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TheProphetsMethodsforCorrectingPeoplesMistakes

SheikhMuhammedSalihAlMunajjid

Reviewedby

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Introduction

BismillaahilRahmaanilRaheem.IntheNameofAllaah,

MostGracious,MostMerciful

Praise be toAllaah, Lord of theWorlds,Master of the

DayofJudgement,Godofthefirstandthelast,Sustainerof heaven and earth, and peace and blessings be upon

HistrustworthyProphet,theTeacherofmankind,sentas

aMercytotheworlds.

Teachingpeopleisoneofthegreatestgooddeedswhose

benefitsspreadtoothers.Itisthedaiahs1andeducators

shareoftheheritageoftheProphetsandMessengers.

Allaahandtheangels,andeventheantinitsnest

and thewhale in theseawillprayfor theonewho

teachespeople thewaysofgood. (Reportedbyal

Tirmidhi;SunanalTirmidhi,AhmadShaakiredn.,

no. 2685.Abu Eesa said, this is a saheeh ghareeb

hasanhadeeth).

Therearedifferenttypesandwaysofteaching,withdif

ferentmeans andmethods, one ofwhich is correcting

mistakes.Correctingmistakesisapartofeducation;they

arelikeinseparabletwins.

1Daiyah:OnewhocallstothereligionofIslam.(E)


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www.islamhouse.comDealingwithandcorrectingmistakesisalsoapartofsincerityinreligion(naseehah)whichisadutyonallMus

lims.Theconnectionbetweenthisandtheconceptofen

joiningwhat isgoodand forbiddingwhat isevil,which

isalsoaduty, isquiteobvious (butweshouldnotethat

the area of mistakes is broader than the area of evil

(munkar),so

amistake

may

or

may

not

be

evil

as

such).

Correctingmistakesalsoformedapartofthewahy(reve

lation)andthemethodologyoftheQur`aan.TheQur`aan

broughtcommandsandprohibitions,approvalsandde

nunciations and correction ofmistakes even those on

thepartoftheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbe

upon him). So it included rebukes and pointing out ofmistakes,forexample(interpretationofthemeaning):

(TheProphet) frowned and turned away.Because

there came tohim theblindman [AbdAllaah ibn

UmmMaktoom,whilsthewaspreaching tooneor

someof thechiefsofQuraysh].Butwhatcould tell

you that perchance he might become pure (fromsins).Orthathemightreceiveadmonition,andthat

the admonitionmightprofithim?As forhimwho

thinks himself selfsufficient. To him you attend.

What does itmatter to you if hewill not become

pure(fromdisbelief,youareonlyaMessenger,your

duty is toconvey theMessageofAllaah).Butas tohimwhocametoyourunning,Andisafraid(ofAl

laahandHisPunishment),Ofhimyouareneglect


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www.islamhouse.comful and divert your attention to another. [Abasa80:110]

Andrememberwhenyou(Muhammad)saidtohim

(ZaydibnHaarithahthefreedslaveoftheProphet)

onwhomAllaah has bestowedGrace (by guiding

himtoIslam)andyou (too)havedoneafavour(by

freeinghim), Keep yourwife to yourself and fearAllaah.Butyoudidhide inyourself (whatAllaah

hadalreadymadeknown toyou i.e. thatHewill

giveher toyou inmarriage) thatwhichAllaahwill

makemainfest,youdidfearthepeoplewhereasAl

laahhadabetterrightthatyoushouldfearHim

[alAhzaab33:38]

Not for you (O Muhammad) is the decision;

whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or

punishesthem;verily,theyarethezaalimoon(poly

theists, disobedient,wrongdoers, etc.). [Aali Im

raan3:128]

Qur`aan was also revealed to correct the mistakes of

someof the Sahaabah in some situations.WhenHaatib

ibnAbiBaltaah(mayAllaahbepleasedwithhim)made

themistakeofwritingtothekuffaarofQurayshand in

forming them of the direction in which the Prophet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)headedona

military campaign against them, Allaah revealed the

words(interpretationofthemeaning):


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www.islamhouse.comOyouwhobelieve!TakenotMyenemiesandyourenemies (i.e., disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as

friends,showingaffectiontowardsthem,whilethey

have disbelieved inwhat has come to you of the

truth,andhavedrivenouttheMessengerandyour

selves(fromyourhomeland)becauseyoubelievein

Allaahyour

Lord!

Ifyou

have

come

forth

to

strive

in

MyCauseandtoseekMyGoodPleasure,(thentake

not thesedisbelievers andpolytheists,etc., asyour

friends). You show friendship to them in secret,

whileIamAllAwareofwhatyouconcealandwhat

you reveal.Andwhosoeverofyou (Muslims)does

that,

then

indeed

he

has

gone

(far)

astray,

(away)

fromtheStraightPath.[alMumtahinah60:1]

Concerningthemistakemadebythearchersatthebattle

ofUhud,wholeftthepositionwheretheProphet(peace

andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)had commanded

themtostay,Allaahrevealedthewords(interpretationof

themeaning): until (themoment) you lost your courage and

fell todisputingabout theorder,anddisobeyedaf

terHe showed you (of thebooty)which you love.

Among you are some that desire this world and

some that desire the Hereafter [Aali Imraan

3:152]

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

uponhim)stayedawayfromhiswivesinordertodisci


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www.islamhouse.complinethem,andsomepeoplespreadrumoursthathehaddivorcedthem,Allaahrevealedthewords(interpretation

ofthemeaning):

When there comes to them somematter touching

(public)safetyor fear, theymake itknown (among

thepeople), ifonly theyhadreferreditto theMes

senger or to those charged with authority amongthem, the proper investigatorswould have under

stooditfromthem(directly)[alNisa4:83]

WhensomeoftheMuslimsfailedtomigratefromMak

kah toMadeenahwithno legitimate excuse,Allaah re

vealedthewords(interpretationofthemeaning):

Verily! As for those whom the nagels take (in

death)whiletheyarewrongingthemselves(asthey

stayedamongthedisbelieverseven thoughemigra

tionwasobligatroy for them), they (angels) say (to

them): Inwhat (condition)wereyou?They reply:

Wewereweakandoppressedonearth.They (an

gels) say: Was not the earth of Allaah spacious

enough for you to emigrate therein? [alNisa

4:97]

When someof the Sahaabahbelieved and repeated the

rumoursofthemunaafiqeenaccusingAa`ishahofsome

thing shewas innocent of,Allaah revealed aayaat concerningthislie,including(interpretationofthemeaning):


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www.islamhouse.comHad it not been for theGrace ofAllaah andHisMercyuntoyouinthisworldandintheHereafter,a

great torment would have touched you for that

whereofyouhadspoken.Whenyouwerepropagat

ing it with your tongues and uttering with your

mouths thatwhereof you had no knowledge, you

counteditalittle

thing,

while

with

Allaah

itwas

verygreat.[alNoor24:14]

ThenAllaahsaid(interpretationofthemeaning):

Andwhydidyounot,whenyouheardit,say It

isnotrightforus tospeakof this.Glorybe toYou

(OAllaah), this is a great lie?Allaah forbids you

fromitandwarnsyounottorepeatthelikeofitfor

ever,ifyouarebelievers.[anNoor24:1617]

When some of the Sahaabah argued in the presence of

theProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)

andraisedtheirvoices,Allaahrevealed(interpretationof

the

meaning):

O youwho believe!Do not put (yourselves) for

wardbeforeAllaahandHisMessenger,andfearAl

laah.Verily!AllaahisAllHearing,AllKnowing.O

youwho believe!Raise not your voices above the

voiceoftheProphet,norspeakaloudtohimintalk

asyou speakaloud tooneanother, lestyourdeedsmaybe rendered fruitlesswhileyouperceivenot.

[alHujuraat49:12]


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www.islamhouse.comWhen the caravan cameat the timeof theFridaykhutbah, and some of the people left the khutbah and dis

persedtoengageintrade,Allaahrevealedthewords:

And when they see some merchandise or some

amusement, theydisperseheadlong to it,and leave

you (Muhammad) standing [while delivering the

Fridaykhutbah].Say:ThatwhichAllaahhasisbetterthananyamusementormerchandise!AndAllaah

istheBestofProviders.[alJumuah62:11]

Manyotherexamplesalsoindicatetheimportanceofcor

rectingmistakesandnotkeepingquietaboutthem.

TheProphet

(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 (mayAllaahhavemercyon them)derived the

principle: it is not permitted for the Prophet to delay

speaking

up

and

explaining

mistakes

from

its

appropri

atetime.

Understanding the Prophets methodology in dealing

withthemistakesofthepeoplehemetisofgreatimpor

tance,becausetheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim)wasguidedbyhisLord,andhiswordsand

deedswere supported by revelation, and confirmed orcorrectedasneeded.Hismethodsarewiserandmoreef

ficacious,andusinghisapproach is thebestway toget


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www.islamhouse.compeopletorespondpositively.Iftheonewhoisinapositiontoguideandteachothersadoptsthesemethodsand

thisapproach,hiseffortswillbesuccessful.Followingthe

method and approach of theProphet (peace and bless

ingsofAllaahbeuponhim)also involves followinghis

example, forhe is thebestexample forus,and thiswill

leadus

to

agreat

reward

from

Allaah,

ifour

intention

is

sincere.

Knowing themethods of theProphet (peace and bless

ings ofAllaah beupon him) exposes the failure of the

manmademethodologywhichisfollowedeverywhere

onthisearthandprovestothefollowersofthatmeth

odologythat it isafailure.Muchof it isclearlyadeviation that is based on corrupt theories such as absolute

freedom,oritisderivedfromfalseheritagessuchablind

imitationofonesfathersandforefathers.

Wemustpointout that thepractical applicationof this

methodologyinreallifereliesheavilyonijtihaad(study

ing the situation and attempting to determine the bestapproach) to a great extent. This involves selecting the

bestmethods foraparticularsituation.Whoeverunder

standspeoplesnaturewillbeable tonotice similarities

between real life situations and situations described in

thetexts,sohewillbeabletochoosethemostappropri

ate method from among the methods of the Prophet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim).


