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My brothers and sisters, one of the tendencies that seems to be predominant today is the tendency
to correct others.
People seem to walk around with this thing as if it’s their duty and Allah has sent them
to correct others.
And no one to convincing will seems to work.
We try to tell them, Allah sent us to correct ourselves, to improve ourselves, to make our
own better, to learn and practice this deen ourselves.
But we do not correct others.
In this video, I have already said that let not your correction, meaning the way you correct
people, let not your correction, let not the way you correct people be worse than the mistake.
It is so surprising.
It is so surprising to see how this is happening.
This is so common, so common, where you find people over and over again.
The way they correct somebody is so awful that people forget about what was said, and
they get stuck on how it was said.
But this is the tendency, one single word, one single letter.
I’ve seen this happening so many times, where the Imam, for example, is reciting Quran and
doing a beautiful job, and thanks to his recitation, you are in khudu, you are able to concentrate,
you are able to focus in your salah, and the quality of your salah, alhamdulillah, is better
than it would otherwise have been.
Okay?
And then when the salah is finished, somebody will say to the Imam that that particular
ayah in that particular ayah, that particular word that you pronounced was wrong in this
way.
You know, some issue of tajweed.
Now, tajweed is important, there’s no doubt about that.
But we also know the usool that as long as the mistake is not a major mistake, as long
as it’s not changing the meaning of the word, and as long as it’s not a mistake in Surah
al-Fatiha, it’s not such a serious mistake.
But you focus on that.
And the fact of the rest of the recitation is gone from you.
Anyone with any grace would have complimented the Khari on the beauty of the recitation,
but no.
We want to show that I know better, that I am, you know, more knowledgeable than you
and so on and so on.
May Allah have mercy.
And many such examples of how people in their enthusiasm, their correction is worse than
the level of the mistake.
Let me give you a beautiful example of how correction should be done.
Okay?
Okay.
Okay.
So, there was a man in Madinah, an elderly man, who was doing wudu incorrectly.
And the two sons of Sayyidina Ali , Hassan and Hussein , they saw this.
So they went to the man and Sayyidina Hassan Ibn Ali .
He was a very good man.
He was a very good man.
He was a very good man.
He said to the man, he said, uncle, my brother and I are having some disagreement with regard
to the way in which wudu should be done.
So if you don’t mind, we will both do wudu before you.
If you can please look at us and see and tell us which one is doing the wudu correctly and
which one is making a mistake.
And both of them, one by one, they did wudu.
And obviously both of them did it correctly.
Okay.
So, the man realized what was going on.
He realized that this was about him, not about them.
So he said to them when they finished, he said, you have both performed the wudu wallahi
by Allah.
Both of you performed the wudu beautifully and correctly.
And it was I who was mistaken.
And he said, I thank you for your wisdom and your gentleness in teaching me.
It is myicing and my salutations to your like without the teachings and rumors and
news of one from among themselves going against you.
It is in the middle and very deep with all of the μ unanimously.
So in Day終 están estas or notargent discuss about what will takes place.
It was simple and simple and a long marriage.
You tell your wife that you wanted something to give.
Now you are like that father, like the moo of the mother who has learnt and your little
brother who doesn’t know the mother.
Your mom doesn’t know what he needs.
You don’t want his belly there.
That’s your mother’s husband to make these conditions difficult for you.
lafee, dalalim, mubeen.
Before that, they were in ignorance.
They did not know anything.
So, remember, always,
when you get this urge to correct somebody,
how you were or how you used to be,
before you got whatever this knowledge is.
Because, like they say,
every saint has a past,
and every sinner has a future.
And think about how you would have felt
if somebody had corrected you harshly or in public.
Even though what you say may be correct.
I’m not disputing that.
I’m not disputing that, you know,
what somebody tells you is wrong.
Even if it’s correct.
So, before you launch off into this,
this thing of, you know, wanting to correct somebody,
first of all, ask yourself one question, which is,
is this really worth correcting?
Is it something that really should be corrected?
And if it is worth correcting,
then what is the best way to do that?
And do it in that best way.
And if the answer to the first question is
that it’s not worth correcting,
which is the case with
most things,
it’s not really worth the trouble.
It’s okay.
It’s a mistake.
It’s a small mistake.
It’s not a big thing.
And if somebody is making that mistake,
you know,
Alhamdulillah, Allah Subh’anaHu Wa Ta-A’la
is the one to forgive.
