Al-Asaleeb al-Nabawiyyah
The Prophet’s Methods for Correcting People’s Mistakes
Introduction
Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, 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 daiyahs’ and educators’ share of the heritage of the Prophets and Messengers. “Allah 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 At-Tirmidhi; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad Shakir edn., no. 2685. Abu ‘Eesa said, this is a sahih ghareeb hasan hadith) 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 (nasihah) 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 Quran. The Quran brought commands and prohibitions, approvals and denunciations and correction of mistakes – even those on the part of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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 [‘Abdullah 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 Allah).
But as to him who came to you running, And is afraid (of Allah 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 Harithah – the freed slave of the Prophet) on whom Allah 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 Allah.’ But you did hide in yourself (what Allah had already made known to you – i.e. that He will give her to you in marriage) that which Allah will make mainfest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him…” [Al-Ahzab 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 zalimoon (polytheists, disobedient, wrong-doers, etc.).” [Aal ‘Imran 3:128]
Quran was also revealed to correct the mistakes of some of the Sahabah in some situations. When Hatib ibn Abi Balta’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) made the mistake of writing to the kuffar of Quraysh and informing them of the direction in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was headed on a military campaign against them, Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah be upon him) had commanded them to stay, Allah 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- ‘Imran 3:152]
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stayed away from his wives in order to discipline them, and some people spread rumours that he had divorced them, Allah 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)…” [An-Nisa’ 4:83]
When some of the Muslims failed to migrate from Makkah to Madinah with no legitimate excuse, Allah 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 Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ …” [An-Nisa’ 4:97]
When some of the Sahabah believed and repeated the rumours of the munafiqeen accusing ‘Aaishah of something she was innocent of, Allah revealed ayaat concerning this lie, including (interpretation of the meaning):
“Had it not been for the Grace of Allah 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 Allah it was very great.”
[An-Noor 24:14]
Then Allah 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 Allah), this is a great lie’?
Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers.”
[An-Noor 24:16-17]
When some of the Sahabah argued in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and raised their voices, Allah revealed (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Verily! Allah 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-Hujurat 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, Allah 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 Allah has is better than any amusement or merchandise! And Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah, if our intention is sincere.
Knowing the methods of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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 ijtihad (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 Allah be upon him).
This book is an attempt to study the methods of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah 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.
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 Allah
When correcting the mistakes of others, it is essential that one’s intention be to earn the pleasure of Allah, not to demonstrate one's superiority or to vent one’s anger or to impress others.
At-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from Shufayy al-Asbahi that he entered Madinah 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 Allah, to narrate to me a hadith that you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and understood fully.’ Abu Hurayrah said, ‘I will do that, I will tell you a hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told me: ‘When the Day of Judgement comes, Allah 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 Quran by heart, a man who was killed for the sake of Allah and a man who had a lot of wealth. Allah 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.’ Allah 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).’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say, ‘You have lied.’ Allah 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 Allah 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.’ Allah 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.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say, ‘You have lied.’ Allah 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 Allah will be brought and Allah will say to him, ‘What were you killed for?’ He will say, ‘I was commanded to fight in jihad for Your sake so I fought until I was killed.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say, ‘You only want it to be said that so-and-so was courageous, and it was said.’ Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 At-Tirmidhi, no. 2382, Shaakir edn. Abu ‘Eesa said: this is a ghareeb hasan hadith).
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 Allah.
Making mistakes is part of human nature.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Every son of Adam makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent.”
(Reported by At-Tirmidhi, no. 2499, and by Ibn Majah, who narrated this version – al-Sunan, ed. by ‘Abdul-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 daiyah 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 shari evidence and proper understanding, not on ignorance and that fact that one happens not to like it. Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir reported that Jabir 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. Fathul-Bari, as-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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?’” (Reported by al-Bukhari, al-Fath, no. 352). Ibn Hajar (may Allah 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 shari 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 ‘aqidah should be greater than those to correct mistakes that have to do with etiquette, for example. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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-Mughirah ibn Shubah said: “There was an eclipse of the sun on the day that [the Prophet’s infant son] Ibrahim died, and the people said, ‘This eclipse is because of the death of Ibrahim.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah, they do not become eclipsed for the death or life of anyone. If you see them (eclipsed) then call on Allah and pray to Him until the eclipse is over.’” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Fath, 1061).
