sleep, I fast](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-55-2048.jpg)
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• Mistakes generally come about as a result of mis-conceptions;
if the ideas are put right, mistakes will de-crease.
It is clear from the hadeeth that the reason why
those Sahaabah adopted those concepts of extreme wor-ship
and monasticism was that they thought they had to
go beyond the Prophet’s actions in worship in order to
attain salvation, because he had been told that all his sins
were forgiven, but they did not have this advantage. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set
them straight, and told them that even though he was
forgiven, he was the most fearing of Allaah among man-kind,
and he commanded them to follow his Sunnah in
worship.
A similar thing happened to another Sahaabi, whose
name was Kahmas al-Hilaali (may Allaah be pleased
with him), who narrated his story:
“I became Muslim and came to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him
that I had become Muslim. I stayed away for a year,
during which I became very skinny, and when I
came back, he looked me up and down. I said, (Do
you not know me?’ he said, (Who are you?’ I said, (I
am Kahmas al-Hilaali.’ He said, (What happened to
you?’ I said, (After I saw you, I never spent a day
without fasting, and I never slept at night.’ He said,
(Who told you to torture yourself? Fast the month of
patience [i.e., Ramadaan], and one day of every](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-57-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
him) said, “This man is better than an earth full of
men like the other one.” (Sunan Ibn MaaLah, (Abd
al-BaaPi edn., no. G8$6)
' - Dealing with mistakes by repeatedly reminding
people to fear Allaah
Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali reported that the Mes-senger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) sent a group of Muslims to fight some mushrikeen,
and they met in battle. One of the mushrikeen was am-bushing
individual Muslims and killing them. One of the
Muslims wanted to catch him out and kill him. [Jundub
said:] “We used to think that that man was Usaamah ibn
Zayd. When he raised his sword, the mushrik said ‘La
ilaaha ill-Allaah,’ but he [Usaamah] killed him. A mes-senger
came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah
be upon him) and reported to him about what had
happened in the battle. When he told him about what
had happened to the mushrik who said Laa ilaaha ill-
Allaah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) sent for Usaamah and asked him,
(Why did you kill him?’ He said, (O Messenger of
Allaah, he had caused much grief to the Muslims, he
killed So-and-so and So-and-so,’ – and he named a
number of people – (I attacked him and when he
saw the sword he said Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah.’ The](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-60-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, (And then you killed him?’
Usaamah said, (Yes.’ He said, (What will you do
when Laa illaha ill-Allaah comes on the Day of Re-surrection?’
He said, (O Messenger of Allaah, pray
for forgiveness for me.’” The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) simply said,
“What will you do when Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah comes
on the Day of Resurrection?” He did not say any
more than that. (Reported by Muslim, (Abd al-BaaPi
edn., no. IJ).
According to a report narrated by Usaamah ibn Zayd, he
said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) sent us out on a military cam-paign
and we reached al-HaraPaat near Juhaynah in
the morning. [During the battle] I caught a man and
he said, (Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,’ but I stabbed him.
Then I felt bad about that, and I mentioned it to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, (He said Laa ilaaha ill-
Allaah and you killed him?’ I said, (O Messenger of
Allaah, he only said it because he was afraid of my
weapon.’ He said, (How can you know what is in his
heart? How can you be sure whether he was sincere
or not?’ He kept repeating this until I wished that I](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-61-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
had not become Muslim until that day [because em-bracing
Islam wipes out all sins that came before -
Translator].” (Reported by Muslim, no. %I)
One issue that may be included under the heading of re-minders
is reminding people about the power of Allaah.
An example of this follows:
Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that
Abu Mas‘ood al-Badri said:
“I was beating a slave of mine with a whip, and I
heard a voice behind me saying, (Listen Abu
Mas(ood!’ but I did not pay any attention to the
voice because I was so angry. When the voice got
nearer to me, I reali?ed that it was the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
and he was saying, (Listen Abu Mas(ood, listen Abu
Mas(ood!’ I dropped the whip from my hand (ac-cording
to another report7 the whip fell from my
hand out of respect for him). He said, (Listen Abu
Mas(ood, Allaah has more power over you than you
have over this slave.’ I said, (I will never hit a slave
again.’” According to another report he said7 “I said,
(O Messenger of Allaah, he is free for the sake of Al-laah.’
He said, (If you did not do this, the Fire of Hell
would blow in your face, or the Fire would touch
you.’ ”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-62-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
(Say7 Was it at Allaah and His aayaat (signs) and His
Messenger that you were mocking?’ [al-Tawbah
I7%'],
…no more, no less.”
Ibn Jareer reported that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: “During the campaign of Tabook
a man said in a gathering, ‘We have never seen anyone
who loves food and tells lies more than our reciters, or
anyone who is more cowardly on the battlefield.’ A man
who was present said, ‘You are lying! You are a hypo-crite,
and I am going to tell the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),’ and
Qur`aan was revealed.” ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said, “I
saw him hanging on to the reins of the Prophet’s camel,
kicking up the stones and saying, ‘O Messenger of Al-laah,
we were only talking idly and joking,’ and the Mes-senger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was saying (interpretation of the meaning),
“Say7 Was it at Allaah and His aayaat (signs) and His
Messenger that you were mocking?” [al-Tawbah
I7%'].
(Tafseer ibn Jareer al-Tabari, .EDHHH, Dar al-Kutub al-
‘Ilmiyyah, Srst edn., .E.J. Its men are the men of saheeh,
except Hishaam ibn Sa’d, from whom Muslim did not
report except as a corroborating report, as in al-Meezaan.
It was also reported by al-Tabari with his isnaad, and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-75-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
An example of the latter was narrated by al-Bukhaari
(may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh from ‘Abd
al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakrah from his father, who said: “A
man praised another man in the presence of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” According
to a report narrated by Muslim: a man said, ‘O Messen-ger
of Allaah, there is no one other than the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who
is better than him in such-and-such.’ (Saheeh Muslim, no.
HMMM). [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him)] said to him,
(Woe to you! You have cut your companion’s throat!
You have cut your companion’s throat!’ several
times, then he said, (If any one of you insists on
praising his brother, let him say, “I think so-and-so
is such-and-such, and Allaah knows the exact truth,
and I do not confirm anyone’s good conduct before
Allaah, but I think him to be such-and-such,” if he
knows that this is the case.’ ” ($%%$, Kitaab al-
Shahaadaat).
According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab
al-Mufrad, Mihjan al-Aslami (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said:
“… until when we were in the mosPue, the Messen-ger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) saw a man praying, prostrating and bowing.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-79-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
hadeeth), and that this is not hygienic. And Allaah knows
best.
8$ - Offering a sound alternative. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas‘ood said, “When we prayed with the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we used to say,
“Peace be upon Allaah from His slaves, peace be upon
so-and-so.” (According to a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i,
he said, “Peace be upon Jibreel, peace be upon Mi-kaa’eel.”
Al-Mujtabaa: Kitaab al-Tatbeeq, Baab Kayfa al-
Tashahhud al-Awwal. See also Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i,
no. ...P). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said,
“Do not say, (Peace be upon Allaah,’ for Allaah is
(The Peace’ (al-Salaam). But you should say, (Al-
Tahiyyaatu Lillaahi wa’l-salawaatu wa’l-tayyibaat,
al-salaamu (alayka ayyuha’l-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-
Allaahi wa barakaatuhu, wa’l-salaamu (alaynaa wa
(alaa (ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen.’ If you say this, it
will include every slave of Allaah in heaven or be-tween
heaven and earth. [Then say7] (I bear witness
that there is no god except Allaah and I bear witness
that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.’ Then
choose whichever du’aa’ you like, and recite it.” (al-
Bukhaari, Fath, @').](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-83-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
alleviate the Muslims’ hardships, and there are some
who know this and some who do not.
8@ - Guiding people to that which will prevent them
from making mistakes. Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Ha-neef
reported that his father told him that the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
went out, and they travelled with him in the direction of
Makkah, until they reached the ravine of al-Khazzaar
near al-Juhfah. Sahl ibn Haneef did ghusl, and he was a
white man with a handsome body and beautiful skin.
‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah, the brother of Banu ‘Adiyy ibn Ka’b
looked at him whilst he was doing ghusl and said, ‘I have
never seen anything like what I have seen today, not
even the skin of the virgin who is hidden away!’ [refer-ring
to the whiteness of his skin]. Sahl fell to the ground
(he had an epileptic fit). The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and it was
said to him,
(Do you want to see Sahl? By Allaah, he cannot raise
his head or wake up.’ He asked, (Whose fault is
this?’ They said, ( (Aamir ibn Rabee’ah looked at
him.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) called (Aamir and rebuked
him angrily, and said, (Why would any one of you
kill his brother? If any one of you sees that his
brother has something he likes, let him pray for](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-87-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
This method has an opposite counterpart which is used
in other circumstances to protect people from the public’s
harm, as will be explained below:
.F - Avoiding helping the Shaytaan against the one who
is making a mistake. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab reported that
at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), there was a man called ‘Abd-Allaah whose
nickname was Himaar (donkey), who used to make the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) laugh. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had him whipped for drinking – he
was brought to him one day and the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave orders that he
should be whipped. One of the men present said, “O Al-laah,
curse him! How often has he been brought [to be
punished because of drinking]!” The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“Do not curse him, for by Allaah, all I know of him
is that he loves Allaah and His Messenger.” (Re-ported
by al-Bukhaari, Fath, %J6).
Abu Hurayrah said: “A drunkard was brought to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
he ordered that he should be beaten, so some of us hit
him with our hands, others with shoes and garments.
When he went away, a man said, ‘May Allaah put him to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-95-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
“ (Umar ibn al-Khattab told me that a man did wu-doo’,
but missed an area on his foot the si?e of a fin-gernail.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) saw him and said, (Go back and do
your wudoo’ properly.’ So he went and did it again,
then he prayed.” (Saheeh Muslim, $G@).
A third example was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (may Al-laah
have mercy on him) in his Sunan from Kildah ibn
Hanbal, who said that Safwaan ibn Umayyah sent him
with some milk, yoghurt and daghaabees [an edible
plant] to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah
be upon him) was at the top of the valley. He said,
“I entered upon him, and I did not greet him with
salaam or ask permission to enter, so the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
(Go out and say “Al-salaamu (alaykum, may I en-ter?”
’ ” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. $J86. Al-
Tirmidhi said, a ghareeb hasan hadeeth. The ha-deeth
is also in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. $86).
- Asking the person who has made the mistake to correct
it as much as he can. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mer-cy
on it) reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-102-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
tion for zihaar (a jaahili form of divorce in which one
says to one's wife “You are to me as my mother’s back”),
manslaughter, having intercourse during the day in Ra-madaan,
and so on.
8I - Denouncing only the mistake whilst accepting the
rest. It may be the case that not all of what a person says
or does is wrong, so it is wise to limit our denunciation
only to that which is wrong, and not to generalize by
condemning everything that is said or done as being
wrong. This is indicated in the report narrated by al-
Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh
from al-Rubay’ bint Mu’awwadh ibn ‘Afraa’, who said:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) came and entered, and sat down on my
bed the way you sat down. Some young girls of ours
began beating on the daff (hand-drum) and singing
songs eulogi?ing those of our forefathers who had
been killed at Badr. Then one of them said, (Among
us there is a Prophet who knows the future.’ He [the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him)] said7 (Do not say that; say what you were say-ing
before.’” (Fath, '8GJ). According to a report nar-rated
by al-Tirmidhi7 “… The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-104-2048.jpg)
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ger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him)?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) heard him and got angry, and
said, (Do not give it to him, O Khaalid! Do not give it to
him, O Khaalid! Why do you not leave my commanders
alone? The likeness of you and them is that of a man
who is asked to take care of camels or sheep, so he
takes care of them, then when it is time for them to
drink, he takes them to a trough and they start to drink,
and they drink the clean water and leave the dregs be-hind.
You take the clean water and leave the dregs for
them [the commanders].’” (Muslim bi Sharh al-
Nawawi, 8$Q%G)
Imaam Ahmad transmitted a more complete version of
this report from ‘Awf ibn Maalik al-Ashja’i, who said:
“We went out on a military campaign on the border of
Syria, and Khaalid ibn al-Waleed was appointed as our
commander. A man belonging to Humayr came and
joined our band, and he had nothing but a sword, no
other weapon. One of the Muslims slaughtered a camel
and that man kept trying to snatch something until he
managed to grab a piece of skin the shape of a shield. He
spread it on the ground and cured it until it was dry,
then he made a handle for it, like a shield. We met with
the enemy, who were a mixed group of Romans and
Arabs from (the tribe of) Qudaa’ah. They fought us
fiercely. Among them was a Roman on a palomino horse](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-107-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
with a golden-coloured saddle and a gold-plated belt,
and a sword of similar material. He started attacking and
challenging the people, and that Madadi man kept dodg-ing
around the Roman until he approached him from be-hind
and struck the horse’s hamstring with his sword.
The Roman fell off, and the man followed that with a
blow from his sword that killed him. When Allaah
granted them victory, the man came asking about the
booty, and the people bore witness that he had killed
[that Roman], so Khaalid gave him some of the booty and
withheld the rest. When he came back to ‘Awf’s band, he
told him about it, and ‘Awf said, ‘Go back to him and let
him give you the rest.’ So he went back, but [Khaalid] re-fused
to give it to him. ‘Awf went to Khaalid and said,
‘Do you not know that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ruled that the boo-ty
should go to the one who kills?’ He said, ‘Of course.’
He said, ‘So what is stopping you from giving him his
booty?’ He said, ‘I thought it was too much to give to
him.’ ‘Awf said, ‘When I see the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) I am going
to tell him about this.’ When he came to Madeenah, ‘Awf
sent the man and he complained to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
called Khaalid, whilst ‘Awf was sitting there, and said:](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-108-2048.jpg)
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(O Khaalid, what stopped you from giving this man
his spoils of war?’ He said, (I thought it was too
much for him, O Messenger of Allaah.’ [The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said,
(Give it to him.’ [Khaalid] passed by (Awf, and (Awf
pulled on his cloak and said, (Wasn’t it enough for
you what I told you about the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) heard him and got angry, and said,
(Do not give it to him, O Khaalid. Why do you not
leave my commanders alone? The likeness of you
and them is that of a man who is asked to take care
of camels or sheep, so he takes care of them, then
when it is time for them to drink, he takes them to a
trough and they start to drink, and they drink the
clean water and leave the dregs behind. You take the
clean water and leave the dregs for them [the com-manders].’”
We may note here that when Khaalid made a mistake in
his decision (ijtihaad) to withhold the large amount of
booty from the killer, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) commanded that the matter should
be put right by giving the booty to its rightful owner, but
he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry
when he heard ‘Awf (may Allaah be pleased with him)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-109-2048.jpg)
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scribed prayer which everyone, good and bad alike,
prays.” The man said, “Ask him, O Messenger of Al-laah,
has he ever seen me delaying any prayer, or not
doing wudoo’ properly, or not doing rukoo’ and su-
Lood properly?” He said, “No,” then he said, “By Al-laah,
I have never seen him fast at all except this
month which everyone, good and bad alike, fasts.”
He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, has he ever seen
me breaking my fast during [that month], or doing
anything to invalidate my fast?” The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
asked him, and he said, “No,” then he said, “By Al-laah,
I have never seen him giving to any needy per-son
or spending any of his wealth for the sake of Al-laah
except for this charity [?akaah] which everyone,
good and bad alike, gives.” He said, “Ask him, O
Messenger of Allaah, have I ever withheld any part
of the ?akaah or kept it back from the one who
asked for it?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him and he
said, “No.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “I don’t
know, maybe he is better than you.”
Immediately following this report in al-Musnad, it says
the following: “Ya’qoob told us, my father told us from
Ibn Shihaab, that he was told that a man at the time of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-112-2048.jpg)
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Abu’l-Darda’, who said: “I was sitting with the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when Abu
Bakr came along, holding the hem of his garment up in
such a way that his knees could be seen. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
(Your companion has gotten involved in a dispute.’
[Abu Bakr] gave the greeting of salaam, then said7
(There is something between me and the son of al-
Khattaab. I upset him, then I regretted it, and I
asked him to forgive me, but he refused, so I have
come to you.’ He said, (May Allaah forgive you, O
Abu Bakr,’ three times. Then (Umar regretted (what
he had done), so he came to Abu Bakr’s house, ask-ing,
(Is Abu Bakr there?’ They said, (No.’ So he came
to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and signs of anger were so visible on the
Prophet’s face that Abu Bakr felt sorry. He knelt
down and said. (O Messenger of Allaah, by Allaah, I
was more wrong,’ twice. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Allaah sent
me to all of you, and you (all) said, “He is a liar,” but
Abu Bakr said, “He is telling the truth”, and helped
me with his self and with his wealth. Are you going
to leave my Companion alone?’ He said this twice,
and Abu Bakr was never hurt after that.” (Fath, no.
@%%8).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-117-2048.jpg)
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$G - Intervening to calm people down and put a stop to
the fitnah (discord) between those who are making mis-takes.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did this on a number of occasions when fight-ing
was about to break out among the Muslims, so he in-tervened,
as was reported in the incident of the slander
(al-ifk) against ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her). She said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) stood up that day and asked
for someone to deal with (Abd-Allaah ibn Ubayy for
him, whilst he was on the minbar. He said, (O Mus-lims!
Who will deal with a man who I have heard is
attacking me with regard to my family? By Allaah, I
know nothing about my family but good, and they
have mentioned a man about whom I know nothing
but good, and he has never entered upon my family
except with me.’ Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh, the brother of
Bani (Abd al-Ashhal, stood up and said, (O Messen-ger
of Allaah, I will deal with him for you. If he is
from Aws, I will strike his neck [cut his head off],
and if he is from among our brothers of Kha?raL, tell
us what to do, and we will do it.’ Then a man of
Kha?raL stood up; Umm Hassaan was his cousin
from the same clan, and he was Sa’d ibn (Ubaadah
the leader of Kha?raL. Before that he was known to
be a righteous man, but on this occasion a spirit of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-118-2048.jpg)
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tribalism took hold of him, and he said to Sa’d [ibn
Mu’aadh], (You are lying! By Allaah, you will not
kill him and you will not be able to kill him. If he
were one of your people, you would not like him to
be killed!’ Usayd ibn Hudayr, the cousin of Sa’d,
stood up and said to Sa’d ibn (Ubaadah7 (You are ly-ing!
By Allaah, we will kill him! You are a hypocrite
defending the hypocrites!’ The two parties of Aws
and Kha?raL got so angry that they nearly began to
fight whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was standing on
the minbar. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept smoothing
things over until they calmed down.” (Agreed upon.
Fath, G8G8)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
went to Bani ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf to reconcile between them,
and stayed there for that purpose until the time for one of
the congregational prayers came, as is reported in al-
Saheehayn and in a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i. Sahl
ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: “A dispute arose between two parties among the
Ansaar, to the point that they were throwing stones at
one another. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) went to reconcile between them, and the
time for prayer came, so Bilaal called the Adhaan and
waited for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-119-2048.jpg)
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created for? Are you using some parts of the Qur`aan
to contradict others? The nations before you were
destroyed by this!’ (Abd-Allaah ibn (Amr said7 (I
never felt happy about missing any gathering with
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-laah
be upon him), but I was happy about missing
that gathering.’” (Reported by Ibn MaaLah, no. '.
He said in al-Zawaa’id7 this is a saheeh isnaad and
its men are thiPaat. It says in Saheeh Ibn MaaLah7
hasan saheeh. No. %I).
According to Ibn Abi ‘Aasim in Kitaab al-Sunnah:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) came out to his Companions,
and they were disputing about al-Padar, one Puoting
one aayah and another Puoting another aayah. It was
as if a pomegranate seed had been thrown in his
face [because it was red with anger]. He said, (Is this
what you were created for? Is this what you were
ordered to do? Do not use parts of Allaah’s book
against other parts. Look at what you are com-manded
to do, and do it, and what you are forbidden
to do, avoid it.’” (Al-Sunnah by Ibn Abi (Aasim,
edited by al-Albaani, no. G6%. He said7 its isnaad is
hasan).
Another example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) becoming angry at the denial of one
of the basic principles was what happened in the case of](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-121-2048.jpg)
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‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), with regard to
sources. Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) re-ported
in his Musnad from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah that
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab came to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a book which he
had got from some of the People of the Book. The Proph-et
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry.
He said,
“Are you confused about it, O son of al-Khattaab?
By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I have
brought you [the Message] pure and white, so do not
ask them about anything, lest they tell you some-thing
true and you reLect it, or they tell you some-thing
false and you accept it. By the One in Whose
hand is my soul, if Moosa (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) were alive, he could not but
follow me.” (Musnad Ahmad, @Q@J. Classed by al-
Albaani as hasan because of corroborating reports in
al-Irwa’, no. 8'I).
The hadeeth was also narrated by al-Daarimi, may Al-laah
have mercy on him, from Jaabir, who said that
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab came to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a copy
of the Tawraat (Torah), and said, “O Messenger of Al-laah,
this is a copy of the Tawraat.” [The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] did not say any-thing.
[‘Umar] began to read it, and the face of the Mes-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-122-2048.jpg)
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senger of Allaah changed [i.e., he was angry]. Abu Bakr
said, “May your mother lose you! Do you not see the ex-pression
of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)?” ‘Umar looked at the face of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and said, “I seek refuge with Allaah from the
anger of Allaah and the anger of His Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We are content
with Allaah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion and
with Muhammad as our Prophet.” The Messenger of Al-laah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muham-mad,
if Moosa were to appear among you and you
followed him and left me, you would go astray from
the straight path. If he had lived until the time of my
Prophethood, he would have followed me.” (Sunan
al-Daarimi, no. GG8, al-MuPaddimah, Baab maa yu-ta
PPaa min Tafseer Hadeeth al-Nabi (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) wa Qawli ghayrihi
(inda Qawlihi (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). The editor, (Abd-Allaah Haashim Ya-maani,
said7 it was also narrated by Ahmad with a
hasan isnaad, and by Ibn Hibbaan with a saheeh is-naad).
Among the corroborating reports is the hadeeth of Abu’l-
Darda’, who said: “ ‘Umar brought some pages of the
Tawraat to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-123-2048.jpg)
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of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah,
(these are) some pages of the Tawraat which I took from
a brother of mine from Bani Zurayq.’ The face of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) changed, and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd – the one
who was shown the Adhaan in a dream – said: ‘Have
you gone mad? Do you not see [the expression] on the
face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)?’ ‘Umar said: ‘We are content with
Allaah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion, with Mu-hammad
as our Prophet and with the Qur`aan as our
guide. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) relaxed and said:
(By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muham-mad,
if Moosa were among you, and you followed
him and left me, you would go far astray. You are
my share among the nations and I am your share
among the Prophets.’” (Al Haythami said in al-
MaLma’7 It was reported by al-Tabaraani in al-
Kabeer, and it includes Abu (Aamir al-Qaasim ibn
Muhammad al-Asadi, and I have not seen anyone
giving his biography, but the rest of its men are
mawthooP. Al-MaLma’ 8Q8JG).
We may note from these reports that the educator (the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him))
had support from the other people present when they no-ticed
how his expression changed and took their stance](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-124-2048.jpg)
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based on what they saw. There is no doubt that this com-bination
of events had a great impact on the person who
was being reprimanded.
The process went through the following stages:
Firstly, the anger that welled up in the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so that his expres-sion
changed even before he spoke.
