Oops, my bad, and a new blog feature!

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu everyone!

In one of my recent posts (a survey about myself), I answered a question asking what my favorite hadith was, and I said that it was when Prophet Muhammad (saw) cried because he would never know his future ummah. I searched for this hadith, and there are similar ones that talk about the Prophet (saw) crying over the fate of the future Muslims, and calling Muslims "my ummah", but I couldn't find a hadith that matched what I wrote. Astaghfirullah, and I apologize for writing about a (potentially) false hadith.

On a positive note, as I was searching for this hadith, I came across many other very lovely, authentic hadiths that illustrated the beautiful character of the Prophet (saw). Since I found so many, and since one of my goals is to try and learn more about the life of the Prophet (saw) and increase my love for him, Insha'Allah I would like to occasionally post some of the hadiths I especially liked on here. Think of them as "food for thought" and as examples of what we should strive to be like.

To start out: "Anas ibn Malik reports: “God’s messenger was sitting in the mosque with some of his companions when a Bedouin urinated inside the mosque. The Prophet’s companions said: ‘What is going on?’ ‘What are you doing?’ The Prophet said to them: ‘Do not interrupt him.’ He subsequently called the man and said to him: ‘These mosques are not the place where one can throw any dirt, urine or stools. They are meant for reciting the Qur’an, glorifying God and prayer.’ He then called for a bucket of water and he poured it over the urine.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nassaie, Malik and Ahmad)."

Subhanallah, this is a perfect example of sabr (patience) and GOOD naseeha (advice)! As Muslims, we are encouraged to "enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil", and also to actively try and correct wrongs. However, there are good and not-so-good ways to do this. There are so many complaints of Muslims that are quick to point out other people's mistakes, or who give "naseeha" when in reality they come across as overly critical and maybe even self-righteous. Running over to the Bedouin and yelling at him in front of everyone would have been very embarrassing and harsh, and may have dissuaded the Bedouin from coming to the masjid again (just like today, when people are hesitant to attend the masjid because they are afraid of being criticized by others). Instead, the Prophet (saw) waited until the Bedouin was done, and then told him, without getting angry and without even directly "blaming" or "calling out" the man on his fault, that this was not something that was appropriate to do in a masjid. After that, he himself cleaned up after the man and left it at that. In this hadith, it seems that we are actually given steps on how to properly give naseeha: first, wait for an appropriate time to speak with the person directly about their error (i.e. not in front of other people, and not even necessarily while they're committing the act); next, explain to them the error in their behavior in a non-accusatory manner (i.e. no blaming them or making them feel bad; this is actually a technique used in problem-solving today called using "I" language, where instead of saying something vague and condemning like "you're such a jerk!", you'd say something specific and non-accusatory like "I feel upset when you call me that name"); and finally help them to fix their behavior (or help them repair any damage their behavior may have done, like cleaning up their mess as the Prophet (saw) did).

Insha'Allah, we will all remember this and put the Prophet's (saw) example into practice when we feel compelled to give naseeha!