Abu Waqid al-Laythi reported that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah, make for us a Dhaat Anwaat like they have.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Subhan-Allah! 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 At-Tirmidhi, no. 2180. He said, This is a sahih hasan hadith).
According to another report narrated by Abu Waqid, they went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Allah to Hunayn. He said: “The kuffar 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 Allah, make this a Dhaat Anwat for us.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Khalid al-Juhani said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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, ‘Allah 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 Allah, 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-Bukhari, Fath, no. 846).
Ibn ‘Abbas reported that a man said, “O Messenger of Allah, whatever Allah and you will.” He said, “Are you making me equal to Allah? [Say instead:] What Allah alone wills.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 1/283).
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that he caught up with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab who was with a group of people and was swearing by his father. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called them and told them that Allah had forbidden them to swear by their forefathers; the one who wanted to swear an oath should swear by Allah or else keep quiet. (Reported by al-Bukhari, Fath, 6108)
Note: Imam 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-Fathur-Rabbani, 14/164).
Abu Shurayh Hani’ ibn Yazid said: “A delegation of people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he heard them calling one of them Abdul-Hajar (slave of the stone) He asked him, ‘What is your name? He said, Abdul-Hajar.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘No, you are ‘Abdullah (slave of Allah).’” (Reported by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 813. Al-Albani said in Sahih al-Adab al-Mufrad that it is sahih, 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 Allah 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 Allah be upon him) made the most of the position of respect that Allah 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:
Yaeesh ibn Tihfah al-Ghiffari reported that his father said: I was a guest of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), one of the poor to whom he played host. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah 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-Fathur-Rabbani 14/244-245. Also reported by at-Tirmidhi, no. 2798, Shakir edn. by Abu Dawood in Kitab al-Adab in his Sunan, no. 5040, ad-Da’’as edn. The hadith is also in Sahih al-Jami 2270-2271)
This method of rebuking was appropriate for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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:
Ad-Darimi (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from Sulayman ibn Yassar that a man called Sabigh came to Madinah and started to ask about the ambiguous texts of the Quran. ‘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 Allah, Sabigh.” ‘Umar took hold of one of the palm branches and hit him, saying, “I am the slave of Allah, ‘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 ad-Darimi, ed. by ‘Abdullah Haashim Yamani, 1/51, no. 146).
Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that Ibn Abi Layla said: “Hudhayfah was in al-Mada’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 Allah 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, ‘Abdur-Rahman 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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Do not drink from vessels of gold,” and Mu’adh 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-Bukhari 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 Allah 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).
An-Nisai reported from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that he was praying when a son of Marwan 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 Marwan and told him what had happened. Marwan asked Abu Sa’eed, “Why did you hit the son of your brother?” He said, “I did not hit him, I hit the Shaytan. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 an-Nisai, 8/61; Sahih Sunan an-Nisai, no. 4518)
Ahmad (may Allah 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 Allah be upon him) forbade us to sit like this?” (al-Musnad, 3/42)
Malik reported from Abuz-Zubayr al-Makki that a man proposed marriage to another man’s sister, and he [the brother] told him that she had committed zina. News of this reached ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, so he hit him or nearly hit him, and said, “Why did you tell him?” (Muwatta’ Malik, no. 1553, report of Abu Mus’ab az-Zuhri, ed. by Bashshar Ma’roof and Mahmood Khaleel. Mu’sasat ar-Risalah).
Muslim reported in his Sahih from Abu Ishaq who said: “I was with al-Aswad ibn Yazeed in the Great Mosque, and as-Sha’bi was with us. Al-Sha’bi told us about what Faatimah bint Qays had said about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah and the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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. Allah 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…” [at-Talaq 65:1].’” (Sahih Muslim, no. 1480).
