As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
My brothers, my sisters,
when we correct someone,
when we notice that they have done something wrong,
they have said something wrong,
they have perhaps made a mistake somewhere,
we want to correct them.
We need to firstly have a genuine feeling
for that particular person.
We need to genuinely feel
if we were in their position
and we did something wrong,
how would we like them to have corrected us?
If we think about that as a starting point,
we would definitely be able to employ a
better method to actually correct them.
So,
when you think of it,
if I were doing something wrong,
how would I like someone to address the matter?
That is the way I should be addressing the
matter if someone else did something wrong.
The difficulty is we're quick to forget and we're quick to pounce.
Now,
that's the first point,
we need to put ourselves in their shoes.
Secondly,
think of the best possible way and think
of why you would like to correct them.
Do you want to correct them because you want to see them improve?
If that's the case,
you're a good person,
you're a believer,
you're a person who would like goodness for others.
And remember,
none of us are true believers until we do not like.
None of us are true believers until we like
for one another what we like for ourselves.
So,
in the same way I want for myself something,
I need to want for someone else the same thing.
Why am I correcting them?
Do I want to see them improve?
Do I want to see that they have achieved?
Or is my intention to disgrace them?
Is my intention to expose them?
Is my intention to punish them,
to penalize them?
If that's the case,
we're probably not going to go very far.
So,
if your intention is to penalize someone,
you'll punish them and that's it.
If your intention is to expose them,
a day will come when someone will expose you
because the trend becomes when someone makes a mistake,
forget about correcting them,
forget about telling them anything,
expose them,
disgrace them,
make an example of them and that's it.
Well,
a day will come when your lion will come and bite you.
So,
what you have reared will actually return to you.
Therefore,
it is wrong to want to expose someone and to get excited
and to get a kick out of seeing people struggling,
for example,
with their own honor or dignity or respect.
If they've made a mistake,
try to correct them in the best possible way.
So,
the mistake we make nowadays is we tend
to forget that we're all human beings,
we all falter different degrees.
Yes,
if it is a crime that is committed and we need for
that person to be punished as a result of the crime,
then it is something else.
For example,
a person who's stolen,
a person who's murdered,
a person who's committed rape,
a person who's done something really,
really unacceptable.
In that case,
we may want to report them,
we may want to seek assistance from a higher
authority to be able to deal with the matter.
But we still pray for the individual,
we still would like to see that they return to
the public life once again or to their own lives
once again in a way that they are transformed,
in a way that they are now,
you know,
back to where they were supposed to be.
So, this is connected to genuineness.
Many of us forget about being genuine to one another.
We forget about how it would be if we were in their shoes
and we just say things in a way that makes the matters worse.
We break relationships,
we don't mind what the world thinks of someone.
We actually forget about the goodness that the person may have done.
For example,
a person made a mistake in one matter
and in another 49 matters,
they have actually done very,
very well.
They have helped the world in goodness.
They have tried their best to help those around them,
their communities, their families and so on.
And all we did was because of one thing
that may not have been that big even,
we just destroyed them.
And we just exposed them,
disgraced them and tried to break
them up such that we block their life
and we close them down,
knock them out and that's it.
So, this is very sad.
We need to go back and reflect and see our intentions
and try and understand why is it that we want to
correct this person or what is it that we want to do
now that we know of the weakness of this person.
Some people will just rub their hands
together and get so excited and say,
yes,
I found something,
I'm going to nail this person,
I'm going to make sure that that's it,
it's the end of their life.
It's just a matter of time before that type
of behavior comes to us from someone else.
So,
let us try and make an effort to be genuine with one another
and to be able to actually learn to care for each other.
I think one of the biggest weaknesses we have today as mankind,
we've stopped caring for one another,
we don't even have feelings for one another.
You know,
to save a life is an act of worship
that could be rewarded with paradise.
So,
imagine we don't even show value for life today.
We're actually people who've forgotten that we're human beings.
We've forgotten our roots,
where we've come from and we pick on every
small thing in order to try and split us,
in order to try and show how different we are,
how much we will not be able to get along.
I believe we can get along.
As different as I look from you,
we can get along very,
very well.
If we just respect each other,
understand we have rights,
each one will have a different way of
looking at things perhaps and so on.
Let's be genuine towards one another.
My brothers and sisters,
what a beautiful message and I really believe
that if we spread this type of message,
we will have a better world.
And I do know that there are people
out there who share the same ideas.
The problem is those who have different views that are
extreme or views that happen to be those that create disaster,
hatred,
those that create disorder,
fighting,
killing,
etc.
Sometimes those are the views that are given importance in the media,
in the press,
etc.
and they're given coverage.
Whereas a good message of this nature is never given coverage.
We are trying our best to keep promoting
a message of caring for one another,
respecting one another.
You can discuss matters,
you can discuss your disagreements,
you can propagate what you believe is correct
in the most beautiful and respectful manner.
There's no need to become abusive,
disrespectful.
There's no need to become excited when someone makes a mistake.
Rather,
if you're a genuine human being,
you will want to help them.
You will want to see them correct themselves.
I see so many people who say messages of hate,
for example,
to me,
and I promise you,
nine times out of ten,
I feel in my heart,
I wish I could actually correct this
person such that they can see the beauty,
they can understand and realize,
you know,
we're actually all human beings.
We don't promote that which is evil,
vile,
that which is unacceptable,
but rather we do that which is correct and good.
Anyway, my brothers and sisters,
thank you so much for participating in the short live
session that I'll be posting up on YouTube in a few moments,
inshallah.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you all,
and I pray that you have lots of goodness.
Someone from Barbados inviting me there.
I think tonight when I close my eyes,
I'll probably end up in Barbados.
Okay,
that's just a joke,
but perhaps I will come there one day.
And definitely,
we believe in the Almighty and we seek help from the
Almighty and we ask Him to grant us a deep understanding
to be able to propagate the goodness to as many people as possible.
And we don't have to disrespect people,
and we will not lose the respect of anyone in the
process by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
I try my best to fulfill whatever obligations I have on my shoulders.
I try to be as best a Muslim as I can,
I try to be as good a Muslim as I can,
but we all have room for improvement.
Those of you who may not be Muslim as well,
I'm sure that you appreciate a message of goodness and respect.
We obviously, it's that which we reciprocate.
You know,
we respect each other and we definitely
need to appreciate the fact that
whenever something has gone wrong,
we want to try and deal with it in a way that solves the matter,
not deal with it in a way that creates
bigger matters and huger issues.
You know, you have a problem somewhere,
and sometimes you find people dealing with
it in a way that it displays hooliganism,
it displays an unnatural way of dealing with it,
it creates a bigger issue out of a small thing.
That's very dangerous.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless you all,
and I pray you enjoy the rest of your day wherever you are.
I say this,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.