People may sometimes make mistakes since they do not know how to behave. One of the safest ways prevent them from committing such mistakes is to show them alternatives. This method is especially important in educating and disciplining children, drawn by their curiosity about the things they hear and see, they immediately want to imitate such things without knowing whether they are right or wrong. In order to keep them away from such arbitrary tendencies, one should not just say \u201cdon\u2019t do this or don\u2019t do that\u201d instead it would be more effective to give them alternatives by telling them something like \u201cdo not do this but do that,\u201d \u201cdo not eat this but eat that,\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t play with this but play with that.\u201d This trait continues in many people in later age. They, too, may give up performing wrong deeds because of alternatives.<\/p>\n
One of the best examples of this method was narrated by Rafi b. Amr (r.a.).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a child, I used to throw stones at the Ansar\u2019s date trees. They caught me and took me to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). He asked me:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dear child! Why did you stone the date trees?\u201d<\/i> I said:<\/p>\n
\u201cO Messenger of Allah! (I was hungry) I threw stones to get some dates to eat.\u201d He said rubbing my head:<\/p>\n
\u201cNext time do not throw stones but eat from the ones that have fallen on the ground.\u201d<\/i> and then he prayed for me saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cO Allah! Satiate his hunger.\u201d<\/i> (Ibn Majah, Tijarat, 67)<\/p>\n
As we see in this report, Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) did not just prohibit the child from a wrong deed but also showed him an alternative.<\/p>\n
Anas (r.a.) narrated:<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time when the prophet (pbuh) came to Medina, he saw that people had two days in which to celebrate. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are (the meaning and significant of) these two days?\u201d<\/i> People replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to celebrate these two day during the age of ignorance.\u201d Our Prophet (pbuh) then said:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAllah the Almighty replaced these two holidays with better ones: the day of fitr (after the month of Ramadan) and the day of sacrifice (in the pilgrimage season).\u201d <\/i>(Abu Dawud, Salat, 239; Nasai, I\u2019dain, 1)<\/p>\n
Another report about showing alternatives is as follows. During the battle of Uhud, Abu Uqba Rushaid al- Farisi, the freed slave of the sons of Muawiyah, met a polytheist armored from head to toe. He was shouting:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am Ibn Uwaif.\u201d Just then Khatib\u2019s freed slave Sa\u2019d hit and cut Ibn Uwayf into two pieces. Ibn Rusaid said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, take this one from a Persian slave\u201d and hit him and separated his shoulder from his body. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) heard him and saw what he had done. He said to Rushaid:<\/p>\n
\u201cWould not it be better if you say from an Ansari instead of from a Persian slave?\u201d<\/i> Just then Ibn Uwaif\u2019s brother came and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI, too, am Ibn Uwaif.\u201d Rushaid immediately said:<\/p>\n
\u201cTake this from an Ansari slave\u201d and beheaded Ibn Uwaif with one sword blow. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) smiled and told him:<\/p>\n
\u201cO Abdullah! You did well.\u201d<\/i> (Waqidi, I, 261; Ibn Abdi\u2019lbarr, II, 496)<\/p>\n
Because the phrase \u201cfrom a Persian slave\u201d implied racial pride, it damaged the warrior\u2019s sincerity. Whereas the phrase \u201cfrom an Ansari<\/i>\u201d, had a religious meaning and since it was an Islamic term, using it meant that they were fighting in the name of Islam. In that report, Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) saved his Companion from a wrong action and directed him to a good one. And he realized this by changing only a word.<\/p>\n
One day the Prophet (pbuh) said,<\/p>\n
\u201cBeware! Avoid sitting on the roads (ways).\u201d <\/i>The people said,<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no way to avoid this as these are our sitting places when we have talks.\u201d The Prophet said,<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you must sit there, then observe the rights of the way.\u201d<\/i> They asked,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the rights of the way?\u201d He said,<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are the lowering of your gazes (on seeing what is illegal to look at), refraining from harming people, returning greetings, advocating good and forbidding evil.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Mazalim, 22; Muslim, Libas, 114)<\/p>\n
What is essential in Islamic education is to teach people what is right and prepare the circumstances for them to live in accordance with Islam. Moreover, it is to change the wrong knowledge, opinions, and practices with the correct ones. And one of the most effective methods to correct the long established mistakes in a society is not just criticizing people but at the same time providing alternative solutions for them.<\/p>\n
Our Prophet (pbuh), who was sent as a mercy to the universe, was very compassionate, merciful, patient, and forbearing. He would many a time not want to see the mistakes of others and also forgive most of them. But there were some mistakes that would distress him and could not forgive. In fact, it was necessary for him to get upset in the face of such mistakes and to reproach the sinner in order to correct them.<\/p>\n
Abu Huraira said,<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prophet saw a man driving a Badana (sacrificial camel). The Prophet (pbuh) said (to him), <\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cRide on it.\u201d <\/i>He replied,<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a sacrificial camel.<\/i>\u201d <\/i>The Prophet again said, <\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cShame on you! Ride on it!\u201d <\/i>(Bukhari, Hajj, 103)<\/p>\n
A prophet is the most knowledgeable about what is right and what is wrong in Allah\u2019s religion. In view of this fact, believers should not try to appear more righteous than the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet\u2019s response to such extreme behavior was always severe and intense.<\/p>\n
