Don't be quick to judge

It's enough of a lie to share everything you hear

Dear Family of Believers,

It’s the blessed day of Friday. I’m about to close up the office for the weekend and switch to my dumb phone (a new practice I’m working on), and I’m reflecting on the most relevant Khutbah I've had in a while.

The Prophet (s) reminds us

Yahyā bin Yahyā narrated to us, Hushaym informed us, on authority of Sulaymān at-Taymī, on authority of Abī Uthmān an-Nahdī, he said, Umar bin ul-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.

We are reminded that leaving that which does not concern us is from the perfection of one’s Islam.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Part of the perfection of one’s Islam is his leaving that which does not concern him.” A hasan (good) hadeeth which was related by at-Tirmidhi and others in this fashion.

And so, I bring you to my last week. Without going into too much detail, my world was shaken as I found out that someone I deeply trusted and had known for years was a complete fraud.

Well, that’s what I thought when I was first told exactly one week ago, at about 5 am, when I received a frantic call from a friend informing me of some massive allegations.

I was scared, shocked, and angry, and before long, I told my family, and they too shared the same emotions.

I couldn't sit with the information.

The implications were massive and with everything that has happened to me over the past few months, this was truly the needle that... whatever the adage is.

But then 24 hours passed, 48 hours passed, 72 hours passed, and just about everything that I had heard at first had slowly unraveled and become disproven.

Now my anger had turned from the person in question, to the one who brought me the news and who had spread it to everyone else!

How can I fix this issue?

I had taken sides so quickly, and now look, I and everyone else were completely wrong in our initial assessments. Not only were we wrong, but we went ahead and spoke to far too many people, causing a ripple effect, and Lord knows the ruling for slandering an innocent person would cause anyone to shiver.

It was then that I began to remember the importance of being slow to jump the gun.

It was then that I remembered the verses of the Quran:

O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.

49:6

The importance of verifying news and not simply jumping to tell people came to mind.

Reputations are easily ruined, friendships and families broken simply at someone deciding to share what has yet to be proven.

The best part, I, nor anyone else, had decided to contact the person in question about the allegations... nope, we just spoke to each other in a bubble, and that was when I began to realize something was wrong.

Why had none of us spoken to the accused?

Why was it that whenever an opposing view was shared, it was automatically rejected?

I’ve seen this groupthink mentality before, and I’ve even seen it against myself in the past. It is far too easy to fall prey to it.

And so, that is why I want to take the time to remind you now,

and Fitnah (to create disorder) is more grave than killing.

2:217

If you see it, it’s probably best that you abstain from it.

I know it’s attractive to be involved; we all want to be part of it like an Egyptian Aunty observing an argument in the streets outside of her window, but it’s far better to close the window and busy yourself with that which pertains to you.

It is a means of safeguarding your religion.

A week later, nothing is clear; certain allegations have been seemingly proven true, and many more have been proven false.

However, at this point, I’ve reminded myself of the importance of taking a step back and allowing the dust to settle, and then determining how best to move forward. Not to allow Shaytan to play with emotions and rush me, or anyone for that matter, to decide what I ultimately may end up regretting after only a few hours.

My teachers have often mentioned, “Patience is the foundation of all good.”

I hold that statement dear.

I pray you benefit from this reminder,

A reminder for the believers,

Your servant,

Naseer