The Art of Principled Disagreement and Decision Making

Narrated by: Muftī Muhammad Taqī ʿUsmānī (may Allah ﷻ preserve him)¹

My father, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muftī Ṣāḥib, had a habit of reviewing everything I wrote. I presented a book of about 200-250 pages to him. After listening to the entire book, he asked me,

Tell me, why did you write this book? Did you write it so that those who already support you and share your views would praise you and say, ‘Wow, what a brilliant response, a fitting reply!’? Or did you write it so that those who are under a misunderstanding would read it and recognise the truth? Tell me, which one is it?

If you wrote it to correct a misunderstanding, then understand well that your sarcastic and critical tone will never correct anyone’s misunderstanding. Anyone who reads this book with such a tone will dismiss it, thinking it is just another book full of criticism and mockery, and will not pay attention to it. However, if you wrote it to gain praise from like-minded people, then you have certainly succeeded. You have crafted a brilliant response and made sharp remarks, and in that, you have indeed succeeded. So, tell me, which one is it?

I had no answer to this. I said, ‘Ḥaḍrat, you are absolutely right.’ He continued,

Understand well that sarcasm and criticism never lead to reform. The prophetic method is that even if the Prophets عليهم السلام were insulted, they did not respond with insults. When Prophet Hūd عليه السلام was called a fool, he responded, ‘My people, I am by no means a fool but rather am a Messenger from the Lord of all the worlds’ (7:67). If today, someone were to call a scholar or a leader a fool and a liar in a public gathering, the response would likely be, ‘You are a fool, your father is a fool and your grandfather is a fool.’ But what did the Prophet عليه السلام say? ‘My people, I am by no means a fool but rather am a Messenger from the Lord of all the worlds’ (7:67).

When Prophet Mūsā عليه السلام was sent to Pharaoh, Allah ﷻ knew that Pharaoh was a tyrant. Yet, Mūsā and Hārūn عليهما السلام were instructed to speak gently to him, hoping that he might take heed or fear Allah ﷻ. Even though Allah ﷻ knew that Pharaoh would not accept the message, the Prophets عليهما السلام were still instructed to hope for his guidance and speak gently.

So, where did you learn to criticise and mock your opponents? This is not the way of the Prophets عليهم السلام.

Therefore, Ḥaḍrat told me, ‘Understand this well!’ Alḥamduli’llāh, his words deeply affected me, and I rewrote the entire book, removing all the sarcastic remarks. At that moment, Ḥaḍrat said something that I want to share:

Whenever you say or write something, first think about whether you can prove it in a court of law. If you are confident that you can prove it in court, then go ahead and say or write it. But if you cannot, then do not say or write it. Because it is possible that you may be asked to prove it in this world, and if not in this world, then certainly in the Hereafter. In the court of Allah ﷻ, everything will be presented, and you will have to prove it. If you cannot prove it, then do not say it. Every word that comes out of a person’s mouth will be weighed.

¹ Transcribed from an audio clip.