- So, as you've got the angel's reins 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 (r) said:
the greatest test of
"husn al-khuluq,"
of good character,
is how a person deals with someone with
"suu' al-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 gonna deal with someone.
You get to work, you meet someone
that's being a jerk to you or 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 (pbuh) and Abu Bakr (r).
The Prophet (pbuh) was sitting with Abu Bakr (r)
and a man started to insult the Prophet (pbuh)
and insult Abu Bakr.
Now, the Prophet (pbuh) was doing
what he always did, which was responding with patience.
The Prophet (pbuh) did not entertain the insults,
in any way whatsoever.
He definitely did not respond in like manner.
Abu Bakr (r), who loved the Prophet (pbuh)
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 (pbuh)
gets up and he leaves.
Now Abu Bakr (r), seeing the Prophet (pbuh)
get up and leave, is afraid that
he may have offended the Prophet (pbuh),
or that the Prophet was upset with him.
So the Prophet (pbuh) is sitting
and Abu Bakr (r) comes to him and he says:
"Oh Messenger of Allah, are you upset with me?
Is it something that I did?"
And the Prophet (pbuh) 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 shaytan came and sat in its place,
and the Prophet (pbuh) said:
"I did not want to sit in the presence of that shaytan."
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 shaytan comes and basically eggs you on.
And that's why the Prophet (pbuh) said
that "Strength is not in how you overcome another person.
Strength is actually how you overcome yourself."
"Alladhi yamliku nafsahu 'ind al-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 shaytan, you let the devil into
the driver's seat and you take the passenger's seat.
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 (pbuh)
is teaching us with this. And when you do that,
Ibn al-Qayyim (r) said something very powerful:
he said that, "Not only do you cause the shaytan
to miss you with his arrows,
but you also cause him to waste arrows."
So you're making the shaytan 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 (swt),
raises your station in the sight of Allah (swt).
Wahb ibn Munabbih (r) came to him, and he said:
"So and so said this about you."
Wahb ibn Munabbih said, "Did shaytan not find a postman,
a mailman, other than you?"
Stop acting like the shaytan's mailman.
I'm okay, I'm good, I'm in my element,
the angels will take care,
because I said "bismillah, tawakkaltu 'ala Allah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah."
I put my trust in Allah (swt),
I was told that I would be defended.
"Fasayakfeekahum Allah."
And Allah (swt) 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 (swt)
honors me, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala. (with His permission)
We ask Allah (swt) to honor us all.