Leave it.
It’s not your job.
You have not been designated
to go correct that person.
Leave them alone.
Focus on something good about them.
And praise,
if you really want to have a conversation,
say something good about them.
Compliment them for something good that they did.
Instead of looking
and instead of focusing on correcting them.
Also think about
who are you,
who is that person?
In many cases,
the person you are correcting
is older than you.
He or she has more knowledge than you have.
They are more highly qualified than you are.
They are more prominent in society,
in the community than you are.
And you turn up green behind the ears.
And you correct them on some small matter.
Highly, highly inappropriate.
And just an example of bad akhlaq.
So leave it alone.
Very simple principle is when you do correct somebody.
So now you have decided that you want to correct someone.
So when you do correct somebody,
talk about that which is the most important.
Present the most important.
Then the next important.
And engage with what is agreed upon
before what is disputed.
So for example,
the most important thing is that we should pray.
So imagine you’re talking to somebody who should be coming to
say Salatul Fajr in the masjid and does not come.
So instead of launching off and saying,
the one who doesn’t pray in the masjid is Salah is not accepted.
Rasulullah said,
I will pray.
I will burn.
Or I wish I could have burned down the house of someone who does not pray in the masjid
and with them inside the house and so on and so on.
Talk about the importance of Salah.
Talk about why praying on time is so important.
Talk about these things because those are agreed upon.
Those are the most important.
The Salah is the Rukh.
It is the Rukh of Islam.
It’s a pillar of Islam.
And the fact remains that as long as a person is praying,
whether or not he or she prays in the masjid,
and with she,
you know, apart from Zahiri scholars,
others have said it for a moment,
it’s not even necessary.
So even if he doesn’t pray in the masjid,
as long as the person is praying,
Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
Now there may be many reasons why a person cannot come to the masjid.
The reason that you are not aware of,
especially Saharan Dhanfarjit,
maybe the person has issue of their age.
Maybe it’s because of their some illness or maybe it’s because,
you know, like, for example,
many people who have arthritis in the morning,
they’re extremely stiff.
So to get up in the morning is a big ordeal for them.
Places like this where we live in here in the winter,
there is snow, there is ice.
And maybe you have to,
you have a nice warm car which you can turn on remotely.
And when you get to the car,
the car is already heated up and you just sit in the car and you drive.
Whereas somebody else may not have that convenience.
So that person may have to,
you know,
for that person,
you’re talking about not just driving,
getting into a car and driving,
it’s maybe walking through the snow and ice and fear of slipping and falling,
all kinds of stuff.
So instead of thinking about all that,
now you launch off into,
you know,
all the worries and all the bad news about not praying in the masjid.
So don’t do that.
Focus on the most important.
And then,
what is agreed upon,
which is the fact that prayer is important.
Alhamdulillah.
And then come to the next important,
which is prayer in the masjid.
And there again,
look at the fathail of that.
Talk about the benefits of praying in the masjid.
Don’t talk about the opposite,
which is the possibility of punishment.
And what those punishments are.
What those punishments might be.
This is the problem with a lot of people that they talk only about matters of disagreement,
dispute.
So for example,
they will focus on and fight about and talk about and debate and argue about Rafa’i Zayn,
for example,
raising your hands or about moving your finger in Tashahud or praying with a head cover,
or no head covering,
you know,
all of this,
right?
Saying,
I mean,
loudly or softly saying Bismillah loudly or softly.
And in Surah Al-Fatihah,
I mean,
all of this stuff and more,
they will talk only about that.
But agreed upon matters of Tawheed,
of Fiqh,
of Tafseer and Hadith,
they have no clue.
So don’t do that.
Learn this Deen.
And focus on matters which are agreed upon.
The fact of Tawheed,
the fact of the danger of Shirk,
the danger of Bida’at,
the importance of Hadith as in learning them and applying them in our lives.
Not just talking about a Hadith.
Focus on that.
Don’t focus on things which are disputed and things which are,
you know,
with where there are several opinions on the matter.
And somebody takes one,
somebody takes the other.
Alhamdulillah,
both are correct.
It’s very,
very important for us to understand that among what is agreed upon is that monitoring yourself and reforming your heart before others is the principle,
is a principle of Dawa.
It’s one of the most important principles of Dawa is monitor yourself and correct yourself before you try to correct others.
