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

Rather, the strong person is the one who controls himself when angry." The noble Prophet would attract people merely by smiling and being cheerful. The Muslims marched out on the expedition of Khaybar, and during the battle, a sack full of fat dropped out of the Jews' fortress. 'Abdullah bin Mughaffal collected it, carried it on his back quite happily and made his way to his companions. On his way, the man responsible for collecting and organising the booty met him and started to pull the sack from him, saying, "Give it to me! This is to be distributed amongst the Muslims!" 'Abdullah held tight to it and said, "By Allah! I will not give it to you! I got it first!" The man replied, "You will give it to me!" The two of them started pulling on the sack, and while they were doing so, the Messenger of Allah passed by them. When the Prophet saw them as they were pulling the sack, he laughed and said to the man responsible for the booty, "Leave him alone with the sack." Thus, the man left it in 'Abdullah's hands. 'Abdullah took it to his companions and they ate it all together. Finally, remember that to smile in your brother's face is an act of charity. Smile and keep smiling The leader… "He never saw me except that he smiled…" Smile and keep smiling (59) The red lines One of my students was very well read and always keen to form relationships with others. However, he was also very unpleasant. He came to me one day and said, "Dear teacher, my colleagues never like me. They cannot bear my sense of humour." I said to myself, "I cannot bear you when you are silent, so how could I when you speak? Moreover, how terrible are you when you try to be light-hearted and joke?" I asked him, "Why are they unable to bear your jokes? Give me an example of a joke of yours." He said, "Once, one of them sneezed, so I said, 'May Allah curse you…' and remained silent. When he became angry I completed my sentence, '… O Iblis! And may Allah have mercy on you, O so-and-so!'" How unpleasant his joke was, I thought. Poor man, he thought he was being pleasant and light-hearted by making such jokes! No matter how much people tolerate your humour and wit, there are always red lines that they would never like you to cross, especially in front of others. However, some people do not give any consideration to this and often transgress others' sensitivities. For instance, some people would take your mobile phone and start phoning whoever they like. Others may use it to send text messages to people whom you do not wish to have your number. One of them may drive your car without your permission, or embarrass you by persistently asking for it until you give in unwillingly. You may find a group of students living in a flat and one of them wakes up to go to the university, he finds that soand-so has already left with his coat, and so-and-so has left with his shoes! Examples of crossing this red line includes finding some people embarrassing their friends by their unpleasant sense of humour or by asking awkward questions in public. A person, no matter how much he loves you, will always remain a human being who will be happy at times and angry at others. When the Prophet was on his way back to Madinah from Tabuk, there came to him in that same month 'Urwah bin Mas'ud al-Thaqafi. He was a well respected leader and of a noble status among his tribe of Thaqaf. He met with the Prophet before he reached Madinah and embraced Islam. He suggested to the Prophet that he should go back to his people and call them to Islam. The Prophet feared for his wellbeing and said, "They will fight you." The Prophet knew that the Thaqaf tribe was zealously averse to Islam and extremely stern in their dealings, even with their leaders. 'Urwah replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I am more beloved The red lines to them than their virgin daughters." He was, indeed very much beloved and obeyed by his people. He went to his people to call them to Islam, hoping that they would not disobey him due to his noble status amongst them. Upon reaching his people's dwellings, he climbed up an elevated place and called out to them until they all gathered. He called them to Islam and openly declared that he was a Muslim. He began to repeat, "I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." When the people heard this from him, they screamed and became angry about being called to abandon their gods. They shot at him with arrows from all directions until he fell down.