Causing Difficulties for Others

This material for this article has been taken from the Lecture of Mufti Taqi Usmani.

A famous hadith states, "A Muslim is the one from whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe." [Tirmidhi] Keeping others safe from our hands and tongues does not only mean that we do not hurl stones or abuses at them, it also means that we do not say or do anything that will hurt them.

These days, among majority of the Muslims, there is a misconception that reduces Islam to only the performance of the ritual acts of worship - the pillars - thus robbing it of much of the rest of the building. A very important and integral section of that building deals with our social relations. It is concerned with how we behave in the family, how we interact with relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and all the rest of humanity. The cornerstone of Islamic teachings in this area is the requirement that we do not cause anyone any hurt through our words or actions.

The above mentioned hadith clearly describes this as a defining trait of a Muslim. While it refers to "other Muslims," scholars agree that it is a general requirement that equally applies to Non-Muslims except those who are at war with the Muslims. A person who, through his intentional or careless actions or words, inflicts unjustified pain on others is not worthy of being called a Muslim.

The importance of social relations can be understood from the fact that Quran has described some of its aspects in great detail. For example, Quran has gone in detail to explain how a person should take permission when entering someone’s place; whereas there is no mention of the details of how one should pray. Similarly most of the Surah Hujaraat discusses the aspects regarding our social relations.

Islam wants to build a society, which is a model of civility, courtesy, and consideration for others. It does so by emphasising these attributes as a matter of faith. One hadith says that Iman (faith) has more than seventy branches. The highest one is the declaration that there is no God except Allah and the lowest one is the removal of harmful objects from the pathway.

We see this consideration for others throughout the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited a group where some people were asleep and others were not, he would greet them with a low enough voice so those awake could hear him while those asleep would not be disturbed. Every night when he used to get up for Tahajjud (midnight prayer) - a voluntary prayer for the rest of us - he would walk out of the bed very quietly so as not to disturb his sleeping wife.

Whenever he saw someone committing a wrong deed that needed to be corrected in public for the education of others, he would mention it in general terms, not naming the person who did it. This last practice also shows the two extremes in this regard that must be avoided. On the one hand is the temptation to compromise on the issue of right and wrong to avoid hurting feelings of others. On the other is the temptation to correct the wrong with total disregard to the fact that one might be insulting or injuring the other person. While we may see these extreme attitudes in people who seem to be poles apart in terms of their practice of religion, both stem from the same narrow vision of religion that holds our dealings with others as worldly affairs, outside the realm of Islam!

We all know how much stress has been laid upon by Prophet (peace be upon him) on praying in congregation for men. The importance of praying in congregation can be realised from the fact that Prophet (peace be upon him) used to come to the mosque (with the help of two men) even when he was extremely ill. On the other hand, jurists agree on the fact that if a person has acquired such an illness which causes others to feel disgusted, then that person should not come to the mosque and he must pray at home. If that person comes to the mosque, he will be sinful as he becomes a cause of difficulty for others.

Moreover, most of us are aware of the rewards of kissing the black stone in the Holy Kaaba. Prophet (peace be upon him) himself kissed it and thus it is a sunnah. But the jurists have written that if kissing the black stone is a cause of hurt for others (e.g. one has to push others and thus causing inconvenience to others) then it would not be permissible to kiss the stone. Those of us who have visited Makkah know very well what happens around the black stone. Because of the lack of knowledge of Islam, people are pushing and shoving others to get to the black stone. So just to perform a sunnah (it is not compulsory to kiss the black stone) act, the people indulge themselves in haraam (prohibited or forbidden). As a result, in the end, instead of getting a reward they end up being sinful.

Another example of this is wrong parking and blocking the way of others. Once Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions came back from a Gazwa (a war fought in which Prophet peace be upon him himself took part), and some companions left their stuff on the road which blocked some or all part of the pathway. When Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed of this, he said to announce that there is no reward of Jihad for those who blocked the way of others. Can you imagine the reward of Jihad with Prophet (peace be upon him)? However, because of causing hassle to others this huge reward was lost. Unfortunately it is common practice among some of the Muslims to double park, or park in front of the driveway or block part of the road for some other reason. They do not realise how big a sin they are committing.

Likewise, we should not use our tongues in such a manner which will hurt feelings of others. Even if someone has to be criticised, it should be done in such a way which does not demean that person at all.

There are numerous other examples, but for the sake of brevity I will stop here. If all the Muslims start to check their actions, and think beforehand (whether their action will hurt others in any way whatsoever), most of our social problems will disappear. It is good to remember that Islam is a way of life. We must submit our whole life, not a small subset of our choosing, to the commands and teachings of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him).