Hadith on Correcting Someone
Correcting others is a delicate matter in Islamic teachings, and it is essential to approach it with wisdom and compassion. The hadith on correcting someone provides valuable insights into the Prophet’s way of correcting mistakes and Hadith on Correcting Someone. Understanding the prophet’s way of correcting mistakes helps us navigate these situations gracefully. In Islam, making a mistake in Islam is part of human nature, but it is our duty to guide each other kindly and effectively. This guide will also touch on how to stop correcting others when necessary and the importance of being mindful of our intentions, especially in light of the hadith about mocking others.
In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds, Master of the Day of Judgement, God of the first and the last, Sustainer of heaven and earth, and peace and blessings be upon His trustworthy Prophet, the Teacher of mankind, sent as a Mercy to the worlds.
We live in an age where passing judgement on others has become the norm, and ridiculing individuals for their mistakes is a popular activity. While some of us may do it unknowingly, others may do so because of ignorance or arrogance. Identifying with the Prophet Muhammad’s Ummah entails certain responsibilities. Hadith on Correcting Someone and Correcting other people’s faults is one of these responsibilities.
We frequently become overly judgmental of our own brothers and sisters in our effort to study the deen and put it into practice in our lives. Rather than addressing their mistakes, we issue fatwas, further alienating people from the beauty of Islam. It is critical to comprehend and recognize that this deen is simple and lovely, and that correcting others’ mistakes should be done in the same manner.
We have been lavished with various benefits and gifts that Allah Allah Subhanahu-wa-Taala chose to bestow on us. Allah Subhanahu-wa-Taala provided us with a life blueprint in the form of the Glorious Quran. Furthermore, Allah Subhanahu-wa-Taala provided us with a guide in the form of Prophet Muhammad SAW, who followed this design in his daily actions.
Let us now consider how our Prophet SAW used to correct people’s mistakes. While reading the ahadeeth below, jot down any distinctive characteristics of the Prophet that you see. Remember to share your ideas in the comments section in sha Allah.
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Hadith on Correcting Someone: Waiting for correcting mistakes
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him said: “Whilst we were in the Mosque with the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) a Bedouin came and stood urinating in the Mosque. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) said, ‘Stop it! Stop it!’ and were about to attack him. But the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) said, ‘Do not interrupt him; leave him alone.’ So they left him until he had finished urinating, then the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) called him and said to him, ‘In these Mosques it is not right to do anything like urinating or defecating; they are only for remembering Allah, praying and reading Qur’an,’ or words to that effect. Then he commanded a man who was there to bring a bucket of water and throw it over the (urine), and he did so.” (Muslim)
In dealing with this mistake, the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, followed the idea of treating the man gently rather than harshly.
The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) was thinking of the likely consequences of the two options – stopping him or leaving him alone. If they tried to stop him, forcing a man to suppress his urination could do him harm, and if he was unable to stop but moved away because he was afraid of them, the impurity would be spread over a wider area of the Mosque and on the man’s body and clothing. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) had the farsightedness to see that leaving the man alone until he had finished urinating was the lesser of two evils, especially since the man had already started doing it, and it was a problem that they would be able to do something about by cleaning it afterwards. So he told his companions to leave him alone and not to interrupt him.
Ibn Hajar, may Allah bless him, highlighted in his commentary a variety of things we can learn about the Bedouin from the Hadith on Correcting Someone, including the following:
– When dealing with someone who is uneducated, we should be compassionate and teach him what he needs to know without rebuking him, as long as he is not acting stubbornly, especially if he needs to be won over.
– The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was kind and he dealt nicely with him.
Hadith on Correcting Someone: Haste in dealing with people’s mistakes
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was known for acting quickly to correct people’s mistakes, especially when it was not appropriate to do so at the time. His mission was to teach people the truth, instruct them to do good, and warn them against doing bad. As a result, he was quick to chastise individuals on numerous occasions, as is seen in the story of the three who wanted to go to extremes in worship.