Abu Dawood reported, with an isnad in which two men are maqbool, that two men entered from the doors of Kindah, when Abu Mas’ood al-Ansari 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, Kitab 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’awiyah ibn al-Hakam as-Salami when he came to Madinah from the desert, and he did not know that it is forbidden to speak during the salah. He said: Whilst I was praying behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), a man sneezed, so I said ‘Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah 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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Quran.’” (Sahih Muslim, ‘Abdu-Baqi 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. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) reported in al-Musnad from al-Mugheerah ibn Shubah: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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 Allah. He prayed, and I complained to ‘Umar about what had happened. He said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, 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 Allah 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 Allah be upon him) pointed out the mistakes of these great Sahabah, 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 Allah be upon him), they would remain anxious and worried, watching their behaviour and feeling concerned until they could be sure that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was pleased with them.
We may also note from this story that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) pointed out al-Mughirah’s mistake, he was not angry with al-Mughirah 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 (ijtihad), 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 Allah 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 at-Tirmidhi, 1326, Shakir edn. Abu ‘Eesa at-Tirmidhi said it is a ghareeb hasan hadith 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 Jabir (may Allah 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 janabah 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 Allah be upon him) and he was told about this, he said, They have killed him, may Allah 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, Kitab at-Taharah, Bab al-majrooh yatayammam; al-Albani classed it as hasan in Sahih Abi Dawood, 325, and indicated that the extra material added at the end of the hadith is da’eef)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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 sahih by al-Albani 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 ‘Abdullah 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 Abdur-Rahmaan come out to you yet?” We said, “No.” He sat down with us until [Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman] came out. When he came out, we all stood up to greet him, and Abu Moosa said to him: “O Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman, 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 Allahu akbar one hundred times,’ and they would say Allahu akbar one hundred times; then he would say, ‘Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allah one hundred times,’ and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allah one hundred times; then he would say, ‘Say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times,’ and they would say Subhan Allah 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 ‘Abdur-Rahman, 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 Allah 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 Allah, O Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman, we only wanted to do good.’ He said, ‘How many of those who wanted to do good failed to achieve it! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that people recite Quran and it does not go any further than their throats. By Allah, 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 Khawarij on the day of Nahrawan.’” (Reported by ad-Darimi, al-Sunan, no. 210, ed. by ‘Abdullah Hashim al-Yamani. Al-Albani classed its isnad as sahih in as-Silsilat as-Sahihah under hadeeth no. 2005. See Majma’ az-Zawa’id by al-Haythami, 1/181).
Being fair and not being biased when correcting those who make mistakes
Allah 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…” [An-Nisa’ 4:58]
The fact that Usamah ibn Zayd was the beloved of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the son of his beloved [Zayd] did not stop the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) from rebuking him most sternly when he tried to intercede regarding one of the punishments (hudood) prescribed by Allah. ‘Aaishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that Quraysh were concerned about a woman who stole at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), at the time of the Conquest of Makkah. They said, ‘Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about her? Who will dare to do this other than Usamah ibn Zayd, the beloved of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) She was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and Usaamah ibn Zayd spoke to him concerning her. The face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) changed colour and he said: ‘Are you interceding concerning one of the punishments prescribed by Allah?’ Usaamah said to him, ‘Pray for forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allah.’ When evening came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up and addressed the people. He praised Allah 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 Fatimah 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 hadith was reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim; this version was narrated by Muslim, no. 1688).
According to a report narrated by an-Nisai from ‘Aaishah (may Allah 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 Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Her family went to Usamah ibn Zayd, who spoke to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning her. The face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) changed colour whilst Usamah was speaking, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: Are you interceding concerning one of the punishments prescribed by Allah? Usamah said, Pray for forgiveness for me, O Messenger of Allah.’ In the evening, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up, praised Allah 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 Fatimah 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 an-Nisai, al-Mujtaba, Dar al-Fikr edn., 8/73. Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih Sunan an-Nisai, no. 4548).
The Prophet’s attitude towards Usaamah (may Allah 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 Allah be upon him) kept quiet about the munafiqeen 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 Allah be upon him) did not destroy the Kabah in order to rebuild it on the foundations laid by Ibrahim, out of consideration towards Quraysh who were still new in Islam and too close to their recent jahiliyyah. He (peace and blessings of Allah 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, Allah 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 Allah, which is the worst of evil.
A daiyah 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 Allah, 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah 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 Allah’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 Allah 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-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) reported in his Sahih that Anas ibn Malik said: “I was walking with the Messenger of Allah
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