بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Don't we all want to be better people? Setting aside some time at the end of the day to evaluate ourselves and work on our weaknesses is one of the best methods towards improving ourselves.
Islam places great emphasis on each individual taking account of one’s actions.
But there are people who take it upon themselves to evaluate the faults with others instead of themselves. Most of us like to cry foul the moment someone is wrong and we eagerly wait to penalize that person. Why? It could be that inherently we are all selfish and need the vessel that embodies us to be full therefore pointing out others faults fills us with the gratification, falsely or not, of knowing that we are on the better half of empty and not the lessor.
Finding faults of others is highly looked down upon in Islam. There are verses in the Qur’an which speak to this specifically and a large number of traditions from the books of Hadith that confirm this.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Don't we all want to be better people? Setting aside some time at the end of the day to evaluate ourselves and work on our weaknesses is one of the best methods towards improving ourselves.
Islam places great emphasis on each individual taking account of one’s actions.
But there are people who take it upon themselves to evaluate the faults with others instead of themselves. Most of us like to cry foul the moment someone is wrong and we eagerly wait to penalize that person. Why? It could be that inherently we are all selfish and need the vessel that embodies us to be full therefore pointing out others faults fills us with the gratification, falsely or not, of knowing that we are on the better half of empty and not the lessor.
Finding faults of others is highly looked down upon in Islam. There are verses in the Qur’an which speak to this specifically and a large number of traditions from the books of Hadith that confirm this.
Pointing out someone's fault is not considered fault finding for people who are sincerely practicing Amr Bil Ma’ruf and Nahi Anil Munkar (enjoining good and prohibiting evil) in the correct way.
Occupying oneself with finding fault in others can
lead to many evils. Islam teaches us to overlook the sins and mistakes
of others, just as Allah Most High overlooks our sins and mistakes and doesn’t make
them public. On the first level, just seeing or knowing someone
committed a sin is not enough to accuse them. You can see a Muslim who walks
into a liquor store and assume he went in to buy an alcoholic drink, when in
reality he could have just needed to ask for directions. We are not all-knowing, and should not pretend to be.
Likewise, if there could be a
reasonable explanation why someone apparently did a sin or made a
mistake, we should accept it and move on. This is one reason why finding
fault in others is a dangerous action.
Allah Most High says,
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن
يَكُونُوا۟ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن
يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ ۖ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَـٰبِ ۖ بِئْسَ ٱلِٱسْمُ ٱلْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ
﴿١١
O
you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people;
perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other]
women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one
another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is
the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not
repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
(11) [Qur'an, Al-Hujurat 49:11]
This verse
brings to light one of the other reasons why finding fault in others is a
terrible act, which is that it can lead to animosity and humiliation
for people in the community. Those who do such an action are called wretched by Allah and should repent. This action can tear apart families and a community
in a very short period of time.
It is said that, “The worst form of betrayal is the
disclosure of confidential information.” Hurting the reputation of a
fellow Muslim is a grievous act. Allah could have made it easy for others to know our
true reality, but he has hidden our sins and flaws from others.
Maintaining the good reputation of our fellow Muslims is essential for
the community, as it helps maintain mutual respect and allows the
community move forward.
Finally, a big reason for not prying into others
faults is that it takes away from one’s own self-improvement and can in
fact take one’s soul even lower.
"Sufficient is a person’s own defect
(in himself) that he tries to pick and look for faults in other people,
when he himself has those same faults in himself (and does not recognize
them)!”
“One who contemplates his own flaws is
too busy to consider other people’s faults, and the one who is satisfied
with whatever sustenance Allah has provided him does not grieve over
that which he has lost. The one who observes the shortcomings of others,
disapproves of them, and then adopts them for himself is truly a fool.”
Those insincere people who find fault with others
without looking at their own are truly a poisonous element in society.
Not only do they corrupt their own soul, but they sow the seeds of
animosity within the community and cause public humiliation and
embarrassment. We should of course make sure that we do not have such a
shortcoming in us, but we should also try to stay away and not give
credence to these types of people in our communities.
May Allah protect us from disobeying Him and make us keys to unlock good and lock evil. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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