Do Not Look Down Upon the Sinner with Arrogance

Abū Isḥāq ash-Shīrāzī, the Shāfi‘ī jurist (may Allah have mercy on him), said:
“My father and I were imprisoned, and we prayed while the other prisoners were asleep. So I said, ‘None of these people got up to pray two units of prayer!’ He replied, ‘O my son, if you had died, it would have been better for you than falling into [criticizing] people.'”

Your uprightness does not grant you the right to mock the misguidance of others. Therefore, do not look down upon the sinner with a gaze of superiority, for hearts are between two fingers of the Most Merciful, He turns them as He wills. When Allah chose you for the path of His guidance, it was not because you are special or due to any obedience from your part; rather, it was a mercy from Him that encompassed you, and He may withdraw it from you at any moment. Thus, do not be deluded by your deeds or your worship, and do not look with disdain upon those who have strayed from His path, for were it not for Allah’s mercy upon you, you would be in their place.

And do not imagine that steadfastness upon uprightness is one of your personal achievements, for Allah said to His Prophet (peace be upon him), the best of mankind: {And if We had not strengthened you, you would have almost inclined to them a little.} [Al-Isrā’: 74] So, what about you?!

‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz said: “We found the predecessors (Salaf) not considering worship to be merely in fasting or prayer, but rather in refraining from [speaking ill of] people’s honor. For the one who fasts by day and prays by night, if he does not guard his tongue, he will be bankrupt on the Day of Judgment.”

[From the telegram channel of Ash-Shaikh Uthman Ahmad Uthman. Benefit translated from Arabic to English.]

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