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www.islamhouse.comThis book is an attempt to study the methods of theProphet (peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim) in

dealingwithmistakesmadebypeopleofdifferentlevels

andbackgrounds,amongthosewholivedwithhimand

withwhomheinteracted.IaskAllaahtomakeitsuccess

fuland freeofmistakes, tobenefitmyMuslimbrothers

andme

through

it,

for

He

isin

control

of

all

things

and

Heisabletodothis,andHeistheGuidetotheStraight

Path.


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www.islamhouse.comPointstobeNotedwhenDealingwithMis

takes

Before we embark on our discussion we should note

some issues and considerations thatwe should bear in

mind before andwhendealingwith and correcting themistakesofothers.

SinceritytowardsAllaah

Whencorrectingthemistakesofothers,itisessentialthat

ones intentionbe toearn thepleasureofAllaah,not todemonstrateonessuperiorityortoventonesangerorto

impressothers.

AlTirmidhi (mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)reported

fromShufayyalAsbahi thatheenteredMadeenahand

sawamanwithpeoplegatheredaroundhim.Heasked,

Who is this? They said, AbuHurayrah. [Shufayysaid:] So I approachedhim and satdown in front of

him.Hewasspeaking to thepeople,andwhenhe fin

ishedandtheyhadgoneaway,Isaidtohim,Iaskyou

byAllaah, to narrate tome a hadeeth that you heard

from theMessenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of

Allaahbeuponhim)andunderstoodfully.AbuHurayrahsaid,Iwilldothat,IwilltellyouahadeethIheard

from theMessenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of


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www.islamhouse.comAllaahbeuponhim)andunderstood fully.ThenAbuHurayrahbegantogasp,andremainedinthiscondition

until he recovered, then he said, I will tell you a

hadeeth that theMessengerofAllah (peace andbless

ingsofAllaahbeuponhim)toldmeinthishousewhen

therewasnooneelsepresentexceptmeandhim.Then

AbuHurayrah

began

to

gasp

again,

then

he

recovered

andwipedhis face,andsaid, Iwill tellyouahadeeth

thattheMessengerofAllah(peaceandblessingsofAl

laahbeuponhim)toldmeinthishousewhentherewas

no one else present except me and him. Then he

gasped,thenherecoveredandwipedhisfaceandsaid,

I

will

tell

you

a

hadeeth

that

the

Messenger

of

Allah

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)toldmein

thishousewhen therewasno one elsepresent except

me and him. ThenAbuHurayrah began to gasp se

verely,andhishead fell forward,and Isupportedhim

withmy shoulder for a long time, then he recovered,

andsaid:TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessings

ofAllaahbeuponhim)toldme:

When the Day of Judgement comes, Allaah will

comedowntojudgebetweenthepeople.Andevery

nation will be kneeling in submission. The first

people to be called forthwill be amanwho had

learnedthe

Qur`aan

by

heart,

aman

who

was

killed

for the sakeofAllaahandamanwhohada lotof

wealth. Allaah will say to the reciter [of the


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www.islamhouse.comQur`aan], Did Inot teachyou thatwhich Ihad revealed toMyMessenger?Hewill say, Of course,

My Lord.Allaahwill say, What did you dowith

whatyouwere taught?Hewillsay, Istayedupat

nightandduring theday (to recite it).Allaahwill

say, You have lied, and the angelswill say, You

havelied.

Allaah

will

say,

You

only

wanted

itto

be

saidthatsoandsoisareader,anditwassaid.The

onewhohadalotofwealthwillbebroughtandAl

laahwill say tohim, Did Inotgivegenerously to

yousothatyouwerenotinneedofanyone?Hewill

say, Ofcourse,OLord.Allaahwillsay, Whatdid

you

do

with

what

I

gave

you?

He

will

say,

I

used

to

give it tomy relatives and in charity.Allaahwill

say, You have lied, and the angelswill say, You

havelied.Allaahwillsay,Youonlywantedittobe

said that soandso is generous, and it was said.

ThentheonewhowaskilledforthesakeofAllaah

willbebrought andAllaahwill say tohim, What

wereyoukilledfor?Hewillsay,Iwascommanded

to fight in jihaad forYour sake so I foughtuntil I

waskilled.Allaahwillsay,Youhavelied,andthe

angels will say, You have lied. Allaah will say,

Youonlywantittobesaidthatsoandsowascou

rageous,anditwassaid.ThentheMessengerofAl

laah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him)

struckmykneesand said, OAbuHurayrah, these

threeare thefirstpeopleforwhom theFirewillbe


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www.islamhouse.comheated on the Day of Resurrection. (Sunan alTirmidhi,no.2382,Shaakiredn.AbuEesasaid:this

isaghareebhasanhadeeth).

Iftheintentionofthepersongivingadviceissincere,he

will earn reward and his advicewill be accepted and

actedupon,bythepermissionofAllaah.

MakingMistakesisPartofHumanNature.

TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)

said:

EverysonofAdammakesmistakes,andthebestof

those whomakemistakes are those who repent.

(ReportedbyalTirmidhi,no.2499,andbyIbnMaa

jah, who narrated this version alSunan, ed. by

AbdalBaqi,no.4251)

Bearingthisfactclearlyinmindwillputthingsintotheir

properperspective,

so

the

educator

should

not

expect

peopletobeperfectorinfallibleorjudgethemaccording

towhathethinkstheyshouldbe,andthenconsiderthem

tohave failed if theymakeabigmistakeorerr repeat

edly.He should dealwith them in a realisticmanner,

basedonhisknowledgeofhumannaturewhich issub

ject to ignorance, negligence, shortcomings,whims and

desiresandforgetfulness.


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www.islamhouse.comUnderstanding this fact will also prevent an educatorfrombeinggreatly shockedby thekindof suddenmis

takethatcouldleadhimtoreactinaninappropriatefash

ion. Thiswill remind the daiyah and educatorwho is

striving to enjoinwhat is good and forbidwhat is evil

thathe too is ahumanbeingwho could alsomake the

samemistake,

so

he

should

deal

with

him

on

afooting

of

compassionratherthanharshness,becausethebasicaim

istoreform,nottopunish.

Butthisdoesnotmeanthatweshouldleavepeoplewho

aremakingmistakesalone,orfindexcusesforthosewho

are committing sinson thebasis that they areonlyhu

manorthattheyare justyoungsters,orthatthemodernage is fullof temptationsandsoon.Wemustdenounce

theactionsandcallthepeopletoaccount,butatthesame

timewemustevaluatetheiractionsaccordingtoIslam.

Saying

that

someone

is

wrong

should

be

based

on

shari

evidence and proper understanding, not on ignorance

andthatfactthatonehappensnottolikeit.Muhammad

ibn alMunkadir reported that Jaabir prayed wearing

onlyan izar (lowergarmentwrappedaround thewaist)

tiedat theback [the reason for this is that theydidnot

havetrousers,andtheywouldweartheirizartiedatthe

back because thiswasmore concealingwhen they did

rukoo and sujood. [Fath alBaari, alSalafiyyah edn.,

1/467], and his other clothes were on a clothes hook.


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www.islamhouse.comSomeonesaidtohim,Areyouprayinginonegarment?Hesaid,Ionlydiditsothatsomefoolishpersonlikeyou

wouldseeme.Whoamongushad twogarmentsat the

timeof theMessengerofAllaah (peaceandblessingsof

Allaah be upon him)? (Reported by alBukhaari, al

Fath,no.352).IbnHajar(mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)

said:What

is

meant

by

foolish

here

is

ignorant

The

purpose was to explain that it is permissible to pray

wearing only one garment, althoughwearing two gar

ments ispreferable.It isas ifhewassaying, Idid iton

purpose to show that it ispermissible, so thatonewho

doesnotknow could followme in thatorhe could re

buke

me

so

that

I

could

teach

him

that

it

is

permissible.

Thereasonwhyhisanswerwassoharshwassothathe

couldteachthemnottorebukethescholarsandtourge

them to look into sharimatters themselves. (alFath,

1/467)

Themoreseriousamistakeis,themoreeffortshouldbemadetocorrectit.

Effortstocorrectmistakesthathavetodowithaqeedah

shouldbegreaterthanthosetocorrectmistakesthathave

todowithetiquette,forexample.TheProphet(peaceand

blessings of Allaah be upon him) was intensely con

cerned aboutdealingwith and correctingmistakes that

hadtodowithshirkinallitsforms,becausethiswasthe


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www.islamhouse.commost important matter. Examples of this follow. AlMugheerahibnShubahsaid:

Therewasaneclipseofthesunonthedaythat[the

Prophets infant son] Ibraaheemdied,and thepeo

ple said, This eclipse is because of the death of

Ibraaheem. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)said:ThesunandthemoonaretwoofthesignsofAllaah,theydonot

become eclipsed for thedeathor lifeof anyone. If

youseethem(eclipsed)thencallonAllaahandpray

toHimuntil the eclipse isover. (Reportedby al

Bukhaari,Fath,1061).

AbuWaaqidalLaythireported thatwhen theMes

sengerofAllaah (peaceandblessingsofAllaahbe

uponhim)wentouttoHunayn,hepassedbyatree

belonging to themushrikeen thatwascalledDhaat

Anwaat,onwhichtheyusedtohangtheirweapons.

They said, OMessenger ofAllaah,make forus a

DhaatAnwaat like theyhave.TheProphet (peaceand blessings ofAllaah be upon him) said, Sub

haanAllaah!ThisislikewhatthepeopleofMoosa

said,Makeforusagodastheyhavegods.Bythe

OneinWhosehandismysoul,youwillfollowthe

ways of the peoplewho came before you. (Re

portedby alTirmidhi,no.2180.He said: This isasaheehhasanhadeeth)


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www.islamhouse.comAccording to another report narrated byAbuWaaqid,theywentout fromMakkahwith theMessengerofAl

laahtoHunayn.Hesaid:

Thekuffaarhadalotustreetowhichtheywerede

votedandonwhich theyused tohang theirweap

ons; itwas calledDhaatAnwaat.We passed by a

big,green lotustree,andwesaid, OMessengerofAllaah,make thisaDhaatAnwatforus.TheMes


uponhim) said: By theOne inWhosehand ismy

soul,youhavesaidwhatthepeopleofMoosasaidto

him,Makeforusagodastheyhavegods,andhe

said,Verily,youareapeoplewhoknownot.Itisthesamething,andyouwillfollowthewaysofthe

peoplewho camebefore you, stepby step. (Re

portedbyAhmad,alSunan,5/218)

ZaydibnKhaalidalJuhanisaid:

TheMessenger ofAllaah (peace andblessings of

Allaahbeuponhim)ledusinSubh(Fajr)prayerat

alHudaybiyah justafter ithadrained in thenight.