Aisha (r. anha) reported that Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) did an act, and held it to be valid. When news reach that Prophet that some people amongst his Companions did not approve of his (pbuh) action and disregarded it, Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) stood to deliver an address:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has happened to the people to whom there was conveyed on my behalf a matter for which I granted permission and they disapproved of it and avoided it? By Allah, I possess the best knowledge of Allah amongst them, and I fear Him most amongst them.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Adab, 72; Muslim, Fadail, 127)<\/p>\n
It is not acceptable to avoid the Prophet\u2019s practice, to show extreme religiosity and to act based on personal whims. Such approaches makes a person diverge from following the Prophet\u2019s footsteps in religious matters. This is why Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) presented a severe and intolerable response against such actions. In another version of the above mentioned narration, it is reported that Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) was annoyed so much that the signs of anger appeared on his face. (Muslim, Fadail, 128)<\/p>\n
The following report is very remarkable in that it shows how the Prophet\u2019s reaction was against those who issue opinions about Islam without having the necessary knowledge and who harm people because of these opinions. Jabir (r.a.) narrated:<\/p>\n
\u201cA man was injured during the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah (pbuh); he then had a wet dream, and he asked the people with him:<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I allowed to perform dry ablution?\u201d And he was told that he could use water and thus he was advised to wash. Then he took a bath and died as a result. When this was reported to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey killed him; may Allah kill them! Why did not they ask? Since they did not know why did not they ask? Isn\u2019t inquiry the cure to ignorance? It would be enough for the man to wrap his injury with a piece of cloth and then perform dry ablution over the wrap and wash the rest of his body.\u201d<\/i> (Abu Dawud, Taharah, 125; Ibn Majah, Taharah, 93)<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) became very upset because of those who issued an opinion in a religious matter and caused someone\u2019s death. He was so angry that he damned them and informed us that such people committed a sin as great as murder.<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) would like his followers to be clean, tidy, and delicate and would never approve disorder. Jabir (r.a.) reported:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Apostle of Allah (pbuh) paid us a visit, and saw a disheveled man whose hair was untidy. He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cCould this man not find something with which to make his hair lie down?\u201d<\/i> He saw another man wearing dirty clothes and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cCould this man not find something with which to wash his garments?\u201d<\/i> (Abu Dawud, Libas, 14)<\/p>\n
Believers should know how to act based on the circumstances of their time just as much as paying attention to their inner and outer purification. One should balance their actions and words and act moderately. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) educated his Companions in this respect and when they exceeded the limits, he sometimes got upset. One of the things that he did not approve of was to ask unnecessary and meaningless questions. Anas b. Malik (r.a.) reported an incident from memory as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people asked Allah\u2019s Apostle (pbuh) until he was hard pressed. He went out one day and occupied the pulpit and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk me and I shall leave none of your questions unanswered,\u201d and when the people heard about it they were overawed, as if something tragic was going to happen. Anas (r.a.) said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI began to look to my right and left and found that every person was weeping with his head buried in a cloth. Then a person in the mosque broke the ice, he whom they used to dispute with him by attributing his relation to a man other than his own father. He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cAllah’s Apostle, who is my father?\u201d He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father is Hudhafa.\u201d<\/i> Then Umar b. Khattab (r.a.) dared say something and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are well pleased with Allah as our Lord, with Islam as our code of life and with Muhammad as our Messenger, seeking refuge with Allah from the evil of Turmoil.\u201d Thereupon Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) said:<\/p>\n
\u201cNever did I see good and evil as today. Paradise and Hell were given a visible shape before me (in this worldly life) and I saw both of them near this well.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Tafsir, 5\/12; Muslim, Fadail, 134-138)<\/p>\n
Other people\u2019s rights came at the top ofmatters about which Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) was concerned; because these are such sins that cannot be forgiven unless the owner of the right forgives. Our Prophet (pbuh) would not like to see any member of his ummah to present himself before Allah the Almighty with sins. Abdullah b. Amr (r.anhuma) narrated:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) gained booty he ordered Bilal to make a public announcement. He made a public announcement, and when the people brought their booty, he took a fifth and divided it. Thereafter, a man brought a halter of hair and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cO Apostle of Allah! This is a part of our booty. He asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you heard Bilal making an announcement three times?\u201d<\/i> He replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I have.\u201d He asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat prevented you from bringing it?\u201d<\/i> He made some excuse, to which he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cBe (as you are), you may bring it on the Day of Judgment, for I shall not accept it from you.\u201d<\/i> (Abu Dawud, Jihad, 134)<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) did not accept the piece of the booty returned after its due time had passed. For all soldiers have right in the booty and after people had departed, it became impossible to deliver it to its rightful owners.<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) also reacted severely against those who killed a person unjustly. He responded to Uthama b. Zaid (Bukhari, Diyat, 2) and Khalid b. Walid (r. anhum) who killed a man after he said \u201cla ilaha illallah \u2013 there is no god but Allah.\u201d so hard that they regretted what they had done. The Prophet (pbuh) even said:<\/p>\n
\u201cO Allah! I am not responsible for what Khalid bin Al-Walid has done,\u201d<\/i> and repeated it twice. (Bukhari, Ahkam, 35)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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