FRIDAY FOCUS: Focusing on Others’ Faults, Neglecting Our Own
ReflectionOnTheQuran,SelfReform ,Reminder On Sins of Tongue, RightsOfOthers
Dr Fiaz Maqbool Fazili
Syedna Umar RA on Muhasabah said,,”Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable and evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated, for the Reckoning will be easier upon you tomorrow if you hold yourselves accountable today.”
Can we resolve this Friday make a covenant with Allah swt , at least we will not commit this sin.. Stop .. sins of Tongue.This article intends to reach people with a humble appeal to everyone.
This Friday, can we make a sincere pledge to ourselves and before Allah—We will not commit this sin.Let us stop looking for the faults of others while forgetting our own. Let us guard our tongues, avoid exposing people’s shortcomings, and focus on our own اصلاح (self-reform), keeping the reflective and religious tone of the original.
Slowly one a day ,pledge that ,we make Islam( reform in our life style).,to put limit on Satan’s power and influence on our speech , spoken or wriiten words abd vocabulary used.When a person becomes so occupied with correcting others that he or she forgets to look within hims/ herself.
Have you ever noticed how quickly we see the mistakes of others?Someone may be falling short in prayer, speaking harshly, behaving improperly in their dealings, or showing weakness in character—we notice it immediately. Sometimes, we even know what they should do, how they should live, and how they should reform themselves.
But when the same questions are directed towards ourselves, our perspective changes.
For the mistakes of others, we have clear standards. For our own mistakes, we often have one explanation or another.
Accountability for others, leniency for ourselves.
And this is where today’s episode begins.
When the Desire to Reform Others Makes Us Forget Self-Accountability:
We know how a person can sometimes become so occupied with many seemingly good activities that he neglects his actual responsibility.
Today, this sacred day this piece intends to re- look at another aspect of the same reality.
Calling others towards goodness is a good deed. Advising someone about a mistake with sincerity and goodwill is also part of faith. But if doing so causes us to neglect our own reform, then we need to examine our hearts.
Allah Almighty says:“Do you enjoin righteousness upon others while forgetting yourselves, although you recite the Scripture? Will you not then understand?”
(Surah Al-Baqarah,). This verse warns those among the Children of Israel who encouraged others towards righteousness while neglecting to practise it themselves.
There is also an important lesson here for us.
The Qur’an is not saying that a person must become completely righteous before he can advise others. Rather, it reminds us that while calling others towards goodness, we must not forget ourselves.
Reform should begin with oneself, while its benefit should also reach others.
A Quiet Path of Satan:Imagine a person who spends every day on social media pointing out other people’s mistakes. He or she discusses religious matters, writes about society’s shortcomings, and reminds others of their responsibilities.
All of these activities may, in themselves, be beneficial.But at the same time, his own speech is becoming increasingly harsh. His or her family is troubled by his behaviour. A minor mistake by someone else becomes unbearable to him or her , while he or she calls his or her own harshness “speaking the truth.”
He / She becomes so busy correcting others that he or she leaves no time to correct him/ herself.Satan can take advantage of this very weakness. He / She may make a person feel that because he / she can identify the faults of others, he / she must surely be free from those same faults himself.Yet recognising an evil and being protected from it are two completely different things. A person may speak eloquently against arrogance, yet be unable to tolerate anyone disagreeing with him or her.
He /She may condemn backbiting, yet continue unnecessarily discussing the faults of others.
He /She may write about patience, yet lose his /her temper over the smallest matter at home.
These examples are not meant to judge others.. me first has to become an example to follow.They are meant to make us look within ourselves.
Know the difference between finding fault and sincere advice – often ignored or underplayed. There is an important distinction here. Seeing someone’s mistake and genuinely wanting to help them improve is not the same as searching for someone’s faults and discussing them in front of others.
Allah Almighty says:“And do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another.”
(Surah Al-Hujurat,)
Notice that the Qur’an does not merely prohibit backbiting. It also prohibits one of the paths that can lead to it: seeking out and exposing the private matters of others.
Social media has made this temptation even more apparent.- free for all , a most disobedient, deviant can incite,” fitna.. make people at lrage to question a pious man on integrity, piety.