Humayd ibn abi humayd al-taweel reports that he heard anas ibn maalik (may allaah be pleased with him) saying: “three people came to the houses of the wives of the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him), asking about how the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) worshipped. when they were told about it, they thought that it was little. they said, “who are we, compared to the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him)? all his sins, past and future, have been forgiven.” (they thought that the one who does not know that his sins have been forgiven needed to go to extremes in worship and do far more than the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him), in the hope that their sins might be forgiven). one of them said, “as for me, i will pray every night from now on.” another said, “as for me, i will fast for the rest of my life and will never break my fast.” the third said, “as for me, i will have nothing to do with women and i will never marry.” the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) came to them and said, “are you the people who said such-and-such? by allaah, i am the one who fears allaah more than anyone, but i fast and i break my fast, i pray and i rest, and i get married.” saheeh al-bukhaari
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Here we may note the following points on Hadith on Correcting Someone:
- The prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) on Hadith on Correcting Someone came to them and addressed them directly; when he wanted to teach all the people, he did not refer to them by name or expose them, he merely said, “what is the matter with some people…?” in this way he was gentle with them and covered up for them whilst at the same time acting in the common interest by teaching everybody.
- The hadeeth describes finding out about the action of good people and seeking to emulate them. investigating such things is the sign of a sound mind and efforts to improve oneself.
- This report indicates that when it comes to useful matters of religion, if it is not possible to learn them from men, it is permissible to learn them from women.
- There is nothing wrong with a person talking about his deeds so long as there is no element of showing off and it is for the benefit of others.
- We also learn that going to extremes in worship may cause a person to get bored, which in turn could lead him to stop worshipping altogether; the best of things are those that are moderate. (see al-fath, 9/104).
- Mistakes generally come about as a result of misconceptions; if the ideas are put right, mistakes will decrease. it is clear from the hadeeth that the reason why those sahaabah adopted those concepts of extreme worship and monasticism was that they thought they had to go beyond the prophet’s actions in worship in order to attain salvation, because he had been told that all his sins were forgiven, but they did not have this advantage. the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) set them straight, and told them that even though he was forgiven, he was the most fearing of allaah among mankind, and he commanded them to follow his sunnah in worship.Not dealing with mistakes quickly is against Islam’s interests, and it misses out on the opportunity to strike while the iron is hot.
Jarhad (may Allah be pleased with him) claimed that the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by him with his thigh exposed. “Cover your thigh, for that is part of the ‘awrah,” the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) remarked. (This is a hasan hadeeth, according to Sunan al-tirmidhi, no. 2796.)
Hadith on Correcting Someone: Explaining the seriousness of the Mistake
Ibn ‘Umar, Muhammad Ibn Ka’b, Zayd Ibn Aslam and Qutadah may Allah be pleased with them reported (the following is compiled from their reports) that during the campaign of Tabook, a man said, “We have never seen anyone who loves food and tells lies more than our rectors, or anyone who is more cowardly in the battlefield” – referring to the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his Companions.
Awf Ibn Malik said, ‘You are lying! You are a hypocrite, and I am going to tell the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam. ‘ Awf went to the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) to tell him, but found that Qur’an had already been revealed concerning it. That man came to the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) who was riding his camel, and said, “O Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) we were only talking idly and joking, just to pass time in the journey.” Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “It is as if I saw him hanging onto the reins of the Prophet’s camel, with the stones hitting his feet, saying, “We were only talking idly and joking,” whilst the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) was reciting (what means):
”Say: ‘Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?’” (Qur’an 9: 65)
We see that the prophet’s reply to these abominable remarks was by reciting some verses of the Qur’an by which this man was told that Allah and His Messenger are far above mocking. He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, didn’t become enraged or order that the man should be punished severely. Any one else may do that, but the Prophet was sent as a mercy to all creation and to be an example of how people should behave.
Hadith on Correcting Someone: Teaching the one who Made a Mistake in a Practical Way
In many cases practical teaching is more effective than theoretical teaching. this is what the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) did. jubayr ibn nufayr reported from his father that he came to the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him), who called for water, then said, “do wudoo’, o abu jubayr.” abu jubayr started with his mouth, and the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) said, “do not start with your mouth, o abu jubayr, for the kaafir starts with his mouth.” then the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) called for water, and washed his hands until they were clean, then he rinsed his mouth and nose three times, washed his face three times, washed his right arm up to the elbow three times, and his left arm three times, wiped his head and washed his feet. (reported by al-bayhaqi in al-sunan, 1/46; al-silsilat al-saheehah, no. 2820).
We may note here that the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) deliberately put this sahaabi off from doing an incorrect action by telling him that the kaafir starts with his mouth; the meaning may be that the kaafir does not wash his hands before putting them in the vessel (I was told this by shaykh ‘abd al-‘azeez ibn baaz when I asked him about the interpretation of this hadeeth), and that this is not hygienic. and Allaah knows best.
