5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

Abu Hanifah then asked, “Why didn’t he come to our lesson?” They replied, “He was informed of what you had said, so he began to teach the people, since he isn’t in need of you anymore.” Abu Hanifah then thought about how to deal with this case in a gentle manner, and came up with an idea to teach Abu Yusuf a lesson. He turned to one of his students and said, “O so-and-so, go to the Shaykh sitting over there – i.e. Abu Yusuf – and say to him, ‘O Shaykh! I have a question.’ He would be very happy with you upon you asking him questions, for he has only sat there to be asked questions! Say to him, ‘A man gives his garment to a tailor to get it shortened. When he returns to him after a few days to collect it, the tailor denies that he ever had his garment. The man goes to the police to complain, and the police enter the shop and recover his garment for him. The question is: Does the tailor deserve the payment for shortening the garment or not?’ If he says to you, ‘Yes, he deserves it’, tell him he is wrong. And if he says to you, ‘No, he does not deserve it’, tell him he is wrong.” The student was pleased to learn this complex question and went off to Abu Yusuf and said, “O Shaykh! I have a question.” Gentleness only beautifies Abu Yusuf said, “What is your question?” He said, “A man gives his garment to the tailor…”, and before he could finish,AbuYusuf replied,“Yes,he deserves payment, as long as he has finished his work.” The questioner said, “You are wrong.” Abu Yusuf became surprised and thought about the issue deeply and said, “Actually, he does not deserve payment.” The questioner said, “You are wrong, again.” Abu Yusuf looked at him and said, “By Allah, who sent you here?” The man pointed towards Abu Hanifah and said, “The Shaykh sent me.” Abu Yusuf stood from his gathering and went to Abu Hanifah’s circle and said, “O Shaykh! I have a question.” Abu Hanifah ignored him. Abu Yusuf then came and sat on his knees in front of the Shaykh, and said with all due respect, “O Shaykh, I have a question.” He said, “What is your question?” Abu Yusuf said, “You know what the question is.” “The question about the tailor and the garment?” asked Abu Hanifah. “Yes”, replied Abu Yusuf. Abu Hanifah said, “You answer the question. Aren’t you a Shaykh?” Gentleness only beautifies He replied, “Rather, you are the Shaykh.” Abu Hanifah then said in response to the question, “We check how much he shortened the garment by. If the garment was shortened to match the man’s height, then it means he did the work completely. But then it occurred to him that he should deny having his garment. In this case, he shortened the garment for this man, and therefore he deserves to be paid. But if he had shortened the garment to suit his own height then that means he shortened the garment for himself and therefore does not deserve any payment.” Upon hearing that, Abu Yusuf kissed Abu Hanifah’s forehead and remained his student until Abu Hanifah passed away. Only then did Abu Yusuf sit in his place to teach the people. How beautiful is gentleness and how wonderful it is to deal with such issues with tenderness! If married couples, parents, managers and teachers were to be gentle in their approach, most problems and argumentation would diminish. We are always required to be gentle, while driving, teaching, buying and selling. However, a person might sometimes be required to be firm, even while advising.This is considered being wise while advising, and that is by dealing with each case on its own merit. The Prophet’s anger – if he ever became angry – was always in religious matters. The Prophet  never became angry for his own sake. He would only become angry if one of Allah’s sanctities was being violated. Once ‘Umar bin al-Khattab – may Allah be pleased with him− Gentleness only beautifies met a Jewish person. The Jewish person showed him a passage from the Torah, which amazed ‘Umar, so he took a copy for himself. He then came to the Messenger of Allah  with this passage from the Torah and read it out to him. The Prophet  realised that ‘Umar was taken by the passage and that if the door was opened up for deriving rulings from previous religions, then their books would become mixed with the Qur’an, thereby leaving the people perplexed. How could ‘Umar have gone ahead and made a copy of the passage and written it with his own hands without asking the Prophet ? The Prophet  became angry and said, “Are you confused over this, O Ibn al-Khattab?” meaning, are you doubting my Shari‘ah? He then said, “I swear by the One who has my soul in His Hand, I have come to you with something crystal clear.