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

The problem is that there are many people who, if you do not fulfil their request,may harbour ill feelings towards you.They may criticise you thereafter in public and accuse you of stinginess or selfishness.What should one then do? Be an expert in getting yourself out of these situations wisely. If someone asks you for a favour which you cannot do, then at least refuse with kind words. You neither have a horse to give nor wealth Help with your speech, if you cannot help with anything else If a person were to discover that you are planning to travel to a certain city, and he comes to you and says, "I would like you to buy something for me from the city you are travelling to" and yet, for one reason or another, you are not in a position to fulfil his need, how should you respond? Help him by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way. Say to him, "By Allah, dear brother, I wish to serve you with all my heart, and you are more beloved to me than many others. However, I fear that my time will be restricted. I have a few things to do which would prevent me from fulfilling your request." If he were to call you to wedding party and you wish to excuse yourself but fear that he may harbour ill feelings towards you if you decline, then you should say, "I consider you to be one of my own brothers. You are of the most precious people to me. However, I am particularly busy tonight." You wouldn't have lied either, since you may be very busy with your children, or reading a book, or even sleeping! All these things keep us busy. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad would captivate people's hearts with his noble manners. Imagine the Prophet as he sat with his noble companions and spoke to them about the Holy Mosque in Makkah, the virtues of 'Umrah and entering the state of Ihram, as they listened while their hearts longed to be there. The Prophet then ordered them to make preparations for the journey and race to get there. They did not take long Help by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way to prepare and get their weapons together for the journey. The Prophet left with a thousand and four-hundred of his companions, as they said "Allahu Akbar" with the intention of 'Umrah as they raced to get to Makkah. When they approached the mountains of Makkah, al-Qaswah – the Prophet's camel stopped and knelt down. He tried to make her stand again and continue with the journey but she refused. The people said, "Al-Qaswah has disobeyed!' The Prophet replied, "Al-Qaswah hasn't disobeyed. It is not from her traits to disobey. However, she is being held up by what held up the Elephant (of Abrahah who came to destroy the Ka'bah)" The Prophet then said, "By the Name of Him in whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraysh) ask me anything which will respect the ordinances of Allah, I will grant it to them." He then struck the camel and she got up and continued. He headed towards Makkah and stopped over a place called Al-Hudaybiyah which is close to Makkah. When the leaders of Quraysh heard about this, they went out to prevent him from entering Makkah. But the Prophet insisted that he should enter Makkah to perform 'Umrah. The messengers between the Prophet and the Quraysh kept going back and forth until Suhayl bin 'Amr came and drew a pact with the Prophet that he return to Madinah for now and return the following year for 'Umrah. They then wrote a general pact in which Suhayl stipulated that no weak Muslim would leave Makkah for Madinah except that he was to be returned, but as for the one who leaves Madinah for Makkah as an apostate, then he would be welcome in Makkah. Help by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way The Muslims said, "SubhanAllah! If a Muslim comes to us we return him to the pagans? How can we return him to the pagans when he has come to us having embraced Islam?" While they were discussing, there came to them a young man in the heat of the desert and locked up in chains who shouted, "O Messenger of Allah!" The people looked at him to discover that he was Abu Jandal, the son of Suhayl bin 'Amr, who had accepted Islam and was consequently tortured by his father. When he heard about the Muslims' arrival, he escaped from his imprisonment and came dragging his chains as his blood was pouring from his wounds and tears were pouring out of his eyes. He threw his exhausted body in front of the Prophet as the Muslims watched.