An Islamic Treasury of Virtues
9. Manners In Society
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Basri, all of which appear in the Qur’an: “There is
the malicious revelation of unwelcome truths,
ghibat,
irresponsible rumour-mongering
(ifk)
and
deliberate misrepresentation
(buhtan).
HOW A BELIEVER SHOULD TREAT OTHERS
Describing the Prophet’s qualities, Ali ibn Abu
Talib said: “Three things-quarrelling, arrogance and
vain pursuits-he eschewed as far as he himself was
concerned. And three things he eschewed as far as
others were concerned. He did not find fault, lay
blame or seek to expose anyone’s weak points. Only
when there was hope of reward from God would he
hold forth.”
(AL-TIRMIDHI,
SHAMA’IL)
BEING SPARING OF WORDS AND NOT
THINKING ILL OF ANYONE
When visitors to a Companion
(Sahabi)
who lay
dying saw that his face was shining, they asked
him the reason. He replied that he had two
habits, which had stood him in good stead: “I
used not to speak about matters that were no