Muhammad Al-Sharif
Imam Malik one day entered the Masjid after Asr.
Towards the front of Masjid An-Nabawee he drew closer and sat down. Rasul Allah
had commanded that anyone who enters the Masjid should not sit until he first
prays 2 rakas as a salutation of the Masjid. Imam Malik was of the opinion
however that Rasul Allahs forbiddance of praying after Asr took precedence and
so he would teach his students to not pray the tahiyyatul Masjid if they
entered between the Asr and Maghrib time.
At that moment that Imam Malik sat down, a young
boy had seen him sit without first praying the 2 raka’s of Tahiyyatul
Masjid. The young boy scorned him, “Get up and pray 2
rakas!”
Imam Malik dutifully stood up once again and began
praying the 2 rakas. The students sat stunned: What was going on? Had Imam
Malik’s opinion changed?
After he had completed the salah, the students
swarmed around and questioned his actions. Imam Malik said, “My opinion
has not changed, nor have I gone back on what I taught you earlier. I merely
feared that had I not prayed the 2 rakas as the young boy commanded, Allah may
include me in the Ayah…
[And when it is said to them, ‘Bow (in
prayer)’, they do not bow.]
- al mursalat 77/48.
Imam Ahmad held the opinion that eating camel meat
nullifies ones Wudu, an opinion that the majority of scholars differed from.
Some students asked him, “If you find an Imam eating camel meat in front
of you and – without first making Wudu - then leads the Salah, would you
pray behind him?” Imam Ahmad replied, “Do you think I would not pray
behind the likes of Imam Malik and Sa’eed ibn
Al-Musayyab?”
Allah created humans with differences. It is the
law of creation. Different tongues, different colors, different cultures…
all that on the outside. On the inside, humans were created with many degrees of
knowledge, intellect, and comprehension of concepts. This is all a sign of
Allah’s all encompassing power to do whatever He wills:
"And among His signs is the creation of the
heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors:
verily in that are signs for those who know." [30:22]
Humans shall differ, that is not the issue. The
issue is: How as a Muslim should one confront these differences of opinions and
what should be our relationship with someone of a different opinion.
Allah ta’ala commanded us to call and advise
people in this Deen of Al-Islam. Many Muslims set off on this mission
blindfolded, not realizing that the map was there in the Qur’an also. In
fact, in the very same verse where Allah commanded us to call and advise people
in this Deen, Allah taught us how to do it. Read the following verse
carefully:
[Invite (fi’l Amr – Allah is
commanding) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction and
argue with them in a way that is best! ]
– Surah An-Nahl 16/125.
There is no need to philosophize. No need to talk
in the flower gardens. It is right there, plain and simple for anyone who would
take heed.
There in that Ayah are the three ingredients to
apply when we disagree with someone. The same Allah that taught us to debate the
truth, taught us how to do it:
- With Hikmah
- With good instruction, and
- To argue in a way that is best.
What does it mean to have Hikmah when differing
with someone?
The nephews of Rasul Allah once set one the most
beautiful examples of Hikmah in advising others. Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn –
in their young age - once saw a senior man performing Wudu incorrectly. Together
they arranged a plan to teach the man without insulting him, advising him in a
manner befitting of his age.
Together they went to the senior and announced,
“My brother and I have differed over who amongst us performs Wudu the
best. Would you mind being the judge to determine which one of us indeed
performs Wudu more correctly.”
The man watched intently as the two grandsons of
Rasul Allah performed Wudu in an explicit manner. After they had completed, he
thanked them and said, “By Allah, I did not know how to perform Wudu
before this. You have both taught me how to do it correctly.”
We must understand that there are two dimensions
to Hikmah. Firstly, there is the Hikmah of knowledge – Hikmah
Ilmiyyah. And secondly, there is the Hikmah of Action – Hikmah
Amaliyyah.
Some people may have Hikmah of knowledge. But we
see that when they try correcting others, advising them, they lack the Hikmah of
Action. This causes many a common folk to reject the Hikmah of
knowledge.