Whenhefinished,heturnedtothepeopleandsaid,

DoyouknowwhatyourLordsays?Theysaid,Al

laahandHisMessengerknowbest.Hesaid, This

morningoneofMyslavesbecameabelieverinMe,

andoneadisbeliever.Asfor theonewhosaid,we

havebeengivenrainbytheGraceandMercyofAl

laah,heisabelieverinMeandadisbelieverinthe


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www.islamhouse.comstars;andasforhimwhosaid,wehavebeengivenrainby suchandsuch a star,he is adisbeliever in

Me and abeliever in the stars. (Reportedby al

Bukhaari,Fath,no.846)

IbnAbbaasreportedthatamansaid,

OMessengerofAllaah,whateverAllaah andyou

will.Hesaid,AreyoumakingmeequaltoAllaah?

[Say instead:]WhatAllaah alonewills. (Reported

byAhmad,alMusnad,1/283)

Ibn Umar (mayAllaahbepleasedwith themboth) re

ported that he caught up with Umar ibn alKhattaab

whowas

with

agroup

of

people

and

was

swearing

by

his

father.TheMessengerofAllaah (peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)calledthemandtoldthemthatAl

laah had forbidden them to swear by their forefathers;

theonewhowanted to swearanoath should swearby

Allaahorelsekeepquiet.(ReportedbyalBukhaari,Fath,

6108)

Note: Imaam Ahmad reported in hisMusnad:Wakee

toldus that alAmash toldus from Sad ibn Ubaydah

whosaid:IwaswithIbnUmarinacircleandheheard

amaninanothercirclesaying,No,bymyfather.SoIbn

Umarthrewpebblesathimandsaid,ThisishowUmar

used to swear, and theProphet (peace andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)forbadehimtodothisandsaidthat

itwasshirk.(alFathalRabbaani,14/164).


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www.islamhouse.comAbuShurayhHaaniibnYazeedsaid: AdelegationofpeoplecametotheProphet(peace

andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)andheheard

themcallingoneofthemAbdalHajar(slaveofthe

stone). He asked him, What is your name? He

said, Abd alHajar. The Messenger of Allaah

(peace andblessings ofAllaahbeuponhim) said,No, you are AbdAllaah (slave of Allaah). (Re

portedbyalBukhaariinalAdabalMufrad,no.813.

AlAlbaanisaidinSaheehalAdabalMufradthatit

issaheeh,no.623).

Taking intoaccount thepositionof thepersonwho is

strivingtocorrectthemistake.Somepeoplesadvicemay

bemorereadilyacceptedthanothersbecausetheyhave

astatusthatothersdonot,orbecause,unlikeothers,they

have authorityover thepersonwhohasmade themis

take,forexample,afatherwithhischildorateacherwith

hisstudentoragovernmentofficialwith theonewhomheisinspecting.Onewhoisolderisnotlikeonewhois

younger,a relative isnot likea stranger, apersonwith

authority isnot likeonewithnoauthority.Understand

ing thesedifferenceswillmake the reformerput things

intoperspectiveandevaluate themproperly,so thathis

rebukeor correctionwillnot lead toagreater evil.Theposition of the onewho is rebuking and the esteem in

whichhe isheldby theonewhohasmade themistake


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www.islamhouse.comare very important in judging how strong the rebukeshould be and deciding how harsh or gentle the tone

shouldbe.Fromthiswelearntwothings:

Firstly,thatthepersontowhomAllaahhasgivenstatus

orauthorityshoulduse that toenjoinwhat isgoodand

forbidwhat is evil,and to teachpeople.He shouldun

derstandthathehasagreatresponsibilitybecausepeoplewillacceptmorefromhimthanfromotherpeopleusu

allysohecandomorethanotherscan.

Secondly, thepersonwho seeks to enjoinwhat isgood

andforbidwhatisevilshouldnotmisjudgethesituation

andputhimself in ahigherposition than is in fact the

case and behave as ifhehasqualities thathedoesnot

have,becausethiswillonlyputpeopleoff.


madethemostofthepositionofrespectthatAllaahhad

givenhimwhenhewas rebuking and teachingpeople.

He

did

things

that

would

not

have

been

appropriate

if

theyweredonebyanyone else, examplesofwhich fol

low.YaeeshibnTihfahalGhiffaarireportedthathisfa

thersaid:

IwasaguestoftheMessengerofAllaah(peaceand

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),oneofthepoorto

whom he played host. The Messenger of Allaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim) came

outtocheckonhisguestsduringthenight,andsaw


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www.islamhouse.comme lying onmy stomach.He kickedme and said,Dontlielikethis;thisisthekindoflyingthatAl

laahhates.

Accordingtoanotherreport:

Hekickedhimandwokehimup,andsaid,Thisis

how thepeopleofHell lie. (ReportedbyAhmad,

alFathalRabbaani,14/244245.Alsoreportedbyal

Tirmidhi,no.2798,Shaakired.;byAbuDawood in

Kitaab alAdab in his Sunan, no. 5040, adDaaas

edn.Thehadeeth isalso inSaheehalJaami,2270

2271)

Thismethod

of

rebuking

was

appropriate

for

the

Prophet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)becauseof

hispositionandstatus,butitisnotappropriateforordi

narypeople.Itisnotalrightforanypersonwhowantsto

rebukeanother for sleepingonhis stomach tokickhim

whilst he is asleep andwake him up, and then expect

him

to

accept

this

advice

and

thank

him

for

it.

The

same

applies tohitting apersonwho ismaking amistakeor

throwingsomethinglikepebblesorwhateverathim.Al

thoughsomeofthesalafdidthat,itwasbecauseoftheir

particular status.Some storiesof thisnature follow.Al

Daarimi(mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)reportedfrom

Sulaymaan ibnYassaar thatamancalledSabeeghcame

toMadeenah and started to ask about the ambiguous

textsoftheQur`aan.Umarsentforhim,andhehadpre

paredsomedatepalmbranchesforhim(tohithimwith).


25/161

www.islamhouse.com[Umar]askedhim,Whoareyou?Hesaid,Iam theslaveofAllaah,Sabeegh. Umar tookholdofoneof

thepalmbranchesandhithim,saying,Iamtheslave

ofAllaah, Umar.Hekepthittinghimuntilhishead

began tobleed,andhesaid,OAmeeralMumineen,

enough! [The ideas that]were inmyheadhavegone!

(Sunanal

Daarimi,

ed.

by

Abd

Allaah

Haashim

Ya

maani,1/51,no.146).

AlBukhaari (mayAllaahhavemercy onhim) reported

thatIbnAbiLaylasaid:HudhayfahwasinalMadaa`in

andaskedforadrink,andagrandeegavehimavesselof

silver.He threw it at him and said, Iwould not have

thrownit,butItoldhimnottodoitandhedidntstop.TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)

forbade us from wearing silk and brocade, and from

drinkingfromvesselsofgoldandsilver.Hesaid:

Thesearefortheminthisworldandforyouinthe

Hereafter.(alFath,no.5632)

AccordingtoareportnarratedbyAhmad,describingthe

same incident, AbdalRahmaan ibnAbiLaylaasaid:I

wentoutwithHudhayfah tooneof theseareas,andhe

asked forsomething todrink.Agrandeebroughthima

vesselofsilverandhe (Hudhayfah) threw it inhis face.

Wesaid, Bequiet,bequiet, ifweaskwhyhedid it,he

might not tellus. Sowewerequiet, and a littlewhile

laterhesaid, Doyouknowwhy I threw it inhis face?

Wesaid, No.Hesaid, Ihad toldhimnot todo it.The


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www.islamhouse.comMessenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah beuponhim)said:

Donotdrinkfromvesselsofgold.

andMuaadhsaid, Donotdrinkfromvesselsofgold

orsilver,anddonotwear silkorbrocade; theseare for

them in thisworld and foryou in theHereafter. (al

Musnad,5/396)

AlBukhaari narrated that Seereen askedAnas towrite

him a contract of manumission, as he had plenty of

money,butAnas refused. Seereenwent to Umar (may

Allaahbepleasedwithhim),whotoldAnastowritethe

document,and

Anas

still

refused,

so

Umar

hit

him

with

awhipwhilst reciting thewords (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

Noor24:33]

sohewrotethedocumentforhim.(AlFath,5/184).

AlNisaa`i reported fromAbu Saeed alKhudri that he

was prayingwhen a son ofMarwaan came in front of

him,sohecheckedhim,andwhenhedidnotgoback,he

hithim.Theboywentoutcrying,andwenttoMarwaan

and toldhimwhathadhappened.MarwaanaskedAbu

Saeed,Whydidyouhit the sonofyourbrother?He

said, Ididnothithim, Ihit the Shaytaan. Iheard the


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www.islamhouse.comMessenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah beuponhim)say:

Ifanyoneofyouisprayingandsomeonewantsto

passinfrontofhim,lethimstophimasmuchashe

can, and if he refuses then fight him, for he is a

devil.(alMujtabaminSunanalNisaaì,8/61;Sa

heehSunanalNisaaì,no.4518)

Ahmad (mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)reported from

AbulNadr that Abu Saeed alKhudri was suffering

fromasoreleg,andhisbrothercameinandsawhimly

ingwithonelegcrossedovertheother,sohehithimon

the sore leg,making it hurt evenmore.He said, You

hurtmy leg!Didntyouknow it is sore?He said,Of

courseIknew.Hesaid,Whatmadeyoudothat?He

said, Did you not hear that the Prophet (peace and

blessings ofAllaah beuponhim) forbadeus to sit like

this?(alMusnad,3/42)

Maalik

reported

from

Abul

Zubayr

al

Makki

that

a

man

proposedmarriage to anothermans sister, andhe [the

brother]toldhimthatshehadcommittedzinaa.Newsof

this reached Umar ibn alKhattaab, so he hit him or

nearlyhithim,andsaid,Whydidyou tellhim? (Mu

waaMaalik,no.1553, reportofAbuMusabalZuhri,

ed. by Bashshaar Maroof and Mahmood Khaleel.

MuàsaasatalRisaalah).