In a Hadith where about this matter,
Rasulullah ,
he told us that the example of the scholar who teaches people good but forgets himself is like a lamp that gives light to people but burns itself.
So the difference also to repeat the example of,
a scholar or somebody who teaches others,
but doesn’t apply the same thing on himself is like a lamp which may be giving light to others,
but it’s doing that by burning itself.
Finally,
Mashaafi Ram Talalay was invited to meet Haroon Rashid,
the Abbasid Khalifa.
So when he went there,
he was in the waiting room and waiting for the Khalifa to call him.
When the person who took him there,
he brought to Mashaafi the tutor of the sons of Haroon Rashid.
He brought him the tutor because the man thought,
you know,
here’s this great scholar.
And so while he’s waiting,
let us take advantage of his presence.
So he called the tutor.
He said,
you go to him.
And he asked,
Sayyidina Mashaafi Ram Talalay,
he said,
please advise him.
So Mashaafi Ram Talalay said to him,
correct yourself first.
He’s saying to the tutor of the princes,
the sons of Haroon Rashid.
He said,
correct yourself first because they will take what you do to be correct.
Correct yourself first because they will take.
Who is they?
The students will take what you do to be correct.
Because for the student,
the Amal of the Ustad,
the action of the teacher is Dalil in Deen,
is proof in religion.
The action of the teacher,
the statement of the teacher for the student is proof in Deen.
I remember very clearly and distinctly once
when I used to live in Hyderabad.
I have always been against ostentatious weddings
for all number of good reasons.
And there are lectures of mine on this in Urdu and in English.
So please listen to them.
I won’t,
I don’t want to get into the details of that now.
But showing off in weddings,
ostentatious weddings,
wasting of money,
I’ve been against it.
And one of my,
one of the ways of showing,
of being against it is I never participate in them myself.
I don’t accept invitations.
I don’t go.
No matter how close that person may be to me in,
in,
in relationship.
But if they have an ostentatious wedding and I get wind of it beforehand,
then I don’t go to that wedding.
Sometimes,
not sometimes,
but it happened once.
I went there and I discovered,
because by the time I didn’t know,
I didn’t know that.
But when I got there,
I saw what was happening.
I turned around and went back home.
So,
in this case,
so one day there was such a wedding and I was invited and I,
of course,
had no intention of going.
So one of my,
elderly, elderly,
relatives,
he asked,
he called me,
he said,
I don’t like to drive in the night,
but I need to go to this wedding.
So can I borrow your car and drive?
I said,
sure.
I sent my driver.
He picked him up.
He took him to the wedding,
brought him back.
Next morning,
he says to me,
he said,
sir,
you are the only person who was not there.
By person,
he means so-called scholar.
He said,
you’re the only person who was not there.
And then he gives me a list,
the names of so many,
so many,
so many,
so many scholars,
Islamic scholars of my city of Hyderabad,
who were all there in that wedding.
And he’s telling me,
they were shining in the sherwani.
You know,
they’re shining in the sherwanis.
Now,
this is the problem.
The problem is that when people see,
on the one hand,
you have somebody saying ostentation is wrong.
It is against the Quran and Sunnah.
Allah said,
Innal mubaddireena kaan wa ikhwanash shayateen.
That truly the people who are ostentatious
are the brothers of shaitan.
On the one hand,
you’re deciding all of this and explaining to people that
simplify your lives,
don’t waste money,
use your,
Allah has given you wealth,
use it for good things and so on.
On the other hand,
people are seeing scholars of religion,
may Allah have mercy on them.
Why they do that is only Allah knows.
Scholars of religion or so-called scholars,
who are attending ostentatious parties.
Who are attending parties where clearly
the principles of Islam are being violated.
So what is the message that you are giving out actually to people?
To say that all of this is really not important.
This is something that is very important for people to think about
and for everyone to reflect on and say,
and especially the scholars,
especially the leaders,
don’t do something that creates a bad example
for the people,
for the Imam-e-Nasr,
because they will take your,
example as being the truth.
And that’s why I always say,
I say this about children,
but it’s true for everyone,
not just children.
That is,
people listen with their eyes,
not their ears.
People listen with their eyes.
They don’t care what you say
until they see what you do.
We ask Allah to be people who
say what we do
and do what we say.
And,
we should not be those who are
hypocritical in our words and actions.
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