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

Each time he raised a leg to move forward, they would stone him. All the while he quickened his pace, trying to avoid the stones being flung at him. His noble feet began to bleed profusely. He was a middle aged man, over forty years old. He moved away from them and kept walking until he found a safe place where he could rest under the shade of a date palm tree. At this time, he was overcome with the thought of going back and facing the Quraysh. How could he enter Makkah? He looked up to the sky and said, "O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. 'O Most Merciful of those who are merciful! O Lord of the weak and my Lord too! To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person, who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy, to whom you have granted authority over my affair? 'So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favour is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set aright, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You." As he sat there in this state, there came a cloud that overshadowed him. He lifted his gaze to the sky to find Jibril therein. Jibril called out to the Prophet , "O Muhammad! Allah has heard what your people have said to you, and how they dealt with you. Respond to mistreatment with kindness He has sent to you the Angel of Mountains at your disposal so you may order him with whatever you wish." Before the Prophet could say a word, the Angel of mountains called out to him saying, "May Allah's peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah! O Muhammad! Allah has heard what the people have said to you. I am the Angel of Mountains. Your Lord has sent me to you, so you may order me with whatever you wish." Before the Prophet could say a word or make a choice, the Angel of Mountains began making suggestions to him, saying, "If you wish, I could crush them between the two mountains." He was referring to the two mountains on either side of Makkah. The Angel of Mountains then waited for an order. "Rather," said the Prophet , trampling over his own wishes and the desire for revenge, "I will be patient with them, for I hope that Allah will raise from their progeny those who will worship Him alone without associating any partners with Him." Be brave… The relationship between me and my brothers And my cousins is indeed problematic If they consume my flesh, I spare theirs If they destroy my honour, I build theirs They do not hurry to my aid But I hurry if they call me to theirs Respond to mistreatment with kindness Respond to mistreatment with kindness I do not hold grudges against them For the leader never bears grudges (37) Convince him of his error so he may accept advice Some people tend to engage others uselessly by offering excessive unsolicited advice and remarks, which may be solely based on their personal liking. For instance, after attending a wedding party that you and your wife had planned and organised, an invitee complains to you, "Dear brother, the wedding party was not very appropriate. You tired yourself in vain. I was under the impression that the party would be of a higher standard." "How so?" you ask, civilly. He says, "Dear brother, most of the meat was fried. I personally prefer boiled meat. The salad was sour due to too much lemon, not exactly to my taste. The sweets were all decorated with cream, which made them repulsive." He then says, "Generally, most of the people disliked the food. They only ate out of courtesy, or because they had no choice!" No doubt, you would despise this adviser and avoid him. You would never accept his counsel, because it is only based on personal taste! You can say the same about someone who advises the next person quite harshly about how to deal with his children, his wife, or how he should have had his house built, or the kind of car he should have bought, purely based on his own personal preferences and opinions. Always beware that you do not base your advice on your personal preferences. Yes, if someone asks your opinion, do share it with him. But to speak to him as you would advise a person who has erred, then certainly not. Perhaps the one given advice does not feel that he has erred.