Enjoy Your Life

People are like the minerals of the earth

If we reflect upon our experiences with others, we find that people have different natures like the varying nature of the land. There are those who are soft, and those who are hard. There are those who are generous, like a fertile land, and those who are miserly, like a barren field that can neither hold water, nor produce fruit. People, therefore, differ immensely.

On reflection, we know that various terrains are traversed in different ways. The manner in which solid ground is walked upon is certainly not the way soft ground is. One would be relaxed walking on the former while apprehensive on the latter. Human beings are of a similar nature.

The Prophet Peace be upon him said, "Allah created Adam from a handful of dust taken from different lands, so the children of Adam have been created according to the composition of the land. Therefore from mankind we have red, white, black and what comes in between these; we have good and evil, easygoing and sorrowful." (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi who said it Hasan Sahih)

Bear this in mind when dealing with others whether they are close, such as fathers, mothers, wives or children, or otherwise, such as neighbours, colleagues or even shopkeepers.

People's various natures and temperaments have an effect on their decisions. To prove this point, carry out the following experiment: If you ever have a problem with your wife, ask a friend of yours, whom you know to be harsh, for advice. Say to him, "My wife is giving me problems. She does not treat me with respect. What should I do?"

He would probably respond with, "Women can only be controlled by terror, fury and rage! Have a strong personality and show her that you are a man!" If you follow this advice, you may subsequently return home and as a result, break up your family.

Now, try another friend whom you know to be soft and gentle. Tell him what you told your previous friend. You will find that he would probably say something like, "Dear brother, she is the mother of your children. All marriages have problems. Have patience with her regardless of what happens. She is, after all, your wife and your life partner."

Note how a person's nature affects his views and decisions. For this reason, the Prophet Peace be upon him forbade that a judge should pass a verdict when he is either thirsty, hungry or even feeling the urge to answer the call of nature. This is because these matters may affect a person, and subsequently influence his decisions and judgements.

In a previous era, there lived a mass murderer. Yes, a mass murderer who did not kill one, two, or even ten people. No, he had killed ninety-nine. I have no idea how this man managed to escape revenge; perhaps, he was so ruthless that none would ever dare approach him, or perhaps he kept in hiding. The important fact here though is that he was guilty of ninety-nine murders. One day, the idea of repentance crossed his mind, so he decided to ask the most knowledgeable scholar in the world. People pointed him in the direction of a monk in a monastery who would never leave his prayer mat, spending all his time praying to Allah and weeping.

The man visited the monk, stood in front of him and asked, "I have killed ninety-nine souls. Could I still repent?"

How could this monk, who I think if he were to have killed an ant mistakenly would have spent the rest of his life weeping, respond to a person who had murdered ninety-nine people with his bare hands? The monk was furious. It was as if the man standing in front of him was the embodiment of the ninety-nine corpses! He yelled, "There is no repentance for you! There is no repentance for you!"

It should come as no surprise that such a response would be given by a monk who lacked knowledge and made emotional decisions. When the murderer heard this response he was enraged. Being the callous person he was, he grabbed a knife and repeatedly stabbed the monk, cutting him into pieces, then stormed out of the monastery.