28/161

www.islamhouse.comMuslim reported in his Saheeh from Abu Ishaaqwhosaid: I was with alAswad ibn Yazeed in the Great

Mosque, and alShabi was with us. AlShabi told us

aboutwhatFaatimahbintQayshadsaidabouttheMes

sengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon

him) not providing housing or an income for her.Al

Aswadtook

ahandful

of

pebbles

and

threw

them

at

him,

saying,Woetoyou!Youtalkaboutsomethinglikethis?

Umarsaidthatweshouldnot leave theBookofAllaah

and the SunnahofourProphet (peace andblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)forthewordsofawomanwhowe

cannotbe surehas remembered thingsproperlyornot.

Women

have

the

right

to

accommodation

and

an

income.

Allaahsays:

andturnthemnotoutoftheirhomes,notshallthey

(themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of

some open illegal sexual intercourse [alTalaaq

65:1].(SaheehMuslim,no.1480)

AbuDawoodreported,withanisnaadinwhichtwomenaremaqbool, that twomen entered from the doors of

Kindah,whenAbuMasood alAnsaariwas sitting in a

circle. The twomen said, Is there anymanwhowill

judge between us?Aman in the circle said, Iwill.

AbuMasoodtookahandfulofpebblesandthrewthem

at him, saying, Shut up! It is disliked to hasten tojudgement. (Reported by Abu Dawood, Kitaab al

Aqdiyah,Babfitalabalqadawaaltasarruilayhi)


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www.islamhouse.comWeshouldalsonotethattheProphetsrebukingofsomeof his closest Companions was, on occasions, harsher

than his rebuking of a bedouin, for example, or a

stranger.Allof thishas todowithwisdomandproper

evaluationinrebuking.

Makingadistinctionbetweenonewhoerrsoutofigno

rance and onewho errsdespitehisknowledge.One of

thestoriesthatillustratethisclearlyiswhathappenedto

Muaawiyah ibn alHakam alSalamiwhen he came to

Madeenahfromthedesert,andhedidnotknowthatitis

forbiddentospeakduringthesalaah.Hesaid:

WhilstIwasprayingbehindtheMessengerofAl

laah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),a

man sneezed, so Isaid YarhamukAllaah (mayAl

laahhavemercyonyou).Thepeopleglaredatme,

so Isaid, Maymymother loseme!What iswrong

withyouthatyouarelookingatme?Theybeganto

slap their thighswith theirhands,andwhen Isaw

that theywere indicating that I should be quiet, I

stoppedtalking(i.e.,Inearlywantedtoanswerthem

back,butIcontrolledmyselfandkeptquiet).When

theMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAl

laahbeuponhim)had finishedprayingmaymy

fatherandmotherbesacrificedforhim,Ihavenever

seenabetter teacher thanhimbeforeor sincehe

didnotrebukemeorhitmeorputmetoshame.He


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www.islamhouse.comjustsaid,Thisprayershouldcontainnothingofthespeech ofmen; it is only tasbeeh and takbeer and

recitationof theQur`aan. (SaheehMuslim, Abd

alBaaqiedn.,no.537).

Theignorantpersonneedstobetaught;theonewhohas

doubtsneedstohavethingsexplainedtohim;thenegli

gentpersonneedstobereminded;andtheonewhowillfullypersistsinerrorneedstobewarned.Itisnotrightto

treatonewhoknowsaboutarulingandonewhoisigno

rantofitinthesamemannerwhenrebukingthem.Treat

ingonewhodoesnotknowtooharshlywillonlyputhim

off andmake him refuse to follow your advice, unlike

teaching himwithwisdom and gentleness, because anignorantpersonsimplydoesnotrealizethatheismaking

amistake.Itisasifheissayingtotheonewhoisrebuk

inghim:Whydontyouteachmebeforeyoulaunchan

attackonme?

The onewho ismaking amistakewithout realizing it

maythinkthatheisright,soweshouldtakethisintoaccountanddealwithhim tactfully. ImaamAhmad (may

Allaahhavemercyonhim)reported inalMusnad from

alMugheerahibnShubah:


Allaahbeuponhim)atesomefood, thengotup to

pray.Hehadalreadydonewudoobeforethat,butI

brought somewater for him to dowudoo,He re

buffedmeandsaid, Goaway! I feltupset,byAl


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www.islamhouse.comlaah.Heprayed, and I complained to Umar aboutwhathadhappened.Hesaid, OProphetofAllaah,

alMugheerah feelshurt by your rebuff, and he is

worried thatyoumaybe angrywithhim for some

reason.TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim)said: Iseeonlygood inhim,buthe

broughtme

water

to

do

wudoo

after

Ihad

eaten

somefood,andifIhaddonewudoothen,thepeo

plewouldhavefollowedsuit[i.e.,theywouldhave

thoughtthattheyhadtodowudooeverytimethey

hadeatensomething].(alMusnad,4/253)

We shouldnotehere thatwhen theProphet (peaceand

blessings ofAllaah be upon him) pointed out themistakesofthesegreatSahaabah,itdidnothaveanegative

impactonthemorputthemoff;rather,ithadapositive

effectonthem,andhavingbeencorrectedinthismanner

by theProphet (peace andblessingsofAllaah beupon

him),theywouldremainanxiousandworried,watching

theirbehaviourandfeelingconcerneduntiltheycouldbesurethattheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)waspleasedwiththem.

WemayalsonotefromthisstorythatwhentheProphet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)pointedout

alMugheerahs mistake, he was not angry with al

Mugheerahhimself;hedidthisoutofmercytothepeople and to explain things clearly to them, so that they

wouldnotimposesomethingonthemselvesthatwasnot


32/161

www.islamhouse.comwaajiband thatwouldcause themagreatdealofhardship.

Makingadistinctionbetweenmistakesstemmingfrom

anhonesteffort to findoutwhat is right (ijtihaad),and

mistakesdonedeliberately,outofnegligenceorbecause

ofshortcomings.Thereisnodoubtthatinthefirstcase,a

person isnot tobeblamed; indeedhewillearnone re

wardevenifheismistaken,solongashisintentionwas

sincereandhetriedtoreachtherightconclusion,because

theProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)

said:

Ifarulerjudgesandstrivestomaketherightdeci

sion, and his decision is correct, hewill have two

rewards, and ifhisdecision iswrong,hewill still

have one reward. (Reported by alTirmidhi, 1326,

Shaakir edn. Abu Eesa alTirmidhi said it is a

ghareebhasanhadeethinthisversion.)

Thisisadifferentcasefromonewhoerrsdeliberatelyor

becauseofshortcomings.Inthefirstinstance,theperson

shouldbe taughtandadvised; in thesecond,heshould

bewarnedandrebuked.

The ijtihaadwhichmay be excused should bedone on

thepartofonewho isqualified,notonewhogives fatwas without knowledge and without taking circum

stances into account. This iswhy the Prophet severely


33/161

www.islamhouse.comdenouncedthepeoplewhomadethemistakeinthecaseofthemanwiththeheadwound.AbuDawoodnarrated

in his Sunan from Jaabir (mayAllaah be pleasedwith

him)whosaid:

Wewentoutonajourney,andoneofthemenwith

uswas struck in theheadwitha stoneand started

bleeding.Thenhe slept andwhenhewokeupheneeded todoghusl (hewas instateof janaabahor

impurity).Heaskedhiscompanions, Doyouthink

Icouldgetawaywithdoingtayammum?Theysaid,

Wedontthinkyouhaveanyexcusebecausewater

isavailable.Sohedidghusl,andhedied.Whenwe

came to theProphet (peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim) andhewas told about this,he said,

Theyhavekilledhim,mayAllaahkill them!Why

did theynotask if theydidnotknow?Thecureof

theonewhodoesnotknowistoask(SunanAbi

Dawood,KitaabalTahaarah,Baabalmajroohyata

yammam; alAlbaani classed it ashasan inSaheehAbiDawood,325,andindicatedthattheextramate

rial[notmentioned]addedattheendofthehadeeth

isdaeef)


saidthatjudgesareofthreetypes,onewillbeinParadise

andtheothertwoinHell.ThetypethatwillbeinParadise is amanwhoknows the truth and judges accord

ingly.Amanwhoknows the truth but judgesunjustly


34/161

www.islamhouse.comwillbe inHell,and amanwho judgesbetweenpeoplewithoutproper knowledgewill also be inHell. (Sunan

AbiDawood,no.3573;classedassaheehbyalAlbaaniin

alIrwa,2164).The third type isnotregardedashaving

anyexcuse.

Anotherfactoringaugingthedegreeofrebukingispay

ing attention to the environment inwhich themistakeoccurred, such as whether it was an environment in

whichtheSunnahisfollowedorbidahiswidespread,or

howprevalent evil is, orwhether there are ignorant or

overly lenient people, whose opinions are widely fol

lowed,issuingfatwastosaythatitispermissible.

Agoodintentiononthepartoftheonewhomakesthe

mistakedoesnotmeanthatheshouldnotberebuked

Amr ibnYahyasaid:Iheardmy fathernarrating from

hisfatherwhosaid:WewereatthedoorofAbdAllaah

ibnMasoodbefore theearlymorningprayer.Whenhecame out we walked with him to the mosque. Abu

MoosaalAsharicameuptousandsaid,DidAbuAbd

alRahmaancomeouttoyouyet?Wesaid,No.Hesat

downwith us until [Abu Abd alRahmaan] came out.

When he came out,we all stood up to greet him, and

AbuMoosasaid tohim:OAbu AbdalRahmaan,earlierIsawinthemosquesomethingthatIhaveneverseen

before, but it seems good, alhamdu Lillaah.He said,


35/161

www.islamhouse.comAndwhatwasit?Hesaid,ifyoulive,youwillseeit.Isawpeopleinthemosquesittingincircleswaitingforthe

prayer. In every circle therewas aman, and they had

pebblesintheirhands.Hewouldsay,SayAllaahuakbar

onehundred times,and theywould sayAllaahuakbar

onehundred times; thenhewould say, SayLaa ilaaha

illAllaah

one

hundred

times,

and

they

would

say

Laa

ilaaha illAllaahonehundred times; thenhewouldsay,

Say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times, and they

would say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times. He

asked,Whatdidyousaytothem?Hesaid,Ididnotsay

anythingtothem;Iwaswaitingtoseewhatyouropinion

would

be

and

what

you

would

tell

me

to

do.

