It is narrated that the prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
ألا أخبركم بأحبكم إلي وأقربكم مني مجالس يوم القيامة أحاسنكم أخلاقاً؟ الموطأون أكنافاً، الذين يألفون ويؤلفون. ألا أخبركم بأبغضكم إلي وأبعدكم مني مجالس يوم القيامة؟ الثرثارون المتفيهقون.
“Shall I tell you of those of you that are most beloved to me and will be seated closest to me on the Day of Judgment? Those that are the best of you in manner, whose company may be gained in comfort and without harm, those that find it easy to like and are easily liked. Shall I tell you of those of you that are most hated by me and will be seated farthest from me on the Day of Judgment? Those that speak to much, and that are overflowing (with ill will, ill talk, or ill deeds).”
It is also narrated that the prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
ألا أخبركم بشراركم؟ من أكل وحده، ومنع رفده، وضرب عبده. ألا أخبركم بشر بين ذلكم؟ من لا يقيل عثرة، ولا يقبل معذرة، ولا يغفر ذنبا.ً ألا أخبركم بشر من ذلكم من يبغض الناس ويبغضونه.
“Shall I tell you of the worst of you? He that eats alone, holds back his help and support, and beats his slave. Shall I tell you of worse than that? He that neither overlooks error, nor accepts an apology, nor forgives a sin. Shall I tell you of worse than that? He that hates people and people hate him.”
Salaam Yaser,
the last hadeith is a good one! (btw…did you get a chance to answer my last question i posted?)
abdul
As Salaamu Alaikum,
Masha’Allah a nice post. I’d also like to ponder upon this further by seeing another prospective as well. I completely understand this hadith and what it refers to (i.e. individuals who are not forgiving, hard at heart and so on) yet one must not confuse this with being firm in his/her religion.
I do feel one must be balanced in life i.e. one must forgive all the time but also one needs to stand up when needed as well. Hazrat Omar (R.A.) would be a good example. Masha’ALLAH he’s among the best generation, yet he was very strict and by the book and his life would teach us that we need to be firm too.
Life’s experiences has taught me that if one is too forgiving, people tend to take them for granted and may continue to make those same mistakes again and again without remorse/apologies. Thus one needs to forgive but also to take a firm (and fair) step to ensure it may not be repeated…Subhan’ Allah I guess that is why Islam teaches us to be balanced :)
Another thing that comes to mind; The ‘alone’ in the Hadith in my opinion does refer to someone who’s alone in terms of being mean/cruel and may not necessarily refer to one who prefers to be alone for valid reasons…
I found this topic really interesting because I always heard and read that being a ‘group’/unity in Islam is important and was surprised to hear about Abu Darr (R.A.) preference of isolation, but then reading on him and knowing his reasons…..plus personal experiences again, one begins to understand.
Was Salaamu Alaikum
Masha Allah… that was powerful. It certainly reminds me to behave myself.
I think you don’t realize how bad of a person you are until you read ahadith like this and think “wow, I have those negative qualities!” :(
Yup, exactly what Asmaa said… It’s scary, but sometimes I need to get scared to do something about it…
JAK Dr. Yaser, keep them coming, I need all the reminders I can get…