Secondly, [Abu Bakr] al-Siddeeq and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Zayd noticed this and pointed it out to ‘Umar.
Thirdly, ‘Umar realized his mistake and hastened to put
it right and to apologize for what he had done, seeking
refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and the an-ger
of His Messenger, and reaffirming the basic principle
of being content with Allaah, His Messenger and His Re-ligion.
Fourthly, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) relaxed and calmed down when ‘Umar re-tracted
and realized his mistake.
Fifthly, the Prophet’s comment confirmed and reinforced
this basic principle by reaffirming the obligation to fol-low
the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah
be upon him) and warning against taking any other
source of guidance.
Another example of the Prophet’s anger when he saw
something objectionable was reported in Saheeh al-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-125-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
said that to him, and he did not respond to it at all,
but (Ali heard him as he was walking away, slap-ping
his thigh and saying, “ (… But, man is ever
more Puarrelsome than anything.’ [al-Kahf 87'G –
interpretation of the meaning].” (The words of (Ali
could be understood in different ways. See al-Fath,
J@GJ).
$J - Rebuking the one who has made a mistake. This is
what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did with Haatib (may Allaah be pleased with him)
when he heard that he had sent word to the kuffaar of
Quraysh, informing them of the Muslims’ intention to
head for Makkah to conquer it. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him,
“What made you do that, O Haatib?” He said, “I be-lieve
in Allaah and His Messenger and I never
changed, but I wanted to make some gesture to-wards
them through which Allaah might protect my
family and my wealth. All your other companions
have someone there through whom Allaah will pro-tect
their families and their wealth.” [The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said7
“He has spoken the truth, so do not say anything but
good to him.” (Umar ibn al-Khattaab said, “But he
has betrayed Allaah and Messenger and the believ-ers!
Let me strike his neck [cut off his head]!” [The](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-130-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) ] said7 “How do you know? Maybe Allaah
looked at the people of Badr and said, (Do what you
like, for Paradise is guaranteed for you.’” Tears
welled up in (Umar’s eyes and he said, “Allaah and
His Messenger know best.” (Fath, %$'I)
There are a number of important educational points we
learn from this story:
. – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) rebuked the Sahaabi who had make a serious mis-take
by asking him, “What made you do that?”
J – Enquiring as to the reason that motivated him to
make the mistake undoubtedly has an effect on the way
in which he is treated.
H – Those who have an excellent track record are not im-mune
from committing major sins.
E – The educator must be open-minded in dealing with
his companions’ mistakes so that they continue progress-ing
on the straight path. The aim is to reform them, not
alienate them.
I – The educator must appreciate the moments of human
weakness that may overcome some of those who are with
him, and he should not be shocked by a serious mistake
on the part of one who is advanced or senior.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-131-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
this, and said that the problem had been with his
gold ring.” (al-Musnad, @Q8G).
According to a report narrated by Ahmad (may Allaah
have mercy on him) from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb from his fa-ther
from his grandfather, the Prophet (peace and bless-ings
of Allaah be upon him) saw one of his Companions
wearing a ring of gold, and turned away from him. The
Sahaabi threw it away and put on a ring of iron, and [the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)]
said,
“This is evil, this is the Lewellery of the people of
Hell,” so he threw it away and put on a ring of sil-ver,
and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said nothing. (al-Musnad, 8%@. Al-
Musnad edited by Ahmad Shaakir, no. %'8. He said
its isnaad is saheeh).
@6 - Boycotting the one who has made a mistake. This is
one of the effective methods used by the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) especially when a
very serious mistake was made, because of the far-reaching
effect that a boycott has on the person con-cerned.
An example of this is what happened to Ka’b ibn
Maalik and his two companions who stayed behind from
the campaign of Tabook. After the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had ascertained that](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-137-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
they had no valid excuse, and they had admitted it, as
Ka’b said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) forbade the Muslims to speak to any of the
three of us who had stayed behind. So the people
avoided us and their attitude towards us changed so that
even the earth I was walking on looked different to what
I had known. We stayed like that for fifty days. As for my
two companions, they resigned themselves and stayed in
their homes, weeping, but I was the youngest and the
most determined, so I used to go out and attend the
prayers with the Muslims and go around in the market
places, and no one would speak to me. I would come to
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) whilst he was in a gathering after prayer,
and greet him with salaam, asking myself whether he
had moved his lips in response or not. I would pray near
him, stealing glances at him. When I would turn to pray,
he would turn towards me, and when I would turn to-wards
him, he would turn away from me. When the
people’s harshness had gone on too long for me, I went
away and climbed over the wall of the garden of Abu
Qutaadah, who was my cousin [son of my paternal un-cle]
and the dearest of people to me. I greeted him with
salaam, but by Allaah he did not answer me. I said, ‘O
Abu Qutaadah, I ask you by Allaah, do you not know
that I love Allaah and His Messenger?’ He remained si-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-138-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
lent, so I repeated what I had said, pleading with him,
but he remained silent. I repeated it again, pleading with
him, and he said, ‘Allaah and His Messenger know best.’
My eyes filled with tears and I turned away and went
and climbed back over the wall…
When fifty nights had passed since the Messenger of Al-laah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had
forbidden anyone to talk to us, after I had prayed Fajr on
the morning of the fiftieth day, and I was on the roof of
our house, whilst I was sitting as Allaah has described,
with my own self constrained to me and the earth, vast as
it is, constrained to me [cf. Al-Tawbah P:..N], I heard the
sound of someone shouting from the mountain of Sal’ at
the top of his voice: ‘O Ka’b ibn Maalik, rejoice!’” (Fath,
EE.N).
We learn many great lessons from this story, which
should not be ignored in any way. We read about some
of them in the scholars’ commentaries on this story, as in
Zaad al-Ma’aad and Fath al-Baari.
Another indication that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) used this method was narrated
by al-Tirmidhi from ‘Aa`ishah , who said: “No behaviour
was more hateful to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) than lying. If a man told
lies in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), he would remain upset about it un-til
he knew that he had repented from that.” (Abu ‘Eesa](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-139-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
laah made it known to him, he informed part thereof
and left a part. Then when he told her (Hafsah) the-reof,
she said7 (Who told you this?’ He said, (The All-
Knower, the All-Aware (Allaah) has told me.’ ” [al-
Tahreem %%7@ – interpretation of the meaning]
Al-Qaasimi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Ma-haasin
al-Ta’weel:
“ (And remember when the Prophet’ refers to Muham-mad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (To
one of his wives’ refers to Hafsah. (A matter in confi-dence’
means that she was not allowed to disclose it, or
what he forbade for himself although Allaah had allowed
it. (When she told it’ means that she told the secret to her
companion (‘Aa`ishah ). (Allaah made it known to him’
means that Allaah told him what Hafsah had told
‘Aa`ishah . (He informed part thereof’ means that he told
her part of what she had divulged as a rebuke; (and left a
part’ means that he did not say some of it, out of respect
to her.”
It is noted in al-Ikleel: “The aayah indicates that there is
nothing wrong with speaking in a secretive way to one
whom you trust such as a spouse or friend, and that he or
she is obliged to keep the secret. The aayah also indicates
good treatment of wives, gentleness when rebuking and
refraining from seeking out every fault.” (Mahaasin al-
Ta’weel, .FDJJJ)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-142-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
Al-Hasan said: “No noble person will pick on every little
fault.” Sufyaan said: “Turning a blind eye is the action of
noble people.”
@@ - Helping a Muslim to correct his mistake. Abu Hu-rayrah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“Whilst we were sitting with the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man came to
him and said, (O Messenger of Allaah, I am
doomed!’ He said, (What is the matter with you?’ He
said, (I had intercourse with my wife whilst I was
fasting.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings
of Allaah be upon him) said, (Are you able to
set a slave free?’ He said, (No.’ He asked, (Can you
fast for two consecutive months?’ He said, (No.’ he
said, (Can you feed sixty poor persons?’ He said,
(No.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said nothing more about the matter for a
while, and whilst we were sitting there like that, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was brought a large vessel full of dates. He
said, (Where is the one who was asking Lust now?’
The man said, (Here I am.’ He said, (Take this and
give it in charity.’ The man said, (O Messenger of
Allaah, is there anyone poorer between al-Harratayn
[i.e., in Madeenah] than my family?’ The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-143-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent
for me and I came to him. He said to me,
(Do you fast during the day?’ I said, (Yes.’ He said,
(Do you pray (Piyaam) at night?’ I said, (Yes.’ He
said, (But I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I
sleep, and I go to my wives. Whoever turns away
from my Sunnah has nothing to do with me.’ He
said, (Read the Qur`aan once a month.’ I said, (I can
do more than that.’ He said, (Read it once every ten
days.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ One of them –
either Husayn or Mugheerah – said, (Read it every
three days.’ He [the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)] said7 (Fast three days of every
month.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He kept in-creasing
the number until he said, (Fast one day and
do not fast the next day. This is the best of fasts, the
fast of my brother Dawood.’
Husayn said in his narration of the hadeeth: then the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said:
()very worshipper has a time when he is motivated
and keen, and after every such time comes a time of
slackening, where he either follows the Sunnah or
follows bid’ah. The one whose slackening follows
Sunnah is guided, but the one whose slackening fol-lows
bid’ah is doomed.’”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-147-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
Mujaahid said: “When ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr grew old
and weak, he would fast for several days at a time, so
that he could grow stronger, then he would break his fast
for a similar number of days. He would read his portion
of the Qur`aan in like manner, sometimes reading more,
sometimes reading less, so that he would finish the entire
Qur`aan in seven days or in three days. After that he
would say, ‘I wish that I had accepted the dispensation of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), for it would be better for me than what I
chose for myself, or I left him saying that I would do
something and I would hate to do something else.’” (Al-
Musnad, JD.IN. Ahmad Shaakir said: its isnaad is saheeh.
Tahqeeq al-Musnad, no. FEGG).
Among the things we learn from this story are:
.. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) understood the cause of the problem, which
was that [‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr] was exhausting himself
in worship to the point that he did not have time to take
care of his duties towards his wife, so he was falling
short.
J. The principle of paying due attention to everyone
who has rights over one applies to anyone who is preoc-cupied
with matters of worship, such as a student who is
giving so many lessons, or a daa’iyah who is so busy
with his da’wah that his wife complains of mistreatment.
This can lead to a loss of balance in carrying out different](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-148-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
guiding people will also have the greatest effect in
achieving the desired goal.
@% - Persuading a person that he is making a mistake.
Engaging in a discussion with a wrongdoer with the aim
of convincing him may lead to the removal of the blinds
over his eyes and bringing him back to the Straight Path.
An example of this is the report narrated by al-Tabaraani
(may Allaah have mercy on him) in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer
from Abu Umaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him),
who said that a young man came to the Messenger of Al-laah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
said,
“O Messenger of Allaah, give me permission to
commit ?inaa (fornication or adultery).” The people
shouted [at him] and [the Prophet (peace and bless-ings
of Allaah be upon him)] said, “Stop it!’ The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, “Let him calm down. Come
here.” He came and sat in front of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
who said to him, “Would you like it for your moth-er?”
He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise, people do
not like it for their mothers. Would you like it for
your daughter?” He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise,
people do not like it for their daughters. Would you
like it for your sister?” He said, “No.” He said,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-152-2048.jpg)
![www.islamhouse.com
…twice, then he took ‘Aa`ishah’s vessel and sent it to
Umm Salamah, and gave Umm Salamah’s vessel to
‘Aa`ishah.
According to a report narrated by al-Daarimi (Kitaab al-
Buyoo’, Baab man kasara shay’an fa ‘alayhi mithluhu)
from Anas, he said:
“One of the wives of the Prophet (peace and bless-ings
of Allaah be upon him) sent him a vessel in
which was some thareed [a dish of sopped bread,
meat and broth], when he was in the house of one of
his other wives, who struck the vessel and broke it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) started to pick up the thareed and put it back
into the vessel, saying, ()at, your mother is Leal-ous…’
”
Women’s jealousy is an inherent part of their nature, that
may cause them to do bad things and prevent them from
seeing the consequences of their actions. It was said that
when a woman is jealous, she cannot see the bottom of a
valley from its top.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/correctingpeoplemistakes-141022134701-conversion-gate01/75/The-Prophet-s-Methods-for-Correcting-People-s-Mistakes-159-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byNoor Al Islam
The Prophet’s Methods for Correcting People’s Mistakes
This document discusses the Prophet's methods for correcting people's mistakes based on examples from the Quran and his teachings. It notes that correcting mistakes is an important part of education and sincerity in religion. It provides examples from the Quran where revelations were sent to correct mistakes made by the Prophet and some of his companions. The document emphasizes that the Prophet was guided by Allah to denounce evil and correct mistakes promptly and effectively. Understanding his methodology of correction can help educators adopt wise and efficacious approaches to guiding others.
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The Prophet’s Methods for Correcting People’s Mistakes
- 1.
- 2. The Prophet’s Methodsfor Correcting People’s Mistakes Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Reviewed by www.islamhouse.com
- 3. www.islamhouse.com © Copyrightwww.islamqa.com All rights reserved. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to those who contributed to the publication of this book. May Allah reward them for their efforts. If you have any corrections, comments, or questions about this publication, please feel free to contact us at: [email protected] 1426 H [3968] Reviewed by: The Islamic Propagation Office in Rabwah Tel. +4454900 - 4916065 Ext. 26 - 27 Email: [email protected] www.islamhouse.com
- 4. www.islamhouse.com Introduction Bismillaahil-Rahmaan il-Raheem. In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds, Master of the Day of Judgement, God of the first and the last, Sustainer of heaven and earth, and peace and blessings be upon His trustworthy Prophet, the Teacher of mankind, sent as a Mercy to the worlds. Teaching people is one of the greatest good deeds whose benefits spread to others. It is the da‘iahs. and educators’ share of the heritage of the Prophets and Messengers. “Allaah and the angels, and even the ant in its nest and the whale in the sea will pray for the one who teaches people the ways of good.” (Reported by al- Tirmidhi; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad Shaakir edn., no. $%'. Abu ()esa said, this is a saheeh ghareeb ha-san hadeeth). There are different types and ways of teaching, with dif-ferent means and methods, one of which is correcting mistakes. Correcting mistakes is a part of education; they are like inseparable twins. . Da‘iyah: One who calls to the religion of Islam. (E)
- 5. www.islamhouse.com Dealing withand correcting mistakes is also a part of sin-cerity in religion (naseehah) which is a duty on all Mus-lims. The connection between this and the concept of en-joining what is good and forbidding what is evil, which is also a duty, is quite obvious (but we should note that the area of mistakes is broader than the area of evil (munkar), so a mistake may or may not be evil as such). Correcting mistakes also formed a part of the wahy (reve-lation) and the methodology of the Qur`aan. The Qur`aan brought commands and prohibitions, approvals and de-nunciations and correction of mistakes – even those on the part of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So it included rebukes and pointing out of mistakes, for example (interpretation of the meaning): “(The Prophet) frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man [(Abd-Allaah ibn Umm Maktoom, whilst he was preaching to one or some of the chiefs of Quraysh]. But what could tell you that perchance he might become pure (from sins). Or that he might receive admonition, and that the admonition might profit him? As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient. To him you attend. What does it matter to you if he will not become pure (from disbelief, you are only a Messenger, your duty is to convey the Message of Allaah). But as to him who came to you running, And is afraid (of Al-laah and His Punishment), Of him you are neglect-
- 6. www.islamhouse.com ful anddivert your attention to another.” [(Abasa 678-86] “And remember when you (Muhammad) said to him (Zayd ibn Haarithah – the freed slave of the Prophet) on whom Allaah has bestowed Grace (by guiding him to Islam) and you (too) have done a favour (by freeing him), (Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allaah.’ But you did hide in yourself (what Allaah had already made known to you – i.e. that He will give her to you in marriage) that which Allaah will make mainfest, you did fear the people whereas Al-laah had a better right that you should fear Him…” [al-Ah?aab @@7@] “Not for you (O Muhammad) is the decision; wheth-er He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the ?aalimoon (polytheists, disobedient, wrong-doers, etc.).” [Aali (Imraan @78$] Qur`aan was also revealed to correct the mistakes of some of the Sahaabah in some situations. When Haatib ibn Abi Balta‘ah (may Allaah be pleased with him) made the mistake of writing to the kuffaar of Quraysh and in-forming them of the direction in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) headed on a military campaign against them, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):
- 7. www.islamhouse.com “O youwho believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies (i.e., disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as friends, showing affection towards them, while they have disbelieved in what has come to you of the truth, and have driven out the Messenger and your-selves (from your homeland) because you believe in Allaah your Lord! If you have come forth to strive in My Cause and to seek My Good Pleasure, (then take not these disbelievers and polytheists, etc., as your friends). You show friendship to them in secret, while I am All-Aware of what you conceal and what you reveal. And whosoever of you (Muslims) does that, then indeed he has gone (far) astray, (away) from the Straight Path.” [al-Mumtahinah %678] Concerning the mistake made by the archers at the battle of Uhud, who left the position where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had commanded them to stay, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning): “… until (the moment) you lost your courage and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed af-ter He showed you (of the booty) which you love. Among you are some that desire this world and some that desire the Hereafter…” [Aali (Imraan @78'$] When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stayed away from his wives in order to discip-
- 8. www.islamhouse.com line them,and some people spread rumours that he had divorced them, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning): “When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear, they make it known (among the people), if only they had referred it to the Mes-senger or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have unders-tood it from them (directly)…” [al-Nisa´ G7@] When some of the Muslims failed to migrate from Mak-kah to Madeenah with no legitimate excuse, Allaah re-vealed the words (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily! As for those whom the nagels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigra-tion was obligatroy for them), they (angels) say (to them)7 (In what (condition) were you?’ They reply7 (We were weak and oppressed on earth.’ They (an-gels) say7 (Was not the earth of Allaah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ …” [al-Nisa´ G7IJ] When some of the Sahaabah believed and repeated the rumours of the munaafiqeen accusing ‘Aa`ishah of some-thing she was innocent of, Allaah revealed aayaat con-cerning this lie, including (interpretation of the meaning):
- 9. www.islamhouse.com “Had itnot been for the Grace of Allaah and His Mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whe-reof you had spoken. When you were propagating it with your tongues and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allaah it was very great.” [al-Noor $G78G] Then Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): “And why did you not, when you heard it, say – (It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You (O Allaah), this is a great lie’? Allaah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it for-ever, if you are believers.” [an-Noor $G78%-8J] When some of the Sahaabah argued in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and raised their voices, Allaah revealed (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) for-ward before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Al-laah. Verily! Allaah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not.” [al-HuLuraat GI78-$]
- 10. www.islamhouse.com When thecaravan came at the time of the Friday khut-bah, and some of the people left the khutbah and dis-persed to engage in trade, Allaah revealed the words: “And when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it, and leave you (Muhammad) standing [while delivering the Friday khutbah]. Say7 (That which Allaah has is bet-ter than any amusement or merchandise! And Allaah is the Best of Providers.’ ”[al-Jumu(ah %$788] Many other examples also indicate the importance of cor-recting mistakes and not keeping quiet about them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was guided by the Light of his Lord in following the principle of denouncing evil and correcting mistakes with no compromise. From this and other reports the scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) derived the principle: it is not permitted for the Prophet to delay speaking up and explaining mistakes from its appropri-ate time.” Understanding the Prophet’s methodology in dealing with the mistakes of the people he met is of great impor-tance, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was guided by his Lord, and his words and deeds were supported by revelation, and confirmed or corrected as needed. His methods are wiser and more ef-ficacious, and using his approach is the best way to get
- 11. www.islamhouse.com people torespond positively. If the one who is in a posi-tion to guide and teach others adopts these methods and this approach, his efforts will be successful. Following the method and approach of the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) also involves following his example, for he is the best example for us, and this will lead us to a great reward from Allaah, if our intention is sincere. Knowing the methods of the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) exposes the failure of the man-made methodology – which is followed everywhere on this earth – and proves to the followers of that metho-dology that it is a failure. Much of it is clearly a deviation that is based on corrupt theories such as absolute free-dom, or it is derived from false heritages such a blind im-itation of one's fathers and forefathers. We must point out that the practical application of this methodology in real life relies heavily on ijtihaad (study-ing the situation and attempting to determine the best approach) to a great extent. This involves selecting the best methods for a particular situation. Whoever under-stands people’s nature will be able to notice similarities between real life situations and situations described in the texts, so he will be able to choose the most appropri-ate method from among the methods of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
- 12. www.islamhouse.com This bookis an attempt to study the methods of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in dealing with mistakes made by people of different levels and backgrounds, among those who lived with him and with whom he interacted. I ask Allaah to make it success-ful and free of mistakes, to benefit my Muslim brothers and me through it, for He is in control of all things and He is able to do this, and He is the Guide to the Straight Path.
- 13. www.islamhouse.com Points tobe Noted when Dealing with Mis-takes Before we embark on our discussion we should note some issues and considerations that we should bear in mind before and when dealing with and correcting the mistakes of others. Sincerity towards Allaah When correcting the mistakes of others, it is essential that one’s intention be to earn the pleasure of Allaah, not to demonstrate one's superiority or to vent one’s anger or to impress others. Al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Shufayy al-Asbahi that he entered Madeenah and saw a man with people gathered around him. He asked, “Who is this?” They said, “Abu Hurayrah.” [Shufayy said:] “So I approached him and sat down in front of him. He was speaking to the people, and when he fi-nished and they had gone away, I said to him, ‘I ask you by Allaah, to narrate to me a hadeeth that you heard from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and understood fully.’ Abu Huray-rah said, ‘I will do that, I will tell you a hadeeth I heard from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
- 14. www.islamhouse.com Allaah beupon him) and understood fully.’ Then Abu Hurayrah began to gasp, and remained in this condition until he recovered, then he said, ‘I will tell you a ha-deeth that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told me in this house when there was no one else present except me and him.’ Then Abu Hurayrah began to gasp again, then he recovered and wiped his face, and said, ‘I will tell you a hadeeth that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told me in this house when there was no one else present except me and him.’ Then he gasped, then he recovered and wiped his face and said, ‘I will tell you a hadeeth that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told me in this house when there was no one else present except me and him.’ Then Abu Hurayrah began to gasp severely, and his head fell forward, and I supported him with my shoulder for a long time, then he recovered, and said: ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told me: (When the Day of Judgement comes, Allaah will come down to Ludge between the people. And every nation will be kneeling in submission. The first people to be called forth will be a man who had learned the Qur`aan by heart, a man who was killed for the sake of Allaah and a man who had a lot of wealth. Allaah will say to the reciter [of the
- 15. www.islamhouse.com Qur`aan], (DidI not teach you that which I had re-vealed to My Messenger?’ He will say, (Of course, My Lord.’ Allaah will say, (What did you do with what you were taught?’ He will say, (I stayed up at night and during the day (to recite it).’ Allaah will say, (You have lied,’ and the angels will say, (You have lied.’ Allaah will say, (You only wanted it to be said that so-and-so is a reader, and it was said.’ The one who had a lot of wealth will be brought and Al-laah will say to him, (Did I not give generously to you so that you were not in need of anyone?’ He will say, (Of course, O Lord.’ Allaah will say, (What did you do with what I gave you?’ He will say, (I used to give it to my relatives and in charity.’ Allaah will say, (You have lied,’ and the angels will say, (You have lied.’ Allaah will say, (You only wanted it to be said that so-and-so is generous, and it was said. Then the one who was killed for the sake of Allaah will be brought and Allaah will say to him, (What were you killed for?’ He will say, (I was commanded to fight in Lihaad for Your sake so I fought until I was killed.’ Allaah will say, (You have lied,’ and the angels will say, (You have lied.’ Allaah will say, (You only want it to be said that so-and-so was cou-rageous, and it was said.’ Then the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) struck my knees and said, (O Abu Hurayrah, these three are the first people for whom the Fire will be
- 16. www.islamhouse.com heated onthe Day of Resurrection.’ ” (Sunan al- Tirmidhi, no. $@$, Shaakir edn. Abu ()esa said7 this is a ghareeb hasan hadeeth). If the intention of the person giving advice is sincere, he will earn reward and his advice will be accepted and acted upon, by the permission of Allaah. Making Mistakes is Part of Human Nature. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “)very son of Adam makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. $GII, and by Ibn Maa- Lah, who narrated this version – al-Sunan, ed. by (Abd al-BaPi, no. G$'8) Bearing this fact clearly in mind will put things into their proper perspective, so the educator should not expect people to be perfect or infallible or judge them according to what he thinks they should be, and then consider them to have failed if they make a big mistake or err repeated-ly. He should deal with them in a realistic manner, based on his knowledge of human nature which is subject to ignorance, negligence, shortcomings, whims and desires and forgetfulness.
