Al Malahim Media Establishment
Presents
“The Good Reminders – Part 16: Pleasing the People”
Sheikh Harith al Nithari
“Peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be upon you, praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds, and upon the Prophet Muhammad and his family
Imam al Bukhari named one of his Sahih chapters ‘Pleasing with the People’ and included in this chapter a Hadith narrated by Ayisha about a man who asks permission to meet the Prophet. The Prophet granted permission and said: bring him – he is one of the tribe’s bad mannered sons or brothers. When the man came, the Prophet spoke to him nicely. Ayisha asked the Prophet: why did you treat him nicely after saying these things about him? The Prophet answered her and said to Ayisha: the worst people in the eyes of Allah (swt) are those who stay away from people to avoid their indecency. This Hadith is important in how to deal with people. This man came to the Prophet (saws) and the Prophet (saws) labeled the man with a bad description. We should pay attention to the reaction of the Prophet (saws) and not worry so much about the man’s characteristics. What the Prophet (saws) did comes from his Islamic standards and what the Quran teaches, and not based on the man’s moral standards. Ulama’ labeled such a response as ‘pleasing.’ By definition,
Pleasing is treating an ignorant person nicely and treating evil people with kindness.
This principle is different than condoning evil people, since condoning suggests approving of wrongdoers, where ‘pleasing’ means treating people kindly. Condoning evil, like you should be flexible, so would they be flexible implies consenting and approving of not obeying, wrongdoing and filth others are committing. To make this principle simpler, I say that ‘pleasing’ means sacrificing this dunya to win either the dunya or deen. Condoning evil means sacrificing deen to win this dunya. Therefore, the first is acceptable, but the last part is muharram. Ustadh Abdallah al Adnan said: the people who should obey this sunnah, a reference to being gentle, kind to the ignorant people, and ‘pleasing’ with people, are the mujahidin, since they encounter different people during their jihad fi sabil Allah. Practicing this sunnah will bring good things and keeps evil away. It also unites the hearts of people and brings them closer to al haqq they already have inside them. And what Allah (swt) has guided them to do, at an age when it is rare to find people who follow the sunnah, may Allah (swt) grant upon them success.
Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi, may Allah (swt) free him, talked in his 30th message about people who label infidels those showing kindness to the enemies of Allah (swt), and proving that they don’t distinguish between ‘pleasing’ and condoning, since the second is simply a transgression against the deen. Sheikh al Maqdisi said: I have seen people who have talked bad and created lies about other people for issues not considered by the deen as signs of kufr (disbelief). Some of these issues are actually okay acts of ‘pleasing’ that people’s weak minds could not get used to it. Therefore, they considered sitting the kuffar, visiting them, smiling at them, or dealing with them in any nice and open way as signs of disbelief. What is worse in their eyes are those who joke with the kuffar, shake their hand, or condone them. Some of these practices, like visiting the kuffar and talking nicely to them, is okay for purposes of drawing them to the deen through hikmah and good nasihah (advice). Sahih al Bukhari mentions a Hadith about our Prophet (saws) visiting a Yahudi boy who was sick and calling him to the deen, the boy responded to the invitation and submitted to Islam. Therefore, it is acceptable to visit the kuffar and ask how they are when they are sick with the goal of bringing them to the deen.
To conclude, ‘pleasing’ is a sunnah and one of the characteristics of our Prophet (saws) while condoning evil is very bad. ‘Pleasing’ is actually an act of Ibadah when done at the right time. Being firm has a proper time, just like being kind. Determining when to use each one is considered a sign of hikmah. I ask Allah (swt) to grant us hikmah in speech and deeds, Ameen. May Allah (swt) reward you with goodness.
“Oh Aqsa, we are coming!”