We see someone’s video, a sentence they said, or a photograph, and without knowing their complete circumstances, settle for half story , we behave like moral priests, form an opinion about their character and onlookers( those who read your post , or comment as friend,click like- ,share and add further pan masala without thinking as if everyone has just washed off sins, fresh from umra, Haj , bathed in zamzam and are angelic character now.
Then sinful discussions , comments which amount to serious sins ,”tuhumat, buhtaan , nammemah ,”about their faults begin , like verdicts judgments in the comments.
Sometimes we do not even stop to think that while we are speaking about another person’s faults, our own tongue may itself be falling into sin., just one word is enough to nullify your all good deeds.
Referring to a well-known hadith about the grave consequences of careless speech., vocabulary, comment. The ProphetMuhammad ﷺ said:“Indeed, a person may utter a word which pleases Allah, not thinking much of it, and Allah raises him by it many degrees. And a person may utter a word which angers Allah, not thinking much of it, and because of it he falls into Hell.”There is also a closely related narration describing a person who says something without considering its consequences and falls into Hell farther than the distance between east and west. The key lesson is: a seemingly small word can have enormous consequences, so a Muslim should be careful about what they say—especially words concerning Allah, Islam, other people, or matters that could cause harm.
At the same time, remaining silent about every wrongdoing is not necessarily correct. Silence is not golden always. Where someone’s rights are being violated, injustice is taking place, or people are being harmed, open disobedience , sins are taking place using Prophet (saw)way of correcting mistakes ,tone, communication skills, appropriate advice, tactfully conveying( complaint) , or truthful testimony may be necessary.The difference lies in intention, necessity, justice, and the manner in which it is done.
An Explanation for Our Own Mistakes, a Verdict for Others: How bizzare and duplicity is in our character. Another weakness of the human self is that we know the circumstances behind our own mistakes, while we often judge the mistakes of others merely by what we see them doing.When we speak harshly to someone, we say:“I was very w today.”
When someone else speaks harshly to us, we immediately say: “That person has no manners.” When we delay fulfilling a promise, we have a reason.When someone else delays, we see irresponsibility in them.It is not necessary that Satan is always the cause of such thoughts. Our own ego, habits, and excessive attachment to ourselves can also contribute to this behaviour. But Satan can use these weaknesses to take us even further away from self-accountability.
That is why the Qur’an turns our attention towards ourselves: “Rather, man is a witness against himself, even though he may offer his excuses.”(Surah Al-Qiyamah,)These verses place us before the truth within ourselves.
We may explain our mistakes to the world, but it is not always easy to conceal every truth from our own conscience.And nothing is hidden from Allah.
What Can the Mistakes of Others Teach Us?
When we notice a weakness in another person, our first response does not necessarily have to be criticism.We can also ask ourselves:
Could this same weakness exist within me in another form?Have I ever hurt someone’s heart in a similar way?Can I choose a better and more dignified way to help this person improve?Do I want the same gentleness for myself when I make a mistake that I expect from others?In this way, the mistakes we see in others can become an opportunity for self-accountability rather than self-righteousness.
Where Does Satan’s Power End?
Satan may try to keep us occupied with the faults of others, but he cannot force us to abandon self-accountability.We can choose to examine our own words before discussing someone else’s faults.We can correct our own behaviour while advising another person.We can admit our mistakes, apologise, and refrain from unnecessarily exposing someone’s private weaknesses.
Remember: self-accountability does not mean constantly thinking badly of yourself. Its purpose is to recognise your weaknesses and move towards improvement.Searching for the faults of others may sharpen your ability to observe, but recognising your own faults can improve your character.
Tonight, before going to sleep, take a few moments for yourself.Remember one mistake you noticed in someone else during the day. Then ask your heart:“Am I completely free from this same fault?”Perhaps that one question will lead you towards a reform that you have needed for a very long time.When a person keeps looking at the lives, wealth and success of others until he forgets to be grateful for his own blessings.
If this reflection has given you an opportunity to look within yourself, share it with others as well.And rather than mentioning someone else’s faults in the comments, share one aspect of your own character that you would like to work on.
May Allah help us recognise our own weaknesses before we become occupied with those of others. Ameen.May Allah forgive me for any mistakes in my translation or interpretation. Any errors are mine.
(STRAIGHT TALK COMMUNICATIONS EXCLUSIVE)
