An Incident In The Life Of Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه

An Incident In The Life Of Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه

Every Muslim knows Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه. Allah had inspired him with tremendous love for religion and its dispersion. He would not miss an opportunity to talk about religion. Wherever he went, he would give the call and invite people to work for Islam. It is related about him that someone used to visit him regularly and he came to him for many days. But, he had not grown a beard. When he had come for many days, Maulana Ilyas thought that he was well-acquainted so he said to him, "Brother, I wish that you too adopt the Sunnah of the beard." That man felt ashamed on healing him say that and did not turn up the next day onwards. Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه felt very sorry for that and repented to his companions that he had made a mistake and not waited for the proper opportunity. The result of his hasty action was that the man had stopped visiting him. "If he had been coming, at least, he would have heard something about religion regularly. It would have been beneficial." Anyone else looking at it outwardly would have said that if a person does something wrong we must tell him orally because the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم has said. "If you cannot prevent evil physically, at least, speak against it with your tongue." But, here the oral utterance proved disadvantageous because that man's
mind was still not prepared for advice. It is wisdom that chooses the right time for an action and how it should be done. Religious work is not like throwing stones at will, neither is it a duty that one may ignore. The speaker must assess the situation and see what results he might get, and how will his efforts be received. If it is likely that the results would be adverse then it is better to defer the attempt. This deferment also comes under the inability exemption (that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم has defined).