- 17. www.islamhouse.com Understanding thisfact will also prevent an educator from being greatly shocked by the kind of sudden mis-take that could lead him to react in an inappropriate fa-shion. This will remind the da‘iyah and educator who is striving to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil that he too is a human being who could also make the same mistake, so he should deal with him on a footing of compassion rather than harshness, because the basic aim is to reform, not to punish. But this does not mean that we should leave people who are making mistakes alone, or find excuses for those who are committing sins on the basis that they are only hu-man or that they are just youngsters, or that the modern age is full of temptations and so on. We must denounce the actions and call the people to account, but at the same time we must evaluate their actions according to Islam. - Saying that someone is wrong should be based on shar‘i evidence and proper understanding, not on ignorance and that fact that one happens not to like it. Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir reported that Jaabir prayed wearing on-ly an izar (lower garment wrapped around the waist) tied at the back [the reason for this is that they did not have trousers, and they would wear their izar tied at the back because this was more concealing when they did rukoo’ and sujood. [Fath al-Baari, al-Salafiyyah edn., .DEFG], and his other clothes were on a clothes hook.
- 18. www.islamhouse.com Someone saidto him, ‘Are you praying in one garment?’ He said, ‘I only did it so that some foolish person like you would see me. Who among us had two garments at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al- Fath, no. HIJ). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “What is meant by ‘foolish’ here is ‘ignorant’… The purpose was to explain that it is permissible to pray wearing only one garment, although wearing two gar-ments is preferable. It is as if he was saying, ‘I did it on purpose to show that it is permissible, so that one who does not know could follow me in that or he could re-buke me so that I could teach him that it is permissible.’ The reason why his answer was so harsh was so that he could teach them not to rebuke the scholars and to urge them to look into shar‘i matters themselves.” (al-Fath, .DEFG) - The more serious a mistake is, the more effort should be made to correct it. Efforts to correct mistakes that have to do with ‘aqeedah should be greater than those to correct mistakes that have to do with etiquette, for example. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was intensely con-cerned about dealing with and correcting mistakes that had to do with shirk in all its forms, because this was the
- 19. www.islamhouse.com most importantmatter. Examples of this follow. Al- Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said: “There was an eclipse of the sun on the day that [the Prophet’s infant son] Ibraaheem died, and the people said, (This eclipse is because of the death of Ibraaheem.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allaah, they do not become eclipsed for the death or life of anyone. If you see them (eclipsed) then call on Allaah and pray to Him until the eclipse is over.’” (Reported by al- Bukhaari, Fath, 86%8). Abu WaaPid al-Laythi reported that when the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to Hunayn, he passed by a tree belonging to the mushrikeen that was called Dhaat Anwaat, on which they used to hang their weapons. They said, (O Messenger of Allaah, make for us a Dhaat Anwaat like they have.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Sub-haan- Allaah! This is like what the people of Moosa said, “Make for us a god as they have gods.” By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you will follow the ways of the people who came before you.’ ” (Re-ported by al-Tirmidhi, no. $86. He said7 (This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth’)
- 20. www.islamhouse.com According toanother report narrated by Abu Waaqid, they went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Al-laah to Hunayn. He said: “The kuffaar had a lotus-tree to which they were de-voted and on which they used to hang their wea-pons; it was called Dhaat Anwaat. We passed by a big, green lotus-tree, and we said, (O Messenger of Allaah, make this a Dhaat Anwat for us.’ The Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you have said what the people of Moosa said to him, “Make for us a god as they have gods,” and he said, “Verily, you are a people who know not.” It is the same thing, and you will follow the ways of the people who came before you, step by step.’ ” (Re-ported by Ahmad, al-Sunan, 'Q$8) Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led us in Subh (FaLr) prayer at al-Hudaybiyah Lust after it had rained in the night. When he finished, he turned to the people and said, (Do you know what your Lord says?” They said, (Al-laah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, (This morning one of My slaves became a believer in Me, and one a disbeliever. As for the one who said, we have been given rain by the Grace and Mercy of Al-laah, he is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the
- 21. www.islamhouse.com stars; andas for him who said, we have been given rain by such-and-such a star, he is a disbeliever in Me and a believer in the stars.’ ” (Reported by al- Bukhaari, Fath, no. G%) Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that a man said, “O Messenger of Allaah, whatever Allaah and you will.” He said, “Are you making me ePual to Allaah? [Say instead7] What Allaah alone wills.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 8Q$@) Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) re-ported that he caught up with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab who was with a group of people and was swearing by his father. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called them and told them that Al-laah had forbidden them to swear by their forefathers; the one who wanted to swear an oath should swear by Allaah or else keep quiet. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, F.MN) Note: Imaam Ahmad reported in his Musnad: Wakee’ told us that al-A’mash told us from Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaydah who said: “I was with Ibn ‘Umar in a circle and he heard a man in another circle saying, ‘No, by my father.’ So Ibn ‘Umar threw pebbles at him and said, ‘This is how ‘Umar used to swear, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade him to do this and said that it was shirk.’ ” (al-Fath al-Rabbaani, .ED.FE).
- 22. www.islamhouse.com Abu ShurayhHaani’ ibn Yazeed said: “A delegation of people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he heard them calling one of them Abd al-HaLar (“slave of the stone”). He asked him, (What is your name?’ He said, ( (Abd al-HaLar.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (No, you are (Abd-Allaah (slave of Allaah).’” (Re-ported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 8@. Al-Albaani said in Saheeh al-Adab al-Mufrad that it is saheeh, no. %$@). - Taking into account the position of the person who is striving to correct the mistake. Some people’s advice may be more readily accepted than others’ because they have a status that others do not, or because, unlike others, they have authority over the person who has made the mis-take, for example, a father with his child or a teacher with his student or a government official with the one whom he is inspecting. One who is older is not like one who is younger, a relative is not like a stranger, a person with authority is not like one with no authority. Understand-ing these differences will make the reformer put things into perspective and evaluate them properly, so that his rebuke or correction will not lead to a greater evil. The position of the one who is rebuking and the esteem in which he is held by the one who has made the mistake
- 23. www.islamhouse.com are veryimportant in judging how strong the rebuke should be and deciding how harsh or gentle the tone should be. From this we learn two things: Firstly, that the person to whom Allaah has given status or authority should use that to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and to teach people. He should un-derstand that he has a great responsibility because people will accept more from him than from other people – usually – so he can do more than others can. Secondly, the person who seeks to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil should not misjudge the situation and put himself in a higher position than is in fact the case and behave as if he has qualities that he does not have, because this will only put people off. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made the most of the position of respect that Allaah had given him when he was rebuking and teaching people. He did things that would not have been appropriate if they were done by anyone else, examples of which fol-low. Ya‘eesh ibn Tihfah al-Ghiffaari reported that his fa-ther said: “I was a guest of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), one of the poor to whom he played host. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out to check on his guests during the night, and saw
- 24. www.islamhouse.com me lyingon my stomach. He kicked me and said, (Don’t lie like this; this is the kind of lying that Al-laah hates.’” According to another report: “He kicked him and woke him up, and said, (This is how the people of Hell lie.’” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Fath al-Rabbaani, 8GQ$GG-$G'. Also reported by al- Tirmidhi, no. $JI, Shaakir ed.; by Abu Dawood in Kitaab al-Adab in his Sunan, no. '6G6, ad-Da(aas edn. The hadeeth is also in Saheeh al-Jaami’, $$J6- $$J8) This method of rebuking was appropriate for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) because of his position and status, but it is not appropriate for ordi-nary people. It is not alright for any person who wants to rebuke another for sleeping on his stomach to kick him whilst he is asleep and wake him up, and then expect him to accept this advice and thank him for it. The same applies to hitting a person who is making a mistake or throwing something like pebbles or whatever at him. Al-though some of the salaf did that, it was because of their particular status. Some stories of this nature follow. Al- Daarimi (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Sulaymaan ibn Yassaar that a man called Sabeegh came to Madeenah and started to ask about the ambiguous texts of the Qur`aan. ‘Umar sent for him, and he had pre-pared some date palm branches for him (to hit him with).
- 25. www.islamhouse.com [‘Umar] askedhim, “Who are you?’ He said, “I am the slave of Allaah, Sabeegh.” (Umar took hold of one of the palm branches and hit him, saying, “I am the slave of Allaah, (Umar.” He kept hitting him until his head began to bleed, and he said, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, enough! [The ideas that] were in my head have gone!” (Sunan al-Daarimi, ed. by ‘Abd-Allaah Haashim Yamaa-ni, .DI., no. .EF). Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that Ibn Abi Layla said: “Hudhayfah was in al-Madaa`in and asked for a drink, and a grandee gave him a vessel of silver. He threw it at him and said, ‘I would not have thrown it, but I told him not to do it and he didn’t stop. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us from wearing silk and brocade, and from drinking from vessels of gold and silver. He said: (These are for them in this world and for you in the Hereafter.’” (al-Fath, no. '%@$) According to a report narrated by Ahmad, describing the same incident, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Laylaa said: “I went out with Hudhayfah to one of these areas, and he asked for something to drink. A grandee brought him a vessel of silver and he (Hudhayfah) threw it in his face. We said, ‘Be quiet, be quiet, if we ask why he did it, he might not tell us.’ So we were quiet, and a little while lat-er he said, ‘Do you know why I threw it in his face?’ We said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘I had told him not to do it. The Mes-
- 26. www.islamhouse.com senger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Do not drink from vessels of gold.’ …and Mu‘aadh said, ‘Do not drink from vessels of gold or silver, and do not wear silk or brocade; these are for them in this world and for you in the Hereafter.’ ” (al- Musnad, IDHPF) Al-Bukhaari narrated that Seereen asked Anas to write him a contract of manumission, as he had plenty of mon-ey, but Anas refused. Seereen went to ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), who told Anas to write the docu-ment, and Anas still refused, so ‘Umar hit him with a whip whilst reciting the words (interpretation of the meaning): “… give them [slaves seeking emancipation] such writing [of a document of manumission], if you know that they are good and trustworthy…” [an- Noor $G7@@] …so he wrote the document for him. (Al-Fath, ID.NE). Al-Nisaa`i reported from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri that he was praying when a son of Marwaan came in front of him, so he checked him, and when he did not go back, he hit him. The boy went out crying, and went to Marwaan and told him what had happened. Marwaan asked Abu Sa‘eed, “Why did you hit the son of your brother?” He said, “I did not hit him, I hit the Shaytaan. I heard the
- 27. www.islamhouse.com Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: (If any one of you is praying and someone wants to pass in front of him, let him stop him as much as he can, and if he refuses then fight him, for he is a de-vil.’ ” (al-MuLtaba min Sunan al-Nisaa`i, Q%8; Sa-heeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. G'8) Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Abu’l-Nadr that Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri was suffering from a sore leg, and his brother came in and saw him ly-ing with one leg crossed over the other, so he hit him on the sore leg, making it hurt even more. He said, “You hurt my leg! Didn’t you know it is sore?” He said, “Of course I knew.” He said, “What made you do that?” He said, “Did you not hear that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to sit like this?” (al-Musnad, HDEJ) Maalik reported from Abu’l-Zubayr al-Makki that a man proposed marriage to another man’s sister, and he [the brother] told him that she had committed zinaa. News of this reached ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, so he hit him or near-ly hit him, and said, “Why did you tell him?” (Muwatta’ Maalik, no. .IIH, report of Abu Mus‘ab al-Zuhri, ed. by Bashshaar Ma’roof and Mahmood Khaleel. Mu`asaasat al-Risaalah).
- 28. www.islamhouse.com Muslim reportedin his Saheeh from Abu Ishaaq who said: “I was with al-Aswad ibn Yazeed in the Great Mos-que, and al-Sha’bi was with us. Al-Sha’bi told us about what Faatimah bint Qays had said about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) not providing housing or an income for her. Al-Aswad took a handful of pebbles and threw them at him, saying, ‘Woe to you! You talk about something like this? ‘Umar said that we should not leave the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for the words of a woman who we cannot be sure has remembered things properly or not. Women have the right to accommodation and an income. Allaah says: “… and turn them not out of their homes, not shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse…” [al-TalaaP %'78].’ ” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 8G6) Abu Dawood reported, with an isnaad in which two men are maqbool, that two men entered from the doors of Kindah, when Abu Mas‘ood al-Ansaari was sitting in a circle. The two men said, “Is there any man who will judge between us?” A man in the circle said, “I will.” Abu Mas‘ood took a handful of pebbles and threw them at him, saying, “Shut up! It is disliked to hasten to judgement.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Kitaab al- Aqdiyah, Bab fi talab al-qada’ wa al-tasarru’ ilayhi)
- 29. www.islamhouse.com We shouldalso note that the Prophet’s rebuking of some of his closest Companions was, on occasions, harsher than his rebuking of a bedouin, for example, or a stran-ger. All of this has to do with wisdom and proper evalua-tion in rebuking. - Making a distinction between one who errs out of ig-norance and one who errs despite his knowledge. One of the stories that illustrate this clearly is what happened to Mu‘aawiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Salami when he came to Madeenah from the desert, and he did not know that it is forbidden to speak during the salaah. He said: “Whilst I was praying behind the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man snee?ed, so I said (Yarhamuk Allaah (may Al-laah have mercy on you).’ The people glared at me, so I said, (May my mother lose me! What is wrong with you that you are looking at me?’ They began to slap their thighs with their hands, and when I saw that they were indicating that I should be Puiet, I stopped talking (i.e., I nearly wanted to answer them back, but I controlled myself and kept Puiet). When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) had finished praying – may my father and mother be sacrificed for him, I have never seen a better teacher than him before or since – he did not rebuke me or hit me or put me to shame. He
- 30. www.islamhouse.com Lust said,(This prayer should contain nothing of the speech of men; it is only tasbeeh and takbeer and re-citation of the Qur`aan.’ ” (Saheeh Muslim, (Abd al- BaaPi edn., no. '@J). The ignorant person needs to be taught; the one who has doubts needs to have things explained to him; the negli-gent person needs to be reminded; and the one who will-fully persists in error needs to be warned. It is not right to treat one who knows about a ruling and one who is igno-rant of it in the same manner when rebuking them. Treat-ing one who does not know too harshly will only put him off and make him refuse to follow your advice, unlike teaching him with wisdom and gentleness, because an ignorant person simply does not realize that he is making a mistake. It is as if he is saying to the one who is rebuk-ing him: “Why don’t you teach me before you launch an attack on me?” The one who is making a mistake without realizing it may think that he is right, so we should take this into ac-count and deal with him tactfully. Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in al-Musnad from al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ate some food, then got up to pray. He had already done wudoo’ before that, but I brought some water for him to do wudoo’, He re-buffed me and said, (Go away!’ I felt upset, by Al-
- 31. www.islamhouse.com laah. Heprayed, and I complained to (Umar about what had happened. He said, (O Prophet of Allaah, al-Mugheerah feels hurt by your rebuff, and he is worried that you may be angry with him for some reason.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (I see only good in him, but he brought me water to do wudoo’ after I had eaten some food, and if I had done wudoo’ then, the people would have followed suit [i.e., they would have thought that they had to do wudoo’ every time they had eaten something].’ ” (al-Musnad, GQ$'@) We should note here that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed out the mis-takes of these great Sahaabah, it did not have a negative impact on them or put them off; rather, it had a positive effect on them, and having been corrected in this manner by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), they would remain anxious and worried, watching their behaviour and feeling concerned until they could be sure that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was pleased with them. We may also note from this story that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed out al-Mugheerah’s mistake, he was not angry with al- Mugheerah himself; he did this out of mercy to the people and to explain things clearly to them, so that they would not impose something on themselves that was not
- 32. www.islamhouse.com waajib andthat would cause them a great deal of hard-ship. - Making a distinction between mistakes stemming from an honest effort to find out what is right (ijtihaad), and mistakes done deliberately, out of negligence or because of shortcomings. There is no doubt that in the first case, a person is not to be blamed; indeed he will earn one re-ward even if he is mistaken, so long as his intention was sincere and he tried to reach the right conclusion, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a ruler Ludges and strives to make the right deci-sion, and his decision is correct, he will have two rewards, and if his decision is wrong, he will still have one reward.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 8@$%, Shaakir edn. Abu ()esa al-Tirmidhi said it is a gha-reeb hasan hadeeth in this version.) This is a different case from one who errs deliberately or because of shortcomings. In the first instance, the person should be taught and advised; in the second, he should be warned and rebuked. The ijtihaad which may be excused should be done on the part of one who is qualified, not one who gives fat-was without knowledge and without taking circums-tances into account. This is why the Prophet severely de-
- 33. www.islamhouse.com nounced thepeople who made the mistake in the case of the man with the head wound. Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunan from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “We went out on a Lourney, and one of the men with us was struck in the head with a stone and started bleeding. Then he slept and when he woke up he needed to do ghusl (he was in state of Lanaabah or impurity). He asked his companions, (Do you think I could get away with doing tayammum?’ They said, (We don’t think you have any excuse because water is available.’ So he did ghusl, and he died. When we came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he was told about this, he said, (They have killed him, may Allaah kill them! Why did they not ask if they did not know? The cure of the one who does not know is to ask…’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitaab al-Tahaarah, Baab al-maLrooh ya-tayammam; al-Albaani classed it as hasan in Saheeh Abi Dawood, @$', and indicated that the extra ma-terial [not mentioned]added at the end of the ha-deeth is da’eef) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that judges are of three types, one will be in Paradise and the other two in Hell. The type that will be in Para-dise is a man who knows the truth and judges according-ly. A man who knows the truth but judges unjustly will
- 34. www.islamhouse.com be inHell, and a man who judges between people with-out proper knowledge will also be in Hell. (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. HIGH; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al- Irwa’, J.FE). The third type is not regarded as having any excuse. Another factor in gauging the degree of rebuking is pay-ing attention to the environment in which the mistake occurred, such as whether it was an environment in which the Sunnah is followed or bid’ah is widespread, or how prevalent evil is, or whether there are ignorant or overly lenient people, whose opinions are widely fol-lowed, issuing fatwas to say that it is permissible. - A good intention on the part of the one who makes the mistake does not mean that he should not be rebuked ‘Amr ibn Yahya said: “I heard my father narrating from his father who said: ‘We were at the door of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas‘ood before the early morning prayer. When he came out we walked with him to the mosque. Abu Moo-sa al-Ash’ari came up to us and said, “Did Abu ‘Abd al- Rahmaan come out to you yet?” We said, “No.” He sat down with us until [Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan] came out. When he came out, we all stood up to greet him, and Abu Moosa said to him: “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, earli-er I saw in the mosque something that I have never seen before, but it seems good, al-hamdu Lillaah.” He said,
- 35. www.islamhouse.com “And whatwas it?” He said, “if you live, you will see it. I saw people in the mosque sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man, and they had pebbles in their hands. He would say, ‘Say Allaahu akbar one hundred times,’ and they would say Allaahu akbar one hundred times; then he would say, ‘Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times,’ and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times; then he would say, ‘Say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times,’ and they would say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times.’ He asked, ‘What did you say to them?’ He said, ‘I did not say anything to them; I was waiting to see what your opinion would be and what you would tell me to do.’ He said, ‘Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee them that nothing of their good deeds would be wasted?’ Then he left, and we went with him, until he reached one of those circles. He stood over them and said, ‘What is this I see you doing?’ They said, ‘O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, these are pebbles we are using to count our takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.’ He said, ‘Count your bad deeds, and I guarantee that nothing of your good deeds will be wasted. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad, how quickly you are getting destroyed! The Companions of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) are still alive, his garment is not yet worn out and his vessels are not yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, either you are following a way that is more guided than that of Muhammad or you have
- 36. www.islamhouse.com opened thedoor of misguidance!’ They said, ‘By Allaah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we only wanted to do good.’ He said, ‘How many of those who wanted to do good failed to achieve it! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that people re-cite Qur`aan and it does not go any further than their throats. By Allaah, I do not know, maybe most of them are people like you.’ Then he turned away from them. ‘Amr ibn Salamah said, ‘I saw most of the members of those circles fighting alongside the Khawaarij on the day of Nahrawaan.’ ” (Reported by al-Daarimi, al-Sunan, no. J.M, ed. by ‘Abd-Allaah Haashim al-Yamaani. Al-Albaani classed its isnaad as saheeh in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah un-der hadeeth no. JMMI. See Majma’ al-Zawaa’id by al- Haythami, .D.N.). - Being fair and not being biased when correcting those who make mistakes Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “And whenever you give your word (i.e., Ludge be-tween men or give evidence), say the truth…” [al- An’aam %78'$] “… and when you Ludge between men, you [should] Ludge with Lustice…” [al-Nisa’ G7'] The fact that Usaamah ibn Zayd was the beloved of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
- 37. www.islamhouse.com the sonof his beloved [Zayd] did not stop the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from rebuk-ing him most sternly when he tried to intercede regard-ing one of the punishments (hudood) prescribed by Al-laah. ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) re-ported that Quraysh were concerned about a woman who stole at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), at the time of the Conquest of Makkah. They said, (Who will speak to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about her? Who will dare to do this other than Usaamah ibn Zayd, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ She was brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and Usaamah ibn Zayd spoke to him concerning her. The face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) changed colour and he said7 (Are you interceding concerning one of the punishments pre-scribed by Allaah?’ Usaamah said to him, (Pray for forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allaah.’ When evening came, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up and ad-dressed the people. He praised Allaah as He de-serves to be praised, then he said7 (The people who came before you were destroyed because if one of
- 38. www.islamhouse.com their noblesstole, they would let him go, but if one of the weak among them stole, they would carry out the punishment on him. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Faatimah the daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.’ Then he or-dered that the woman who had stolen should have her hand cut off.” (The hadeeth was reported by al- Bukhaari and Muslim; this version was narrated by Muslim, no. 8%). According to a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i from ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), she said: “A woman borrowed some Lewellery, claiming that she wanted to lend it to someone else, but she sold it and kept the money. She was brought to the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Her family went to Usaamah ibn Zayd, who spoke to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning her. The face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) changed colour whilst Usaamah was speaking, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him7 (Are you interceding concerning one of the punishments prescribed by Allaah?’ Usaamah said, (Pray for forgiveness for me, O Mes-senger of Allaah.’ In the evening, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
- 39. www.islamhouse.com stood up,praised Allaah as He deserves to be praised, then said, (The people who came before you were destroyed because if one of their nobles stole, they would let him go, but if one of the weak among them stole, they would carry out the punishment on him. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Faati-mah the daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.’ Then he ordered that the woman’s hand should be cut off.” (Sunan al-Nisaa`i, al-MuLtabaa, Dar al-Fikr edn., QJ@. Classed as sa-heeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. G'G). The Prophet’s attitude towards Usaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him) indicates that he was fair and just, and that Islam came before love of people in his view. A per-son may put up with the personal faults of whoever he wishes, but he has no right to be tolerant or biased to-wards those whose mistakes transgress the limits set by Islam. Sometimes, when a relative or friend makes a mistake, a person does not rebuke him as he would a person whom he does not know, so one may see un-Islamic bias or dis-crimination in his dealings because of this, and a person may turn a blind eye to his friend’s mistake while harshly criticizing another person. [An Arab poet once said:]
- 40. www.islamhouse.com “If youare happy with a person, you do not see his mistakes, but if you are angry with him, you see them all.” This may also be reflected in the way in which actions are interpreted. An action on the part of a person one loves will be taken one way, and the same deed on the part of another person will be taken quite differently. All of the above applies only when circumstances are the same, otherwise there could be different considerations as we will see below. - Being careful lest correcting one mistake leads to a bigger mistake. It is a well-established fact that Islam al-lows the lesser of two evils in order to repel a greater evil. So a da‘iyah may keep quiet about one mistake lest saying something lead to a more serious mistake. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept quiet about the munaafiqeen and did not execute them, even though their kufr was well-established. He bore their insults with patience, lest people say, “Mu-hammad is killing his companions,” especially since their true nature was not known to everyone. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not de-stroy the Ka’bah in order to rebuild it on the foundations laid by Ibraaheem, out of consideration towards Quraysh who were still new in Islam and too close to their recent
- 41. www.islamhouse.com jaahiliyyah. He(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) feared that it might be too much for them, so he left it as it was, with part missing, and the door set high up and closed to the masses, even though this contains an element of zulm (wrongdoing or oppression). Before this, Allaah had told the Muslims not to insult the gods of the mushrikeen, even though this is a form of worship, because this could lead to people insulting Al-laah, which is the worst of evil. A da‘iyah may keep quiet about a wrong action, or defer rebuking, or change his approach, if he thinks that by doing so he will avoid a greater evil or mistake. This is not considered to be shortcoming or negligence so long as his intention is sincere and he does not fear anyone ex-cept Allaah, and it was only concern for the best interests of Islam, not cowardice, that stopped him from saying anything. We may note that what causes a greater evil when rebuk-ing for one mistake is zealousness which is not checked or controlled. - Understanding the human nature from which the mis-take sprang. There are some mistakes which can never be fully eradicated, because they have to do with the way Allaah has created people. It is possible to reduce them a little, but going to extremes in dealing with them will