He

said,

Whydidyounottellthemtocounttheirbaddeedsand

guarantee them thatnothingof theirgooddeedswould

bewasted?Thenheleft,andwewentwithhim,untilhe

reached one of those circles.He stood over them and

said, What is this I seeyoudoing?They said, OAbu

Abd alRahmaan, these are pebbles we are using to

countour takbeer, tahleeland tasbeeh.Hesaid, Count

your bad deeds, and I guarantee that nothing of your

good deedswill bewasted.Woe to you,O ummah of

Muhammad,howquicklyyouaregettingdestroyed!The

CompanionsofyourProphet(peaceandblessingsofAl

laahbeuponhim)are stillalive,hisgarment isnotyet

wornoutandhisvesselsarenotyetbroken.BytheOne

inWhosehandismysoul,eitheryouarefollowingaway

thatismoreguidedthanthatofMuhammadoryouhave


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www.islamhouse.comopenedthedoorofmisguidance!Theysaid, ByAllaah,OAbu AbdalRahmaan,weonlywanted todogood.

He said, Howmany of thosewhowanted todo good

failedtoachieve it!TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceand

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim) toldus thatpeoplere

citeQur`aan and it does not go any further than their

throats.By

Allaah,

Ido

not

know,

maybe

most

of

them

are people like you. Then he turned away from them.

Amr ibn Salamah said, I sawmostof themembersof

thosecirclesfightingalongsidetheKhawaarijontheday

ofNahrawaan.(ReportedbyalDaarimi,alSunan,no.

210,ed.byAbdAllaahHaashimalYamaani.AlAlbaani

classed

its

isnaad

as

saheeh

in

al

Silsilat

al

Saheehah

un

der hadeeth no. 2005. See Majma alZawaaid by al

Haythami,1/181).

Being fairandnotbeingbiasedwhencorrecting those

whomakemistakes

Allaahsays(interpretationofthemeanings):

Andwheneveryougiveyourword (i.e., judgebe

tweenmen or give evidence), say the truth [al

Anaam6:152]

andwhenyoujudgebetweenmen,you[should]

judgewithjustice[alNisa4:58]

The fact thatUsaamah ibnZaydwas thebelovedof the

Prophet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)and


37/161

www.islamhouse.comthe sonofhisbeloved [Zayd]didnot stop theProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)fromrebuk

inghimmoststernlywhenhe tried to intercederegard

ingoneof thepunishments (hudood)prescribedbyAl

laah. Aa`ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) re

ported that Quraysh were concerned about a woman

whostole

at

the

time

of

the

Prophet

(peace

and

blessings

ofAllaahbeuponhim),at the timeof theConquestof

Makkah.Theysaid,

Whowillspeak to theMessengerofAllaah (peace

and blessings ofAllaah be upon him) about her?

Whowill dare to do this other thanUsaamah ibn

Zayd,thebelovedoftheMessengerofAllaah(peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him)? She was

brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),andUsaamahibn

Zayd spoke tohim concerningher.The faceof the

MessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim)changedcolourandhesaid: Areyouintercedingconcerningoneofthepunishmentspre

scribedbyAllaah?Usaamah said tohim, Pray for

forgiveness forme,OMessengerofAllaah.When

evening came, theMessengerofAllaah (peace and

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)stoodupandad

dressedthe

people.

He

praised

Allaah

as

He

de

serves tobepraised, thenhesaid: Thepeoplewho

camebefore youweredestroyedbecause if one of


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www.islamhouse.comtheirnoblesstole,theywouldlethimgo,butifoneoftheweakamongthemstole,theywouldcarryout

thepunishmentonhim.BytheOneinWhosehand

ismysoul,ifFaatimahthedaughterofMuhammad

weretosteal,Iwouldcutoffherhand.Thenheor

dered that thewomanwhohadstolenshouldhave

herhand

cut

off.

(The

hadeeth

was

reported

by

al

BukhaariandMuslim;thisversionwasnarratedby

Muslim,no.1688).

According to a report narrated by alNisaa`i from

Aa`ishah (mayAllaahbepleasedwithher),shesaid:

Awomanborrowed some jewellery, claiming that

shewantedtolendittosomeoneelse,butshesoldit

andkept themoney.Shewasbrought to theMes


uponhim).Her familywent toUsaamah ibnZayd,

who spoke to theMessenger ofAllaah (peace and

blessings ofAllaah be upon him) concerning her.

The face of the Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) changed colour

whilstUsaamahwas speaking, then theMessenger

ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon

him) said to him: Are you interceding concerning

one of the punishments prescribed by Allaah?

Usaamahsaid, Prayforforgivenessforme,OMessengerofAllaah.In theevening, theMessengerof

Allaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)


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www.islamhouse.comstood up, praised Allaah as He deserves to bepraised,thensaid,Thepeoplewhocamebeforeyou

weredestroyedbecause ifoneof theirnoblesstole,

theywouldlethimgo,butifoneoftheweakamong

themstole,theywouldcarryoutthepunishmenton

him.BytheOneinWhosehandismysoul,ifFaati

mahthe

daughter

of

Muhammad

were

to

steal,

I

would cutoffherhand.Thenhe ordered that the

womanshandshouldbecutoff.(SunanalNisaa`i,

alMujtabaa,Dar alFikr edn., 8/73. Classed as sa

heehbyalAlbaani inSaheehSunanalNisaa`i,no.

4548).

TheProphetsattitudetowardsUsaamah(mayAllaahbepleasedwithhim)indicatesthathewasfairandjust,and

thatIslamcamebeforeloveofpeopleinhisview.Aper

sonmayputupwith thepersonal faultsofwhoeverhe

wishes,buthehasno right to be tolerantor biased to

wards thosewhosemistakes transgress the limitssetby

Islam.Sometimes,whenarelativeorfriendmakesamistake,a

persondoesnotrebukehimashewouldapersonwhom

hedoesnotknow,soonemayseeunIslamicbiasordis

criminationinhisdealingsbecauseofthis,andaperson

mayturnablindeyetohisfriendsmistakewhileharshly

criticizinganotherperson.

[AnArabpoetoncesaid:]


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www.islamhouse.comIfyouarehappywithaperson,youdonot seehismistakes,butifyouareangrywithhim,youseethem

all.

Thismayalsobereflectedinthewayinwhichactionsare

interpreted.Anactionon thepartofapersonone loves

willbetakenoneway,andthesamedeedonthepartof

anotherpersonwillbetakenquitedifferently.

Alloftheaboveappliesonlywhencircumstancesarethe

same, otherwise there could bedifferent considerations

aswewillseebelow.

Being careful lest correcting onemistake leads to abiggermistake.ItisawellestablishedfactthatIslamal

lows the lesser of two evils in order to repel a greater

evil.Soadaiyahmaykeepquietaboutonemistakelest

sayingsomethingleadtoamoreseriousmistake.


kept quiet about themunaafiqeen and did not execute

them, even though their kufrwaswellestablished.He

bore their insultswith patience, lest people say, Mu

hammadiskillinghiscompanions,especiallysincetheir

true nature was not known to everyone. The Prophet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)didnotde

stroytheKabahinordertorebuilditonthefoundationslaidbyIbraaheem,outofconsiderationtowardsQuraysh

whowerestillnewinIslamandtooclosetotheirrecent


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www.islamhouse.comjaahiliyyah.He (peace andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)fearedthatitmightbetoomuchforthem,soheleft

itas itwas,withpartmissing,and thedoorsethighup

and closed to themasses, even though this contains an

elementofzulm(wrongdoingoroppression).

Beforethis,AllaahhadtoldtheMuslimsnottoinsultthe

gods of themushrikeen, even though this is a form ofworship,because thiscould lead topeople insultingAl

laah,whichistheworstofevil.

Adaiyahmaykeepquietaboutawrongaction,ordefer

rebuking,orchangehisapproach,ifhethinksthatbydo

ingsohewillavoidagreaterevilormistake.Thisisnot

consideredtobeshortcomingornegligencesolongashis

intention is sincere andhedoesnot fear anyone except

Allaah,and itwasonlyconcern for thebest interestsof

Islam,notcowardice,thatstoppedhimfromsayingany

thing.

We

may

note

that

what

causes

a

greater

evil

when

rebuk

ing foronemistake iszealousnesswhich isnotchecked

orcontrolled.

Understandingthehumannaturefromwhichthemis

takesprang.Therearesomemistakeswhichcanneverbe

fully eradicated,because theyhave todowith thewayAllaahhascreatedpeople.Itispossibletoreducethema

little, but going to extremes in dealingwith themwill


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www.islamhouse.comleadtoadisaster.Suchisthecaseofwomen.TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)said:

Womanwas created from a rib, and shewill not

behave consistently towards you. If you enjoy her

company, then enjoy itdespiteher crookedness. If

youtrytostraightenheryouwillbreakher,andher

breakingisherdivorce.(ReportedbyMuslimfromAbuHurayrah (mayAllaah be pleasedwith him),

no.1468).

Accordingtoanotherreport:

Bekindtowomen,fortheywerecreatedfromarib,

andthe

most

crooked

part

of

the

rib

isthe

top.

Ifyou

trytostraightenit,youwillbreakit,andifyouleave

italone,itwillstaycrooked.Sobekindtowomen.

(Reported by alBukhaari fromAbuHurayrah.Al

Fath,no.5186).

IbnHajar (mayAllaah havemercy on him) said: The

wordstreatwomenkindlyindicatethatyoushouldtrytoputthemrightgently,becauseifyougotoextremes

intryingtostraightenthemyouwillbreakthem,andif

you leave them theywill remain crookedWhatwe

learn from this is that we should not leave them

crooked if theygobeyond thenatural expected short

comings and commit sins or neglect duties.What ismeantisthatwecanleavethemcrookedwithregardto

permissiblematters.We also learn from the hadeeth


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www.islamhouse.comthat a gentle approach wins people over and openstheirhearts.Italsotellsus todealwithwomenbybe

ingeasygoingwiththem,andtobeartheircrookedness

with patience.Whoever insists on putting them right

will not benefit from them, and as aman cannot do

withoutawoman toenjoy thepleasureof livingwith

herand

to

be

his

support

in

life,

itisas

ifhe

said:

you

cannotenjoyhercompanyunlessyouputupwithher.

(Fath,9/954).

