Arguing

"And the (faithful) slaves of the Most Gracious (Allâh) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild words of gentleness." Quran 25: 63

The verse above is from surah al-furqan (the Criterion). It speaks about the slaves of Ar-Rahman, one of the most significat and common names of Allah in the Quran. In fact, as you all know, there is a whole surah with the title Ar-Rahman.

The first two virtues to qualify as the slaves of the Most Gracious is humility, and to avoid argumentation and just say 'salaam' to the 'jaahiloon' (ignorant low lifes) who are trying to stir up a quarrel. (This verse is one of the evidences used by scholars who allow giving the Salaam to non-muslims. My esteemed teacher Shaykh Sohaib Saeed wrote a very good article on it which can be read here.)

Thus if we truly wish to embody the virtue of rahman (mercy/graciousness) within ourselves, then we must work on humility first and foremost. The second virtue of staying our of argumentation can only be achieved if we have humility.

Avoiding argumentation is not easy and especially difficult in today's world of information technology when what is 'said' in social media for example can be so easily misunderstood/misinterpreted due to the lack of context and intonation. Not forgetting too the fact that even the most coward of people suddenly become aggressive and quarrelsome because they are doing it behind a screen, sometimes anonymously with silly pseudonyms. It gives an illusion of safety and security, that one has the right to say whatever wants without worrying about the repercussions of one's words. These people wouldn't dare being so argumentative in real life for fear of being punched in the face, but in the cyber world, everyone suddenly becomes so audacious!

The believer of course should know better because Allah the Oft-Hearing and Oft-Seeing hears and sees all, and His angels are always writing:




"Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)" Quran (Qaf) 45:18


And that is why, in surah al-isra' Allah tells Rasulullah SAW to remind us to speak words which are not just good but the best(ahsan), so Syaitan has no opportunity to create rifts between us:


"And say to My slaves that they should (only) say those words that are the best. (Because) Shaitân (Satan) verily, sows state of conflict and disagreements among them. Surely, Shaitân (Satan) is to man a plain enemy." Quran (al-isra') 17:53

I am perhaps one of those people who have fallen into Syaitan's trap so many times, and am terribly guilty of unnecessary arguments. Healthy debates are good, but if things are starting to get out of hand with name calling and harsh words, then it's best to stop debating immeaditely lest we start arguing.

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

“The most hated man (person) to Allah is the one who is the most quarrelsome of the opponents.” [Sahih Bukhari]

And being hated by Allah is no small matter, wal'iyazubillah (We seek refuge from Allah). On the flipside, Rasulullah SAW:

“Whoever does not argue when he is in the wrong will have a home built for him on the edge of Paradise. Whoever avoids it when he in the right will have a home built for him in the middle of Paradise. And whoever improves his own character, a home will be built for him in the highest part of Paradise.” [Tirmidhi]

May Allah grant us the humility we need, not only so we stay away from arguments, but more importantly so we may be worthy of being amongst those He calls as 'ibadurrahman (the slaves of the Most Gracious).