In one of the great prophetic narrations which included few, yet very comprehensive words, the Prophet  clarified one of the means for salvation, and a sign of the excellence of Islam. This narration gives the believing slave a tool by which to measure himself and realize how close or far he is from the straight path.

Abu Hurayrah  reported that the Messenger of Allah  said: "It is from the excellence of (a believer's) Islam that he should shun that which is of no concern to him". [At-Tirmithi].

This narration contains many great meanings which a believer should understand and apply. It is one of the principles and foundations of good manners, and thus some scholars considered it to constitute one-third or one-fourth of the religion of Islam.

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may AllaAh have mercy upon him, said: “The Prophet  summed all the aspects of piety and devoutness in this narration. He  outlined for the slave what to do and what to shun, and it is an indication to the first pillar of soul purification, namely, shunning what does not concern the person, which leads to the second pillar, and that is busying oneself essentially with what concerns him”

He  clarified that shunning that which does not concern the person is a means to attain excellence in religion. This means, that people, in reality, are of two categories, those who are excellent in Islam and those who are not. The one who applies Islam inwardly and outwardly is the one who has reached the level of excellence , as Allah Says (what means): “And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth? And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend.” [Quran: 4:125].

On the other hand, the one who does not apply Islam inwardly and outwardly is the one whose degree of commitment to Islam is low, and one of the signs of this in him is that he busies himself in that which does not concern him.

The following verse is proof substantiating the meaning of the narration, in which Allah Says (what means): “And they who turn away from ill speech” [Quran: 23:3]. “… ill speech” is anything from falsehood, and that includes association, other minor sins and all useless speech, actions and concerns. Furthermore, busing oneself with that which does not concern him is included in the definition of “ill speech”.

There are other prophetic narrations which highlight the virtue of excellence in religion, such as the narration of Abu Hurayrah  in which he reported that the Messenger of Allah  said: "When one of you reaches the level of excellence in faith, then every good deed is multiplied for him ten times up to seven hundred times; and each sin is recorded as only one, until he meets Allah” [Muslim].

The saying of the Prophet : “… that which is of no concern to him" means, that which does not benefit him in his worldly life or the Hereafter, and this includes things that are prohibited, disliked, doubtful, and excess permissible matters which one does not really need.

The measure by which one knows whether something is of his concern or not, is Islamic teachings and not ones desires.

Many people decide to abandon enjoining good and forbidding evil under the pretext that this is interfering with people’s privacy and personal life. They would do so claiming that it is not a person’s concern to intervene in other people's affairs, basing their argument on an incorrect understanding of this very narration.  

Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq  said: “O you people! You recite and misinterpret the following verse (which means): `O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow the (right) guidance [and enjoin what is right (Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbid what is wrong (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden)] no hurt can come to you from those who are in error.` [Quran:5:105] But I have heard Messenger of Allah  saying: “When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from (doing evil), it is likely that Allah will punish them all.”” [Abu Dawood and At-Tirmithi]

In another narration he  said: “Never that evil is committed and people do not prevent it, though able to do so, but Allah will overwhelm them with punishment”.

One other thing that one must concern himself with is the affairs of other believers and their issues, because he who does not worry about the affairs of his fellow Muslims is not one of them.

The need to understand this narration, its implications and applications intensifies in times like ours, when people’s commitments and personal obligations have increased and priorities are mixed up.

The implementation of this narration is the first practical step toward reforming oneself and those under his guardianship and care which leads to achieving excellence in religion. This happens by concentrating on that which is beneficial and staying away from all that is not ones concern.

 

Anas reported that the Prophet said: “No one of you becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Islam, through its instructions and legislations, was keen to organize people’s relation with their Lord the Almighty, in order for them to attain happiness in both this life and the Hereafter. At the same time, Islam legislates what governs people’s relations amongst each other, in order for love and harmony to prevail in the Muslim community. This can be achieved only when each individual is keen to protect and guard the welfare of others just as he would his own, and only then will the Muslim community become strongly bonded and well-established.


For this great objective to be fulfilled, the Prophet guided his nation to accomplish the principle of solidarity saying: "No one of you becomes a true believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself", clarifying that for faith to become deeply rooted in the heart one must love good for others just as he likes to attain it himself, whether it is to be blessed with bounty or relieved from an agony; this is the path towards a perfect level of belief in ones heart.

If we ponder the above narration, we find that accomplishing such a state of belief requires the soul to possess a high degree of excellence and good manners when dealing with others. In this state a person overlooks mistakes, perseveres regardless of the harm others may afflict on him and forgives ill treatment. Additionally, he shares the joy and sadness of his fellow Muslims; he visits the sick, comforts the needy, sponsors the orphan, provides for the widow and offers help to others and cheers them with a smile.


Just as he likes people to be happy, he also wishes that they prosper in the Hereafter, and thus he always strives to guide them to the right path, whilst remembering the saying of Allah (what means): “And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, `Indeed, I am of the Muslims`” [Quran 41: 33]

The narration also goes beyond the boundaries of the Muslims to cover wanting good to reach disbelievers. He likes that Allah blesses them with the bounty of belief and that Allah rescues them from the darkness of associating with Allah and disobedience. This meaning is substantiated with the narration in which the Prophet said: "Being a true Muslim is achieved by loving for people what you love for yourself". [At-Tirmithi]

Indeed, we have the best example in our Prophet . Once Prophet advised Abu Thar : “O Abu Thar! I see that you are a weak person, and I love for you what I love for myself, so never be in charge of (even as little as) two people, or be responsible for an orphan’s wealth". [Muslim]

Our Salaf (righteous predecessors) took upon themselves the implication of this Prophetic advice, and were very sincere in its implementation in the best manner. Ibn ‘Abbas said: “I pass by a verse in the Book of Allah, and wish that all people would have the knowledge I have about it.”


Another such example is that once Wasi’ Ibn Muhammad wanted to sell his donkey and the man who was buying it from him said to him: “Do you think it is good for me”. He replied: “Had I not thought so, I would not have attempted to sell to you in the first place.”


These two examples and many more reflect the loftiness in faith these people reached which yielded such results.


One of the implications of the narration we are addressing is that a Muslim should not want for others what he hates to happen to himself. This forces the person to shun many bad qualities, like envy, spite, selfishness, stinginess and other dispraised qualities which he would hate people to use when dealing with him.

Finally, one of the fruits of practically applying this great narration is that a virtuous community would be established for the Muslims when its members enjoy common love and a strong bond between them, so that they resemble one strong body that can not easily be defeated. Thus, the Muslim nation would achieve the sought after prosperity.