Hadith on Correcting Someone: Guiding People to Prevent them from Making Mistakes
Abu umaamah ibn sahl ibn haneef reported that his father told him that the messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out, and they travelled with him in the direction of makkah, until they reached the ravine of al-khazzaar near al-juhfah. sahl ibn haneef did ghusl, and he was a white man with a handsome body and beautiful skin. ‘aamir ibn rabee’ah, the brother of banu ‘adiyy ibn ka’b looked at him whilst he was doing ghusl and said, ‘i have never seen anything like what i have seen today, not even the skin of the virgin who is hidden away!’ [referring to the whiteness of his skin]. sahl fell to the ground (he had an epileptic fit). the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) came and it was said to him,
‘Do you want to see sahl? by Allaah , he cannot raise his head or wake up.’ he asked, ‘whose fault is this?’ they said, ‘ ‘aamir ibn rabee’ah looked at him.’ the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) called ‘aamir and rebuked him angrily, and said, ‘why would any one of you kill his brother? if any one of you sees that his brother has something he likes, let him pray for blessing for him.’ then he said to him, ‘bathe yourself to help him’. so he washed his face, his hands up to the elbows, his knees, the sides of his feet and inside his izaar (lower garment) in a vessel. then the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) on Hadith on Correcting Someone said, ‘pour that water over him.’ so he poured the water over his head and back from behind, tilting the vessel, and sahl went with the people and there was nothing wrong with him.” (al-musnad, 3/486. al-haythami said, the men of ahmad are the men of saheeh. al-majma’, 5/107)
According to a report narrated by maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him), muhammad ibn abi umaamah ibn sahl ibn haneef said that he heard his father saying: “abu sahl ibn haneef did ghusl in al-kharraar and took off the garment he was wearing. ‘aamir ibn rabee’ah was looking at him, and sahl was a white man with beautiful skin. ‘aamir ibn rabee’ah said to him, ‘i have never seen anything like what i have seen today, not even the skin of the virgin!’. sahl fell ill on the spot and became seriously ill. the messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him) came and was told, ‘sahl has fallen ill, and cannot go with you, o messenger of allaah.’ sahl told him what had happened with ‘aamir, and the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
‘Why would any one of you kill his brother? you should have asked for blessing for him. the (evil) eye is real. do wudoo’ to help him.” so ‘aamir did wudoo’, and sahl went with the messenger of allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and there was nothing wrong with him. (al-muwatta’, hadeeth no. 1972).
what we learn from this story is:
- the teacher (i.e., the prophet (peace and blessings of allaah be upon him)) got angry with the one who caused harm to his muslim brother.
- he explained the harmful effects of the mistake and that it could lead to death.
- he pointed the way to that which would prevent harm befalling a muslim.
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Hadith on Correcting Someone: Don’t go looking for mistakes.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on Hadith on Correcting Someone often used his role as leader and community educator to correct mistakes for the benefit of all listeners and for the Hadith on Correcting Someone, but in a discreet way that hid the identities of involved parties. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would say, “What of people who commit such an action…” This way, he generally warned people of pitfalls while discreetly alerting the people involved in the mistake to repent and rectify their wrongdoing.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)forbade gossip and backbiting, and rejected any broadcast of people’s mistakes. He asked people not to report anything negative about the companions to him. The Prophet accepted people’s words for what they were, and did not probe to uncover hidden flaws. He did not put people under a magnifying glass and guess at their motives. We should avoid searching out people’s mistakes in order to uncover more and greater faults. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said “Whoever searches out the shortcomings of a brother, Allah will search out his shortcomings.” (At-Tirmizi)
Although there were many hypocrites in Madinah—people pretending to be Muslim but secretly undermining the community—the Prophet did not confront or accuse them. On the other hand, when a companion who had fought in the Battle of Badr, Hatib ibn Abi Balta`ah, committed an act of outright treason against the Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) refused to condemn the man without speaking to him first. Hatib admitted that he made a terrible mistake, but professed a heart full of belief. That was good enough for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
In conclusion, the hadith on correcting someone reminds us of the importance of kindness and humility when addressing mistakes. By following the prophet’s way of correcting mistakes, we can create an environment of mutual respect and understanding. Instead of focusing solely on others’ faults, let us strive to uplift one another and encourage growth. Ultimately, Islam teaches us that correcting others should be done with compassion and a sincere desire to help, allowing us to foster a positive community in which everyone can learn and grow together.