- 42. www.islamhouse.com lead toa disaster. Such is the case of women. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Woman was created from a rib, and she will not behave consistently towards you. If you enLoy her company, then enLoy it despite her crookedness. If you try to straighten her you will break her, and her breaking is her divorce.” (Reported by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), no. 8G%). According to another report: “Be kind to women, for they were created from a rib, and the most crooked part of the rib is the top. If you try to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it alone, it will stay crooked. So be kind to women.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari from Abu Hurayrah. Al- Fath, no. '8%). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The words (treat women kindly’ indicate that you should try to put them right gently, because if you go to extremes in trying to straighten them you will break them, and if you leave them they will remain crooked… What we learn from this is that we should not leave them crooked if they go beyond the natural expected short-comings and commit sins or neglect duties. What is meant is that we can leave them crooked with regard to permissible matters. We also learn from the hadeeth
- 43. www.islamhouse.com that agentle approach wins people over and opens their hearts. It also tells us to deal with women by be-ing easy going with them, and to bear their crookedness with patience. Whoever insists on putting them right will not benefit from them, and as a man cannot do without a woman to enLoy the pleasure of living with her and to be his support in life, it is as if he said7 you cannot enLoy her company unless you put up with her.” (Fath, PDPIE). - Making a distinction between mistakes that transgress the limits of Islam and mistakes that only affect other people. If Islam is dearer to us than our own selves, we must defend it and protect it and get angry for its sake more than we get angry for our own sakes and defend our own selves. It is a sign of not having religious feel-ings if we see a man getting angry for his own sake if someone insults him, but not getting angry for the sake of Allaah’s religion if anybody insults it; at most, we may see him feebly defending it in an embarrassed manner. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) often used to forgive those who made mistakes in their interactions with him, especially the hard-hearted Be-douin, in order to soften their hearts. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh that Anas ibn Maalik said:
- 44. www.islamhouse.com “I waswalking with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he was wearing a NaLraani cloak with a stiff collar. A Be-douin accosted him, grabbing his cloak in such a manner that the collar left a mark on the Prophet’s neck, and said, (O Muhammad! Give me some of the wealth of Allaah that you have!’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned to him and smiled, then ordered that he should be given something.” (al-Fath, '6I). But if the mistake had to do with some issue of religion, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would become angry for the sake of Allaah. Exam-ples of this will be given below. There are some other matters which should also be borne in mind when dealing with people’s mistakes, such as: - Making a distinction between major mistakes and mi-nor mistakes, just as Islam makes a distinction between major sins (kabaa’ir) and minor sins (saghaa’ir). - Making a distinction between a person who has a track record of many good deeds, which will more or less can-cel out the significance of his mistake, and a sinner who transgresses against himself (by doing evil deeds). People may put up with actions on the part of the one with the good track record that they will not put up with on the part of others. This is what happened to al-Siddeeq (Abu
- 45. www.islamhouse.com Bakr), asthe following story illustrates: Asma’ bint Abi Bakr said: “We went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as pilgrims, and when we reached al-(ArL, the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stopped to rest, and we stopped with him. (Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) sat beside the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and I sat beside my father. The riding beast shared by Abu Bakr and the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was with a slave belonging to Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr sat down, waiting for him to catch up, and when he caught up, the camel was not with him. Abu Bakr said, (Where is the camel?’ The slave answered, (I lost it yesterday.’ Abu Bakr said, (One camel, you lost it?’ and started to hit him. The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled and said, (Look at what this muhrim (person in a state of ihraam for HaLL) is doing.’” Ibn Abi Ri?mah said, (The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do any more than saying, (Look at what this muhrim is doing,’ and smiling.” (Reported by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, Kitaab al-Manaasik, Baab al-Muhrim
- 46. www.islamhouse.com yu’addib ghulaamahu.Classed as hasan by al- Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 8%6$) - Making a distinction between the one who makes mis-takes repeatedly and the one who is making a mistake for the first time. - Making a distinction between the one who frequently makes mistakes and the one who rarely does so. - Making a distinction between the one who makes mis-takes openly and blatantly, and one who tries to cover up his mistakes - Paying attention to cases where a person’s adherence to Islam may not be strong and his heart needs to be opened to the religion, so we should not be too harsh with him. - Taking into account a person’s situation as regards sta-tus and authority. The considerations that we have mentioned above do not contradict the fairness and justice referred to earlier. - Rebuking a youngster who makes a mistake should be done in a manner appropriate to the child’s age. Al- Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali took one of the dates that had been giv-en in charity, and put it in his mouth. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in Persian, “Kakh, kakh, do you not know that we do not eat the sadaPah (things given in charity)?” (Fath, @6J$).
- 47. www.islamhouse.com Al-Tabaraani (mayAllaah have mercy on him) reported from Zaynab bint Abi Salamah that she entered upon the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst he was performing ghusl. She said, “He took a handful of water and threw it in my face, saying, (Go away, foolish girl!’ ” (al-Mu’Lam al- Kabeer, $GQ$8. Al-Haythami said, its isnaad is ha-san, al-MaLma’, 8Q$%I) From this it is clear that a child’s tender years do not mean that his mistakes should not be corrected; indeed, correcting his mistakes is giving him the best upbringing, as it will be imprinted in his memory and will benefit him in the future. The first hadeeth shows how a child is taught to fear Allaah and restrain himself, and the second hadeeth shows how he is taught good manners, how to seek permission to enter, and to refrain from looking at the ‘awrah (that which should be covered) of others. Another brilliant example of correcting children is the story of the young boy ‘Umar ibn Abi Salamah. Al- Bukhaari reported that he said: “I was a young boy under the care of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and my hand used to wander all over the plate (at mealtimes). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me7 (O young boy! Say Bismillah, eat with your right hand,
- 48. www.islamhouse.com and eatfrom what is directly in front of you.’ This remained my way of eating from that time on.” (al- Fat’h, no. '@J%) We may note that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised that young boy who made the mistake of letting his hand go everywhere in the food, his words were short, brief and clear, which made it easy for the child to remember and understand; the effect on the boy’s heart lasted for a lifetime, as he said, “This remained my way of eating from that time on.” - )xercising caution when advising non-mahram wom-en, so that the advice is not taken wrongly, and so that fitnah (temptation, trouble) is avoided. No young man should use the excuse of speaking to young women in order to correct their mistakes or teach them. How often has this led to disasters! When it comes to correcting women, a large role should be given to ahl al-hisbah (“re-ligious police”) and older people who could help them in this regard. The person who is seeking to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil must act in accordance with what he thinks will be the outcome of his rebuking. If he thinks that it is likely to be of benefit, he should speak up, otherwise he should refrain from speaking to ignorant women who may make false accusations against him whilst still persisting in their wrongdoing. The state of
- 49. www.islamhouse.com the societyat large and the status of the one who is seek-ing to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil play a fundamental role in the success of his efforts to rebuke, convey the message or establish evidence. The following story illustrates this: The freed slave of Abu Raham, whose name was ‘Ubayd, reported that Abu Hurayrah met a woman who was wearing perfume, heading for the mosque. He said, “O female slave of al-Jabbaar (the Compeller), where are you going?” She said, “To the mosque.” He said, “And you have put on perfume for this?” She said, “Yes.” He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying, “If any woman puts on perfume and then goes out to the mosPue, Allaah will not accept her prayers until she does ghusl.” (Reported by Ibn MaaLah, no. G66$; see also Saheeh Ibn MaaLah, $Q@%J). According to Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah: A woman passed by Abu Hurayrah and her perfume was overwhelming. He said to her, “Where are you going, O female slave of al- Jabbaar?” She said, “To the mosPue.” He said, “Are you wearing perfume?” She said, “Yes.” He said, (Go back and do ghusl, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying that Allaah does not accept the prayer of any
- 50. www.islamhouse.com woman whogoes out to the mosPue with over-whelming perfume, until she goes back and does ghusl.” (Saheeh Ibn Khu?aymah, no. 8%$. In his footnote, al-Albaani said, it is a hasan hadeeth. See also al-Musnad, $Q$G%. Ahmad Shaakir classed it as saheeh with this isnaad in his footnote to al- Musnad, no. J@'6) - Not occupying oneself with putting the symptoms right whilst neglecting to deal with the cause of the mistake - Not exaggerating about the mistake - Not going to extremes to prove the mistake happened or trying to force an admission of guilt from the one who made the mistake - Allowing enough time for correcting the mistake, espe-cially in the case of one who has been accustomed to doing it for a long time, whilst still following up the mat-ter and continuing to advise and correct - Not making the one who makes the mistake feel like an enemy, because the aim is to win people over, not score points against them Now we will move on to our discussion of the methods used by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when dealing with the mistakes of people, as
- 51. www.islamhouse.com recorded inthe saheeh ahaadeeth narrated by the scho-lars.
- 52. www.islamhouse.com The Prophet’sMethods of Dealing with People’s Mistakes 8- Hastening to deal with people’s mistakes and not putting it off. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to hasten to deal with people’s mis-takes, especially when it was not right for him to delay doing so at the moment when this was needed. His task was to explain the truth to people, teach them to do good, and warn them off from doing evil. So he hastened to correct people on many occasions, as is seen in the sto-ries of the man who was not doing his salaah properly, the Makhzoomi woman, Ibn al-Latbiyyah, Usaamah, the three who wanted to go to extremes in worship, and oth-ers. These stories will be related in the course of this dis-cussion, in sha Allaah. Not hastening to deal with mistakes goes against the in-terests of Islam and misses out on the opportunity to strike while the iron is hot, as it were. $ - Dealing with mistakes by explaining the ruling (hukm). Jarhad (may Allaah be pleased with him) re-ported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
- 53. www.islamhouse.com “Cover yourthigh, for it is part of the (awrah.” (Su-nan al-Tirmidhi, no. $JI%. Al-Tirmidhi said, this is a hasan hadeeth). @ - Referring people back to Islam when they make mis-takes, and pointing out to them the principle that they are breaking. When someone is indulging in a mistake, the Islamic principle is far from their minds and is lost in the clamour of the moment. In such cases reiterating the Islamic principle and announcing it loudly can be an ef-fective way of stopping the person in his tracks and mak-ing him wake up from the stupor that has overtaken him. When we look at what happened between the Muhaaji-roon and Ansaar, because of the flames of fitnah stirred up by the munaafiqoon, we will see an example of how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used this tactic. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “We went out on a military campaign with the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and some of the muhaaLiroon went with him too, and they were very many. Among the mu-haa Liroon was a man who was very playful (a Loker). He shoved an Ansaari (in Lest), and the Ansaari got very angry with him and called others to support him, saying, (O Ansaar!’ The MuhaaLir called out, (O MuhaaLireen!’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of
- 54. www.islamhouse.com Allaah beupon him) came out and said, (What is this call of the people of Jaahiliyyah all about?’ Then he said, (What is the matter with him?’ He was told about how the MuhaaLir had shoved the Ansaa-ri in Lest. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Leave it, for it (tribalism) is evil.’ ” (al-Fath, @'8). According to a report narrated by Muslim, he said: “Let a man help his brother whether he is an wrongdoer or the victim of wrongdoing. If he is a wrongdoer, he should stop him, and if he is the vic-tim of wrongdoing, he should come to his aid.” (Sa-heeh Muslim, no. $'G). G - Correcting misconceptions that are due to something not being clear in people’s minds. In Saheeh al- Bukhaari, Humayd ibn Abi Humayd al-Taweel reports that he heard Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) saying: “Three people came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), asking about how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) worshipped. When they were told about it, they thought that it was little. They said, “Who are we, compared to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
- 55. www.islamhouse.com him)? Allhis sins, past and future, have been forgi-ven.” (They thought that the one who does not know that his sins have been forgiven needed to go to ex-tremes in worship and do far more than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in the hope that their sins might be forgiven). One of them said, “As for me, I will pray every night from now on.” Another said, “As for me, I will fast for the rest of my life and will never break my fast.” The third said, “As for me, I will have nothing to do with women and I will never marry.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to them and said, “Are you the people who said such-and-such? By Allaah, I am the one who fears Allaah more than anyone, but I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I rest, and I get married.” Muslim reported from Anas that a group of the Compa-nions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about what he did in secret. One of them (those Sahaabah) said, “I will never marry women.” Another said, “I will never eat meat.” Another said, “I will never sleep on a bed.” [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] praised and thanked Allaah, then he said, “What is the matter with some people who say such-and- such? But as for me, I pray and I sleep, I fast
- 56. www.islamhouse.com and Ibreak my fast, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah has nothing to do with me.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 86G8). Here we may note the following points: • The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to them and addressed them directly; when he wanted to teach all the people, he did not refer to them by name or expose them, he merely said, “What is the matter with some people…?” In this way he was gentle with them and covered up for them whilst at the same time acting in the common interest by teaching eve-rybody. • The hadeeth describes finding out about the action of good people and seeking to emulate them. Investigat-ing such things is the sign of a sound mind and efforts to improve oneself. • This report indicates that when it comes to useful matters of religion, if it is not possible to learn them from men, it is permissible to learn them from women. • There is nothing wrong with a person talking about his deeds so long as there is no element of showing off and it is for the benefit of others. • We also learn that going to extremes in worship may cause a person to get bored, which in turn could lead him to stop worshipping altogether; the best of things are those that are moderate. (see al-Fath, PD.ME).
- 57. www.islamhouse.com • Mistakesgenerally come about as a result of mis-conceptions; if the ideas are put right, mistakes will de-crease. It is clear from the hadeeth that the reason why those Sahaabah adopted those concepts of extreme wor-ship and monasticism was that they thought they had to go beyond the Prophet’s actions in worship in order to attain salvation, because he had been told that all his sins were forgiven, but they did not have this advantage. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set them straight, and told them that even though he was forgiven, he was the most fearing of Allaah among man-kind, and he commanded them to follow his Sunnah in worship. A similar thing happened to another Sahaabi, whose name was Kahmas al-Hilaali (may Allaah be pleased with him), who narrated his story: “I became Muslim and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him that I had become Muslim. I stayed away for a year, during which I became very skinny, and when I came back, he looked me up and down. I said, (Do you not know me?’ he said, (Who are you?’ I said, (I am Kahmas al-Hilaali.’ He said, (What happened to you?’ I said, (After I saw you, I never spent a day without fasting, and I never slept at night.’ He said, (Who told you to torture yourself? Fast the month of patience [i.e., Ramadaan], and one day of every
- 58. www.islamhouse.com month besidesthat.’ I said, (Let me do more.’ He said, (Fast the month of patience and two days of every month besides that.’ I said, (Let me do more, I am able for it.’ He said, (Fast the month of patience and three days of every month besides that.’” (Mus-nad al-Tayaalisi. Reported by al-Tabaraani in al- Kabeer, 8IQ8IG, no. G@'. Also in al-Silsilat al- Saheehah, no. $%$@). Some misconceptions may be based on how one judges people and regards them. The Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) was very keen to correct this and put people straight in this regard. In Saheeh al- Bukhaari, there is a report from Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi who said: “A man passed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so he asked a man sitting by him, (What do you think of this man?’ He said, (He is one of the noblest of the people. By Allaah, if he proposes marriage he de-serves to be accepted and if he intercedes he de-serves to have his intercession accepted.’ The Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said nothing. Then another man passed by and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) asked the man with him, (What do you think of him?’ The man said, (O Messenger of Allaah, he is one of the poor Muslims.
- 59. www.islamhouse.com If heproposes marriage he does not deserve to be accepted, if he intercedes he does not deserve to have his intercession accepted, and if he speaks he does not deserve to be heard. The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (This man is better than an earth full of men like the other man.’ ” (al-Fath, %GGJ). According to a report narrated by Ibn Maajah: a man passed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said (to his Compa-nions), “What do you think of this man?” They said, “We think that he is one of the noblest of people. If he proposes marriage he deserves to be accepted, if he intercedes he deserves to have his intercession ac-cepted, and if he speaks he deserves to be heard.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said nothing. Another man passed by and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked, “What do you think of this man?” They said, “By Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, he is one of the poor Muslims. If he proposes marriage he does not deserve to be accepted, if he intercedes, he does not deserve to have his intercession accepted, and if he speaks he does not deserve to be heard.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
- 60. www.islamhouse.com him) said,“This man is better than an earth full of men like the other one.” (Sunan Ibn MaaLah, (Abd al-BaaPi edn., no. G8$6) ' - Dealing with mistakes by repeatedly reminding people to fear Allaah Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Bajali reported that the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent a group of Muslims to fight some mushrikeen, and they met in battle. One of the mushrikeen was am-bushing individual Muslims and killing them. One of the Muslims wanted to catch him out and kill him. [Jundub said:] “We used to think that that man was Usaamah ibn Zayd. When he raised his sword, the mushrik said ‘La ilaaha ill-Allaah,’ but he [Usaamah] killed him. A mes-senger came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) and reported to him about what had happened in the battle. When he told him about what had happened to the mushrik who said Laa ilaaha ill- Allaah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent for Usaamah and asked him, (Why did you kill him?’ He said, (O Messenger of Allaah, he had caused much grief to the Muslims, he killed So-and-so and So-and-so,’ – and he named a number of people – (I attacked him and when he saw the sword he said Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah.’ The
- 61. www.islamhouse.com Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (And then you killed him?’ Usaamah said, (Yes.’ He said, (What will you do when Laa illaha ill-Allaah comes on the Day of Re-surrection?’ He said, (O Messenger of Allaah, pray for forgiveness for me.’” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) simply said, “What will you do when Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah comes on the Day of Resurrection?” He did not say any more than that. (Reported by Muslim, (Abd al-BaaPi edn., no. IJ). According to a report narrated by Usaamah ibn Zayd, he said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent us out on a military cam-paign and we reached al-HaraPaat near Juhaynah in the morning. [During the battle] I caught a man and he said, (Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,’ but I stabbed him. Then I felt bad about that, and I mentioned it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (He said Laa ilaaha ill- Allaah and you killed him?’ I said, (O Messenger of Allaah, he only said it because he was afraid of my weapon.’ He said, (How can you know what is in his heart? How can you be sure whether he was sincere or not?’ He kept repeating this until I wished that I
- 62. www.islamhouse.com had notbecome Muslim until that day [because em-bracing Islam wipes out all sins that came before - Translator].” (Reported by Muslim, no. %I) One issue that may be included under the heading of re-minders is reminding people about the power of Allaah. An example of this follows: Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that Abu Mas‘ood al-Badri said: “I was beating a slave of mine with a whip, and I heard a voice behind me saying, (Listen Abu Mas(ood!’ but I did not pay any attention to the voice because I was so angry. When the voice got nearer to me, I reali?ed that it was the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he was saying, (Listen Abu Mas(ood, listen Abu Mas(ood!’ I dropped the whip from my hand (ac-cording to another report7 the whip fell from my hand out of respect for him). He said, (Listen Abu Mas(ood, Allaah has more power over you than you have over this slave.’ I said, (I will never hit a slave again.’” According to another report he said7 “I said, (O Messenger of Allaah, he is free for the sake of Al-laah.’ He said, (If you did not do this, the Fire of Hell would blow in your face, or the Fire would touch you.’ ”
- 63. www.islamhouse.com According toanother report also narrated by Muslim, “the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Certainly Allaah has more power over you than you have over him.’ So he freed him.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 8%'I) Abu Mas‘ood al-Ansaari said: “I was beating a slave of mine when I heard some-one saying from behind me, (Listen, Abu Mas(ood, listen, Abu Mas(ood.’ I turned around and saw that it was the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, (Allaah has more power over you than you have over him.’… I never beat any slave of mine after that.” (Reported by al- Tirmidhi, no. 8IG. Abu ()esa said, this is a hasan saheeh hadeeth). % - Showing compassion to the one who is making a mistake. This applies in the case of those who deserve compassion, who feel remorse and show that they have repented, as is sometimes the case when people come to ask questions and find out, as in the following story. Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that a man who had divorced his wife by zihaar and then had intercourse with her came to the
- 64. www.islamhouse.com Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I divorced my wife by ?i-haar then I had intercourse with her before I offered kafaarah (expiation).” He said, “What made you do that, may Allaah have mercy on you?” He said, “I saw her anklets in the moonlight.” He said, “Then do not go near her until you have done that which Allaah commanded you to do.” (Abu ()esa said, this is a hasan ghareeb saheeh hadeeth. Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 88II) Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whilst we were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man came to him and said, (O Messenger of Allaah, I am doomed!’ He said, (What is the matter with you?’ He said, (I had intercourse with my wife whilst I was fasting.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Are you able to set a slave free?’ He said, (No.’ He said, (Can you fast for two consecutive months?’ He said, (No.’ He said, (Do you have the wherewithal to feed sixty poor persons?’ He said, (No.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said nothing more about the matter for a while, and whilst we were sit-ting there like that, a large basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-
- 65. www.islamhouse.com laah beupon him). He said, (Where is the one who was asking?’ The man said, (Here I am.’ He said, (Take this and give it in charity.’ The man said, (Who is poorer than me, O Messenger of Allaah? By Allaah, there is no family in Madeenah poorer than mine.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled until his eyeteeth were visible, then he said, (Feed your family with it.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 8I@%). This person who had made a mistake and came to ask about it was not joking or taking the matter lightly. He felt remorseful and guilty, as is clear from his saying “I am doomed.” For this reason, he deserved pity and com-passion. The report narrated by Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) makes the man’s state even clearer: Abu Hurayrah reported that a Bedouin came, hitting his cheeks and tearing out his hair, and saying, “I am sure that I am doomed!” The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “What makes you doomed?” He said, “I had intercourse with my wife during Ramadaan.” He said, “Can you free a slave?’ He said, “No.” He said, “Can you fast for two consecutive months?” He said, “No.” He said, “Can you feed sixty poor per-sons?” He said, “No,” and mentioned how poor he was. A large basket containing fifteen saa’ of dates was brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
- 66. www.islamhouse.com blessings ofAllaah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Where is that man? … Feed the poor with this.” He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, there is no one in Madeenah who is poorer than my family.” The Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled until his eyeteeth were visible and said, “Feed your family.” (Al-Musnad, $Q'8%. Al- Fath al-Rabaani, 86QI) J- Not hastening to tell someone he is wrong. Some-thing happened to ‘Umar which he himself told about: “I heard Hishaam ibn Hakeem ibn Hizaam reciting Soorat al-Furqaan during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). I listened to his recitation, and he was reciting it differently to the way that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite it. I nearly interrupted his prayer, but I waited until he had said the salaam, then I grabbed him by his cloak and said, ‘Who taught you to recite this soorah I heard you reciting?’ He said, ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught me to recite it.’ I said, ‘You are lying! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught me to recite it differently.’ I took him to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘I heard him reciting Soo-
- 67. www.islamhouse.com rat al-Furqaandifferently than the way you taught me to recite it.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Let him go. Recite, O Hishaam.’ He recited it as I had heard him recite it. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (This is how it was revealed.’ Then he said, (Recite, O (Umar.’ So I recited it as he had taught me. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (This is how it was revealed. This Qur’an was revealed with seven ways of recitation, so recite it in the way that is easiest for you.’ ” (Re-ported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, GII$). Among the educational methods we learn from this story are the following: • Telling each one to recite in front of the other and approving their recitation was more effective in confirm-ing that both were correct and neither was wrong. • When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told ‘Umar to let go of Hishaam, this was preparing both parties to listen in a calm manner. This was an indication that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) had been too hasty. • A person who is seeking knowledge should not be too hasty to condemn any opinion that differs from that with which he is familiar; he should first be sure of what
- 68. www.islamhouse.com he issaying, because that opinion may turn out to be a valid scholarly opinion. Another relevant point is that one should not hasten to punish someone who makes a mistake, as we see in the following story: An-Nisaa`i (may Allaah have mercy on him) re-ported from (Abbaad ibn Sharhabeel (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said7 “I came with my (pa-ternal) uncles to Madeenah, and we entered one of the gardens of the city. I rubbed some of the wheat, and the owner of the garden came and took my cloak and hit me. I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asking for his help. He sent for that man and they brought him to him. He said to him, (What made you do that?’ He said, (O Messenger of Allaah, he went into my garden and took some of my wheat and rubbed it.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (You did not teach him if it was the matter of him not knowing, and you did not feed him if it was the matter of him being hun-gry. Give him back his cloak.’ And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered that I should be given a wasP or half a wasP ( measure of wheat).” (Al-Nisaa`i, al-MuLtabaa, Ki-taab Aadaab al-Qudaat, Baab al-Isti’daa’; Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. GIII).
