Angels in Your Presence
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Episode 8: Responding to Your Haters
The greatest test of good character is how one deals with someone with bad character. The greatest blessing of resisting aggression, is gaining the support of the angels.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. So as you've got the angels reigns on your head and we talked about this idea that Allah increases a person in honor with their humility. Your greatest test of humility and honor is going to come when you meet someone who has absolutely none of those things, right? And so you encounter people of no character. As Imam Al-Ghazali rahim Allah Ta'ala said, the greatest test of husnul khuluq, of good character is how a person deals with someone with su'ul khuluq, with bad character, right? That's where the flaws of the tongue come out. That's where the flaws of character, the flaws of the heart, arrogance, pride, so many of those things manifest in how you're going to deal with someone. You get to work, you meet someone that's being a jerk to you or, you know, you're on social media and you see someone that's saying certain things to you. Think about this incident that took place with the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and Abu Bakr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was sitting with Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu and a man started to insult the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and insult Abu Bakr. Now the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was doing what he always did, which was responding with patience. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not entertain the insults in any way whatsoever, and he definitely did not respond in like manner. Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu, who loved the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam more than he loved himself, is witnessing those insults. And finally, he can't hold himself and he responds. As soon as he responds, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam gets up and he leaves. Now Abu Bakr, seeing the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam get up and leave, is afraid that he may have offended the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam or that the Prophet was upset with him. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is sitting and Abu Bakr comes to him and he says, oh messenger of Allah, are you upset with me? Is it something that I did? And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that when we were sitting there, before we were responding to those insults, Allah had sent an angel from the heavens and that angel was responding to everything that was being said to us.
And then as soon as you started to respond, the angel left and a devil came and sat in its place. A shaitan came and sat in its place and the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, I did not want to sit in the presence of that shaitan. SubhanAllah, think about that. An angel, a specific angel was sent down to respond. And then as soon as the angel, as soon as you respond on your part, the angel leaves and a shaitan comes and basically eggs you on. And that's why the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that strength is not in how you overcome another person. Strength is actually in how you overcome yourself. Allathee yamliku nafsahu aindal ghadab Very powerful usage of language. The one who owns himself still controls themself in times of anger, in times of rage, right? They're still in the driver's seat because ultimately what usually happens is that whether someone is speaking to you in a certain way in person or online now, since most of our interactions are on social media, right? Wherever that is, you tend to respond out of the sense of pride. And in the process of that, you let shaitan, you let the devil into the driver's seat and you take the passenger seat. And that's why you would say things in fits of rage that you otherwise would never say. And so controlling yourself by yielding to the angel to respond on your behalf is what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is teaching us with this. And when you do that, Ibn Al-Qayyim Rahimahullah, he said something very powerful. He said that not only do you cause the shaitan to miss you with his arrows, but you also cause him to waste arrows. So you're making the shaitan despair in you, in being able to get you out of your element so that you start to respond to someone with bad character, with bad character as well. And again, connected to the previous hadith, the angel raises your reins, raises your sight in the sight of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, raises your station in the sight of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Wahab Ibn Munabbah Rahimahullah Ta'ala, a man came to him and he said, so-and-so said this about you.
Wahab Ibn Munabbah said, did shaitan not find a postman, a mailman other than you? Stop acting like the shaitan's mailman. I'm okay. I'm good. I'm in my element. The angels will take care because I said, Bismillah, tawakkaltu AAala Allah wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. I put my trust in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. I was told that I would be defended. Fasayak fee kahumullah and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will surely suffice you through those angels that he has sent. I don't feel the need to denigrate myself by responding in like manner. So I remain dignified in the sight of insult and in the process Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala honors me bi-ibn Allah Ta'ala. We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to honor us all.
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