To illustrate this hikmah of knowledge without
Hikmah of action, a brother once completed the Salah in a local Masjid and then
proceeded to shake hands with the people on his right and left. The brother to
his immediate right slapped his hand and snapped, “That is not part of the
Sunnah!” The man replied most correctly, “Oh, is disrespect and
insult part of the Sunnah?”
To show Hikmah when we differ requires the
following:
Sincerity
One: If we differ, our intentions should be that
we are differing in the sincere hope of coming away with the truth. Our
intentions should be sincere to Allah.
We should not differ just to release some hate or
envy in our heart. We should not differ to embarrass someone like we may have
been embarrassed.
Rasul Allah said, “Whoever learns knowledge
– knowledge from that which should be sought for the sake of Allah –
only to receive a commodity of the material world, he shall not find the
fragrance of jannah on the day of resurrection.”
Speak Kindly
Fourthly, never trade in kind words for
harshness, especially when dealing with other Muslims.
Look at the power of a sincere and polite
word:
Mus’ab ibn Umayr was the first of
ambassador of Rasul Allah in Madinah. Before Rasul Allah had arrived in
Madinah, Mus’ab taught ahl al-Madinah about Islam and they began to
enter the Deen.
This enraged Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah,
one of the chieftains of Madinah. He sheathed his sword and set off for the
head of Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr. When he confronted Mus’ab he
threatened, “Stop this nonsense you speak or you shall find yourself
dead!”
Mus’ab replied in the way that should be
a lesson for us all. This man before him did not stop at rudeness and
ignorance, he wanted to slit his throat.
Mus’ab said, “Shall you not sit
and listen for a few moments. If you agree with what I say then take it, and
if not, we shall desist from this talk.” Sa’d sat
down.
Mus’ab spoke about Allah and His
messenger until the face of Sa’d ibn Ubaadah’s face shone like a
full moon and he said, “What should a person do who wishes to enter
into this Deen?” After Mus’ab had told him he said, “There
is a man, if he accepts this Deen, there shall be no home in Madinah that
will not become Muslim. Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh.”
When Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh heard what
was happening, he was infuriated. He left his home to go and kill this man
called Mus’ab ibn Umayr for the dissention he had caused. He entered
upon Mus’ab and announced, “You shall desist of this religion
you speak of or you shall find yourself dead!”
Mus’ab replied, “Shall you not sit
and listen for a few moments. If you agree with what I say then take it, and
if not, I shall desist from this talk.” Sa’d sat.
Mus’ab spoke about Allah and His
messenger until the face of Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh’s face shone
like a full moon and he said, “What should a person do who wishes to
enter into this Deen?”
Look at what a kind word did. Sa’d ibn
Mu’aadh went home to his Madinan tribe that night and announced to
them all, “Everything of yours is Haram upon me until you all enter
into Islam.”
That night, every home in Madinah went to bed
with Laa ilaaha illa Allah … all because of a kind word.
Part II: Who wins?
Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Salami. When
he came to Madeenah from the desert, he did not know that it was forbidden
to speak during the salaah. He relates: “Whilst I was praying behind
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man
sneezed, so I said ‘Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah 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 quiet, I stopped talking (i.e., I nearly wanted to answer
them back, but I controlled myself and kept quiet).
When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah 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 scold me or hit me or put me to
shame. He just said, ‘This prayer should contain nothing of the
speech of men; it is only tasbeeh and takbeer and recitation of the
Qur’aan.’” (Saheeh Muslim, ‘Abd al-Baaqi
edn., no. 537).
Islam showed us how to differ with one
another. Some people think that we should never differ at all and all
disagreements should be avoided. Nay, this is an incorrect assumption, for
the Qur’an and Sunnah show clearly that when a mistake is made it
should be corrected. Indeed helping others do what is right is a requirement
of the Deen, sincere Naseeha.
We see when Rasul Allah turned away from
AbdAllah ibn Umm Maktoom, the blind man, Allah corrected him in the
Qur’an…
[The Prophet) frowned and turned away, Because
there came to him the blind man 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?]
