In a previous era, there lived a mass murderer. Yes, a
mass
murderer who did not kill one, two, or even ten people.
No, he
had killed ninety-nine. I have no idea how this man
managed to
escape revenge; perhaps, he was so ruthless that none
would
ever dare approach him, or perhaps he kept in hiding.
The important
fact here though is that he was guilty of ninety-nine
murders.
One day, the
idea of repentance crossed his mind, so he
decided to ask the most knowledgeable scholar in the
world.
People pointed him in the direction of a monk in a
monastery
who would never leave his prayer mat, spending all his
time praying
to Allah and weeping.
The man visited the monk, stood in front of him and asked, “I
have killed ninety-nine souls. Could I still repent?”
How could this monk, who I think if he were to have
killed
an ant mistakenly would have spent the rest of his life
weeping,
respond to a person who had murdered ninety-nine people
with his bare hands? The monk was furious. It was as if
the man
standing in front of him was the embodiment of the
ninety-nine
corpses! He yelled, “There is no repentance for you!
There is no
repentance for you!”
It should come as no surprise that such a response would be
given by a monk who lacked knowledge and made emotional decisions.
When the murderer heard this response he was enraged.
Being the callous person he was, he grabbed a knife and repeatedly
stabbed the monk, cutting him into pieces, then stormed
out of the monastery.
After some time, he thought about repentance once
again.
He enquired about the most knowledgeable person he
could
ask, and the people referred him to a scholar. When he
visited
the scholar, he found him to be sedate and god-fearing.
The murderer came forward and asked, “I have killed a
hundred
people. Could I still repent?”
The scholar instantly replied, “SubhaanAllah! What
could
prevent you from repenting?”
What a wonderful response! Who could prevent a person
from repentance? The Lord is in the heavens and there is no
power on earth that can prevent a person from repenting to
Him submissively.
This scholar, who had made his statement based on
knowledge
and upon Allah’s Law as opposed to his whims and
emotions,
said to the man, “However, you are in an evil land.”
Strange!
How did he know that? He gathered this by knowing the
magnitude
of the man’s crime and the absence of anyone to forbid
him.
He realised that murder and oppression had become a
norm in
that city, so much so that nobody had any concern for
the plight
of the oppressed.
He said, “You are in an evil land.” Meaning, you must leave
here and go to such-and-such a land where there are people
worshipping Allah and join them in worshipping Him.
The man set out for that land but died before reaching
it. The
angels of mercy and those of punishment descended to
take his
soul. The angels of mercy argued that he had been on
his way to
repenting and returning to Allah. The angels of wrath
argued that
he had not done any good in his entire life. Therefore,
Allah sent
an angel in the form of a man to settle their dispute.
He judged
that the distance between the two cities be measured,
and that
the man be judged according to whichever of the two he
had
been closer to. Allah inspired the city of mercy to be
closer and
the city of disobedience to be farther. It was thus
discovered
that he had been closer to the city of virtue. The
angels of mercy
therefore took the man’s soul.
A
person’s nature and personality should be understood before
he
is spoken to, as this would assist a great deal when dealing
with him.
Before ending this chapter, an important question must
be
answered: Can one change his own personality to suit
that of the
one he is interacting with?
The answer is:
Yes!
‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – was known for his
strong personality. One day, a man quarrelled with his wife and
came to ‘Umar to ask him advice on how to deal with her. When
he stood at ‘Umar’s door and was about to knock, he heard
‘Umar’s wife shouting at him while ‘Umar remained silent. He
neither shouted back, nor rebuked her!
The man was amazed, and turned back to leave. ‘Umar
heard
a noise at the door, so he went out and called the man,
“What
do you need?”
He said, “O Amir al-Mu’minin, I came to you to complain
about my wife, but then I heard your wife shouting at you!”
‘Umar said, “She is my wife who sleeps with me, makes me
food and washes my clothes. Shall I not be patient with her?”
For some people there is no solution, and with them one
must remain patient. A person may complain about his
father’s anger or his wife’s miserliness, and so on. If
you suggest
a few solutions only to hear he has tried all of them
and has had
no success! What then is the solution?
The solution is that one should remain patient with such
people and try to ignore their bad traits in light of their
virtues.
They should try to accommodate them however much they can,
for some problems simply have no solution.
The result...
Knowing the personality of the one you are
dealing with
helps you earn his love.
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