Makingadistinctionbetweenmistakesthattransgress

the limitsof Islamandmistakes thatonlyaffectother

people.IfIslam isdearer tous thanourownselves,we

mustdefend itandprotect itandgetangry for its sake

more thanwegetangry forourown sakes anddefend

ourown selves. It isa signofnothaving religious feel

ings ifwe see aman getting angry forhis own sake if

someone insultshim,butnotgettingangry for the sake

ofAllaahsreligionifanybodyinsultsit;atmost,wemayseehimfeeblydefendingitinanembarrassedmanner.


oftenused to forgive thosewhomademistakes in their

interactionswith him, especially the hardhearted Bed

ouin, in order to soften their hearts.AlBukhaari (may

Allaahhavemercyonhim) reported inhisSaheeh that

AnasibnMaaliksaid:


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www.islamhouse.comIwaswalkingwiththeMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),andhewas

wearingaNajraanicloakwithastiffcollar.ABed

ouin accosted him, grabbing his cloak in such a

manner that thecollar leftamarkon theProphets

neck,andsaid,OMuhammad!Givemesomeofthe

wealthof

Allaah

that

you

have!

The

Messenger

of


turned to him and smiled, then ordered that he

shouldbegivensomething.(alFath,5809).

Butifthemistakehadtodowithsomeissueofreligion,

thentheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon

him)wouldbecomeangryforthesakeofAllaah.Examplesofthiswillbegivenbelow.

Therearesomeothermatterswhichshouldalsobeborne

inmindwhendealingwithpeoplesmistakes,suchas:

Makingadistinctionbetweenmajormistakesandmi

nor

mistakes,

just

as

Islam

makes

a

distinction

between

majorsins(kabaair)andminorsins(saghaair).

Makingadistinctionbetweenapersonwhohasatrack

recordofmanygooddeeds,whichwillmoreorlesscan

celoutthesignificanceofhismistake,andasinnerwho

transgressesagainsthimself(bydoingevildeeds).People

mayputupwithactionsonthepartoftheonewiththegood trackrecord that theywillnotputupwithon the

partofothers.ThisiswhathappenedtoalSiddeeq(Abu


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www.islamhouse.comBakr), as the following story illustrates:AsmabintAbiBakrsaid:

Wewentoutwith theMessengerofAllaah (peace

andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim) aspilgrims,

andwhenwereachedalArj, theMessengerofAl


stoppedtorest,andwestoppedwithhim.Aa`ishah(may Allaah be pleased with her) sat beside the

MessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim),andIsatbesidemyfather.Theriding

beastsharedbyAbuBakrandtheMessengerofAl


waswithaslavebelonging toAbuBakr.AbuBakrsatdown,waitingforhimtocatchup,andwhenhe

caughtup, the camelwasnotwithhim.AbuBakr

said, Where is the camel? The slave answered, I

lost it yesterday.Abu Bakr said, One camel, you

lostit?andstartedtohithim.TheMessengerofAl

laah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him)smiledandsaid,Lookatwhatthismuhrim(person

in a state of ihraam forHajj) is doing. Ibn Abi

Rizmah said, TheMessengerofAllaah (peace and

blessings ofAllaah be upon him) did not do any

morethansaying, Lookatwhatthismuhrimisdo

ing,and

smiling.

(Reported

by

Abu

Dawood

in

his

Sunan, Kitaab alManaasik, Baab alMuhrim


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www.islamhouse.comyuaddib ghulaamahu. Classed as hasan by alAlbaaniinSaheehSunanAbiDawood,no.1602)

Makingadistinctionbetweentheonewhomakesmis

takesrepeatedlyandtheonewhoismakingamistakefor

thefirsttime.

Making adistinctionbetween theonewho frequently

makesmistakesandtheonewhorarelydoesso.

Makingadistinctionbetweentheonewhomakesmis

takesopenlyandblatantly,andonewhotriestocoverup

hismistakes

Payingattentiontocaseswhereapersonsadherenceto

Islammaynotbestrongandhisheartneedstobeopenedtothereligion,soweshouldnotbetooharshwithhim.

Taking into account a persons situation as regards

statusandauthority.

Theconsiderationsthatwehavementionedabovedonot

contradictthe

fairness

and

justice

referred

to

earlier.

Rebukingayoungsterwhomakesamistakeshouldbe

done in a manner appropriate to the childs age. Al

Bukhaari(mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)reportedthat

alHasan ibn Ali took one of the dates that had been

given in charity, and put it in hismouth. The Prophet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)saidinPersian,


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www.islamhouse.comKakh,kakh,doyounotknow thatwedonot eatthesadaqah(thingsgivenincharity)?(Fath,3072).

AlTabaraani (mayAllaahhavemercyonhim)reported

fromZaynabbintAbiSalamahthatsheentereduponthe

Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be

uponhim)whilsthewasperformingghusl.Shesaid,

Hetookahandfulofwaterandthrewitinmyface,

saying, Go away, foolish girl! (alMujam al

Kabeer, 24/281. AlHaythami said, its isnaad is

hasan,alMajma,1/269)

From this it is clear that a childs tender years do not

meanthat

his

mistakes

should

not

be

corrected;

indeed,

correctinghismistakesisgivinghimthebestupbringing,

as itwill be imprinted in hismemory andwill benefit

himinthefuture.Thefirsthadeethshowshowachildis

taughttofearAllaahandrestrainhimself,andthesecond

hadeethshowshowhe is taughtgoodmanners,how to

seek

permission

to

enter,

and

to

refrain

from

looking

at

theawrah(thatwhichshouldbecovered)ofothers.

Another brilliant example of correcting children is the

story of the young boy Umar ibn Abi Salamah. Al

Bukhaarireportedthathesaid:

IwasayoungboyunderthecareoftheMessenger

ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be uponhim),andmyhandusedtowanderallovertheplate

(atmealtimes).TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceand


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www.islamhouse.comblessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: Oyoungboy!SayBismillah,eatwithyourrighthand,

andeat fromwhat isdirectly in frontofyou.This

remainedmywayofeatingfrom thattimeon. (al

Fath,no.5376)

WemaynotethatwhentheProphet(peaceandblessings

of Allaah be upon him) advised that young boy whomade themistakeof lettinghishandgo everywhere in

the food, hiswordswere short, brief and clear,which

made iteasyforthechildtorememberandunderstand;

the effecton the boysheart lasted for a lifetime, ashe

said,This remainedmywayofeating from that time

on.

Exercising caution when advising nonmahram

women,sothattheadviceisnottakenwrongly,andso

that fitnah (temptation, trouble) is avoided.Noyoung

man

should

use

the

excuse

of

speaking

to

young

women

inordertocorrecttheirmistakesorteachthem.Howof

tenhasthisledtodisasters!Whenitcomestocorrecting

women,alargeroleshouldbegiventoahlalhisbah(re

ligiouspolice)andolderpeoplewhocouldhelpthemin

thisregard.Thepersonwho isseekingtoenjoinwhat is

goodandforbidwhatisevilmustactinaccordancewith

whathethinkswillbetheoutcomeofhisrebuking.Ifhe

thinksthatitislikelytobeofbenefit,heshouldspeakup,

otherwise he should refrain from speaking to ignorant


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www.islamhouse.comwomen who may make false accusations against himwhilst still persisting in theirwrongdoing.The state of

thesocietyatlargeandthestatusoftheonewhoisseek

ingtoenjoinwhatisgoodandforbidwhatisevilplaya

fundamental role in the successofhisefforts to rebuke,

conveythemessageorestablishevidence.Thefollowing

storyillustrates

this:

ThefreedslaveofAbuRaham,whosenamewasUbayd,

reported that Abu Hurayrah met a woman who was

wearingperfume,heading for themosque.He said,O

femaleslaveofalJabbaar(theCompeller),whereareyou

going?She said,To themosque.He said,Andyou

haveputonperfumeforthis?Shesaid,Yes.Hesaid,IheardtheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)saying,

Ifanywomanputsonperfumeand thengoesout

to themosque,Allaahwill not accept her prayers

untilshedoesghusl.(ReportedbyIbnMaajah,no.

4002;seealsoSaheehIbnMaajah,2/367).

According toSaheeh IbnKhuzaymah:Awomanpassed

byAbuHurayrahandherperfumewasoverwhelming.

Hesaidtoher,

Where are you going, O female slave of al

Jabbaar?Shesaid,Tothemosque.Hesaid,Areyou wearing perfume? She said, Yes. He said,

Gobackanddoghusl,forIheardtheMessengerof


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www.islamhouse.comAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)sayingthatAllaahdoesnotaccepttheprayerofany

woman who goes out to the mosque with over

whelming perfume, until she goes back and does

ghusl. (Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah, no. 1682. In his

footnote,alAlbaanisaid, it isahasanhadeeth.See

alsoal

Musnad,

2/246.

Ahmad

Shaakir

classed

itas

saheeh with this isnaad in his footnote to al

Musnad,no.7350)

Notoccupyingoneselfwithputtingthesymptomsright

whilstneglectingtodealwiththecauseofthemistake

Notexaggeratingaboutthemistake

Notgoing toextremes toprove themistakehappened

ortryingtoforceanadmissionofguiltfromtheonewho

madethemistake

Allowingenoughtimeforcorrectingthemistake,espe

ciallyinthecaseofonewhohasbeenaccustomedtodo

ingitforalongtime,whilststillfollowingupthematter

andcontinuingtoadviseandcorrect

Notmakingtheonewhomakesthemistakefeellikean

enemy,because theaim is towinpeopleover,notscore

pointsagainstthem

Nowwewillmoveon toourdiscussionof themethods

used by the Prophet (peace and blessings ofAllaah be


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www.islamhouse.comuponhim)whendealingwiththemistakesofpeople,asrecorded in thesaheehahaadeethnarratedby theschol

ars.


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www.islamhouse.comTheProphetsMethodsofDealingwithPeo

plesMistakes

1 Hastening to dealwith peoplesmistakes and not

puttingitoff.TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim)used tohasten todealwithpeoplesmistakes,especiallywhen itwasnot right forhim todelay

doingsoatthemomentwhenthiswasneeded.Histask

was to explain the truth to people, teach them to do

good,andwarnthemofffromdoingevil.Sohehastened

tocorrectpeopleonmanyoccasions,asisseeninthesto

riesof themanwhowasnotdoinghissalaahproperly,theMakhzoomiwoman,IbnalLatbiyyah,Usaamah,the

threewhowantedtogotoextremesinworship,andoth

ers.Thesestorieswillberelatedinthecourseofthisdis

cussion,inshaAllaah.

