Al-Asaaleeb al-Nabawiyyah
The Prophet’s Methods for Correcting People’s Mistakes
English Translation
Book by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Contents:
Introduction
Points to be noted when dealing with mistakes
The Prophet’s methods of dealing with people’s mistakes
Conclusion
Introduction
Bismillaah il-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 daiy’ahs’ 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. 2685. Abu ‘Eesa
said, this is a saheeh ghareeb hasan hadeeth). There are different
types and ways of teaching, with different means and methods, one of
which is correcting mistakes. Correcting mistakes is a part of
education; they are like inseparable twins.
Dealing with and correcting mistakes is
also a part of sincerity in religion (naseehah) which is a duty on all
Muslims. The connection between this and the concept of enjoining 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 (revelation) and the methodology of the Qur’aan. The Qur’aan
brought commands and prohibitions, approvals and denunciations 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 Allaah and His Punishment), Of him you are neglectful
and divert your attention to another.” [‘Abasa 80:1-10]
“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 Allaah had a
better right that you should fear Him…” [al-Ahzaab 33:38]
“Not for you (O Muhammad) is the
decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them;
verily, they are the zaalimoon (polytheists, disobedient, wrong-doers,
etc.).” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:128]
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 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
(interpretation of the meaning):
“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
yourselves (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 60:1]
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 after He
showed you (of the booty) which you love. Among you are some that desire
this world and some that desire the Hereafter…” [Aal- ‘Imraan 3:152]
When the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) stayed away from his wives in order to discipline
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 Messenger or to those charged with
authority among them, the proper investigators would have understood it
from them (directly)…” [al-Nisa’ 4:83]
When some of the Muslims failed to
migrate from Makkah to Madeenah with no legitimate excuse, Allaah
revealed 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 emigration was obligatroy for them), they
(angels) say (to them): ‘In what (condition) were you?’ They reply: ‘We
were weak and oppressed on earth.’ They (angels) say: ‘Was not the earth
of Allaah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ …” [al-Nisa’
4:97]
When some of the Sahaabah believed and
repeated the rumours of the munaafiqeen accusing ‘Aa’ishah of something
she was innocent of, Allaah revealed aayaat concerning this lie,
including (interpretation of the meaning):
“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 whereof 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 24:14]
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 forever, if you are believers.”
[al-Noor 24:16-17]
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) forward before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah.
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-Hujuraat 49:1-2]
When the caravan came at the time of
the Friday khutbah, and some of the people left the khutbah and
dispersed 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]. Say: ‘That which Allaah
has is better than any amusement or merchandise! And Allaah is the Best
of Providers.’”
[al-Jumu’ah 62:11]
Many other examples also indicate the importance of correcting 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 at the appropriate
time.”
Understanding the Prophet’s methodology
in dealing with the mistakes of the people he met is of great
importance, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was guided by his Lord, and his words and deeds were supported by
the wahy, and confirmed or corrected as needed. His methods are wiser
and more efficacious, and using his approach is the best way to get
people to respond positively. If the one who is in a position 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 blessings 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 blessings 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 methodology that it is a failure. Much
of it is clearly a deviation that is based on corrupt theories such as
absolute freedom, or it is derived from false heritages such a blind
imitation of one’s fathers and forefathers.
We must point out that the practical
application of this methodology in real life relies heavily on ijtihaad
(studying the situation and attempting to determine the best approach)
to a great extent. This involves selecting the best methods for a
particular situation. Whoever understands 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
appropriate method from among the methods of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
This book is 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 successful 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.
[ Table of Contents ]
Points to be noted when dealing with mistakes
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 finished 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 Hurayrah
said, ‘I will do that, I will tell you a hadeeth I heard from the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 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 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 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 judge 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 reader, ‘Did I not teach you that which I had revealed
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 Allaah 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 jihaad 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
courageous, and it was said.’ Then the Messenger of Allaah (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
heated on the Day of Resurrection.’” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 2382,
Shaakir edn. Abu ‘Eesa said: 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: “Every son of Adam makes mistakes, and the
best of those who make mistakes are those who repent.” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, no. 2499, and by Ibn Maajah, who narrated this version –
al-Sunan, ed. by ‘Abd al-Baqi, no. 4251)
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 repeatedly. 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.
Understanding this fact will also
prevent an educator from being greatly shocked by the kind of sudden
mistake that could lead him to react in an inappropriate fashion. 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 human 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 only 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., 1/467], and his other clothes were on a
clothes hook. Someone said to 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. 352). 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 garments 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 rebuke 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, 1/467)
- 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 concerned about dealing
with and correcting mistakes that had to do with shirk in all its forms,
because this was the 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) said: ‘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, 1061).
Abu Waaqid al-Laythi reported that when
the Messenger 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,
‘Subhaan-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.’” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, no. 2180. He said, This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth).
According to another report narrated by
Abu Waaqid, they went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Allaah to
Hunayn. He said: “The kuffaar had a lotus-tree to which they were
devoted and on which they used to hang their weapons; 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 Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘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.’” (Reported by
Ahmad, al-Sunan, 5/218).
Zayd ibn Khaalid al-Juhani said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led us
in Subh (Fajr) prayer at al-Hudaybiyah just 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, ‘Allaah 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 Allaah, he is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in
the 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. 846).
Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that a man said,
“O Messenger of Allaah, whatever Allaah and you will.” He said, “Are you
making me equal to Allaah? [Say instead:] What Allaah alone wills.”
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 1/283).
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
them both) reported 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 Allaah 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, 6108)
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, 14/164).
Abu Shurayh Haani’ 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-Hajar (“slave
of the stone”). He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘ ‘Abd
al-Hajar.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said, ‘No, you are ‘Abd-Allaah (slave of Allaah).’” (Reported
by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 813. Al-Albaani said in Saheeh
al-Adab al-Mufrad that it is saheeh, no. 623).