- 69. www.islamhouse.com From thisstory we learn that we should find out the cir-cumstances of the one who is making a mistake or acting in an aggressive manner, so that we may know the right way to deal with him. We may also note that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not punish the owner of the garden, because he was in the right, but he had handled the matter wrong. He pointed out to him that the way he had dealt with someone who knew not better was inap-propriate in such circumstances, then he taught him how to handle the matter properly, and told him to give back the garment he had taken from the hungry man. - Remaining calm when dealing with people’s mis-takes - especially when being too harsh could make matters worse and do more harm than good. We can learn this from looking at how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) dealt with the mistake made by the Bedouin who urinated in the mosque, as was reported by Anas ibn Maalik, who said: “Whilst we were in the mosPue with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a Bedouin came and stood urinating in the mosPue. The Companions of the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Stop it! Stop it!’ But the Messenger of Allaah
- 70. www.islamhouse.com (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not interrupt him; leave him alone.’ So they left him until he had finished urinating, then the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him and said to him, (In these mosPues it is not right to do anything like urinating or defecating; they are only for remembering Allaah, praying and reading Qur`aan,’ or words to that ef-fect. Then he commanded a man who was there to bring a bucket of water and throw it over the (urine), and he did so.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. $'). The principle which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) followed in dealing with this mis-take was to treat the man gently, not to be harsh with him. Al-Bukhaari reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Al-laah be pleased with him): “A Bedouin urinated in the mosPue, and the people got up to sort him out. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to them, (Leave him alone, and throw a bucket of water over it. You have been sent to make things easy for people, not to make things hard.’ ” (Fath, %8$). The Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them, were very keen to denounce the bad thing they had seen and to keep their mosque clean and pure, as is indicated in the various reports of this hadeeth, which describe them as shouting at him, getting up to sort him out, rebuking
- 71. www.islamhouse.com him andhastening to deal with him, or telling him to “Stop it!” (Jaami’ al-Usool, GDNH-NG). But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was think-ing of the likely consequences of the two options – stop-ping him or leaving him alone. If they tried to stop him, forcing a man to suppress his urination could do him harm, and if he was unable to stop but moved away be-cause he was afraid of them, the impurity would be spread over a wider area of the mosque and on the man’s body and clothing. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had the farsightedness to see that leaving the man alone until he had finished urinating was the lesser of two evils, especially since the man had already started doing it, and it was a problem that they would be able to do something about by cleaning it af-terwards. So he told his companions to leave him alone and not to interrupt him. He told them to leave him alone because this was in the better interests of all and would ward off a worse evil by putting up with the lesser evil. It was also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked the man the reason for his action. Al-Tabaraani reported in al-Kabeer that Ibn ‘Ab-baas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “A Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) and pledged allegiance to him in the mosPue. Then he went away and started to urinate. The people wanted to stop him,
- 72. www.islamhouse.com but theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not stop a man when he is uri-nating.’ Then he asked him, (Are you not a Muslim?’ He said, (Of course.’ He said, (What made you uri-nate in our mosPue?’ He said, (By the One Who sent you with the truth, I thought it was Lust like any other place so I urinated in it.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called for a bucket of water and poured it over the urine.” (Re-ported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, no. 88''$, vol. 88, p.$$6. Al-Haythami said in al-MaLma’7 its men are the men of saheeh, $Q86). This wise manner of dealing with the problem had a far-reaching effect on the Bedouin, as is clear from his reac-tion. Ibn Maajah reported that Abu Hurayrah said: “A Bedouin entered the mosPue where the Messen-ger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting, and said, (O Allaah, forgive me and Muhammad, and do not forgive anyone else.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled and said, (You are narrowing something vast.’ Then (the Bedouin) went away to the furthest part of the mosPue, opened his legs, and began to urinate. After he had learnt better, the Be-douin said, (He got up, may my mother and my fa-ther be sacrificed for him, he did not rebuke me or insult me. He Lust said, “We do not urinate in this
- 73. www.islamhouse.com mosPue; itwas only built for the remembrance of Allaah and for prayer.” Then he called for a bucket of water and poured it over the urine.’ ” (Sunan Ibn MaaLah, (Abd al-BaaPi edn., '$I; Saheeh Ibn Maa- Lah, G$). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned in his commentary a number of things we learn from the hadeeth about the Bedouin, among which are the follow-ing: • We should be gentle when dealing with one who is ignorant and teach him what he needs to know with-out rebuking him, so long as he is not acting out of stub-bornness, especially if he is one who needs to be won over. • The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was kind and dealt nicely with him. • The idea of taking precautions against impurity (najaasah) was well-established in the minds of the Sa-haabah, which is why they hastened to denounce it in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without first asking his permission. The idea of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil was also well-established in their minds. • We should also hasten to remove anything objec-tionable when there is nothing to stop us from doing so, because when the man had finished urinating, the
- 74. www.islamhouse.com Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) is-sued instructions that the place should be cleaned with water. I - )xplaining the seriousness of the mistake. Ibn ‘Umar, Muhammad ibn Ka’b, Zayd ibn Aslam and Qu-taadah reported (the following is compiled from their re-ports) that during the campaign of Tabook, a man said, “We have never seen anyone who loves food and tells lies more than our reciters, or anyone who is more co-wardly on the battlefield” – referring to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Companions. ‘Awf ibn Maalik said, ‘You are lying! You are a hypocrite, and I am going to tell the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ ‘Awf went to the Messenger of Allaah to tell him, but found that Qur`aan had already been revealed concern-ing it. That man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who was riding his camel, and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, we were only talking idly and joking, just to pass time on the journey.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “It is as if I can see him hanging onto the reins of the Prophet’s camel, with the stones hitting his feet, saying, “We were only talking idly and joking,” whilst the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was reciting (interpretation of the meaning),
- 75. www.islamhouse.com (Say7 Wasit at Allaah and His aayaat (signs) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’ [al-Tawbah I7%'], …no more, no less.” Ibn Jareer reported that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “During the campaign of Tabook a man said in a gathering, ‘We have never seen anyone who loves food and tells lies more than our reciters, or anyone who is more cowardly on the battlefield.’ A man who was present said, ‘You are lying! You are a hypo-crite, and I am going to tell the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),’ and Qur`aan was revealed.” ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said, “I saw him hanging on to the reins of the Prophet’s camel, kicking up the stones and saying, ‘O Messenger of Al-laah, we were only talking idly and joking,’ and the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was saying (interpretation of the meaning), “Say7 Was it at Allaah and His aayaat (signs) and His Messenger that you were mocking?” [al-Tawbah I7%']. (Tafseer ibn Jareer al-Tabari, .EDHHH, Dar al-Kutub al- ‘Ilmiyyah, Srst edn., .E.J. Its men are the men of saheeh, except Hishaam ibn Sa’d, from whom Muslim did not report except as a corroborating report, as in al-Meezaan. It was also reported by al-Tabari with his isnaad, and
- 76. www.islamhouse.com there isa corroborating report with a hasan isnaad rec-orded by Ibn Haatim from the hadeeth of Ka’b ibn Maa-lik. Saheeh al-Musnad min Asbaab al-Nuzool, p.G.). 86 - )xplaining the harmful effects of the mistake. Abu Tha’labah al-Khashani said: “Whenever the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) broke his journey in a place, the people would disperse in the valleys and mountains. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Your dispersing in these valleys and mountains is from Shaytaan.’ After that he never stopped any-where but they all stayed close together, so much so that if a cloak was spread over them, it would cover them all.” (Reported by Abu Dawood (may Allaah have mercy on him), in his Sunan, $$%; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, no. $$). According to another report: “… until you would say that if you were to spread a cloth over them, it would cover them.” (Ahmad, al- Fath al-Rabbaani, 8GQGG). Here we may note the Prophet’s concern for his Compa-nions, which was the leader’s concern for his troops. The army’s dispersing when they made camp was a trick of the Shaytaan to make the Muslims scared and to lead the
- 77. www.islamhouse.com enemy toattack them. (See ‘Awn al-Ma’bood, GDJPJ). Dispersing in this manner would make it hard for one part of the army to come to the aid of another part. (See Daleel al-Faaliheen, FD.HM). We may also note that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed him in whatever instructions they received from him. Another example of how the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) explained how serious and dangerous a mistake was is to be seen in the hadeeth of al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer, according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Straighten your rows (for prayer), or Allaah will make you divided.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh, Fath, no. J8J). Muslim reported in his Saheeh from Sammaak ibn Harb, who said: “I heard al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer saying, ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to straighten our rows strictly, until he realized that we had got the message. One day he came out and was about to say takbeer when he noticed a man whose chest was sticking out. He said, (O slaves of Allaah, straighten your rows, or Allaah will make you divided.’ ” (Saheeh Muslim, no. G@%).
- 78. www.islamhouse.com Al-Nisaa`i reportedfrom Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Make your rows firm and close together, and make your necks in a straight line, for by the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, I see the shayaateen (devils) coming among your ranks as if they are small black sheep.” (al-MuLtabaa, $QI$. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al- Nisaa`i, no. J'). Explaining bad effects and negative consequences is very important when it comes to convincing people that they are making a mistake. The consequences may affect the person himself, or they may spread to other people. An example of the former is the report narrated by Abu Da-wood (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Sunan from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both), in which a man cursed the wind. Muslim said that a man’s cloak was snatched away by the wind at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he cursed the wind. The Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do not curse it, for it only does as it is commanded, and if a person curses something that does not de-serve to be cursed, his curse will come back upon him.” (Abu Dawood, no. GI6; Saheeh Abi Dawood, no. G86$).
- 79. www.islamhouse.com An exampleof the latter was narrated by al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh from ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakrah from his father, who said: “A man praised another man in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” According to a report narrated by Muslim: a man said, ‘O Messen-ger of Allaah, there is no one other than the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who is better than him in such-and-such.’ (Saheeh Muslim, no. HMMM). [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said to him, (Woe to you! You have cut your companion’s throat! You have cut your companion’s throat!’ several times, then he said, (If any one of you insists on praising his brother, let him say, “I think so-and-so is such-and-such, and Allaah knows the exact truth, and I do not confirm anyone’s good conduct before Allaah, but I think him to be such-and-such,” if he knows that this is the case.’ ” ($%%$, Kitaab al- Shahaadaat). According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, Mihjan al-Aslami (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “… until when we were in the mosPue, the Messen-ger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw a man praying, prostrating and bowing. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-
- 80. www.islamhouse.com laah beupon him) said to me, (Who is this?’ I started to praise him and said, (O Messenger of Allaah, this is so-and-so, and he is such-and-such.’ (According to another report also in al-Adab al-Mufrad, he said, (This is so-and-so and he is one of the best people in Madeenah in prayer.’) He said, (Be Puiet, lest he hear you and you destroy him.’ ” (Saheeh al-Adab al-Mufrad, 8@J; al-Albaani said, it is hasan). Al-Bukhaari reported that Abu Moosa (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard a man praising another man and going to extremes in that. He said, (You have de-stroyed him’ or (You have broken the man’s back.’” (Fath $%%@). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained that exaggeration when praising someone is a mistake which can have bad consequences. It may make the person who is praised feel proud, so that his heart is filled with arrogance and self-admiration, and he rests on his laurels or starts to show off because he enjoys the praise so much. This in turn may lead to his utimate doom, which is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) meant when he said, “You have de-stroyed him,” or “You have cut the man’s throat,” or “You have broken the man’s back.”
- 81. www.islamhouse.com Moreover, ifa person goes to extremes in praising some-one, and says something he is not certain of, or affirms something he could not possibly know, or maybe even tells lies or says something to please the person he is praising, this will be a disaster, especially if the person he is praising is an oppressor or wrongdoer. (See al-Fath, .MDEGN). Generally speaking, it is not forbidden to praise people. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) praised some people in their presence. An important ex-planation of this topic is to be found in Saheeh Muslim, where there is a chapter entitled Baab al-Nahy ‘an al- Mad’h idhaa kaana feehi ifraat wa kheefa minhu fitnatun ‘ala’l-mamdooh (Chapter: Prohibition of praising others if it is exaggerated or if there is the danger of fitnah for the one who is praised). (Kitaab al-Zuhd wa’l-Raqaa’iq, Saheeh Muslim). The person who sees himself as falling short will not be damaged by praise, and if he is praised he will not be-come arrogant, because he knows his own true nature. Some of the salaf said: “If a man is praised to his face, let him say7 (O Allaah, forgive me for what they do not know, do not hold me responsible for what they say, and make me better than what they think.” (Fath, .MDEGN).
- 82. www.islamhouse.com 88 -Practical teaching of the one who is making a mis-take. In many cases practical teaching is more effective than theoretical teaching. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did. Jubayr ibn Nu-fayr reported from his father that he came to the Messen-ger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who called for water, then said, “Do wudoo’, O Abu Jubayr.” Abu Jubayr started with his mouth, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do not start with your mouth, O Abu Jubayr, for the kaafir starts with his mouth.” Then the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called for water, and washed his hands until they were clean, then he rinsed his mouth and nose three times, washed his face three times, washed his right arm up to the elbow three times, and his left arm three times, wiped his head and washed his feet. (Reported by al-BayhaPi in al-Sunan, 8QG%; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. $$6). We may note here that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) deliberately put this Sahaabi off from doing an incorrect action by telling him that the kaafir starts with his mouth; the meaning may be that the kaafir does not wash his hands before putting them in the vessel (I was told this by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Ibn Baaz when I asked him about the interpretation of this
- 83. www.islamhouse.com hadeeth), andthat this is not hygienic. And Allaah knows best. 8$ - Offering a sound alternative. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas‘ood said, “When we prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we used to say, “Peace be upon Allaah from His slaves, peace be upon so-and-so.” (According to a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i, he said, “Peace be upon Jibreel, peace be upon Mi-kaa’eel.” Al-Mujtabaa: Kitaab al-Tatbeeq, Baab Kayfa al- Tashahhud al-Awwal. See also Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. ...P). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do not say, (Peace be upon Allaah,’ for Allaah is (The Peace’ (al-Salaam). But you should say, (Al- Tahiyyaatu Lillaahi wa’l-salawaatu wa’l-tayyibaat, al-salaamu (alayka ayyuha’l-Nabiyyu wa rahmat- Allaahi wa barakaatuhu, wa’l-salaamu (alaynaa wa (alaa (ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen.’ If you say this, it will include every slave of Allaah in heaven or be-tween heaven and earth. [Then say7] (I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.’ Then choose whichever du’aa’ you like, and recite it.” (al- Bukhaari, Fath, @').
