Beware of dark suspicion against the Muslims
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إِيَّاكُمْ وَ الظَّنَّ ، فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيثِ
Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa salam) said: Beware of suspicion, because verily suspicion is the worst of false tales.
Muslim 410
Lessons from this hadeeth:
· Shaykul Islam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab mentioned this hadeeth in his book , ” Major Sins “
· Having worst suspicion about the Muslims is a major sin. Reason being, the origin of a Muslim is honesty and honor. Therefore , you shouldn’t have dark suspicion concerning your Muslim brother, if you don’t have any sound proof for what you suspect. To merely accuse your brother of something without any proof is a MAJOR SIN.
· Allah has ordered us to avoid suspicion. He says ; O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicion is a grave sin (49: 12).Allah says ( MUCH) because some suspicion is a sin. Therefore you must avoid much suspicion out of fear for falling into a little. This verse shows the danger of dark and nasty suspicion about the Muslims.
· If something reaches you or touches inside your heart about your brother, you mustn’t be hasty about it. You need to confirm and be sure about the issue. Perhaps the person who told you about the issue concerning your brother is an evil liar or the thought that came to your mind about your brother is from Shaytaan. Allah says: ((O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.(( 49: 6))
· If only some of the students of knowledge would warn against evil suspicion towards the Muslims. If only some students of knowledge would warn against slandering the honor of a scholar or a student of knowledge. You witness many students of knowledge accusing and describing people of knowledge with hizbiyah and being indoctrinated without establishing or closely investigating facts. Also, when it is confirmed that a person had some errors or made some odd remarks, then the way to cure this is through advise, seeking clarity and explanation.
· Relying on speech and suspicion are a means to cause rift and fights between brothers. This is a serious issue and Allah has warned us against it. (Explanation of Kitabul Kaba’ir page 344-345 by Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan Al-Fawzan)
Translated by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle