Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
The Beautiful Approach Adopted by Our Pious Predecessors in Correcting People
Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) Correcting the Wudhu of an Elderly Person
On one occasion, an old man came to the city of Madinah Munawwarah. At the time of salaah, when he began to make wudhu, then Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) observed that he was performing his wudhu incorrectly. Their hearts were filled with concern for him, and hence they wished to correct him. However, at the same time, they did not want to embarrass him by openly correcting him.
Hence, they approached the old man, and one of them said, “My brother and I disagree over which one of us performs wudhu better. Please watch us performing wudhu and inform us as to which one of us performs wudhu more correctly. If we make a mistake in our wudhu, then please correct us.”
The man agreed and accordingly they both performed wudhu. The man watched them carefully, and as he observed them, he realised that he was the one whose wudhu was in need of correction, and that Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Husain (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) had asked him to observe their wudhu merely as a pretext to respectfully correct him and teach him the sunnah manner of performing wudhu.
Hence, he was grateful for this and remarked, “By Allah! I did not know how to perform wudhu before this. Now you have both taught me how to perform wudhu correctly.” (Manaaqib lil-Kardari 1/39)
Incident of Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir Dehlawi (rahimahullah) Correcting a Person
On one occasion, Hazrat Shah Abdul Qadir Saheb Dehlawi (rahimahullah) was delivering a lecture. While delivering the lecture, his gaze fell on a person in the audience whose pants was below his ankles. On noticing this, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) did not immediately correct him, as this would lead to his embarrassment.
However, at the same time, Hazrat Shah Saheb’s (rahimahullah) heart was filled with great concern for this person’s hidaayat. Hence, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) waited for the appropriate opportunity to address the person and correct him.
After Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) completed the lecture, he approached the person, and in a loving and polite manner, said to him, “My brother! Please wait for a few moments, as I need to speak to you.”
Once the people had left the musjid, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) addressed the person, and began to explain to him, with gentleness and compassion, saying, “My beloved brother! I have a problem, that at times, due to my old age, my pants falls below my ankles without me realizing it. I am very worried about this as there are severe warnings mentioned in the Hadith for people who let their pants hang below their ankles.”
Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) then mentioned some of these Ahaadith to the person. After mentioning the Ahaadith, Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) stood and said to the person, “Now please check my pants and tell me as to whether it is below my ankles or not.”
The person immediately realized that Hazrat Shah Saheb (rahimahullah) did not really have this problem in his life. Rather, he had mentioned this as an excuse to bring the person’s weakness to his attention without embarrassing him. Hence, he held onto Hazrat Shah Saheb’s (rahimahullah) feet and said, “Hazrat! This problem is not in you – rather it is in me! Today, I repent from this sin before you, and insha Allah, I will never commit this sin again in my life!”
(Hikaayaat-e-Awliyaa pg. 47 & Salaf-e-Saaliheen ke Imaan Afroz Waaqi’aat pg. 307)
