Taking offence for the sake of Allah

One who maintains good character sincerely for the sake of Allah, will maintain good character with everyone. There are some people who are kind to their friends but display haughtiness to others. Recently, I was leaving a Masjid and one man introduced me to his friend. He referred to him with a deeply insulting nickname. I was shocked. However, they were both laughing at the mere mention of the insult.

If another individual spoke to him in a similarly insulting manner and he were to get angered, that shows insincerity. It shows his tolerance varies depending on who he is speaking to, rather than the pleasure of Allah. If his tolerance was for the sake of Allah then he would react the same, regardless of who insulted him, because his intentions are always for the same being – Allah. Hence we find, our pious predecessors maintained good character with everyone. They hoped in reward from Allah alone, not people. May Allah make us from amongst the pious, Aameen.

— Shaykh Dawood Seedat حفظه اللّٰه

Above is an extract from Shaykh’s talk on 11/3/19 in Masjid-ut-Taqwa, Pietermaritzburg. To listen to the full audio, please click here.