- 84. www.islamhouse.com Another reportthat deals with this topic was narrated by Anas (may Allaah be please with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw some sputum in the direction of the qiblah and this upset him so much that his anger could be seen on his face. He stood up and removed it with his hand, then said, “When any one of you stands up to pray, he is talk-ing to his Lord. His Lord is between him and the Piblah, so no one of you should spit in the direction of the Piblah; he should spit to his left or under his feet.” Then he took the edge of his cloak, spat on it and rubbed part of it against another part and said, “Or do like this.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, G6'). Another example was reported by Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said: “Bilaal came to the Prophet with some good-quality dates, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him, (Where is this from?’ Bilaal said, (We had some poor-Puality dates, and I sold two measures of those for one measure of these so that we could give them to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ When he heard that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Oh, oh! The essence of ribaa, the essence of ribaa! Do not do that. If you want to buy, sell your dates for some-
- 85. www.islamhouse.com thing else,then buy it.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, $@8$). According to another report, one day a slave belonging to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought him some fresh dates, but the Prophet’s dates were dry, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Where did you get these dates from?’ He said, (We bought a measure of these for two measures of our dates.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not do this, because it is not right. Sell your dates first, then buy whatever dates you want.’ (Musnad Ahmad, @Q%J). But in the case of some da‘iyahs and people who seek to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, we notice that there is a shortcoming in their methods when they denounce some of the mistakes that people make. They only point out the mistakes and denounce them as ha-raam, without offering an alternative or explaining what must be done if one makes a mistake. It is known that the method of Islam is to offer alternatives to make up for any benefits that may have been gained through the ha-raam practice. When zinaa (fornication, adultery) was forbidden, marriage was allowed and prescribed; when ribaa (usury, interest) was forbidden, trading was al-lowed; when pork, dead meat and the flesh of every crea-ture that has fangs or talons were forbidden, the meat of
- 86. www.islamhouse.com properly-slaughtered cattleand other animals was al-lowed, and so on. If a person does fall into error, Islam shows him the way out, through repentance and expia-tion, as is explained in the texts on kafaaraat (acts of ex-piation). So those who seek to call others to Islam must follow the sharee’ah in offering alternatives and finding acceptable ways out. (Another example of offering an al-ternative is to quote saheeh ahaadeeth which will replace da’eef and fabricated ahaadeeth). It is worth pointing out here that offering alternatives is something that depends on what is possible. Sometimes a mistake may be something that has to be stopped, but there is no realistic alternative, either because the general situation is bad and people are far removed from the sha-ree’ah of Allaah, or because the one who is seeking to en-join what is good and forbid what is evil cannot remem-ber what the alternative is – all he wants to do is de-nounce the mistake and change it, even if he has no al-ternative to offer. This happens a great deal in the case of financial dealings and investment organizations, which emerged in kaafir societies and were brought, complete with all their Islamically unacceptable features, to Mus-lim societies; the Muslims have shortcomings and weak-nesses that prevent them from creating Islamic alterna-tives and applying them everywhere. So those shortcom-ings and weaknesses remain, even though the divine me-thodology contains alternatives and ways out that could
- 87. www.islamhouse.com alleviate theMuslims’ hardships, and there are some who know this and some who do not. 8@ - Guiding people to that which will prevent them from making mistakes. Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Ha-neef reported that his father told him that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out, and they travelled with him in the direction of Makkah, until they reached the ravine of al-Khazzaar near al-Juhfah. Sahl ibn Haneef did ghusl, and he was a white man with a handsome body and beautiful skin. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah, the brother of Banu ‘Adiyy ibn Ka’b looked at him whilst he was doing ghusl and said, ‘I have never seen anything like what I have seen today, not even the skin of the virgin who is hidden away!’ [refer-ring to the whiteness of his skin]. Sahl fell to the ground (he had an epileptic fit). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and it was said to him, (Do you want to see Sahl? By Allaah, he cannot raise his head or wake up.’ He asked, (Whose fault is this?’ They said, ( (Aamir ibn Rabee’ah looked at him.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called (Aamir and rebuked him angrily, and said, (Why would any one of you kill his brother? If any one of you sees that his brother has something he likes, let him pray for
- 88. www.islamhouse.com blessing forhim.’ Then he said to him, (Bathe your-self to help him’. So he washed his face, his hands up to the elbows, his knees, the sides of his feet and inside his i?aar (lower garment) in a vessel. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Pour that water over him.’ So he poured the water over his head and back from behind, tilt-ing the vessel, and Sahl went with the people and there was nothing wrong with him.” (Al-Musnad, @QG%. Al-Haythami said, the men of Ahmad are the men of saheeh. Al-MaLma’, 'Q86J) According to a report narrated by Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him), Muhammad ibn Abi Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Haneef said that he heard his father saying: “Abu Sahl ibn Haneef did ghusl in al-Kharraar and took off the garment he was wearing. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah was looking at him, and Sahl was a white man with beautiful skin. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah said to him, ‘I have never seen anything like what I have seen today, not even the skin of the virgin!’. Sahl fell ill on the spot and became seriously ill. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and was told, ‘Sahl has fallen ill, and cannot go with you, O Messenger of Allaah.’ Sahl told him what had happened with ‘Aa-mir, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
- 89. www.islamhouse.com (Why wouldany one of you kill his brother? You should have asked for blessing for him. The (evil) eye is real. Do wudoo’ to help him.” So (Aamir did wudoo’, and Sahl went with the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there was nothing wrong with him. (Al- MuwaSa’, hadeeth no. 8IJ$). What we learn from this story is: • The teacher (i.e., the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) got angry with the one who caused harm to his Muslim brother. • He explained the harmful effects of the mistake and that it could lead to death. • He pointed the way to that which would prevent harm befalling a Muslim. .E - Not confronting people directly with their mistakes and addressing the issue in general terms may be suffi-cient. Anas ibn Maalik said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (What is the matter with some people who raise their ga?e to the heavens whilst they are praying?’ He spoke so harshly about them that he said, (They should stop doing that, or else
- 90. www.islamhouse.com Allaah willtake away their sight.’” (Reported by al- Bukhaari, Fath, hadeeth no. J'6). When ‘Aa`ishah wanted to buy a slave-woman whose name was Bareerah, her owners refused to sell her except with the condition that she would still be connected to them. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) found out about this, he stood up to ad-dress the people, praised and thanked Allaah, then said, “What is wrong with men who impose conditions which are not mentioned in the Book of Allaah? There is no condition that is not mentioned in the Book of Allaah but it is invalid, even if there were one hundred such conditions. The decree of Allaah is more true, the conditions laid down by Allaah are more binding, and wala’ (connection, loyalty, alle-giance) is to the one who sets the slave free.” (Re-ported by al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) in numerous places in his Saheeh. See Fath, '%@%). ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did something and made it permissible, but some people felt that they were above doing that. News of this reached the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so he addressed the people. He praised and thanked Allaah, then he
- 91. www.islamhouse.com said, (Whatis the matter with people who think themselves above doing the things that I do? By Al-laah, I know more about Allaah than they do, and I fear Him more than they do.’” (Fath, %868). Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw sputum in the qiblah of the mosque, so he turned to the people and said, “What is wrong with one of you that he stands fac-ing his Lord and spits in front of Him? Would any of you like someone to face him and spit in his face? If any one of you wants to spit, let him spit towards his left, under his feet, and if he cannot do this, let him do this” – and al-Qaasim described how he spat on his garment and rubbed one part of it against another part. (Saheeh Muslim, no. ''6). Al-Nisaa`i reported in his Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Salaat al- Subh and recited Soorat al-Room, but got mixed up in his recitation. When he had finished praying, he said, “What is the matter with people who pray with us but do not purify themselves properly? Such people are the ones who make us get mixed up when we re-cite Qur`aan.” (Sunan al-Nisaa`i, al-MuLtabaa, $Q8'%. Its men are thiPaat, but al-Haafi? said about (Abd al-
- 92. www.islamhouse.com Malik ibn(Umayr that he was thiPah but his memo-ry changed and he may have fabricated reports). Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that Abu Rawh al-Kalaa’i said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led us in prayer and recited Soorat al-Room, but he got mixed up in part of the recitation. He said, (The Shaytaan made us get mixed up in our recitation, because of some people who come to the prayer without wudoo’. When you come to pray, do wudoo’ properly.’” He also reported from Shu’bah from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Umayr, who said: “I heard Shabeeb Abu Rawh narrating from a man from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Salaat al-Subh and recited Soorat al-Room, and got mixed up, and he narrated (the same hadeeth).” (It was also reported from Zaa’idah and Sufyaan from ‘Abd al-Malik. Al-Musnad, HDEGH). There are many examples, all of which indicate that the identity of the person who has made the mistake need not be exposed. This indirect approach and avoiding a direct confrontation has a number of benefits, including the following:
- 93. www.islamhouse.com .. Itavoids a negative reaction on the part of the per-son who has made the mistake, and prevents him from being tempted by the Shaytaan to avenge himself or de-fend himself. J. It is more acceptable to people and is more effec-tive. H. It conceals the person’s mistake in front of other people. E. It increases the status of the educator and makes the advisor more beloved. It must be pointed out that this method of using hints to convey a ruling to a person who has made a mistake, without exposing him and causing him embarrassment, is only to be used when what he has done is not known to the majority of people. If most of the people do know what he has done, and he knows that they know, then this method would be more in the nature of a rebuke and scolding, and exposing him in the most hurtful manner. The one who has made a mistake would most likely ra-ther be confronted directly than be dealt with in this manner. Among the factors that can make a difference are: who is giving the advice, in the presence of whom the advice is being given, and whether the advice is given in a provocative and aggressive manner, or in a kindly and gentle manner.
- 94. www.islamhouse.com Indirect methodsof teaching people may be of benefit to the one who has made the mistake and to others, if they are used wisely. .I - Provoking public opinion against the one who has made the mistake. This method is only to be used in very limited circumstances, when a great deal of thought has been given to the matter, to avoid any negative escalation of the situation. There follows an example of how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used this method. Abu Hurayrah said: “A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and complained to him about his neighbour. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Go and put up with him.’ The man came back two or three times, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Go and put your belongings out in the street.’ So he went and put his belongings out in the street. People started to ask him what was going on, so he told them, and the people started to curse (the neighbour), saying, (May Allaah do such-and-such to him.’ Then the neighbour came to him and said, (Put your stuff back, you will not see anything else from me that you dislike.’” (Reported by Abu Da-wood, Kitaab al-Adab, Baab fi HaPP al-Jiwaar, no. '8'@; Saheeh Abi Dawood, G$I$).
- 95. www.islamhouse.com This methodhas an opposite counterpart which is used in other circumstances to protect people from the public’s harm, as will be explained below: .F - Avoiding helping the Shaytaan against the one who is making a mistake. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab reported that at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), there was a man called ‘Abd-Allaah whose nickname was Himaar (donkey), who used to make the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) laugh. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had him whipped for drinking – he was brought to him one day and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave orders that he should be whipped. One of the men present said, “O Al-laah, curse him! How often has he been brought [to be punished because of drinking]!” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do not curse him, for by Allaah, all I know of him is that he loves Allaah and His Messenger.” (Re-ported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, %J6). Abu Hurayrah said: “A drunkard was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he ordered that he should be beaten, so some of us hit him with our hands, others with shoes and garments. When he went away, a man said, ‘May Allaah put him to
- 96. www.islamhouse.com shame!’ TheMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not be a help to the Shaytaan against your brother.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, %J8). Abu Hurayrah also said: “A man who had been drinking was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he said, (Beat him.’ Some of us hit him with our hands, others with shoes and clothes. When he went away, some of the people said, (May Allaah put you to shame!’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not speak like this. Do not help the Shaytaan against him.’” (Al-Bukhaari, Fath, %JJJ) According to another report: “Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his Companions, (Rebuke him.’ So they turned to him and said, (You did not think of Allaah, you did not fear Allaah, you did not feel ashamed before the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ Then they let him go, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Say, “O Al-laah, forgive him, O Allaah, have mercy on him”’ and some of them added similar sentiments.” (Abu Dawood, Kitaab al-Hudood, Baab al-Hadd fi’l-
- 97. www.islamhouse.com Khamr, no.GGJ, GQ%$6. Classed as saheeh by al- Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, no. @J'I). According to another report: “When he went away, some of the people said, (May Allaah put you to shame!’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Do not speak like this, do not help the Shaytaan against him. Say “May Allaah have mercy on you.”’” (Reported by Ahmad, $Q@66. Ahmad Shaakir said, its isnaad is saheeh. Al-Musnad, ed. by Ahmad Shaa-kir, no. JIJ@). What we learn from all of these reports is that if the Mus-lim falls into sin, he is still basically a Muslim and still basically loves Allaah and His Messenger, and this should not be denied. It is not permitted to pray against him in a manner that helps the Shaytaan against him; ra-ther we should pray for him and ask Allaah to guide him, forgive him and have mercy on him. 8J - Asking the person to stop doing the wrong action. It is very important to make the person stop the wrong deed so that it does not get any worse and so that there is no delay in the denunciation of evil. ‘Umar reported that he said, “No, by my father.” The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
- 98. www.islamhouse.com “Stop! Whoeverswears by something other than Al-laah, is guilty of shirk.” (Reported by Imaam Ah-mad, 8QGJ. Ahmad Shaakir said, its isnaad is saheeh. No. @$I) Abu Dawood reported in his Sunan that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Busr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “A man came stepping over the necks on the people (in the mos-que) one Friday, whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was delivering the khutbah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Sit down! You are causing a disturbance.’” Al-Tirmidhi reported that Ibn ‘Umar said: “A man burped in the presence of the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him). He said, (Keep your burps away from us! The ones who fill their stomachs most in this world, will be the ones who remain hungry longest on the Day of Resurrec-tion. (Abu ()esa said, this is a ghareeb hasan ha-deeth with this isnaad. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. $GJ; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. @G@.) These ahaadeeth show a direct request to the person who is making the mistake to stop what he is doing.
- 99. www.islamhouse.com 8 -)xplaining to the person who is making a mistake how to put things right. The Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) did this in a number of ways, including the following: - Drawing an individual’s attention to his mistake so that he could put it right himself. An example of this is the report narrated by Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that he was with the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered and saw a man sitting in the middle of the mosque, clasping his fingers together and talking to himself. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gestured towards him, but he did not notice. So he turned to Abu Sa‘eed and said, (If one of you is praying, he should not clasp his fingers together, because this clasping comes from the Shaytaan, and you are in a state of prayer so long as you are still in the mosPue, until you go out.’” (Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad, @Q'G. Al- Haythami said in al-MaLma’ ($Q$')7 its isnaad is ha-san). - Asking the person to do something again, correctly, if this is possible. Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a man entered the mosque whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting in a far corner. He prayed, then
- 100. www.islamhouse.com he cameand greeted him with salaam. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Wa (alayka al-salaam, go back and pray, because you have not prayed.” So he went back and prayed, then he came back and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said, “Wa (alayka al-salaam, go back and pray, because you have not prayed.” On the second occasion, or subsePuently, the man said, “Teach me, O Messen-ger of Allaah.” He said, “When you stand up to pray, do wudoo’ properly, then face the Piblah and say Takbeer ((Allaahu akbar’). Then recite whatever is easy for you of Qur`aan, then bow until you are at ease in rukoo’, then stand up until your back is completely straight. Then prostrate until you are at ease in suLood, then sit up until you are at ease in your sitting, then prostrate again until you are at ease in your suLood, then sit up again until you are at ease in your sitting. Do this in all your prayers.” (Reported by all; this version reported by al- Bukhaari, Fath, %$'8). We should note that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pay attention to the actions of the people around him so that he could teach them. According to a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i: “A man entered the mosPue and prayed, whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
- 101. www.islamhouse.com be uponhim) was watching him and we did not reali?e. When he finished, he turned and greeted the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who told him, (Go back and pray, for you have not prayed’…” ($Q8I@ Saheeh Sunan al- Nisaa`i, no. 866). Among the qualities of the educator is that he should be aware of the actions of those who are with him. .. It is a part of educational wisdom to ask a person who has made a mistake to re-do his action, so that he can notice his mistake and put it right himself, especially when it is an obvious mistake that does not befit him. He may have done it out of forgetfulness, so this will remind him. J. If the person who has made a mistake does not realize it, it must be pointed out and explained to him. H. Giving information to a person who is interested and has asked about it himself is more effective and is more likely to be remembered than handing it out to someone who has not made any such enquiries. The methods of teaching are many, and the educator can choose whichever are best suited in any given circums-tances. Another example of asking a person to repeat his action correctly is given by Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh, where he reports that Jaabir said:
- 102. www.islamhouse.com “ (Umaribn al-Khattab told me that a man did wu-doo’, but missed an area on his foot the si?e of a fin-gernail. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw him and said, (Go back and do your wudoo’ properly.’ So he went and did it again, then he prayed.” (Saheeh Muslim, $G@). A third example was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (may Al-laah have mercy on him) in his Sunan from Kildah ibn Hanbal, who said that Safwaan ibn Umayyah sent him with some milk, yoghurt and daghaabees [an edible plant] to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) was at the top of the valley. He said, “I entered upon him, and I did not greet him with salaam or ask permission to enter, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Go out and say “Al-salaamu (alaykum, may I en-ter?” ’ ” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. $J86. Al- Tirmidhi said, a ghareeb hasan hadeeth. The ha-deeth is also in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. $86). - Asking the person who has made the mistake to correct it as much as he can. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mer-cy on it) reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
- 103. www.islamhouse.com “No manshould be alone with a woman unless he is a mahram (close blood relative to whom marriage is permanently forbidden).” A man stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, my wife has gone out for HaLL and I have signed up for such-and-such a mili-tary campaign.” He said, “Go back and do HaLL with your wife.” (al-Fath, '$@@). - Putting right the consequences of the mistake. Al- Nisaa`i (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in his Sunan from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “I have come to pledge allegiance to you and to make hiLrah (migration) to you. I have left my par-ents weeping.” He said, “Go back to them and make them smile as you made them weep.” (Al-MaLmaa JQ8G@. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, no. @8). - Offering kafaarah (expiation) for the mistake. If some mistakes cannot be corrected or reversed, then there are other ways offered by Islam for wiping out their effects. One of these ways is kafaaraat or acts of expiation, of which there are many types, such as kafaarat al-yameen (expiation for swearing an unfulfilled oath), and expia-
- 104. www.islamhouse.com tion forzihaar (a jaahili form of divorce in which one says to one's wife “You are to me as my mother’s back”), manslaughter, having intercourse during the day in Ra-madaan, and so on. 8I - Denouncing only the mistake whilst accepting the rest. It may be the case that not all of what a person says or does is wrong, so it is wise to limit our denunciation only to that which is wrong, and not to generalize by condemning everything that is said or done as being wrong. This is indicated in the report narrated by al- Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh from al-Rubay’ bint Mu’awwadh ibn ‘Afraa’, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and entered, and sat down on my bed the way you sat down. Some young girls of ours began beating on the daff (hand-drum) and singing songs eulogi?ing those of our forefathers who had been killed at Badr. Then one of them said, (Among us there is a Prophet who knows the future.’ He [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said7 (Do not say that; say what you were say-ing before.’” (Fath, '8GJ). According to a report nar-rated by al-Tirmidhi7 “… The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
- 105. www.islamhouse.com her7 (Donot say this; say what you were saying be-fore.’” (Abu ()esa said7 this is a saheeh hasan ha-deeth. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Shaakir edn., 86I6). Ac-cording to a report narrated by Ibn MaaLah, he said7 “Do not say this; no one knows the future except Al-laah.” (Sunan Ibn MaaLah, (Abd al-BaaPi edn., no. 8JI. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Su-nan Ibn MaaLah, no. 8'@I). There is no doubt that this kind of treatment makes the person feel that the one who is striving to point out mis-takes and correct them is fair and just, and this makes him more likely to accept his advice. This is in contrast to some of those who want to denounce errors, but get so angry with the mistake committed that they go to ex-tremes in their denunciation and condemn everything done and said by the one who has made the mistake, good and bad alike. This makes the person reject what they say and refuse to follow their advice. In some cases, the mistake consists not of the words themselves, but the occasion or context in which they are uttered. For example, when somebody dies, one person may say, “Al-Faatihah,” and everyone present will recite it. They believe that there is nothing wrong with this be-cause what they are reciting is Qur`aan, not words of kufr. It has to be explained to them that what is wrong with this action is thinking that we should recite al- Faatihah on such occasions as an act of worship without
- 106. www.islamhouse.com any shar'ievidence for doing so, which is the essence of bid’ah. This is what Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) pointed out to a man who sneezed beside him and said, “Al-hamdu Lillaahi wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasool- Illaah (Praise be to Allaah and peace be upon the Mes-senger of Allaah).” Ibn ‘Umar said, “I could say ‘Al-hamdu Lillaahi wa’l-salaam ‘ala Rasool- Illaah’, but this is not how the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us. He taught us to say ‘Al-hamdu Lillaahi ‘ala kulli haal (Praise be to Allaah whatever the circumstances).” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. JGHN). $6 - Restoring rights and preserving positions. Muslim reported that ‘Awf ibn Maalik said: “A man of Humayr killed one of the enemy and wanted to take his possessions as booty, but Khaalid ibn al- Waleed, who was in charge of the campaign, prevented him from doing so. (Awf ibn Maalik came to the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him about it. He asked Khaalid, (What stopped you from giving him his booty?’ Khaalid said, (I thought it was too much, O Messenger of Al-laah.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Give it to him.’ Then Khaalid passed by (Awf, who pulled his cloak and said, (Did I not do what I told you I would do with regard to the Messen-
- 107. www.islamhouse.com ger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard him and got angry, and said, (Do not give it to him, O Khaalid! Do not give it to him, O Khaalid! Why do you not leave my commanders alone? The likeness of you and them is that of a man who is asked to take care of camels or sheep, so he takes care of them, then when it is time for them to drink, he takes them to a trough and they start to drink, and they drink the clean water and leave the dregs be-hind. You take the clean water and leave the dregs for them [the commanders].’” (Muslim bi Sharh al- Nawawi, 8$Q%G) Imaam Ahmad transmitted a more complete version of this report from ‘Awf ibn Maalik al-Ashja’i, who said: “We went out on a military campaign on the border of Syria, and Khaalid ibn al-Waleed was appointed as our commander. A man belonging to Humayr came and joined our band, and he had nothing but a sword, no other weapon. One of the Muslims slaughtered a camel and that man kept trying to snatch something until he managed to grab a piece of skin the shape of a shield. He spread it on the ground and cured it until it was dry, then he made a handle for it, like a shield. We met with the enemy, who were a mixed group of Romans and Arabs from (the tribe of) Qudaa’ah. They fought us fiercely. Among them was a Roman on a palomino horse
- 108. www.islamhouse.com with agolden-coloured saddle and a gold-plated belt, and a sword of similar material. He started attacking and challenging the people, and that Madadi man kept dodg-ing around the Roman until he approached him from be-hind and struck the horse’s hamstring with his sword. The Roman fell off, and the man followed that with a blow from his sword that killed him. When Allaah granted them victory, the man came asking about the booty, and the people bore witness that he had killed [that Roman], so Khaalid gave him some of the booty and withheld the rest. When he came back to ‘Awf’s band, he told him about it, and ‘Awf said, ‘Go back to him and let him give you the rest.’ So he went back, but [Khaalid] re-fused to give it to him. ‘Awf went to Khaalid and said, ‘Do you not know that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ruled that the boo-ty should go to the one who kills?’ He said, ‘Of course.’ He said, ‘So what is stopping you from giving him his booty?’ He said, ‘I thought it was too much to give to him.’ ‘Awf said, ‘When I see the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) I am going to tell him about this.’ When he came to Madeenah, ‘Awf sent the man and he complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called Khaalid, whilst ‘Awf was sitting there, and said:
- 109. www.islamhouse.com (O Khaalid,what stopped you from giving this man his spoils of war?’ He said, (I thought it was too much for him, O Messenger of Allaah.’ [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said, (Give it to him.’ [Khaalid] passed by (Awf, and (Awf pulled on his cloak and said, (Wasn’t it enough for you what I told you about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard him and got angry, and said, (Do not give it to him, O Khaalid. Why do you not leave my commanders alone? The likeness of you and them is that of a man who is asked to take care of camels or sheep, so he takes care of them, then when it is time for them to drink, he takes them to a trough and they start to drink, and they drink the clean water and leave the dregs behind. You take the clean water and leave the dregs for them [the com-manders].’” We may note here that when Khaalid made a mistake in his decision (ijtihaad) to withhold the large amount of booty from the killer, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that the matter should be put right by giving the booty to its rightful owner, but he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry when he heard ‘Awf (may Allaah be pleased with him)
- 110. www.islamhouse.com making insinuationsabout Khaalid and poking fun at him by saying, “Did I not do what I told you I would do with re-gard to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him)?” and pulling on Khaa-lid’s cloak when he walked past him, so he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Do not give it to him, O Khaalid.” This was for the purpose of reinstating and reinforcing the position of the commander and leader, because upholding the leader’s position in front of the people serves an obvious purpose. But the following question may arise: If the killer had the right to the booty, how could he deny it to him? Al- Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) answered this query with two possible outcomes: Either he gave the booty to the man later on, and he de-layed it as a punishment to him and to ‘Awf for saying what they said to Khaalid (may Allaah be pleased with him) and showing disrespect to the commander and the one who had appointed him; or the one who had the right to take it gave it up willingly and donated it for the Muslims, and the point of this was to make Khaalid (may Allaah be pleased with him) feel better for the purpose of upholding the position of leaders. (Al-Fath al-Rabbaani, .EDN E)
- 111. www.islamhouse.com Further evidenceconcerning restoration of the position of the person who has been wronged comes in the report narrated in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad from Abu Tu-fayl ‘Aamir ibn Waathilah, that a man passed by a group of people and greeted them with salaam, and they re-turned the greeting, but when he had gone, one of them said, “By Allaah, I hate this man for the sake of Allaah.” The others present said, “What a bad thing to say! By Al-laah, we are going to tell him. Get up, O So-and-So – one of the people present – and tell him.” So their messenger caught up with him and told him what had been said. The man went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I passed by a group of Muslims among whom was So-and-So. I greeted them with salaam and they re-turned the greeting, and when I had left, one of them caught up with me and told me that So-and-So had said, ‘By Allaah, I hate this man for the sake of Allaah.’ Call him and ask him why he hates me.” So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him and asked him about what the man had said. He admitted it and said, “I did say that, O Messenger of Allaah.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Why do you hate him?” He said, “I am his neigh-bour and I know him very well. By Allaah, I have never seen him pray any prayer except the pre-
- 112. www.islamhouse.com scribed prayerwhich everyone, good and bad alike, prays.” The man said, “Ask him, O Messenger of Al-laah, has he ever seen me delaying any prayer, or not doing wudoo’ properly, or not doing rukoo’ and su- Lood properly?” He said, “No,” then he said, “By Al-laah, I have never seen him fast at all except this month which everyone, good and bad alike, fasts.” He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, has he ever seen me breaking my fast during [that month], or doing anything to invalidate my fast?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him, and he said, “No,” then he said, “By Al-laah, I have never seen him giving to any needy per-son or spending any of his wealth for the sake of Al-laah except for this charity [?akaah] which everyone, good and bad alike, gives.” He said, “Ask him, O Messenger of Allaah, have I ever withheld any part of the ?akaah or kept it back from the one who asked for it?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him and he said, “No.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “I don’t know, maybe he is better than you.” Immediately following this report in al-Musnad, it says the following: “Ya’qoob told us, my father told us from Ibn Shihaab, that he was told that a man at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
- 113. www.islamhouse.com upon him)passed by a group of people. He did not men-tion Abu al-Tufayl. Abu ‘Abd-Allaah said: I heard that Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d reported this hadeeth from his mem-ory and said concerning Abu al-Tufayl that his son Ya’qoob narrated from his father, but he did not mention Abu al-Tufayl. I think he is mistaken, and the report of Ya’qoob is saheeh, And Allaah knows best.” (Al-Musnad, IDEII. Al-Haythami said: the men of Ahmad are thiqaat. Athbaat al-Majma’, .DJP.). It is very important to maintain a person’s position after he has repented from his mistake and set matters straight, so that he will remain on the right path and live a normal life among people. It was reported in the story of the Makhzoomi woman who had her hand cut off (for stealing), which was reported by ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), that “she repented properly later on, and she got married and used to come to me and I would tell the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon her) what she needed.” (Saheeh Mus-lim, no. .FNN). J. - Addressing both parties in cases where the blame is shared. In many cases, the blame is shared and the per-son who makes a mistake may himself have been wronged, but the blame is not to be shared equally. In this case both parties must be addressed and advised. There follows an example. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Awfaa
- 114. www.islamhouse.com said: “‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf complained about Khaalid ibn al-Waleed to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Do not upset any of those who were present at Badr, for even if you were to spend gold ePual to the si?e of Uhud, your deeds would not ePual theirs.’ He said, (They insulted me first, and I responded.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (Do not upset Khaalid, for he is one of the swords of Allaah sent against the kuffaar.’” (Al- Haythami said7 the men of al-Tabaraani are thiPaat. Al-MaLma’, IQ@GI. See also al-Mu’Lam al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, hadeeth no. @68). $$ - Asking the person to forgive the one who wronged him. Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Arabs used to serve one another when they were travelling, and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar had a man with them who was serving them. They fell asleep then woke up, and he had not prepared any food for them. One of them said to the other, ‘This man sleeps too much.’ (This is in Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Daar al-Sha’b edn. According to the version quoted by al-Albaani in al- Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. JFMN, …). They woke him up and said, ‘Go to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and tell him that Abu Bakr and
- 115. www.islamhouse.com ‘Umar sendtheir salaams to you and are asking for food.’ He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: (Send my salaams to them and tell them that they have already eaten.’ They got worried, so they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, (O Messenger of Allaah, we sent word to you asking for food, and you told us that we had already eaten? What have we eaten?’ He said, (The flesh of your brother. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I can see his flesh between your teeth” – meaning the flesh of the one about whom they had backbitten.’ They said, (Ask for for-giveness for us.’ He said, (Let him ask for forgive-ness for you.’” (Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. $%6. It was attributed to al-Kharaa’iti in Masaawa’ al- AkhlaaP and to al-Diya’ in al-Mukhtaarah. Ibn Ka-theer mentioned it in his tafseer of Soorat al- HuLuraat, JQ@%@, Dar al-Sha’b edn.) $@ - Reminding a person of the good Pualities of the one whom he has wronged, so that he will regret what he has done and will apologi?e. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did in the situation that arose between Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with them. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh, Kitaab al-
- 116. www.islamhouse.com Tafseer, thatAbu’l-Darda’ said: “There was a dispute be-tween Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. Abu Bakr made ‘Umar an-gry, so he went away angry, and Abu Bakr followed him, asking him to seek forgiveness for him, but he did not do that, and he shut his door in his face. Abu Bakr turned around and went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and we were sitting with him. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (This companion of yours has gotten involved in a dispute.’ Then (Umar regretted what he had done, so he came, gave the greeting of salaam, and sat down by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) what had happened. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry, and Abu Bakr started to say, (By Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, I am more wrong.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Are you going to leave my companion alone? Are you going to leave my companion alone? I have told the people7 I am the Messenger of Allaah to all of you, and you (all) said, “You are a liar,” but Abu Bakr said, “You are telling the truth.” ’ ” (Fath G%G6). Al-Bukhaari also narrated this story in Kitaab al- Manaaqib (the Book of Virtues) in his Saheeh, from
- 117. www.islamhouse.com Abu’l-Darda’, whosaid: “I was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when Abu Bakr came along, holding the hem of his garment up in such a way that his knees could be seen. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Your companion has gotten involved in a dispute.’ [Abu Bakr] gave the greeting of salaam, then said7 (There is something between me and the son of al- Khattaab. I upset him, then I regretted it, and I asked him to forgive me, but he refused, so I have come to you.’ He said, (May Allaah forgive you, O Abu Bakr,’ three times. Then (Umar regretted (what he had done), so he came to Abu Bakr’s house, ask-ing, (Is Abu Bakr there?’ They said, (No.’ So he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and signs of anger were so visible on the Prophet’s face that Abu Bakr felt sorry. He knelt down and said. (O Messenger of Allaah, by Allaah, I was more wrong,’ twice. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Allaah sent me to all of you, and you (all) said, “He is a liar,” but Abu Bakr said, “He is telling the truth”, and helped me with his self and with his wealth. Are you going to leave my Companion alone?’ He said this twice, and Abu Bakr was never hurt after that.” (Fath, no. @%%8).
