Among the beauties of the Prophetic biography (Seerah)
Being gentle with the ignorant
Do you remember a time you made a mistake in your youth?
How did your father at home or your teacher at school guide you?
Some have recounted tragic stories of reprimand and punishment
And it is regrettable
That if some ignorant person appears before us in a gathering, prayer, or occasion
We turn against him
And we may cloak it in anger for the sake of the sacred boundaries of Allah
Yet here is a rare educator and a gentle teacher
Who contained the problem
And treated the one who erred with kindness
And was gentle with the ignorant
And taught him in the best, most guided, and most excellent manner
Mu'awiyah Ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, may Allah be pleased with him, says
While I was with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in prayer
A man sneezed
So I said
May Allah have mercy on you
The people stared at me with their eyes
So I said
Woe to my mother, why do you look at me?
What is the matter with you, looking at me?
He said
The people struck their thighs with their hands
When I saw them trying to silence me
I remained silent
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, finished his prayer
He called me
May my father and mother be sacrificed for him
I have never seen a teacher before or after him who taught better than he did
By Allah, he did not strike me, nor did he scold me, nor did he insult me
But he said
This prayer of ours is not a place for any of the speech of people
It is only for the takbir, the tasbih, and the recitation of the Qur'an
So learn from this the beauty of character
And the art of containing people
And the method of teaching the ignorant
And the virtue of gentleness and mercy
And addressing matters in the best possible way
And the gravity of the status of prayer
And learn the importance of the fiqh of da'wah
Gentleness is the finest companion you could ever take
And your suspicion that you are compassionate will be proven wrong
So take the metaphorical from time and its people
And leave deep immersion and investigation into it
And Allah the Exalted knows best
Among the beauties of the Prophetic biography (Seerah)