Our Beloved (pbuh) and the way he reasoned with people

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء  والمرسلين
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers

Reasoning with People

Often times we are faced with people who do offensive things; who have scary views or are unreasonable; or who are self-righteous. The things they do or say make us angry or at least irritated, and it seems that they do not want to be reasoned with. Yet the Prophet (pbuh) always took the high ground when it came to these situations:

A young man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Give me permission to commit zina (fornication/adultery).” The people surrounded him and rebuked him, saying, “Stop! Stop!”
But the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Come close.” The young man came to him, and he said, “Sit down,” so he sat down.
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Would you like it (fornication) for your mother?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Neither do the people like it for their mothers.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Would you like it for your daughter?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Neither do the people like it for their daughters.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Would you like it for your sister?” He said, “No, by Allah, may I be ransomed for you.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Neither do the people like it for their sisters.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Would you like it for your paternal aunt?” He said, “No, by Allah, O Allah’s Messenger! May I be ransomed for you.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Neither do the people like it for their paternal aunts.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Would you like it for your maternal aunt?” He said, “No, by Allah, O Allah’s Messenger! May I be ransomed for you.”
The Prophet  (pbuh) said, “Neither do the people like it for their maternal aunts.”
Then the Prophet  (pbuh) put his hand on him and said, “O Allah, forgive his sin, purify his heart, and guard his chastity.” After that the young man never paid attention to anything of that nature.
(Imam Ahmad)

Consider the difference between the Companions’ reactions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Prophet (pbuh). Sometimes, even when both parties know that a certain thing is wrong, it is not enough just to say “It is wrong!”. The Prophet (pbuh) always explained things to people in a way that they would understand. If, after that, people continue to argue for no reason, then one has done his duty. But the duty itself is to take people by the hand and explain things with intellect, in a manner that suits the particular context. For example, one cannot in the name of ‘good advice’ shout at a woman in the middle of the road for not wearing hijab, and then say “I was commanding the good”. This is a far out example, but unfortunately it does happen in this day and age. This only serves to isolate people and turn them away from the religion. Imagine if the Prophet’s (pbuh) way had been such…?

An interesting article also explains this: http://www.suhaibwebb.com/blog/contributions/how-to-reason-with-bigots-who-lose-their-state-of-mind-abubakar-kasim/

Simple Sunnah

The Messenger of God (pbuh) said:

“Say grace (bismillah) [before you eat]; eat with your right hand; and eat what is close at hand”
(Bukhari and Muslim)

May Allah put love in our hearts for His beloved Messenger (pbuh), and may we follow in his blessed footsteps and may we be of those fortunate enough to drink from his noble hands on the Day of Judgment. Ameen.