Nothasteningtodealwithmistakesgoesagainstthein

terests of Islam andmisses out on the opportunity tostrikewhiletheironishot,asitwere.

2 Dealing with mistakes by explaining the ruling

(hukm). Jarhad (may Allaah be pleasedwith him) re

portedthattheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbe

uponhim)passedbyhimwhenhisthighwasuncovered.


said,


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www.islamhouse.comAllaah be upon him) came out and said, What isthis call of the people of Jaahiliyyah all about?

Thenhesaid,Whatisthematterwithhim?Hewas

told about how theMuhaajir had shoved theAn

saariinjest.TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAl

laahbeuponhim)said,Leaveit,forit(tribalism)is

evil.(al

Fath,

3518).

AccordingtoareportnarratedbyMuslim,hesaid:

Letamanhelphisbrotherwhetherheisanwrong

doeror thevictimofwrongdoing.Ifheisawrong

doer,heshouldstophim,andifhe is thevictimof

wrongdoing, he should come to his aid. (Saheeh

Muslim,no.2584).

4 Correctingmisconceptionsthatareduetosomething

not being clear in peoples minds. In Saheeh al

Bukhaari,Humayd ibnAbiHumayd alTaweel reports

thatheheardAnas ibnMaalik (mayAllaah bepleasedwithhim)saying:

Threepeoplecametothehousesofthewivesofthe

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him), asking about how the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) worshipped.

When theywere told about it, they thought that itwaslittle.Theysaid,Whoarewe,comparedtothe



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www.islamhouse.comhim)?Allhis sins,past and future,havebeen forgiven. (They thought that the onewho does not

knowthathissinshavebeenforgivenneededtogo

to extremes inworship and do farmore than the


him),inthehopethattheirsinsmightbeforgiven).

Oneof

them

said,

As

for

me,

Iwill

pray

every

night

fromnowon.Anothersaid,Asforme,Iwillfast

fortherestofmylifeandwillneverbreakmyfast.

Thethirdsaid,Asforme,Iwillhavenothingtodo

withwomenand Iwillnevermarry.TheMessen

gerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon

him)

came

to

them

and

said,

Are

you

the

people

who said suchandsuch? ByAllaah, I am the one

whofearsAllaahmorethananyone,butIfastandI

breakmyfast,IprayandIrest,andIgetmarried.

MuslimreportedfromAnasthatagroupoftheCompan

ions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) asked thewives of the Prophet (peace andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)aboutwhathedid in

secret.Oneof them (thoseSahaabah)said,Iwillnever

marrywomen.Another said, Iwill never eatmeat.

Anothersaid,Iwillneversleeponabed.[TheProphet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)]praisedand

thankedAllaah,

then

he

said,

Whatisthematterwithsomepeoplewhosaysuch

andsuch?But as forme, Ipray and I sleep, I fast


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www.islamhouse.comand Ibreakmy fast,and Imarrywomen.WhoeverturnsawayfrommySunnahhasnothingtodowith

me.(SaheehMuslim,no.1041).

Herewemaynotethefollowingpoints:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) came to them and addressed them directly;

whenhewantedtoteachallthepeople,hedidnotrefer

tothembynameorexposethem,hemerelysaid,What

is thematterwithsomepeople? In thiswayhewas

gentlewith themandcoveredup for themwhilstat the

sametimeactinginthecommoninterestbyteachingeve

rybody.

Thehadeethdescribesfindingoutabouttheaction

ofgoodpeopleandseekingtoemulatethem.Investigat

ingsuchthingsisthesignofasoundmindandeffortsto

improveoneself.

Thisreportindicatesthatwhenitcomestouseful

mattersofreligion,ifitisnotpossibletolearnthemfrommen,itispermissibletolearnthemfromwomen.

There is nothing wrong with a person talking

abouthisdeedssolongasthereisnoelementofshowing

offanditisforthebenefitofothers.

We also learn thatgoing to extremes inworship

may cause a person to get bored,which in turn could

lead him to stop worshipping altogether; the best of

thingsarethosethataremoderate.(seealFath,9/104).


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www.islamhouse.com Mistakesgenerallycomeaboutasaresultofmisconceptions; if the ideasareput right,mistakeswillde

crease. It is clear from thehadeeth that the reasonwhy

thoseSahaabahadopted thoseconceptsofextremewor

shipandmonasticismwasthattheythoughttheyhadto

gobeyond theProphets actions inworship inorder to

attainsalvation,

because

he

had

been

told

that

all

his

sins

wereforgiven,buttheydidnothavethisadvantage.The

Prophet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)set

them straight, and told them that even though hewas

forgiven,hewasthemostfearingofAllaahamongman

kind,andhecommanded them to followhisSunnah in

worship.

A similar thing happened to another Sahaabi, whose

name was Kahmas alHilaali (may Allaah be pleased

withhim),whonarratedhisstory:

IbecameMuslim and came to theProphet (peace

andblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)andtoldhim

thatIhadbecomeMuslim.Istayedawayforayear,during which I became very skinny, and when I

cameback,he lookedmeupanddown. Isaid, Do

younotknowme?hesaid,Whoareyou?Isaid,I

amKahmasalHilaali.Hesaid, Whathappened to

you? I said, After I saw you, Inever spent aday

withoutfasting,andIneversleptatnight.Hesaid,Whotoldyoutotortureyourself?Fastthemonthof

patience [i.e., Ramadaan], and one day of every


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www.islamhouse.commarriagehedoesnotdeservetobeaccepted,ifheintercedeshedoesnotdeservetohavehisintercession

accepted,andifhespeakshedoesnotdeservetobe

heard. TheMessenger ofAllaah (peace and bless

ingsofAllaahbeuponhim)said,Thismanisbetter

thananearthfullofmen liketheotherman.(al

Fath,6447).

According to a report narrated by IbnMaajah: aman

passedby theMessengerofAllaah (peaceandblessings

of Allaah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and

blessings ofAllaah beuponhim) said (tohisCompan

ions),

Whatdoyou thinkof thisman?They said, We

think thathe isoneof thenoblestofpeople. Ifhe

proposesmarriagehedeserves tobeaccepted, ifhe

intercedes he deserves to have his intercession ac

cepted, and ifhe speakshedeserves tobeheard.

TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon

him)saidnothing.Anothermanpassedbyand theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him)asked,Whatdoyouthinkofthisman?They

said,ByAllaah,OMessengerofAllaah,he isone

of the poorMuslims. If he proposesmarriage he

doesnotdeservetobeaccepted,ifheintercedes,he

doesnotdeserve tohavehis intercession accepted,and ifhe speakshedoesnotdeserve tobeheard.

TheProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon


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www.islamhouse.comhim)said,Thisman isbetter thananearth fullofmen like theotherone. (Sunan IbnMaajah, Abd

alBaaqiedn.,no.4120)

5 Dealing with mistakes by repeatedly reminding

peopletofearAllaah

Jundub ibn AbdAllaahalBajali reported that theMes

sengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeupon

him)sentagroupofMuslimstofightsomemushrikeen,

and theymet inbattle.Oneof themushrikeenwasam

bushingindividualMuslimsandkillingthem.Oneofthe

Muslimswanted

to

catch

him

out

and

kill

him.

[Jundub

said:]WeusedtothinkthatthatmanwasUsaamahibn

Zayd.Whenhe raisedhis sword, themushrik said La

ilaaha illAllaah, buthe [Usaamah]killedhim.Ames

senger came to theProphet (peace andblessingsofAl

laahbeuponhim)andreported tohimaboutwhathad

happened

in

the

battle.

When

he

told

him

about

what

had happened to themushrikwho said Laa ilaaha ill

Allaah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

uponhim)sentforUsaamahandaskedhim,

Whydidyoukillhim?He said, OMessengerof

Allaah,hehadcausedmuchgrieftotheMuslims,he

killedSoandsoandSoandso,andhenamedanumber of people I attacked him andwhen he

saw the sword he said Laa ilaaha illAllaah. The


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www.islamhouse.comMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbe upon him) said, And then you killed him?

Usaamah said, Yes. He said, What will you do

whenLaaillahaillAllaahcomesontheDayofRes

urrection?Hesaid,OMessengerofAllaah,prayfor

forgivenessforme.TheProphet(peaceandbless

ingsof

Allaah

be

upon

him)

simply

said,

What

will

youdowhenLaailaahaillAllaahcomesontheDay

ofResurrection?Hedidnotsayanymorethanthat.

(ReportedbyMuslim,AbdalBaaqiedn.,no.97).

AccordingtoareportnarratedbyUsaamahibnZayd,he

said:


Allaahbeuponhim)sentusoutonamilitarycam

paignandwereachedalHaraqaatnearJuhaynahin

themorning.[Duringthebattle]Icaughtamanand

he said, Laa ilaaha illAllaah, but I stabbed him.

ThenIfeltbadaboutthat,andImentionedittothe

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim).TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessings

ofAllaahbeuponhim)said,HesaidLaailaahaill

Allaahandyoukilledhim?Isaid,OMessengerof

Allaah,heonlysaiditbecausehewasafraidofmy

weapon.Hesaid,Howcanyouknowwhatisinhis

heart?Howcanyoubesurewhetherhewassincereornot?HekeptrepeatingthisuntilIwishedthatI

hadnotbecomeMuslimuntilthatday[becauseem


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www.islamhouse.combracing Islamwipesoutall sins that camebefore Translator].(ReportedbyMuslim,no.69)

Oneissuethatmaybeincludedundertheheadingofre

mindersisremindingpeopleaboutthepowerofAllaah.

Anexampleofthisfollows:

Muslim (mayAllaahhavemercyonhim) reported that

AbuMasoodalBadrisaid:

Iwasbeating a slaveofminewith awhip, and I

heard a voice behind me saying, Listen Abu

Masood! but I did not pay any attention to the

voice because Iwas so angry.When the voice got

nearerto

me,

Irealized

that

itwas

the

Messenger

of

Allaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),

andhewassaying,ListenAbuMasood,listenAbu

Masood! I dropped thewhip frommy hand (ac

cording to another report: the whip fell frommy

handoutof respect forhim).He said, ListenAbu

Masood,Allaahhasmorepoweroveryouthanyou

haveoverthisslave.Isaid, Iwillneverhitaslave

again.Accordingtoanotherreporthesaid:Isaid,

OMessengerofAllaah,heisfreeforthesakeofAl

laah.Hesaid,Ifyoudidnotdothis,theFireofHell

would blow in your face, or the Firewould touch

you.


