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

The businessman then looked down, raised his head again and said, 'her prayer affected me the way no medicine could.'" They say… As you sleep, the oppressed remains alert. He prays against you, while Allah's eyes never sleep. Restraining oneself from harming others (75) Do not gain enemies You will find as you deal with people that everyone has a different natur e. Some are very angry while others are very cold. Some are intelligent while others are foolish. Some are learned while others are ignorant. Some have good opinions of others while others do not. The oppressor always forgets about those whom he has oppressed and thinks he is the most just of all people. The foolish person thinks he is the most intelligent of all people. The senseless person thinks he is the wisest person in the world! I recall when I was a young man – although I still think I am one – when I was at the beginning of my secondary education, there came to us a very cumbersome guest. I don't know if he had even finished his primary education or not, But what I can say for sure is that he could read and write. When he came, I was busy with a religious issue for which I was trying to find a solution. I offered him what I would offer to any other guest. I then took the phone and tried to contact Shaykh Abd al-'Aziz bin Baz – may Allah have mercy on him – to ask him for an answer, but the Shaykh was not there. This guest noticed that I am extremely busy and asked, "Who are you trying to call?" I said, "Shaykh Ibn Baz. I need to ask him an important question." He said to me with great confidence,"SubhanAllah! You are asking Ibn Baz, whilst I am alive!" You would find many such people in real life.Try to bear their cumbersome attitude, treat them kindly and earn their love. Try your best not to gain enemies for yourself. You have not been put in charge of them by Allah. So, save whoever you can and do not torment yourself unnecessarily. A thought… Life is too short to gain enemies. Do not gain enemies (76) The tongue is king I was thinking about factors that cause hatred and arguments between people and make them cumbersome for each other, such that one may not even like to see or be in someone's company, or travel with him, or even attend his wedding. I discovered that it is the tongue that causes a man to stoop to such a level. How often brothers or couples quarrel all because of verbal abuse, backbiting or insults! When we are able to deliver our thoughts to others with beautiful manners, why then resort to horrible ones? There was once a king who saw in a dream that all his teeth had fallen out. He called a dream-interpreter, told him what he saw in the dream, and asked him to interpret it. When the interpreter heard the dream his complexion changed and he began to repeat, "Allah's refuge is sought! Allah's refuge is sought!" The king became worried and asked, "What is the interpretation of my dream?" The interpreter said, "After many years pass, your wife and children will die and you will be all alone in your kingdom!" The king screamed, became furious, and began to hurl abuses and insults. He then ordered that the interpreter be imprisoned and called another interpreter, related to him what he saw in the dream and asked him for its interpretation. The dream interpreter smiled and said, "Glad tidings, dear king!" The king said, "What is the interpretation of the dream?" The interpreter said, "It means that you will live for very long - so long that you will be the last of your family to die, and you will remain a king your entire life." The king became very pleased, showered him with gifts and remained content with him whilst angry with the first dreaminterpreter. If you contemplate, you will realise that both of the interpretations were the same, the difference was in the way in which the interpretation was conveyed. Hence, the tongue is the master. The Prophet said in a hadith, "When the son of Adam wakes up in the morning, all of his body parts humble themselves in front of the tongue and say, 'Fear Allah with regards to our rights! Our wellbeing depends on you. If you remain upright, so shall we. If you become crooked so shall we.'" (Ahmad & Al-Tirmidhi, Hasan) Yes, by Allah, the tongue is master. It is master as it delivers the Friday sermon. It is master as it rectifies people's relationships. It is master as it bargains in the marketplace. It is master as it debates in a court of law. However, this does not mean that if a person loses his tongue his life ends.