- 118. www.islamhouse.com $G -Intervening to calm people down and put a stop to the fitnah (discord) between those who are making mis-takes. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did this on a number of occasions when fight-ing was about to break out among the Muslims, so he in-tervened, as was reported in the incident of the slander (al-ifk) against ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her). She said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up that day and asked for someone to deal with (Abd-Allaah ibn Ubayy for him, whilst he was on the minbar. He said, (O Mus-lims! Who will deal with a man who I have heard is attacking me with regard to my family? By Allaah, I know nothing about my family but good, and they have mentioned a man about whom I know nothing but good, and he has never entered upon my family except with me.’ Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh, the brother of Bani (Abd al-Ashhal, stood up and said, (O Messen-ger of Allaah, I will deal with him for you. If he is from Aws, I will strike his neck [cut his head off], and if he is from among our brothers of Kha?raL, tell us what to do, and we will do it.’ Then a man of Kha?raL stood up; Umm Hassaan was his cousin from the same clan, and he was Sa’d ibn (Ubaadah the leader of Kha?raL. Before that he was known to be a righteous man, but on this occasion a spirit of
- 119. www.islamhouse.com tribalism tookhold of him, and he said to Sa’d [ibn Mu’aadh], (You are lying! By Allaah, you will not kill him and you will not be able to kill him. If he were one of your people, you would not like him to be killed!’ Usayd ibn Hudayr, the cousin of Sa’d, stood up and said to Sa’d ibn (Ubaadah7 (You are ly-ing! By Allaah, we will kill him! You are a hypocrite defending the hypocrites!’ The two parties of Aws and Kha?raL got so angry that they nearly began to fight whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was standing on the minbar. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept smoothing things over until they calmed down.” (Agreed upon. Fath, G8G8) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to Bani ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf to reconcile between them, and stayed there for that purpose until the time for one of the congregational prayers came, as is reported in al- Saheehayn and in a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i. Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “A dispute arose between two parties among the Ansaar, to the point that they were throwing stones at one another. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to reconcile between them, and the time for prayer came, so Bilaal called the Adhaan and waited for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
- 120. www.islamhouse.com of Allaahbe upon him), but he did not come. So he made the iqaamah (call immediately preceding congregational prayer) and Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him) led the prayer…” (Al-Mujtabaa, Kitaab Aadaab al- Qadaah, NDJEH). According to a report narrated by Ah-mad, Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi said: “Someone came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: ‘Bani ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf are fighting and throwing stones at one another.’ So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to them to reconcile between them…” (Al-Musnad, IDHHN) $' - Showing one’s anger about a mistake. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw or heard about a mistake, he would show his anger, es-pecially if it had to do with matters of belief (‘aqeedah). This includes indulging in disputes about al-qadar (di-vine decree) and the Qur`aan. In Sunan Ibn Maajah there is a report from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb from his father from his grandfather, who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out to his companions, who were disputing about al-Padar, and it was as if a pomegranate seed had burst on his face, i.e., his face was red with anger. He said, (Is this what you were commanded to do? Is this what you were
- 121. www.islamhouse.com created for?Are you using some parts of the Qur`aan to contradict others? The nations before you were destroyed by this!’ (Abd-Allaah ibn (Amr said7 (I never felt happy about missing any gathering with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him), but I was happy about missing that gathering.’” (Reported by Ibn MaaLah, no. '. He said in al-Zawaa’id7 this is a saheeh isnaad and its men are thiPaat. It says in Saheeh Ibn MaaLah7 hasan saheeh. No. %I). According to Ibn Abi ‘Aasim in Kitaab al-Sunnah: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out to his Companions, and they were disputing about al-Padar, one Puoting one aayah and another Puoting another aayah. It was as if a pomegranate seed had been thrown in his face [because it was red with anger]. He said, (Is this what you were created for? Is this what you were ordered to do? Do not use parts of Allaah’s book against other parts. Look at what you are com-manded to do, and do it, and what you are forbidden to do, avoid it.’” (Al-Sunnah by Ibn Abi (Aasim, edited by al-Albaani, no. G6%. He said7 its isnaad is hasan). Another example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becoming angry at the denial of one of the basic principles was what happened in the case of
- 122. www.islamhouse.com ‘Umar (mayAllaah be pleased with him), with regard to sources. Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) re-ported in his Musnad from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a book which he had got from some of the People of the Book. The Proph-et (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got angry. He said, “Are you confused about it, O son of al-Khattaab? By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I have brought you [the Message] pure and white, so do not ask them about anything, lest they tell you some-thing true and you reLect it, or they tell you some-thing false and you accept it. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if Moosa (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were alive, he could not but follow me.” (Musnad Ahmad, @Q@J. Classed by al- Albaani as hasan because of corroborating reports in al-Irwa’, no. 8'I). The hadeeth was also narrated by al-Daarimi, may Al-laah have mercy on him, from Jaabir, who said that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a copy of the Tawraat (Torah), and said, “O Messenger of Al-laah, this is a copy of the Tawraat.” [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] did not say any-thing. [‘Umar] began to read it, and the face of the Mes-
- 123. www.islamhouse.com senger ofAllaah changed [i.e., he was angry]. Abu Bakr said, “May your mother lose you! Do you not see the ex-pression of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?” ‘Umar looked at the face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “I seek refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and the anger of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We are content with Allaah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion and with Muhammad as our Prophet.” The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muham-mad, if Moosa were to appear among you and you followed him and left me, you would go astray from the straight path. If he had lived until the time of my Prophethood, he would have followed me.” (Sunan al-Daarimi, no. GG8, al-MuPaddimah, Baab maa yu-ta PPaa min Tafseer Hadeeth al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wa Qawli ghayrihi (inda Qawlihi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The editor, (Abd-Allaah Haashim Ya-maani, said7 it was also narrated by Ahmad with a hasan isnaad, and by Ibn Hibbaan with a saheeh is-naad). Among the corroborating reports is the hadeeth of Abu’l- Darda’, who said: “ ‘Umar brought some pages of the Tawraat to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
- 124. www.islamhouse.com of Allaahbe upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, (these are) some pages of the Tawraat which I took from a brother of mine from Bani Zurayq.’ The face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) changed, and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd – the one who was shown the Adhaan in a dream – said: ‘Have you gone mad? Do you not see [the expression] on the face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ ‘Umar said: ‘We are content with Allaah as our Lord, with Islam as our religion, with Mu-hammad as our Prophet and with the Qur`aan as our guide. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) relaxed and said: (By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muham-mad, if Moosa were among you, and you followed him and left me, you would go far astray. You are my share among the nations and I am your share among the Prophets.’” (Al Haythami said in al- MaLma’7 It was reported by al-Tabaraani in al- Kabeer, and it includes Abu (Aamir al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad al-Asadi, and I have not seen anyone giving his biography, but the rest of its men are mawthooP. Al-MaLma’ 8Q8JG). We may note from these reports that the educator (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) had support from the other people present when they no-ticed how his expression changed and took their stance
- 125. www.islamhouse.com based onwhat they saw. There is no doubt that this com-bination of events had a great impact on the person who was being reprimanded. The process went through the following stages: Firstly, the anger that welled up in the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so that his expres-sion changed even before he spoke. Secondly, [Abu Bakr] al-Siddeeq and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd noticed this and pointed it out to ‘Umar. Thirdly, ‘Umar realized his mistake and hastened to put it right and to apologize for what he had done, seeking refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and the an-ger of His Messenger, and reaffirming the basic principle of being content with Allaah, His Messenger and His Re-ligion. Fourthly, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) relaxed and calmed down when ‘Umar re-tracted and realized his mistake. Fifthly, the Prophet’s comment confirmed and reinforced this basic principle by reaffirming the obligation to fol-low the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) and warning against taking any other source of guidance. Another example of the Prophet’s anger when he saw something objectionable was reported in Saheeh al-
- 126. www.islamhouse.com Bukhaari (mayAllaah have mercy on him) from Anas ibn Maalik, who said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw some spittle in the mosque in the direction of the qiblah, he was so upset that it was clearly visible on his face. He wiped it with his hand and said, “When one of you gets up to pray, he is talking to his Lord, or his Lord is between him and the Piblah, so he should not spit in the direction of the Piblah, but to his left or under his feet.” Then he took the edge of his garment, spat on it and rubbed part of it against another part and said, “or he can do this.” (Fath, G6'). An example of the Prophet’s anger when he heard a mis-take that led to wrongdoing was also reported by al- Bukhaari, from Abu Mas‘ood al-Ansaari, who said: “A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I am going to go late to the prayer tomorrow be-cause of so-and-so, who makes the prayer too long for us.’ I never saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) more angry in his rebuking than on that day, when he said, (O people! Some of you are putting others off. When any of you leads the people in prayer, let him keep it short, for among them are the elderly, the weak and those with pressing needs.’” (Fath, J8'I).
- 127. www.islamhouse.com Another exampleis for the mufti to show anger towards the person who is asking questions when he starts to nit-pick in a ridiculous fashion. Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “A Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and asked him about lost property that he finds. He said, (Announce it for a year. Remember the description of its container and the string with which it is tied, and if someone comes and claims it, and describes it correctly, give it to him, otherwise, utili?e it.’ He said, (O Messenger of Allaah, what about a lost sheep?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 (It is for you, for your brother (i.e., its owner), or for the wolf.’ He said, (What about a lost camel?’ The face of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) became red (with anger), and he said, (You have nothing to do with it. It has its feet, and access to water, and can eat trees.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, $G@%). The educator may show anger in proportion to the mis-take at the time when the mistake is made, or when he sees or hears it, in such a way that the anger may be seen in his face or recognized from his tone of voice. This is a sign that his heart is alert to wrongdoing and will not keep silent about it, so that the others present will feel afraid of making the same mistake. Speaking out when
- 128. www.islamhouse.com you areangry can have a greater impact than remaining silent and waiting until things have cooled down, be-cause then the impact of your comments will be lost. On the other hand, it may be wise to delay commenting on a regrettable incident or seriously mistaken words un-til all the people have been called together or until a time when they meet, because of the seriousness of what is in-volved or because there are not enough people around to understand and convey the information to others. There is nothing wrong with addressing an individual imme-diately and delaying general discussion of the matter un-til later. According to Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Abu Humayd al-Saa’idi reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed someone (to collect the zakaah). When he had finished his work, he came and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, this is for you, and this is what was given to me as a gift.” He said, “Why don’t you sit in your parents’ house and see whether any-one brings you a gift or not?” In the evening, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up after the prayer, pronounced the Shahaadah and praised Allaah as He deserves to be praised, then he said, “What is wrong with an employee whom we appoint, then he comes to us and says, (This is for you and this is what I was giv-en as a gift”? Why does he not sit in his parents’
- 129. www.islamhouse.com house andsee whether anyone brings him a gift or not? By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Mu-hammad, no one of you unlawfully withholds some-thing from us, except he will come on the Day of Judgement carrying it around his neck7 if it is a ca-mel, he will bring it bellowing, if it is a cow he will bring it mooing, and if it is a sheep he will bring it bleating. I have conveyed (the message).” Abu Hu-mayd added, “Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his arm so high that we could see his armpit.” (Fath, %%@%) $% - Turning away from the one who has made a mis-take, and avoiding argument with him, in the hope that he may come back to the right way. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to him and Faatimah’s (peace be upon her, the daughter of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) one night and said to them, “Are you not praying?” (Ali said, “O Messenger of Allaah, our souls are in the hand of Allaah. If He wants to bring us back to life (from sleep), He will do so!” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) went away when (Ali
- 130. www.islamhouse.com said thatto him, and he did not respond to it at all, but (Ali heard him as he was walking away, slap-ping his thigh and saying, “ (… But, man is ever more Puarrelsome than anything.’ [al-Kahf 87'G – interpretation of the meaning].” (The words of (Ali could be understood in different ways. See al-Fath, J@GJ). $J - Rebuking the one who has made a mistake. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did with Haatib (may Allaah be pleased with him) when he heard that he had sent word to the kuffaar of Quraysh, informing them of the Muslims’ intention to head for Makkah to conquer it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him, “What made you do that, O Haatib?” He said, “I be-lieve in Allaah and His Messenger and I never changed, but I wanted to make some gesture to-wards them through which Allaah might protect my family and my wealth. All your other companions have someone there through whom Allaah will pro-tect their families and their wealth.” [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said7 “He has spoken the truth, so do not say anything but good to him.” (Umar ibn al-Khattaab said, “But he has betrayed Allaah and Messenger and the believ-ers! Let me strike his neck [cut off his head]!” [The
- 131. www.islamhouse.com Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) ] said7 “How do you know? Maybe Allaah looked at the people of Badr and said, (Do what you like, for Paradise is guaranteed for you.’” Tears welled up in (Umar’s eyes and he said, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” (Fath, %$'I) There are a number of important educational points we learn from this story: . – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) rebuked the Sahaabi who had make a serious mis-take by asking him, “What made you do that?” J – Enquiring as to the reason that motivated him to make the mistake undoubtedly has an effect on the way in which he is treated. H – Those who have an excellent track record are not im-mune from committing major sins. E – The educator must be open-minded in dealing with his companions’ mistakes so that they continue progress-ing on the straight path. The aim is to reform them, not alienate them. I – The educator must appreciate the moments of human weakness that may overcome some of those who are with him, and he should not be shocked by a serious mistake on the part of one who is advanced or senior.
- 132. www.islamhouse.com F –Defending one who deserves to be defended even though he has made a mistake. G – If a person who makes a mistake has a great deal of good works to his credit, this should be taken into ac-count when evaluating the level of his mistake and deal-ing with it. $ - Blaming the person who has made a mistake. An obvious mistake cannot be ignored; blame must be di-rected at the person who has made the mistake, and he must be rebuked from the outset, so that he will realize that he has made a mistake. Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I had a she-camel from my share of the booty of Badr, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had given me another she-camel from the khumus. When I wanted to marry Faatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), I made an appointment with a goldsmith from Banu Qaynuqaa’ to go with me to Idhkhur. I wanted to sell him the two gold bracelets and use the money for my waleemah (wedding celebration). Whilst I was gathering together the saddles, sacks, ropes and oth-er gear, my camels were sitting beside a room belonging to one of the Ansaar. After collecting the things I had to collect, I came back and found my camels with their backs cut open, their sides stabbed and their livers re-
- 133. www.islamhouse.com moved. Icould hardly bear to look at this scene. I said, ‘Who did this?’ They said, ‘Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. He is in that house drinking with one of the Ansaar.’ I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and Zayd ibn Haarithah was with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) knew something was wrong from my expression. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (What is the matter with you?’ I said, (O Messenger of Allaah, I have never seen anything like today! Ham?ah attacked my two she-camels and cut their backs open and stabbed them in their sides. He is in a house, drinking.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called for his cloak and put it on, then he went walking, and Zayd ibn Haarithah and I followed him, until he reached the house where Ham?ah was. He asked permission to enter, and they gave permission. They were drinking, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) started to hurl blame at Ham?ah for what he had done, but then he noticed that Ham- ?ah was drunk and red-eyed. Ham?ah looked at the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He looked up at his knees, then at his navel, then at his face, then he said, (You are no more than a slave to my father.’ The Messenger of
- 134. www.islamhouse.com Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) reali?ed that he was drunk, so he turned on his heels and we went out with him.” (Fath, no. @6I8). This happened before drinking alcohol was forbidden. $I - Shunning the one who has made a mistake. Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that Humayd said: “Al-Waleed came to me and a friend of mine and said, ‘Come with me, for you are younger than me and you know more about hadeeth.’ He took us to Bishr ibn ‘Aasim. Abu’l-‘Aaliyah said to him: ‘Will you tell these two your hadeeth?’ He said, ‘‘Uqbah ibn Maalik told us, Abu’l-Nadr al-Laythi said, Bahz, who was one of his group, said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent an expedition to attack some people. A man drifted away from the people, and one of the (Muslim) expedition followed him with his sword unsheathed. The man who had wandered off said, “I am a Muslim,” but the Muslim paid no attention to him, and struck him and killed him. Word of this reached the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he spoke out angrily against it. News of this reached the killer, and whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was delivering a speech, the killer said, “O Messenger of Allaah, by Allaah he only said that to protect himself.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
- 135. www.islamhouse.com turned awayfrom him and the people around him, and continued with his speech. The man said again, “O Mes-senger of Allaah, he only said that to protect himself.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) again turned away from him and the people around him, and continued with his speech. The man did not put up with that; a third time he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, by Allaah he only said that to protect himself.” The Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned to him, and it was clear from his expression how upset he was. He said, “Allaah scorns the one who kills a believer.” three times.’” (al-Musnad, 'Q$I. See also al-Silsilat al- Saheehah, $Q@6I) Al-Nisaa`i (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri that a man came from Na-jraan to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), wearing a ring of gold. The Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned away from him and said, “You have come to me with an ember from the Fire of Hell in your hand.” (Al-MuLtaba, Q8J6; Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa`i, GJI@). Ahmad reported a more detailed version of this from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri: a man came from Najraan to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
- 136. www.islamhouse.com upon him)wearing a ring of gold. The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned away from him and did not ask him about anything. The man went back to his wife and told her about it. She said, “There has to be a reason for that. Go back to the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” So he went back, and threw away his ring and the garment he was wearing. When he asked permission to enter, it was given to him. He greeted the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who returned the greeting. He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you turned away from me when I came before.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You came to me with a coal from the fire of Hell in your hand.” He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I came with a lot of coals.” He had brought some suits of clothing from Bahrain. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said7 “What you have brought is not going to help us in any way (with regard to the Hereafter). It is no more use than the rocks of al-Harrah, but they are luxuries of this world.” The man said7 “I said, (O Messenger of Allaah, explain this to your Companions, so that they do not think you were angry with me for some reason.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) stood up and explained
- 137. www.islamhouse.com this, andsaid that the problem had been with his gold ring.” (al-Musnad, @Q8G). According to a report narrated by Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb from his fa-ther from his grandfather, the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) saw one of his Companions wearing a ring of gold, and turned away from him. The Sahaabi threw it away and put on a ring of iron, and [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said, “This is evil, this is the Lewellery of the people of Hell,” so he threw it away and put on a ring of sil-ver, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said nothing. (al-Musnad, 8%@. Al- Musnad edited by Ahmad Shaakir, no. %'8. He said its isnaad is saheeh). @6 - Boycotting the one who has made a mistake. This is one of the effective methods used by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) especially when a very serious mistake was made, because of the far-reaching effect that a boycott has on the person con-cerned. An example of this is what happened to Ka’b ibn Maalik and his two companions who stayed behind from the campaign of Tabook. After the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had ascertained that
- 138. www.islamhouse.com they hadno valid excuse, and they had admitted it, as Ka’b said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the Muslims to speak to any of the three of us who had stayed behind. So the people avoided us and their attitude towards us changed so that even the earth I was walking on looked different to what I had known. We stayed like that for fifty days. As for my two companions, they resigned themselves and stayed in their homes, weeping, but I was the youngest and the most determined, so I used to go out and attend the prayers with the Muslims and go around in the market places, and no one would speak to me. I would come to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst he was in a gathering after prayer, and greet him with salaam, asking myself whether he had moved his lips in response or not. I would pray near him, stealing glances at him. When I would turn to pray, he would turn towards me, and when I would turn to-wards him, he would turn away from me. When the people’s harshness had gone on too long for me, I went away and climbed over the wall of the garden of Abu Qutaadah, who was my cousin [son of my paternal un-cle] and the dearest of people to me. I greeted him with salaam, but by Allaah he did not answer me. I said, ‘O Abu Qutaadah, I ask you by Allaah, do you not know that I love Allaah and His Messenger?’ He remained si-
- 139. www.islamhouse.com lent, soI repeated what I had said, pleading with him, but he remained silent. I repeated it again, pleading with him, and he said, ‘Allaah and His Messenger know best.’ My eyes filled with tears and I turned away and went and climbed back over the wall… When fifty nights had passed since the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had forbidden anyone to talk to us, after I had prayed Fajr on the morning of the fiftieth day, and I was on the roof of our house, whilst I was sitting as Allaah has described, with my own self constrained to me and the earth, vast as it is, constrained to me [cf. Al-Tawbah P:..N], I heard the sound of someone shouting from the mountain of Sal’ at the top of his voice: ‘O Ka’b ibn Maalik, rejoice!’” (Fath, EE.N). We learn many great lessons from this story, which should not be ignored in any way. We read about some of them in the scholars’ commentaries on this story, as in Zaad al-Ma’aad and Fath al-Baari. Another indication that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used this method was narrated by al-Tirmidhi from ‘Aa`ishah , who said: “No behaviour was more hateful to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) than lying. If a man told lies in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he would remain upset about it un-til he knew that he had repented from that.” (Abu ‘Eesa
- 140. www.islamhouse.com said: thisis a hasan hadeeth. Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. .PGH). According to a report narrated by Ahmad: “ … he would remain upset with him…” (al-Musnad, FD.IJ) According to another report: “If it happened that one of the members of his household told a lie, he would keep turning away from him until he repented.” (Reported by al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, EFGI). It is clear from the reports mentioned above that turning away from the person who is making a mistake until he gives it up is an effective educational method, but in or-der for it to be effective, the person who is forsaking and turning away from the other must have some status in the eyes of the latter, otherwise it will not have a positive effect, and may even give the person something to be happy about. @8 - Praying against someone who stubbornly persists in making a mistake. Muslim (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that a man ate with his left hand in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, “)at with your right hand!” The man said, “I can-not” He said, “May you never be able to!” Nothing was stopping him except pride, and he never raised it to his mouth aTer that. (No. $6$8).
