Use the right flavor 2

Everyone has a special key to open his heart, earn his

love and influence him. We notice this often in our lives. Perhaps

you have heard work colleagues say that if you want to get the

manager to agree to something, then so-and-so is the key, or if

you want anything, ask so-and-so to speak to him on your behalf.

Why not then use your skills to open up people’s hearts and

be a head instead of being a tail? Yes, be special and look for the

keys with which to open up the hearts of your mother, father,

wife and children. Find the key to the heart of your manager

at work and your colleagues. Knowing the keys to their hearts

helps them accept good advice when it is offered, that is if the

advice is presented in an appropriate manner, as people do not

all react the same way when advised.

Once, the Prophet e was sitting in a blessed gathering of

his and speaking to his companions, meanwhile, a man entered

the mosque, looking to his left and right. Then, instead of sitting

in the Prophet’s circle, he headed for a corner of the mosque

and began to undo his lower garment. The people were left in

suspense as to what he is going to do next. Then, to their horror,

he raised his lower garment, sat down quite calmly and began to

urinate!

The Companions were shocked and exploded upon seeing

him urinate in the mosque. They were about to rush towards

him, but the Prophet e asked them to stay seated and keep their

calm; he said, “Do not interrupt him!” The Companions watched

as he urinated and perhaps he wasn’t even aware of them looking

on! The Prophet e, as he witnessed the scene – a man urinating

in the mosque – continued to calm his Companions down.

How forbearing he was! When the Bedouin had finished and

stood up to tie his garment around his waist, the Prophet e

called him gently. The Bedouin came and stood in front of the

Prophet e. The Prophet e said, “The mosques are not built for

this purpose. They are only built for prayers and reading of the

Qur’an.”

This was end of his brief advice.

The man understood the Prophet’s words and left. When the

time for prayer came, the Bedouin came and prayed along with

them. The Prophet e initiated the prayer with his Companions

by saying “Allahu Akbar”. He then recited and bowed. When he

raised up from bowing, he said, “Allah hears the one who praises

Him.” The Companions said, “Our Lord, to you belong all the

praise!” Except that this man added, “O Allah, have mercy on me

and Muhammad, and no one else!”

The Prophet e heard him, and when the prayer finished,

he turned around and asked who said those words. The Companions

pointed out the man to him, so he asked him to come

forward. When he came and sat in front of him, lo and behold, it

was the same Bedouin. The Prophet’s love had entered into his

heart so deeply that he wished that the Prophet and he be the

recipients of Allah’s mercy exclusively.

The Prophet e said to him, “You have narrowed what is

vast!” Meaning that Allah’s mercy was enormous enough to include

them two and everyone else, so it should not have been

restricted to the two of them only. Notice how the Prophet e

managed to capture his heart by knowing how to deal with him,

for he was a Bedouin who had just come from the desert. He

could not be expected to be as knowledgeable as Abu Bakr and

‘Umar, or even Mu’adh and ‘Ammar, and hence he should not be

treated like them either.

Let’s look at the case of Mu‘awiyah bin al-Hakm, – may Allah

be pleased with him – who was just a regular Companion. He

did not live in Madinah, or even accompany the Prophet e often;

rather, he had cattle in the desert to tend to. One day, Mu‘awiyah

entered Madinah and visited the mosque. He sat in the gathering

of the Prophet e and his Companions as they were discussing

the etiquettes of sneezing. One of the etiquettes the Prophet e

taught was that if one hears his brother sneeze and then praise

Allah, he should say to him ‘YarhamukAllah’ (i.e., ‘May Allah have

mercy on you’). Mu‘awiyah committed this to his memory and

left. After a few days he returned to Madinah to fulfil a need and

entered the mosque where the Prophet e was praying with his

Companions, so he joined them. As they were praying, one of the

Companions sneezed, and before he could say “al-Hamdulillah”,

Mu‘awiyah remembered that he was supposed to respond, so

he hurriedly said in a loud voice, “YarhamukAllah!” The people

who were praying became confused and began to look at him

with disapproving looks. When he noticed the commotion he

became confused and said, “Woe be to me! Why are you staring

at me?!”

The Companions began to strike their hands on their thighs,

insisting that he be silent, and he complied. When the prayer

was over, the Prophet e turned to the congregation. He had

heard the commotion and the voice of the one who spoke, but

the voice had belonged to a new, unfamiliar person. He asked,

‘Who spoke?’ and the people pointed at Mu‘awiyah. The Prophet

e asked him to come forward and he did. He was terrified as

he didn’t know what would happen to him for interrupting the

prayer and ruining people’s concentration.

Mu‘awiyah said, “May my mother and father be sacrificed

for him! By Allah, I have never seen before him nor after him a

leader who gave better instruction than he. I swear that he did

not scold, beat or revile me, but simply said: ‘Talking to people is

not befitting during the prayer, for it consists of glorifying Allah,

declaring his Greatness. and recitation of the Qur’an.’ This is how

brief his advice was.”

Mu‘waiyah understood the advice and when he felt more

comfortable, he began to ask the Prophet e about certain personal

matters. He said, “O Messenger of Allah. I was till recently

a pagan, but Allah has brought Islam to us; among us there are

men who have recourse to soothsayers.” Soothsayers are those

who claim to know the unseen, and people go to them to ask

thereof.

The Prophet e said in response, “Do not have recourse to

them.” Meaning, you are a Muslim and no one knows the unseen

except Allah.

He said, “There are men who take omens.” Meaning, they

predict bad luck by looking at the flight patterns of birds.

The Prophet e said, “That is something which they find in

their breasts, but let it not turn their way.” Meaning, let it not

prevent them from doing what is best, for these omens can neither

harm nor benefit.

This is how the Prophet e dealt with the man who urinated

in the mosque and the man who spoke during the prayer, taking

into consideration their situation, since people in their position

are bound to make mistakes.

An opinion

Do not think that people are of a similar nature. Rather, they

differ tremendously.