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www.islamhouse.comAccording to another report also narrated byMuslim,theMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsofAllaah

beuponhim)said:

CertainlyAllaahhasmorepoweroveryouthanyou

haveoverhim.Sohefreedhim.(SaheehMuslim,

no.1659)

AbuMasoodalAnsaarisaid:

IwasbeatingaslaveofminewhenIheardsome

one saying frombehindme, Listen,AbuMasood,

listen,AbuMasood.I turnedaroundandsawthat

itwastheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessings

ofAllaah

be

upon

him).

He

said,

Allaah

has

more

poweroveryou thanyouhaveoverhim.Inever

beatanyslaveofmineafter that. (Reportedbyal

Tirmidhi,no. 1948.Abu Eesa said, this is ahasan

saheehhadeeth).

6 Showing compassion to the onewho ismaking a

mistake.This applies in the case of thosewhodeserve

compassion,who feel remorseandshow that theyhave

repented,asissometimesthecasewhenpeoplecometo

askquestionsandfindout,asinthefollowingstory.Ibn

Abbaasreportedthatamanwhohaddivorcedhiswife

byzihaarandthenhadintercoursewithhercametothe


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www.islamhouse.comProphet(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)andsaid,

OMessengerofAllaah, Idivorcedmywifebyzi

haarthenIhadintercoursewithherbeforeIoffered

kafaarah (expiation).Hesaid,Whatmadeyoudo

that,mayAllaah havemercy on you?He said, I

sawher anklets in themoonlight.He said,Thendonotgonearheruntilyouhavedone thatwhich

Allaahcommandedyoutodo.(AbuEesasaid,this

is a hasan ghareeb saheeh hadeeth. Saheeh Sunan

alTirmidhi,no.1199)

AbuHurayrah(mayAllaahbepleasedwithhim)said:

WhilstweweresittingwiththeProphet(peaceand

blessings ofAllaah be upon him), aman came to

him and said, O Messenger of Allaah, I am

doomed!Hesaid,Whatisthematterwithyou?He

said, Ihad intercoursewithmywifewhilst Iwas

fasting.TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandbless

ingsofAllaahbeuponhim) said, Areyouable to

setaslavefree?Hesaid,No.Hesaid,Canyoufast

fortwoconsecutivemonths?Hesaid,No.Hesaid,

Do you have the wherewithal to feed sixty poor

persons? He said, No. The Prophet (peace and

blessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)saidnothingmore

aboutthematterforawhile,andwhilstweweresit

ting there like that,a largebasketfullofdateswas

brought to theProphet (peace andblessingsofAl


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www.islamhouse.comlaahbeuponhim).Hesaid, Where is theonewhowas asking? Theman said, Here I am.He said,

Take this and give it in charity. The man said,

Whoispoorerthanme,OMessengerofAllaah?By

Allaah,thereisnofamilyinMadeenahpoorerthan

mine.TheProphet (peace andblessings ofAllaah

beupon

him)

smiled

until

his

eyeteeth

were

visible,

thenhesaid, Feedyourfamilywith it. (Reported

byalBukhaari,Fath,1936).

Thispersonwhohadmade amistake and came to ask

about itwasnot jokingor taking thematter lightly.He

felt remorsefulandguilty,as isclear fromhissayingI

amdoomed.Forthisreason,hedeservedpityandcompassion. The report narrated by Ahmad (may Allaah

havemercyonhim)makesthemansstateevenclearer:

AbuHurayrahreportedthataBedouincame,hitting

his cheeks and tearing outhishair, and saying, I

am sure that Iamdoomed!TheMessengerofAl

laah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him)saidtohim,Whatmakesyoudoomed?Hesaid,I

had intercoursewithmywife during Ramadaan.

Hesaid,Canyou freeaslave?Hesaid,No.He

said,Canyoufastfortwoconsecutivemonths?He

said, No.He said, Canyou feed sixtypoorper

sons?He said,No,andmentionedhowpoorhewas.A largebasketcontaining fifteensaaofdates

wasbroughttotheMessengerofAllaah(peaceand


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www.islamhouse.comblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim),and theProphet(peace andblessings ofAllaahbeuponhim) said,

Whereisthatman?Feedthepoorwiththis.He

said, OMessenger of Allaah, there is no one in

Madeenahwhoispoorerthanmyfamily.TheMes


uponhim)

smiled

until

his

eyeteeth

were

visible

andsaid,Feedyourfamily.(AlMusnad,2/516.Al

FathalRabaani,10/89)

7 Not hastening to tell someone he iswrong. Some

thinghappenedtoUmarwhichhehimselftoldabout:I

heardHishaam ibnHakeem ibnHizaam recitingSoorat

alFurqaanduringthelifetimeoftheMessengerofAllaah

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim).Ilistenedto

his recitation, and hewas reciting it differently to the

waythattheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)usedtoreciteit.Inearlyinterrupted

hisprayer,butIwaiteduntilhehadsaidthesalaam,thenIgrabbedhimbyhiscloakandsaid,Whotaughtyouto

recite this soorah I heard you reciting?He said, The

Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be

uponhim) taughtme torecite it. Isaid, Youare lying!

TheMessengerofAllaah (peaceandblessingsofAllaah

be upon him) taughtme to recite it differently. I tookhim to theMessengerofAllaah (peaceandblessingsof

Allaah be upon him) and said, I heard him reciting


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www.islamhouse.comhe issaying,because thatopinionmay turnout tobeavalidscholarlyopinion.

Anotherrelevantpoint is thatoneshouldnothasten to

punishsomeonewhomakesamistake,aswesee in the

followingstory:

AnNisaaì (may Allaah have mercy on him) re

portedfromAbbaadibnSharhabeel(mayAllaahbe

pleasedwithhim)who said: I camewithmy (pa

ternal)uncles toMadeenah,andweenteredoneof

thegardensofthecity.Irubbedsomeofthewheat,

and the owner of the garden came and took my

cloakandhitme.IcametotheMessengerofAllaah

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)asking

forhishelp.Hesentforthatmanandtheybrought

him to him.He said to him, Whatmade you do

that?Hesaid,OMessengerofAllaah,hewentinto

mygardenandtooksomeofmywheatandrubbed

it.TheMessengerofAllaah(peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)said,Youdidnotteachhimifitwas thematterofhimnotknowing,andyoudid

notfeedhimifitwasthematterofhimbeinghun

gry.Givehimbackhiscloak.AndtheMessengerof


orderedthatIshouldbegivenawasqorhalfawasq

(measure ofwheat). (AlNisaaì, alMujtabaa,Kitaab Aadaab alQudaat, Baab alIstidaa; Saheeh

SunanalNisaaì,no.4999).


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www.islamhouse.com(peace andblessings ofAllaahbeuponhim) said,Donotinterrupthim;leavehimalone.Sotheyleft

himuntilhehad finishedurinating, then theMes


upon him) called him and said to him, In these

mosquesitisnotrighttodoanythinglikeurinating

ordefecating;

they

are

only

for

remembering

Allaah,

praying and readingQur`aan,orwords to that ef

fect.Thenhe commandedamanwhowas there to

bringabucketofwaterandthrowitoverthe(urine),

andhedidso.(SaheehMuslim,no.285).

Theprinciplewhich theProphet (peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim) followed indealingwith thismistakewas to treat theman gently, not to be harshwith

him.AlBukhaarireportedfromAbuHurayrah(mayAl

laahbepleasedwithhim):

ABedouinurinatedinthemosque,andthepeople

got up to sort him out. TheMessenger of Allaah

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)saidtothem,Leavehimalone,andthrowabucketofwater

overit.Youhavebeensenttomakethingseasyfor

people,nottomakethingshard.(Fath,6128).

The Sahaabah,mayAllaahbepleasedwith them,were

verykeen todenounce thebad thing theyhadseenand

tokeep theirmosque clean andpure,as is indicated in

thevariousreportsofthishadeeth,whichdescribethem

asshoutingathim,gettinguptosorthimout,rebuking


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www.islamhouse.comhim and hastening to dealwith him, or telling him toStop it! (Jaami alUsool, 7/8387). But the Prophet

(peaceandblessingsofAllaahbeuponhim)was think

ingofthelikelyconsequencesofthetwooptionsstop

pinghimorleavinghimalone.Iftheytriedtostophim,

forcing aman to suppress his urination could do him

harm,and

ifhe

was

unable

to

stop

but

moved

away

be

cause he was afraid of them, the impurity would be

spreadoverawiderareaofthemosqueandonthemans

bodyandclothing.TheProphet (peaceandblessingsof

Allaahbeuponhim)had the farsightedness to see that

leaving theman alone until he had finished urinating

was

the

lesser

of

two

evils,

especially

since

the

man

had

alreadystarteddoing it,and itwasaproblem that they

wouldbeable todo somethingaboutby cleaning itaf

terwards.Sohe toldhiscompanions to leavehimalone

andnottointerrupthim.Hetoldthemtoleavehimalone

because thiswas in thebetter interestsofallandwould

wardoffaworseevilbyputtingupwiththelesserevil.

ItwasalsoreportedthattheProphet(peaceandblessings

ofAllaahbeuponhim)askedthemanthereasonforhis

action.AlTabaraani reported inalKabeer that Ibn Ab

baas(mayAllaahbepleasedwithhim)said:

ABedouin came to theProphet (peace andbless

ingsofAllaahbeuponhim)andpledgedallegianceto him in the mosque. Then he went away and

started tourinate.Thepeoplewanted to stophim,


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www.islamhouse.combut theProphet (peace and blessings ofAllaah beuponhim)said,Donotstopamanwhenheisuri

nating.Thenheaskedhim,AreyounotaMuslim?

He said, Of course.He said, Whatmadeyouuri

nateinourmosque?Hesaid,BytheOneWhosent

youwith the truth, I thought itwas just like any

otherplace

so

Iurinated

in

correcting people mistakes

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