Thursday 7 Rabi‘ at-akhir 1446 - 10 October 2024
English

He wants to teach his colleagues, but they turn away from him and are jealous of him

Question

I think to myself that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has made me someone who loves to spread good and has a sincere intention, although I do not praise myself, and I sincerely want to spread good and knowledge among my colleagues, but because of matters having to do with jealousy and aversion on their part, I do not get any response from them. I want to know:
  1. Should I persist with them despite what I see and hear of jealousy, aversion and lack of acceptance?
  2. What can I do so that they will respond to me?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

These things are things that a person usually encounters when he seeks to call people to goodness. The one who wants to call people to Allah and to teach them good should strive to be patient and kind, and to follow the path of wisdom.

If some of these colleagues want to learn, and others do not, then what you should do is persist in presenting your lessons to those who want to learn, and do not stop doing good.

But if you find that some of them are envious or jealous, then what is appropriate for the teacher of good is to be patient and overlook their ignorance, as is characteristic of the slaves of the Most Merciful.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace” [al-Furqaan 25:63].

And you should respond to their mistreatment with kindness; perhaps that will change what is in their hearts and will frustrate the schemes of the Shaytaan and his efforts to mislead people.

But if all of them reject your exhortations, then the wise approach is not to force that on them, because that does not usually lead to any benefit; rather it will lead to them stubbornly rejecting the truth.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided” [an-Nahl 16:125].

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Wisdom means doing what is appropriate, at the appropriate time, speaking appropriate words, saying what is appropriate, because in some places and at some times it is not appropriate to preach or exhort people.

Moreover, with some people it is not appropriate to exhort them in some situations; rather you should wait until they are ready to accept exhortation.

End quote from Sharh Riyaadh as-Saaliheen (4/73).

If your colleagues at work do not want to learn from you, then look for others who are keen to benefit and learn.

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A