- 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 mistake, 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. Understanding 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 are very important 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 understand 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 follow:
Ya’eesh ibn Tihfah al-Ghiffaari
reported that his father 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 me
lying on my stomach. He kicked me and said, ‘Don’t lie like this; this
is the kind of lying that Allaah 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, 14/244-245. Also
reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2798, Shaakir edn.; by Abu Dawood in Kitaab
al-Adab in his Sunan, no. 5040, al-Da’’aas edn. The hadeeth is also in
Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2270-2271).
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 ordinary 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. Although 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 prepared some date palm branches for him
(to hit him with). [‘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 Yamaani, 1/51, no. 146).
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. 5632).
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 later 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 Messenger 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, 5/396)
Al-Bukhaari narrated that Seereen asked
Anas to write him a contract of manumission, as he had plenty of money,
but Anas refused. Seereen went to ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him), who told Anas to write the document, 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…” [al-Noor 24:33], so he wrote the document for him.
(Al-Fath, 5/184).
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 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
devil.’” (al-Mujtaba min Sunan al-Nisaa’i, 8/61; Saheeh Sunan
al-Nisaa’i, no. 4518)
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 lying 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, 3/42)
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 nearly hit him, and
said, “Why did you tell him?” (Muwatta’ Maalik, no. 1553, report of Abu
Mus’ab al-Zuhri, ed. by Bashshaar Ma’roof and Mahmood Khaleel. Mu’sasat
al-Risaalah).
Muslim reported in his Saheeh from Abu
Ishaaq who said: “I was with al-Aswad ibn Yazeed in the Great Mosque,
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 (interpretation of the meaning): “… 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-Talaaq 65:1].’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 1480).
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)
We should also 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 stranger. All of this
has to do with wisdom and proper evaluation in rebuking.
- Making a distinction between one who errs out of ignorance 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 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
rebuke 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).
The ignorant person needs to be taught;
the one who has doubts needs to have things explained to him; the
negligent person needs to be reminded; and the one who wilfully persists
in error needs to be warned. It is not right to treat one who knows
about a ruling and one who is ignorant of it in the same manner when
rebuking them. Treating 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 rebuking 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
account 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 rebuffed me and said, ‘Go
away!’ I felt upset, by Allaah. 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) said: ‘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,
4/253)
We should note here that when the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) pointed out the
mistakes 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
waajib and that would cause them a great deal of hardship.
- 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 reward 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 judges and strives to make the
right decision, 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, 1326, Shaakir edn. Abu ‘Eesa al-Tirmidhi said it is a
ghareeb 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
fatwas without knowledge and without taking circumstances into account.
This is why the Prophet severely denounced 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 journey, 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 janaabah 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-majrooh
yatayammam; al-Albaani classed it as hasan in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 325,
and indicated that the extra material added at the end of the hadeeth 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 Paradise is
a man who knows the truth and judges accordingly. A man who knows the
truth but judges unjustly will be in Hell, and a man who judges between
people without proper knowledge will also be in Hell. (Sunan Abi Dawood,
no. 3573; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’, 2164). The third
type is not regarded as having any excuse.
Another factor in gauging the degree of
rebuking is paying 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
followed, 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 Moosa 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, earlier I saw in the mosque something that I have never seen
before, but it seems good, al-hamdu Lillaah.” He said, “And what was
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 Allaah 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 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 recite 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. 210, ed. by
‘Abd-Allaah Haashim al-Yamaani. Al-Albaani classed its isnaad as saheeh
in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah under hadeeth no. 2005. See Majma’
al-Zawaa’id by al-Haythami, 1/181).
- 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., judge between men or give evidence), say the truth…” [al-An’aam 6:152]
“… and when you judge between men, you [should] judge with justice…” [al-Nisa’ 4:58]
The fact that Usaamah ibn Zayd was the
beloved of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
the son of his beloved [Zayd] did not stop the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) from rebuking him most sternly when he
tried to intercede regarding one of the punishments (hudood) prescribed
by Allaah. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported 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 said: ‘Are you interceding concerning one of the
punishments prescribed 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 addressed the people. He praised Allaah as He deserves to be
praised, then he 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 Faatimah the daughter of
Muhammad were to steal, I would cut off her hand.’ Then he ordered 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. 1688).
According to a report narrated by
al-Nisaa’i from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), she said: “A
woman borrowed some jewellery, claiming that she wanted to lend it to
someone else, but she sold it and kept the money. She was brought to the
Messenger 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 him: ‘Are you
interceding concerning one of the punishments prescribed by Allaah?’
Usaamah said, ‘Pray for forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allaah.’ In
the evening, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) 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 Faatimah 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-Mujtabaa, Dar al-Fikr edn.,
8/73. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Nisaa’i, no.
4548).
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 person may put
up with the personal faults of whoever he wishes, but he has no right to
be tolerant or biased towards 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 unIslamic bias or discrimination 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:]
“If you are 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 allows 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, “Muhammad 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 destroy 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 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 Allaah,
which is the worst of evil.
A dai’yah 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 except 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 rebuking for one mistake is zealousness which is not checked or controlled.
- Understanding the human nature from which the mistake 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 lead to a 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 enjoy her company, then enjoy 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. 1468).
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. 5186).
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 shortcomings 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 that a
gentle approach wins people over and opens their hearts. It also tells
us to deal with women by being 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 enjoy
the pleasure of living with her and to be his support in life, it is as
if he said: you cannot enjoy her company unless you put up with her.”
(Fath, 9/954).
- 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 feelings 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 Bedouin, in
order to soften their hearts. Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him)
reported in his Saheeh that Anas ibn Maalik said: “I was walking with
the Messenger of Allaah.
