Wahb ibn al-Munabbih’s profound advice:
“O my son, do not argue with the learned ones such lest you become lowly in their sight and thus they reject you. Do not dispute with the foolish lest they in turn harm you and insult you. Indeed, the one who reaches the rank of the scholars is he who bears patience and sees their point of view. And indeed, the one who is saved from the foolish is he who holds his tongue and remains silent from them. Don’t ever think that by arguing with the faqih (scholar), you will gain anything except increasing his anger and making him accustomed to that. Let it never be the case that in your attempt to protect yourself from small matters which you hear, you then fall into great matters which you dislike. Do not expose yourself for the sake of gratifying your anger, and if an ignorant person harms you then let your forbearance benefit you. If you are someone who does good only when good is done to him, then what is your reward, and what is your virtue over others? Surely, if you wish for reward and virtue, then do good to the one who does you harm, forgive the one who has wronged you, benefit the one who brings you no benefit and wait for the reward of all that from Allah, for that is surely the complete righteous good deed which a person would not want to be merely rewarded for in this lowly world (i.e. he would want his reward to be in the Hereafter).”
– Rawdhat al-‘Uqala’ by Ibn Hibban, p.196
Assalaamu alaikum 🙂
Thanks for posting this–I really needed to hear that advice!
Jazak Allah Kheir
Assalaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu…
Jazakillaahu khayran for this post, Masha’Allaah i need this too, Barakallaahu feeki and May you continue to share such beneficial articles.
Assalamualaikum
May Allah reward you for posting this most beautiful advice. My heart is full of peace and hope after reading these simple but deeply inspiring words… such a hope and motivation.. mashaAllah. I was thinking if you would allow me to share with my readers on my blog?
Wa ‘alaykumusalam wa rahmatullah
Yes, please feel free to share it with others.
what is meant with ” dont argue wit the faqih ”
dont argue when u dont know or does it mean dont argue even if u think he may forgot somethn, what is meant by that because arguing wit a faqih is somethn normal for a faqih u may explain that if u can dat would be nice
I think the term is important to understand: جدل و مراء (arguing, persistent debating etc). It’s perfectly fine to discuss things with the scholars and even correct them if they’ve erred etc, but the point is to not persistently argue back and forth (whether one is in the right or wrong), as this often leads to greater issues of discord and enmity. Wallahu a’lam.
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatu Allaahi wa barakatuh,
This has got to be one of the best pieces of advice I have read in a long time especially the part that follows,
” If you are someone who does good only when good is done to him, then what is your reward, and what is your virtue over others? …”
Jazaki Allaah khayr.
As salaamu alaykum sister
If i remember correctly, you had a post (quite a while back?) about as-sabiqoon,the verses in Surat at-Tawbah 9:100 – 102.
Can you please direct me to it, and if i’m mistaken then to any other tafsir of these ayat.
Jazakillahu khayra
“If you are someone who does good only when good is done to him, then what is your reward, and what is your virtue over others?” – Yes, that was my favourite part of the quote as well.
SF, wa `alaykumusalam wa rahmatullah. I don’t remember posting anything on that, sister. Do you remember how long ago it was? There are some good tafsir outlets online, try http://www.tafsir.com as a start. Bi-tawfiq.
Alsalam Alaikum
GoodJob jazak Allah khairan
http://islam4universe.wordpress.com
Forgiveness, is a healthy trait.
Explained nicely here … http://decodingeden.com/how-to-forgive-others-fault-even-when-its-difficult/