CORRECTING PEOPLE’S MISTAKES

CORRECTING PEOPLE’S MISTAKES The Prophetic Approach I T has been recorded in the books of Hadith (compilation of the sayings and deeds of the Prophet) that the Prophet was once present at the Masjid-an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Madinah along with some of his Companions when a Bedouin—an uncouth tribesman from the desert, entered the mosque and began urinating in a corner. The Prophet’s Companions rushed to stop him forcibly and were about to beat him, but the Prophet forbade them to do so. When the man had finished urinating, the Prophet merely asked his Companions to wash the place clean with a bucket of water. The Prophet then called the Bedouin and explained to him, “Mosques are intended solely for worshipping and remembering God. It is not proper to urinate or defecate in a mosque.” The Bedouin was impressed by the gentleness of this admonition, considering how outrageous his behaviour had been. If, prior to this, his rusticity had been what conditioned his behaviour, now it was his conscience which gained the upper hand. With his conscience thoroughly awakened, he went back to his tribe. He went on telling everyone about how he had desecrated the mosque in Madinah without the Prophet rebuking him or venting his anger upon him. He explained over and over again how all the Prophet had done was to have the despoiled spot washed with water. When the Prophet Muhammad was presented in such a light by the Bedouin, it paved the way for the whole of his tribe to enter the fold of Islam. Only one member of the tribe had come to the mosque and experienced the gentleness of the Prophet at a time when he was provoked. It resulted in all the members of the tribe coming to the mosque to worship the one God in all humility and submission. This is an incident from the time of the Prophet. Here are a few incidents from recent history. In 1831 Syed Ahmad Shaheed Barelvi heard the rumour that certain mosques were being used as stables for the horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab. Without waiting for confirmation of this rumour and without making any further investigations of his own he gathered a number of Muslims and headed to Punjab to clash with the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Most of his army was killed or captured, while he was beheaded. According to one account, the earth of Punjab was soaked with Muslim blood.