THOUGHTS WORTH CONSIDERING HAJR JAMEEL

HAJR JAMEEL (GRACEFUL AVOIDANCE) And bear with patience what they say, and turn away from them with grace. The English translation of the verse would be: Endure patiently whatever they say, and decently avoid them. This verse was revealed during the Makkan period. At that time, the polytheists of Makkah held power. They believed that the Prophet and his companions had strayed from their ancestral religion. As a result, they began to persecute the Prophet and his followers, subjecting them to all kinds of suffering. It was in this environment that this Quranic verse was revealed. In it, God commanded them to be patient and to adopt the method of hajr jameel. The literal meaning of hajr jameel is to part in a beautiful way. This means that persecutors should be dealt with through graceful avoidance. The response to them should not be negative, but instead, involve positive conduct. One should overlook their actions and, in response to their harshness, adopt a better and more gracious manner. Commentators generally state that the command of patience and hajr jameel was abrogated after the revelation of the verses related to combat. However, this is an incorrect interpretation. Hajr jameel (graceful avoidance) is not an act of helplessness; it is a positive attitude of the believer. In reality, a believer cannot afford to react