- 141. www.islamhouse.com According toa report narrated by Ahmad: “Iyaas ibn Sa-lamah ibn al-Akwa’ reported that his father told him: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) telling a man called Bisr ibn Raa’i al-‘Eer, whom he saw eating with his left hand, to eat with his right hand. He said, (I cannot.’ He said, (May you never be able to!’ And his right hand never reached his mouth after that.” (GQ'G) Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “This hadeeth shows that it is permissible to pray against the one who goes against a shar‘i ruling for no good reason. It also demonstrates enjoining what is good and forbid-ding what is evil in all matters, even in the matter of eat-ing.” (Sharh Saheeh Muslim, .HD.PJ). We may also note here that the du’aa’ against him was not for something that would help the Shaytaan against him, it was for something that was more like a rebuke or telling-off. @$ - Turning a blind eye to some mistakes and being content to Lust hint about them, out of respect to the person who is making the mistake. 7And (remember) when the Prophet disclosed a mat-ter in confidence to one of his wives (Hafsah), so when she told it (to another, i.e., (Aa`ishah ), and Al-
- 142. www.islamhouse.com laah madeit known to him, he informed part thereof and left a part. Then when he told her (Hafsah) the-reof, she said7 (Who told you this?’ He said, (The All- Knower, the All-Aware (Allaah) has told me.’ ” [al- Tahreem %%7@ – interpretation of the meaning] Al-Qaasimi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Ma-haasin al-Ta’weel: “ (And remember when the Prophet’ refers to Muham-mad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). (To one of his wives’ refers to Hafsah. (A matter in confi-dence’ means that she was not allowed to disclose it, or what he forbade for himself although Allaah had allowed it. (When she told it’ means that she told the secret to her companion (‘Aa`ishah ). (Allaah made it known to him’ means that Allaah told him what Hafsah had told ‘Aa`ishah . (He informed part thereof’ means that he told her part of what she had divulged as a rebuke; (and left a part’ means that he did not say some of it, out of respect to her.” It is noted in al-Ikleel: “The aayah indicates that there is nothing wrong with speaking in a secretive way to one whom you trust such as a spouse or friend, and that he or she is obliged to keep the secret. The aayah also indicates good treatment of wives, gentleness when rebuking and refraining from seeking out every fault.” (Mahaasin al- Ta’weel, .FDJJJ)
- 143. www.islamhouse.com Al-Hasan said:“No noble person will pick on every little fault.” Sufyaan said: “Turning a blind eye is the action of noble people.” @@ - Helping a Muslim to correct his mistake. Abu Hu-rayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whilst we were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man came to him and said, (O Messenger of Allaah, I am doomed!’ He said, (What is the matter with you?’ He said, (I had intercourse with my wife whilst I was fasting.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) said, (Are you able to set a slave free?’ He said, (No.’ He asked, (Can you fast for two consecutive months?’ He said, (No.’ he said, (Can you feed sixty poor persons?’ He said, (No.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said nothing more about the matter for a while, and whilst we were sitting there like that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was brought a large vessel full of dates. He said, (Where is the one who was asking Lust now?’ The man said, (Here I am.’ He said, (Take this and give it in charity.’ The man said, (O Messenger of Allaah, is there anyone poorer between al-Harratayn [i.e., in Madeenah] than my family?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled
- 144. www.islamhouse.com so broadlythat his eyeteeth could be seen, then he said, (Feed it to your family.’” (Reported by al- Bukhaari, no. 8I@%). According to a report narrated by Ahmad from ‘Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), whilst the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting in the shade of a large tree, a man came to him and said, “I am burnt, O Messenger of Allaah!” He said, “What is the matter with you?” He said, “I had inter-course with my wife whilst I was fasting.” (Aa`ishah said7 this was in Ramadaan. The Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “Sit down.” So he sat down at the edge of the group of people. Then a man brought a don-key on which was a vessel of dates, and said, “This is my sadaPah (charity), O Messenger of Allaah.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) said, “Where is the burnt one who was here Lust now?” The man said, “Here I am, O Messenger of Allaah.” He said, “Take this and give it in charity.” He said, “To whom should I give it except myself? By the One Who sent you with the truth, I do not have anything for myself and my children.” He said, “Then take it,” so he took it. (al- Musnad, %Q$J%)
- 145. www.islamhouse.com @G -Meeting with the person who has made the mistake to talk it over. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it is reported that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: “My father married me to a woman from a good family. He used to come and check on his daughter in law, and ask her about her husband. She would say, ‘What a good man he is. He has never slept in our bed or disturbed us since we got married.’ When this had gone on for a long time, he mentioned it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said, (Let me meet with him.’ So I met with him after that, and he said, (How often do you fast?’ I said, ()very day.’ He said, (How often do you complete the Qur`aan?’ I said, ()very night.’ He said, (Fast three days of every month, and complete the Qur`aan once a month.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He said, (Fast three days every week.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He said, (Don’t fast for two days, then sfast for one day.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He said, (Observe the best kind of fast, the fast of Dawood, fasting one day then not fasting the next, and complete the Qur`aan once every seven days.’ I wish that I had accepted the dispensation of the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because when I became old and weak I started to read one seventh of the Qur`aan to my family during the day, and whatever I read during the day makes it easier
- 146. www.islamhouse.com to completeit at night. If I want to help myself, I do not fast for a number of days, then I count the number of days I did not fast and fast the same number of days. I do not want to give up something that I promised the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) I would do before he died.” Abu ‘Abd-Allaah said: “Some of them said in three, and in five, and most of them said in seven.” (al-Fath, IMIJ) A report narrated by Ahmad describes the matter more clearly and contains important lessons: ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: “My father married me to a woman from Qu-raysh. When she entered upon me I did not approach her because I was so enthusiastic about worshipping Allaah by fasting and praying. ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas came to his daughter in law and asked her, ‘How do you find your husband?’ She said, ‘He is the best of men, or he is like the best of husbands among men. He has never disturbed us and he has never slept in our bed.’ So he came to me and told me off. (Ibn al-Atheer said: … according to another hadeeth, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: ‘So my father came to me and told me off.’ Al-Nihaayah HDJMM). He said, ‘I married you to a woman from a good family of Quraysh, and you are neglecting her (i.e., not treating her as a wife) and you are doing such and such.’ Then he went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al-laah be upon him) and complained about me. The
- 147. www.islamhouse.com Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent for me and I came to him. He said to me, (Do you fast during the day?’ I said, (Yes.’ He said, (Do you pray (Piyaam) at night?’ I said, (Yes.’ He said, (But I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I sleep, and I go to my wives. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah has nothing to do with me.’ He said, (Read the Qur`aan once a month.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He said, (Read it once every ten days.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ One of them – either Husayn or Mugheerah – said, (Read it every three days.’ He [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said7 (Fast three days of every month.’ I said, (I can do more than that.’ He kept in-creasing the number until he said, (Fast one day and do not fast the next day. This is the best of fasts, the fast of my brother Dawood.’ Husayn said in his narration of the hadeeth: then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ()very worshipper has a time when he is motivated and keen, and after every such time comes a time of slackening, where he either follows the Sunnah or follows bid’ah. The one whose slackening follows Sunnah is guided, but the one whose slackening fol-lows bid’ah is doomed.’”
- 148. www.islamhouse.com Mujaahid said:“When ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr grew old and weak, he would fast for several days at a time, so that he could grow stronger, then he would break his fast for a similar number of days. He would read his portion of the Qur`aan in like manner, sometimes reading more, sometimes reading less, so that he would finish the entire Qur`aan in seven days or in three days. After that he would say, ‘I wish that I had accepted the dispensation of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for it would be better for me than what I chose for myself, or I left him saying that I would do something and I would hate to do something else.’” (Al- Musnad, JD.IN. Ahmad Shaakir said: its isnaad is saheeh. Tahqeeq al-Musnad, no. FEGG). Among the things we learn from this story are: .. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) understood the cause of the problem, which was that [‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr] was exhausting himself in worship to the point that he did not have time to take care of his duties towards his wife, so he was falling short. J. The principle of paying due attention to everyone who has rights over one applies to anyone who is preoc-cupied with matters of worship, such as a student who is giving so many lessons, or a daa’iyah who is so busy with his da’wah that his wife complains of mistreatment. This can lead to a loss of balance in carrying out different
- 149. www.islamhouse.com acts ofworship and dividing one’s time among all those who are making rightful claims on it. So there is nothing wrong with the teacher reducing the number of lessons he gives, or the daa’iyah reducing his activities so as to allow himself enough time to take care of his home, wife and children, and give them their rights as regards guid-ance, companionship and education. @' - Speaking bluntly to a person about the mistake he is making. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that Abu Dharr said: “There was an argument between me and another man. His mother was a non- Arab, and I said something insulting about her. He men-tioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who asked me, (Did you trade insults with so-and-so?’ I said, (Yes.’ He said, (Did you say something insulting about his mother?’ I said, (Yes.’ He said, (You are a man who still has something of Laahiliyyah in you.’ I said, (I said what I said because I am getting old.’ He said, (Yes, but they are your brothers. Allaah has given you power over them, but whoever is given power over someone, let him feed him as he feeds himself, clothe him as he clothes himself, and not give him more work to do than he is able. If he does give him too much work, let him help him.’ ” (Fath, %6'6)
- 150. www.islamhouse.com In SaheehMuslim it is reported that Abu Dharr (may Al-laah be pleased with him) said: “I had an argument with one of my brothers. His mother was non-Arab, and I said something insulting to him about his mother. He complained about me to the Mes-senger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) met me, he said, (O Abu Dharr, you are a man who still has some-thing of Laahiliyyah in him.’ I said, (O Messenger of Allaah, whoever insults a person, people will insult his father and mother.’ He said, (O Abu Dharr, you are a man who still has something of Laahiliyyah in him. They are your brothers$, and Allaah has given you power over them, so feed them as you feed yourself and clothe them as you clothe yourself. Do not give them more work than they can do, and if you give them too much to do, then help them.’ ” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 8%%8). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke in this straightforward and open manner to Abu Dharr because he knew he would accept it. Such a blunt approach can be a useful method that saves times and energy, and gets the point across in the easiest manner, J It seems as if the man was a dervant or a slave. (e)
- 151. www.islamhouse.com but itshould only be done when it is appropriate to the situation and the people involved. This direct approach may be better not used if it will lead to something worse or if it means that a greater interest will not be achieved, for example if the person making the mistake is in a position of power and authority and would not accept such frank comments, or if a direct ap-proach would cause too much embarrassment to the per-son who is doing wrong. It should also not be used if the person is extra sensitive and is likely to react badly. Un-doubtedly a direct approach will be too much for a per-son to take if it is made in a spirit of confrontation and with the aim of causing embarrassment and showing him up at the time when his critic appears superior. Similarly it is essential to be cautious about using “indirect” me-thods whose multiple negative effects may outweigh the benefits of a direct approach, because they may make the wrongdoer think that the one who is advising him thinks he is stupid or that he is playing about, or because they may offend him because he thinks he is making snide remarks. This way of pointing out what is right may not be effective, because what is being said may not be clear to the person addressed, so he will keep on making the mistake. Generally speaking, people differ when it comes to accepting advice, and the right approach will differ in each case, but a good attitude in discussing mistakes and
- 152. www.islamhouse.com guiding peoplewill also have the greatest effect in achieving the desired goal. @% - Persuading a person that he is making a mistake. Engaging in a discussion with a wrongdoer with the aim of convincing him may lead to the removal of the blinds over his eyes and bringing him back to the Straight Path. An example of this is the report narrated by al-Tabaraani (may Allaah have mercy on him) in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer from Abu Umaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him), who said that a young man came to the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, give me permission to commit ?inaa (fornication or adultery).” The people shouted [at him] and [the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him)] said, “Stop it!’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Let him calm down. Come here.” He came and sat in front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said to him, “Would you like it for your moth-er?” He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise, people do not like it for their mothers. Would you like it for your daughter?” He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise, people do not like it for their daughters. Would you like it for your sister?” He said, “No.” He said,
- 153. www.islamhouse.com “Likewise, peopledo not like it for their sisters. Would you like it for your (paternal) aunt?” He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise, people do not like it for their (paternal) aunts. Would you like it for your (maternal) aunt?” He said, “No.” He said, “Likewise, people do not like it for their (maternal) aunts.” Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put his hand on his chest and said, “O Allaah, forgive his sins, purify his heart and make him chaste.” (Al-Tabaraani, al- Mu’Lam al-Kabeer, J%JI and JJ'I. Additional ma-terial is included between sPuare brackets). @J - Making a person understand that his flimsy excuse is not acceptable. Some people who make mistakes try to offer made-up, unacceptable excuses, especially when they are caught red-handed. Indeed, some of them may appear to be stammering when they give their flimsy excuses, especially those who are not good at lying be-cause they are basically good at heart. How should the educator act when he comes across a situation like this? The following story demonstrates the brilliant attitude of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when dealing with one of his Companions in a situation of this nature. The story also shows us how the educator should persistently follow up until the person gives up his wrong attitude.
- 154. www.islamhouse.com Khuwwaat ibnJubayr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said7 “We made camp with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at Mar al-Zahraan (a place near Makkah). I came out of my tent and saw some women talking amongst themselves. I liked them, so I went back, got out my trunk and took out a hillah (a suit of clothes). I put it on and came and sat with them. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out and said, (O Abu (Abd-Allaah!!” (i.e., he was reprimanding him for sitting with those non-mahrem women). When I saw the Messenger of Al-laah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), I got scared and started stammering (trying to come up with an excuse). I said, “O Messenger of Allaah, my camel got lost and I am looking for a rope to re-strain it” (i.e., he came up with a false excuse to Lus-tify what he had done). He left, and I followed him. He threw his cloak at me and went in among some araak trees – and it is as if I can see the whiteness of his back against the greenness of the araak trees. He answered the call of nature and did wudoo’, and turned (to me) with the water dripping from his beard onto his chest, and said7 “O Abu (Abd-Allaah, what happened to your lost camel?” Then we con-tinued on our Lourney, and whenever he caught up with me, he would say, “Assalaamu aleika Abu (Abd-Allaah. What happened to that lost camel?”
- 155. www.islamhouse.com When Ireali?ed this, I hastened on to Madeenah and avoided the mosPue and gatherings where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was present. When this had gone on for a long time, I tried to go to the mosPue when no one else was around. I went to the mosPue and started to pray, but the Messenger of Allaah (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) came out of one of his apartments and started to pray two short rak’ahs. I made my prayer long, hoping that he would go away and leave me. He said, (Make it as long as you like, O Abu (Abd-Allaah, for I am not leaving until you finish.’ I said to myself, (By Allaah, I should apolog-i ?e to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and make him happy.’ When I had finished, he said, (Al-salaamu (alayka, O Abu (Abd-Allaah. What happened to your lost ca-mel?’ I said, (By the One Who sent you with the truth, that camel has never gotten lost since the time I became a Muslim.’ He said, (May Allaah have mer-cy on you’ three times, then he never mentioned it again.” (Al-Haythami said7 al-Tabaraani reported it with two isnaads. The men of one of them are all sa-heeh apart from al-Jarraah ibn Mukhallad, who is thiPah. Al-MaLma’, IQG68. Upon referring to al- Mu’Lam al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, GQ$6@, it becomes clear that the report from Zayd ibn Aslam is talking about Khuwwaat ibn Jubayr, who said, (We made
- 156. www.islamhouse.com camp …’In the biography of Khuwwaat (may Al-laah be pleased with him) in al-Tahdheeb it says7 Zayd ibn Aslam reported mursal from him. In al- Isaabah it says that Khuwwaat died in G6 or G$ AH, and in al-Siyar it says that Zayd ibn Aslam died in 8@% AH; on this basis there is a break in the isnaad). This is a brilliant study in training and the use of wise strategies to achieve the desired result. We may also learn the following points from this story: .. A person who has committed a sin will feel shy of a respected leader when he catches him out. J. The way the educator looks at and questions a person – even though it may be very brief – will have a great impact on him. H. Not discussing a false excuse at the time of hear-ing it – even though it is clearly made up – and turning away from the person may be enough to make him real-ize that his excuse is not acceptable, which will motivate him to repent and apologize. This is what we understand from the phrase “he left.” E. The good educator is the one who makes the per-son who has made a mistake feel too shy of him, so that he tries to hide away from him, but at the same time, his need for him makes him want to come to him. Then the latter takes precedence over the former.
- 157. www.islamhouse.com I. Thechange of attitude towards the wrongdoer is based – in this case – on the wrongdoer’s admission that he was wrong and his giving up the thing he had done. If the educator or leader is held in high esteem by his companions, then if he rebukes one of them or tells him that he has made a mistake, this will have an effect on him. The leader should pay attention to the interests of others when rebuking one of his companions, so that all may benefit from it. However, this should not mean that he should ignore any negative effect on that particular individual. That can be dealt with and its effects limited in many ways, even though a third party, as al- Mugheerah did when he asked ‘Umar to be a mediator whilst at the same time explaining the situation and af-firming how highly the leader thinks of the follower. @ - Paying attention to things that are inherent in hu-man nature. An example of this is the jealousy of women, especially in the case of co-wives, some of whom may make mistakes that, if they were made by anyone else under normal circumstances, would be treated quite dif-ferently. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pay special attention to the issue of jealousy among his wives and the mistakes that were made by them as a result, and the patience, justice and fairness with which he handled the matter are plain to see. An example of this is the report narrated by al-
- 158. www.islamhouse.com Bukhaari (mayAllaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh from Anas, who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was with one of his wives when another of the Mothers of the Believers sent a big vessel full of food to him. The wife in whose house the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was present struck the hand of the servant, and the ves-sel fell and broke in two. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) picked up the pieces and put them together, then he gathered up the food that had been in the vessel and said, (Your mother is Lealous.’ Then he asked the servant to wait until he was given the vessel belonging to the wife in whose house he was, and he sent the whole vessel to the wife whose vessel had been broken, and kept the broken vessel in the house of the one who had broken it.” (Fath, '$$') According to a report narrated by al-Nisaa`i (Kitaab ‘Ishrat al-Nisaa’), Umm Salamah brought some food in a vessel belonging to her to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his compa-nions, then ‘Aa`ishah came wrapped in a garment, carry-ing a stone, which she threw and broke the vessel. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put the two halves back together and said, “)at, your mother is Lealous…”
- 159. www.islamhouse.com …twice, thenhe took ‘Aa`ishah’s vessel and sent it to Umm Salamah, and gave Umm Salamah’s vessel to ‘Aa`ishah. According to a report narrated by al-Daarimi (Kitaab al- Buyoo’, Baab man kasara shay’an fa ‘alayhi mithluhu) from Anas, he said: “One of the wives of the Prophet (peace and bless-ings of Allaah be upon him) sent him a vessel in which was some thareed [a dish of sopped bread, meat and broth], when he was in the house of one of his other wives, who struck the vessel and broke it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) started to pick up the thareed and put it back into the vessel, saying, ()at, your mother is Leal-ous…’ ” Women’s jealousy is an inherent part of their nature, that may cause them to do bad things and prevent them from seeing the consequences of their actions. It was said that when a woman is jealous, she cannot see the bottom of a valley from its top.
- 160. www.islamhouse.com Conclusion Followingthis exploration of the Sunnah and the me-thods which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used in dealing with people’s mistakes, we should conclude by mentioning the following points: .. Correcting mistakes is obligatory and very impor-tant. It is part of naseehah (giving sincere advice) and forbidding what is evil, but it should be remembered that Islam is not only about forbidding what is evil; we are also commanded to enjoin what is good. J. Education and training are not merely the matter of correcting mistakes; they also involve teaching and showing the basic principles of religion and the rules of sharee’ah, and using various methods to establish these concepts firmly in people’s minds and hearts, by exam-ple, by exhorting them, by telling stories, by discussing incidents, etc. From this it is clear that some parents and teachers are falling short by confining their efforts only to addressing mistakes without paying due attention to teaching the basics or dealing with mistakes before they happen by instilling that which will protect people from committing mistakes in the first place, or at least reduce their impact. H. It is clear from the incidents and stories mentioned above that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
- 161. www.islamhouse.com upon him)used different approaches in dealing with dif-ferent mistakes. This is because circumstances and per-sonalities vary. Whoever understands this and wants to follow suit must compare the situation he is dealing with, with these examples to find the one that most closely re-sembles it, so that he can determine the most appropriate approach to use. We ask Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, to guide us and protect us, to make us openers of good and clos-ers of evil, and to guide others through us, for He is the All-Hearing, the Ever-Near, Who answers prayers. He is the Best of supporters and the Best of helpers, and He is the Guide to the Straight Path. May Allaah bless the Un-lettered Prophet and all his family and companions. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.