Leave that which does not concern you

Abu Hurairah(R.A) said that the Messenger of Allah,(SAWS) said: “Part of perfection of one’s Islam is his leaving that which does not concern him.”  (Tirmidhi)

What happens when you are curious to know about things that do not concern you?

·        You are constantly distracted by the things others are doing and in the process you lose your focus thus reducing your productivity.

·        Lack of attention, concentration, loss of time while digging for information, and even dissatisfaction if you are unable to acquire that information.

·        You begin judging people based on what you have heard which could possibly be a lie.

·        This also makes people indulge in backbiting and slandering about others - both of which come under major sins.

·        You become more careless of your own sins, you’re lulled into complacency.

With the rise in the use of social media, which gives a platform to share personal information, though it is quite  a beneficial medium to share messages and connect people, however, has become a great cause of concern as people are constantly indulging in other people’s lives. And therefore this has produced a whole new level of an unproductive community.

Allah swt too filters information for us and provides us only that which we need. If we analyze the first 6 verses of surah Yusuf, we would be amazed as to how Allah has chosen to give us information in a particular format, letting us know a few things while not letting us know some things which are not very important for our imaan.

Allah says in surah Yusuf (Ch:12 V:1,3,6)

1-“Alif,  Laam, Raa, these are the verses of the Clear Book.”

3-“We relate to you the best of stories in what we have revealed to you of this Quran, and you were, before it, among the unaware.”

6-“….Indeed, your Lord is KNOWING and WISE.”

Subhan Allah! This is so amazing.

When we look at the first verse ‘Alif, Laam, Raa’ do we know its meaning? No.

But in the second half of the same verse Allah says, verses of Clear Book. Misleading!?

Third verse says it is one of the best story we have revealed and you were unaware.

Let us understand it:

Allah is only telling us those things that are important ,the meaning of “Alif,  Laam, Raa” is not imortant in terms of our faith, as Allah explains this in another Surah, Surah Ali Imraan (Ch 3: V 7)

“It is He who has sent down to you, the Book; in it are verses Muhkam (precise), they are foundation of the book-and others Mutashabih (unspecific). As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]…”

So here Allah is teaching us not to probe in things that do not concern us and Allah has given us a practical example in surah Yusuf. So we were unaware of the story of Yusuf (A.S) and Allah related it to us as it would help our imaan grow. So we realize us that Allah is selecting necessary information and relating only that to us. And Allah also choses to use two of his attributes i.e. KNOWING and WISE which further elucidate the beauty of the message that though Allah knows everything He is wise enough to give us only that which we need.

Lastly, Hasan Al-Basri said: “O son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days, whenever a day passes then part of you is gone.”

So why waste your precious time in those things that do not even concern us or benefit us in any way?

TIME is like a sword if you do not cut it, it will cut you!

And Allah knows the best. May Allah rectify our characters ad increase our Imaan.