Muslim whoever stays quiet saves himself

By SUZALIE MOHAMAD
IKIM

There is a hadith which states that “part of someone being a good Muslim is his leaving alone that which does not concern him”.

It is beneficial to avoid meddling into things or affairs that are of no concern to us. It is impossible for a person to entertain all things at once.

Prioritising matters according to their importance helps us manage our time and teaches patience.

Imam Ibn Al-Arabi, a Maliki jurist, said that “a person is not able to take care of all the necessary matters, why would he or she then get involved in unnecessary matters that are of no real concern”.

This indicates that the ability to prioritise matters of concern is recommended. We need only deal in matters that have real importance and leave the unnecessary behind.

Meanwhile, Imam Shafi’e once said: “If 100 scholars came to argue with me, I would immediately win against them; but if one ignorant person came against me, I would lose.

“The reason for this is that whatever evidence I give as proof, he would say ‘No, it is not true’. So how am I going to convince him?”

We should keep silent if certain affairs are not in our domain of concern.

We may ask ourselves, what are the things a true believer should be concerned with? Answers may vary, but in general we may summarise them as follows.

Firstly, fulfilling one’s obligations (wajib) prescribed by religion.

This includes avoiding things which are taboo according to our religious tradition.

Secondly, to perform as much as we can of the recommended or preferable acts (mandub) that will contribute to self wellbeing and that of society.

Thirdly, to avoid that which is forbidden (haram) and to avoid as much as we can of the makruh (those that are disliked) in order to avoid actions which are useless to us and may harm others.

Apart from specific concerns for individual obligations (fard-a’yn), community-wide collective obligations (fard-kifayah) must also not be neglected, and should also be matters of concern to us.

Everyone with his or her own profession and expertise has a role to contribute towards the betterment of the community.

Enjoining good and discouraging evil, and self accountability in all that we do are also matters of concern to us.

If these notions are continuously put into practice, we should have a peaceful society which puts moral and civic affairs as its highest achievement.

The main obstacles ... all of us are jealous of each other; all of us have pride.

Everyone is proud of what he knows, so he tries to make himself look like the one who knows everything as opposed to others.

Then there is no cooperation, and that is why we find separation.

If everyone were to come to each other, to help each other, then one will find more power. Two, three, four hands are better than one. Therefore, one’s ego must be controlled.

The act of suspicion in some cases is a sin, while backbiting is clearly a sin.

There is a specific verse in the Quran (al-

hujurat 19:12) that warns us not to spy on each other and not to speak evil of another behind his or her back.

The habit of backbiting damages friendships and creates animosity. Hence, it must be avoided.

It is important to note that listening to slander is as bad as the slander itself.

It is better to walk away from such individuals.

Slander violates Allah and humanity simultaneously.

Hence, it is necessary to ask for forgiveness from the victim first, since Allah will not forgive until the victim forgives.

When committing slander, a person does not think about how the other person would feel if he knew what was said about him; he does not think about how he would feel if the situation were reversed.

We enjoy slander but hate to be slandered. The Hadith which means “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” is an important reminder to us with regard to the habit of slander, gossiping and backbiting.

To save oneself from this sin, one should act upon those Hadiths.

One Hadith states: “Whoever stays quiet saves himself.”

In another Hadith, the Prophet said: “The tongue is what will cause people to be flung face down into hell.”

Therefore, we must be very mindful of our thoughts and language before we speak because a wrong word can send us to hell.

Religion is supposed to teach good manners; how to be at peace, how to love creation; not to be proud of oneself but to be humble with all human beings.

It has become imperative for all religious believers to take a self-critical and introspective look at their traditions and systems of belief.

The main focus of such introspective and self-critical examination is to ask ourselves: Does the tradition, with its inherited system of beliefs and convictions, contribute to the commission of our weaknesses?