The Prophet's Methods for Correcting People's Mistakes

 

Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem. 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.

Teaching people is one of the greatest
good deeds whose benefits spread to others. It is the da‘iahs[1] 
and educators’ share of the heritage of the Prophets and Messengers.

“Allaah
and the angels, and even the ant in its nest and the whale in the sea will pray
for the one who teaches people the ways of good.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi;
Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad Shaakir edn., no. 2685. Abu ‘Eesa said, this is a
saheeh ghareeb hasan hadeeth).

There are different types and ways of
teaching, with different means and methods, one of which is correcting
mistakes. Correcting mistakes is a part of education; they are like inseparable
twins.

Dealing with and correcting mistakes is
also a part of sincerity in religion (naseehah) which is a duty on all Muslims.
The connection between this and the concept of enjoining what is good and
forbidding what is evil, which is also a duty, is quite obvious (but we should
note that the area of mistakes is broader than the area of evil (munkar), so a
mistake may or may not be evil as such).

Correcting mistakes also formed a part
of the wahy (revelation) and the methodology of the Qur`aan. The Qur`aan
brought commands and prohibitions, approvals and denunciations and correction
of mistakes – even those on the part of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). So it included rebukes and pointing out of mistakes, for
example (interpretation of the meaning):

“(The
Prophet) frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man
[‘Abd-Allaah ibn Umm Maktoom, whilst he was preaching to one or some of the
chiefs of Quraysh]. But what could tell you that perchance he might become pure
(from sins). Or that he might receive admonition, and that the admonition might
profit him? As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient. To him you attend. What
does it matter to you if he will not become pure (from disbelief, you are only
a Messenger, your duty is to convey the Message of Allaah). But as to him who
came to you running, And is afraid (of Allaah and His Punishment), Of him you
are neglectful and divert your attention to another.” [‘Abasa 80:1-10]

“And
remember when you (Muhammad) said to him (Zayd ibn Haarithah – the freed slave
of the Prophet) on whom Allaah has bestowed Grace (by guiding him to Islam) and
you (too) have done a favour (by freeing him), ‘Keep your wife to yourself and
fear Allaah.’ But you did hide in yourself (what Allaah had already made known
to you – i.e. that He will give her to you in marriage) that which Allaah will
make mainfest, you did fear the people whereas Allaah had a better right that
you should fear Him…” [al-Ahzaab 33:38]

“Not
for you (O Muhammad) is the decision; whether He turns in mercy to (pardons)
them or punishes them; verily, they are the zaalimoon (polytheists,
disobedient, wrong-doers, etc.).” [Aali ‘Imraan 3:128]

Qur`aan was also revealed to correct
the mistakes of some of the Sahaabah in some situations. When Haatib ibn Abi
Balta‘ah (may Allaah be pleased with him) made the mistake of writing to the
kuffaar of Quraysh and informing them of the direction in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) headed on a military campaign against
them, Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“O
you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies (i.e., disbelievers and
polytheists, etc.) as friends, showing affection towards them, while they have
disbelieved in what has come to you of the truth, and have driven out the
Messenger and yourselves (from your homeland) because you believe in Allaah
your Lord! If you have come forth to strive in My Cause and to seek My Good
Pleasure, (then take not these disbelievers and polytheists, etc., as your
friends). You show friendship to them in secret, while I am All-Aware of what
you conceal and what you reveal. And whosoever of you (Muslims) does that, then
indeed he has gone (far) astray, (away) from the Straight Path.” [al-Mumtahinah
60:1]

Concerning the mistake made by the
archers at the battle of Uhud, who left the position where the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had commanded them to stay, Allaah
revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“…
until (the moment) you lost your courage and fell to disputing about the order,
and disobeyed after He showed you (of the booty) which you love. Among you are
some that desire this world and some that desire the Hereafter…” [Aali ‘Imraan
3:152]

When the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) stayed away from his wives in order to discipline them,
and some people spread rumours that he had divorced them, Allaah revealed the
words (interpretation of the meaning):

“When
there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear, they make it
known (among the people), if only they had referred it to the Messenger or to
those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have
understood it from them (directly)…” [al-Nisa´ 4:83]

When some of the Muslims failed to
migrate from Makkah to Madeenah with no legitimate excuse, Allaah revealed the
words (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily!
As for those whom the nagels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves
(as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatroy
for them), they (angels) say (to them): ‘In what (condition) were you?’ They
reply: ‘We were weak and oppressed on earth.’ They (angels) say: ‘Was not the
earth of Allaah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?’ …” [al-Nisa´
4:97]

When some of the Sahaabah believed and
repeated the rumours of the munaafiqeen accusing ‘Aa`ishah of something she was
innocent of, Allaah revealed aayaat concerning this lie, including
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Had
it not been for the Grace of Allaah and His Mercy unto you in this world and in
the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had
spoken. When you were propagating it with your tongues and uttering with your
mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while
with Allaah it was very great.” [al-Noor 24:14]

Then Allaah said (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And
why did you not, when you heard it, say – ‘It is not right for us to speak of
this. Glory be to You (O Allaah), this is a great lie’? Allaah forbids you from
it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers.” [an-Noor
24:16-17]

When some of the Sahaabah argued in the
presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and raised
their voices, Allaah revealed (interpretation of the meaning):

“O
you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His
Messenger, and fear Allaah. Verily! Allaah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you
who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak
aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be
rendered fruitless while you perceive not.” [al-Hujuraat 49:1-2]

When the caravan came at the time of
the Friday khutbah, and some of the people left the khutbah and dispersed to
engage in trade, Allaah revealed the words:

“And
when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it,
and leave you (Muhammad) standing [while delivering the Friday khutbah]. Say:
‘That which Allaah has is better than any amusement or merchandise! And Allaah
is the Best of Providers.’ ”[al-Jumu‘ah 62:11]

Many other examples also indicate the
importance of correcting mistakes and not keeping quiet about them.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was guided by the Light of his Lord in following the
principle of denouncing evil and correcting mistakes with no compromise. From
this and other reports the scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) derived the
principle: it is not permitted for the Prophet to delay speaking up and
explaining mistakes from its appropriate time.”

Understanding the Prophet’s methodology
in dealing with the mistakes of the people he met is of great importance,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was guided by
his Lord, and his words and deeds were supported by revelation, and confirmed
or corrected as needed. His methods are wiser and more efficacious, and using
his approach is the best way to get people to respond positively. If the one
who is in a position to guide and teach others adopts these methods and this
approach, his efforts will be successful. Following the method and approach of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also involves following
his example, for he is the best example for us, and this will lead us to a
great reward from Allaah, if our intention is sincere.

Knowing the methods of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exposes the failure of the man-made methodology
– which is followed everywhere on this earth – and proves to the followers of
that methodology that it is a failure. Much of it is clearly a deviation that
is based on corrupt theories such as absolute freedom, or it is derived from
false heritages such a blind imitation of one's fathers and forefathers.

We must point out that the practical
application of this methodology in real life relies heavily on ijtihaad (studying
the situation and attempting to determine the best approach) to a great extent.
This involves selecting the best methods for a particular situation. Whoever
understands people’s nature will be able to notice similarities between real
life situations and situations described in the texts, so he will be able to
choose the most appropriate method from among the methods of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

This book is an attempt to study the
methods of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in dealing
with mistakes made by people of different levels and backgrounds, among those
who lived with him and with whom he interacted. I ask Allaah to make it successful
and free of mistakes, to benefit my Muslim brothers and me through it, for He
is in control of all things and He is able to do this, and He is the Guide to
the Straight Path.