(74) Restraining oneself from harming others
There was a man hated by everyone because none was ever spared from his harm. If he spared a person from his hand, he would not spare him from his tongue. If he forgot to speak ill of a person in his presence, then he would not forget to speak ill of him in his absence. The man was certainly disliked by all and was too much for anyone to bear.
If you think about society, you will realise for certain that, usually, only those who are more blessed than others are the ones to abuse others. It is the strong that abuse the weak by pushing them away, kicking them, beating them, or belittling them. He would act like a lion with them, but in testing situations be is like an ostrich. The rich person will transgress against the poor, disgrace them in public gatherings and interrupt them as they speak. People in higher positions are guiltier of such crimes, and the same is witnessed with all those whom Allah has blessed with good fortune.
Not only are such people loathed, but whenever a calamity befalls them, people rejoice and wish that they lose all the respect that others may have for them. Indeed people wish that they would become totally bankrupt!
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Look at the Messenger of Allah Peace be upon him. One day he sat with his companions and asked, “Do you know who is the barkrupt one?”
They replied, “A bankrupt person, as we know it, is the one who neither has a dirham nor or any possessions.”
He said, “Rather, the bankrupt person from my ummah is the one who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasts and charity. Yet, it is discovered that he cursed this person, accused that person, illegally possessed this person’s property, murdered that person and hit this person. All those he oppressed will be given from his good deeds. If his good deeds are gone before the account is settled, their bad deeds will be taken and placed into his account, and then he will be thrown in the fire.” (Muslim)
For this reason, the Prophet Peace be upon himwould avoid harming anybody.
‘A’ishah – may Allah be pleased with her – said, “The Messenger of Allah Peace be upon himnever struck anything with his hand: neither a woman nor a servant, except during a battle. He never sought revenge from the one who inflicted harm upon him, unless one of Allah’s sanctities were violated. Only then he would seek revenge for Allah.” (Muslim)
Generally speaking, whoever uses the blessings that Allah has given him to cause harm to others is disliked. Allah may even afflict such a person before punishing him in the Hereafter, thereby soothing and healing the wounds of those he harmed.
I recall a friend who was a student of law and had memorised the Qur’an. He was a pious man to whom many people would come for treatment, so he would recite some Islamic incanta – Restraining onese tions from the Qur’an, and Allah would cure by his hands whoever He willed.
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One day, a man came to him who looked very rich. He sat in front of the him and said, “O Shaykh, I have severe pains in my left hand. I can neither sleep at night nor rest in the day. I have visited many professional doctors, and they have run several tests on me. They asked me to do exercises, but none of this has helped me. The pain only continues to increase and it has made my life a torment. Dear Shaykh, I am a businessman and an owner of a number of institutions and companies. I fear that I may be afflicted with an evil eye, or someone may have put a spell on me.”
The brother said to me, “I recited over him Surat al-Fatihah, Ayat al-Kursi, Surat al-Ikhlas and the last two Surahs of the Qur’an, and yet his condition did not change. He thanked me and left only to return to me after a few days complaining of the same pain. I recited over him again, he went and came back. I recited over him again, yet he did not seem to recover at all.
When his pain became really severe, I said to him, ‘Perhaps your ailment is a punishment for a sin you committed, perhaps you wronged a weak person or took someone’s right. Perhaps you oppressed someone by not giving him his share of his wealth, etc. If you did any of this, then hurry to repent for your crimes and give up the rights of others that you may have usurped. Seek Allah’s forgiveness for all your past sins.’
The businessman did not like what I had said, he replied to me quite arrogantly, ‘Never! I have never wronged anyone! I have never transgressed anyone’s rights! But I thank you for your advice, anyway!’ and left.
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Many days passed by and I didn’t see the man again. I thought that perhaps he didn’t like my advice, but I didn’t care since all I had done was to give him a word of advice. I then met him somewhere by mere coincidence. He came up to me and greeted me very joyfully.
I asked him, ‘What’s the latest?’
He said, ‘Al-Hamdulillah, my hand is fine, without any medicine or treatment!’
I said, ‘How is that?’
He said, ‘When I left after visiting you, I began to think about what you said and browsed through my memory to see who I could have wronged, or whose rights I might have taken. I then remembered that a few years ago, when I was building my mansion, there was a piece of land next to my property which I wanted to be appended to mine to beautify my house further.
The land was the property of a widow whose husband had died, leaving behind several orphans. I wanted the woman to sell the property, but she refused. She said, ‘What would I do with the value of this plot of land? I would rather leave it for my children until they grow older. I fear that if I sell it, our wealth may scatter and we may have nothing left.’ I requested several times that she should sell it, but she always refused.
I said, ‘What did you do then?’
He said, ‘I used my own way of getting hold of her land.’
I said, ‘Your own way?’
He said, ‘Yes. I have many connections and know many people.
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I managed to get myself permission for construction on her land, and this is how I managed to attach the land to mine.’
I said, ‘And the orphans?’
He said, ‘She heard about what had happened to her land.
She used to come around and scream at the builders to try to prevent them from working, but they would simply laugh at her, thinking that she was mad! In reality, I was the one who was mad and not her. She used to cry and raise her hands to the sky. I saw this with my own eyes. Perhaps the prayers she made against me in the darkest hours of the night were even more serious…’
I said, ‘I see. Go ahead’ He said, ‘I went to look for her until I found her. I visited her and cried and begged her to forgive me. I stayed with her until she accepted my compensation for her land. She then prayed for me and forgave me. By Allah, as soon as she lowered her hands after praying, my hand felt better.
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.
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