– surah Abasa, 1-4
When Haatib ibn Abi Balta’ah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) made the mistake of writing to the kuffaar of Quraysh
and informing them of the direction in which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was headed on a military campaign against
them, Allaah revealed the words:
[O you who believe! Take not My enemies and
your enemies as friends…]
And so on. Thus we learn that when a mistake
happens it should be corrected. However, the method of correction is what needs
our attention.
Whenever Muslims argue, it is as if each party
carries a banner of: ‘I must win and you must lose!’ Careful study
of the Sunnah however shows us that this is not always the case with the way
Rasul Allah acted. Consider the following examples:
“I lose and you win!”
A Bedouin came to Rasul Allah and told him,
“Give me from what Allah gave you, not from the wealth of your mother nor
from the wealth of your father.” The Sahaabah were furious at the man and
step forward to discipline him for what he said. Rasul Allah commanded everyone
to leave him.
Then by the hand, Rasul Allah took him home,
opened his door and said, “Take what you wish and leave what you
wish.” The man did so and after he completed, Rasul Allah asked him,
“Have I honored you?” “Yes, by Allah,” said the Bedouin.
“Ash hadu an laa ilaaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar Rasul
Allah.”
When the Sahabah heard of how the man changed,
Rasul Allah taught them. “Verily the example of myself, you and this
Bedouin is that of a man who had his camel run away. The townspeople tried
capturing the camel for him by running and shouting after the camel, only
driving it further away. The man would shout, ‘Leave me and my camel, I
know my camel better.’ Then he took some grass in his hand, ruffled it in
front of the camel, until it came willingly.
‘By Allah, had I left you to this Bedouin,
you would have hit him, hurt him, he would have left without Islam and
eventually have entered hellfire.”
“I win and you lose!”
A Muslim should not have an apologetic stance to
everything he is confronted with. There are times when the truth must be said,
when there is no room for flattery.
When the Makhzoomi women – a women from an
affluent family – stole, people approached Rasul Allah to have her
punishment canceled. Rasul Allah became very angry and stood on the pulpit and
announced, “By Allah, had Fatima the daughter of Muhammad stole I would
have cut her hand off.”
No room for flattery, the truth must be stood up
for. It is here that the etiquette of disagreement that we talked earlier about
should shine.
“I win and you win!”
There doesn’t always have to be a loser. We
see in many cases that Rasul Allah gave a way out for the people he differed
with.
When he sent the letter to Caesar, he said in it,
“Become Muslim and you shall be safe, Allah shall give you your reward
double!”
He did not say surrender or die! Nothing of the
sort. Become Muslim and you shall win, rather your victory shall be
double.
I shall end with this shining example of how to
act with other Muslims from our role model, Abu Bakr:
Abu Bakr once disputed with another companion
about a tree. During the dispute Abu Bakr said something that he rather would
not have said. He did not curse, he did not attack someone’s honor, he did
not poke a fault in anyone, all he said was something that may have hurt the
other companion’s feelings.
Immediately, Abu Bakr – understanding the
mistake - ordered him, “Say it back to me!” The companion said,
“I shall not say it back.” “Say it back to me,” said Abu
Bakr, “Or I shall complain to the Messenger of Allah.” The companion
refused to say it back and went on his way.
Abu Bakr went to Rasul Allah and related what had
happened and what he said. Rasul Allah called that companion and asked him,
“Did Abu Bakr say so and so to you?” He said, “Yes.” He
said, “What did you reply.” He said, “I did not reply it back
to him.” Rasul Allah said, “Good, do not reply it back to him (do
not hurt Abu Bakr). Rather say, ‘May Allah forgive you O Abu
Bakr!’”
The Companion turned to Abu Bakr and said,
“May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr! May Allah forgive you O Abu
Bakr!” Abu Bakr turned and cried as he walked away.
Let us leave today with a resolve to revive this
air Rasul Allah and his companions breathed, an air of mercy and love and
brotherhood.
And Allah knows best.
