Chapter V: Duties Towards Companions and Friends
The Prophet said: The worst servants near God are those roam with slander and create separation in friendship . When one man committed a sin, his friend rebuked him. Then the Prophet said to him : Stop , don't rebuke him. Don't be a helper of the devil in the matter of your friend/' So it is better to keep away from the great sinners from the very beginning than to serve friendship with them after it is made. Imam Shafeyi said : If a man's anger is aroused but his anger does not arise, he is an ass. If a man's pleasure is incurred but he does not get pleased, he is a devil. So don't be an ass or a devil, Rather be an agent of your friend and bring pleasure to yourself, and adopt precaution of being a devil by not accepting it. A certain wise man said : I never rebuked anybody. The cause is that if an honourable man rebukes me, I pardon his fault as it is pardonable, but if a man of dishonour rebukes me, I save myself from his attack without replying to his rebuke. Whenever your friend raises excuse, accept it, be it true of false.
The Prophet said: He who does not accept the excuse of his friend commits sin like the tax collector in the street. The Prophet said : A believer suddenly gets angry and his anger is soon appeased. He did not not mention that he does not get angry.
God says : Those who appease anger etc. He did not say about the absence of anger. Now-a-days anger does not appease till harm is not done to a friend, But have patience at the trouble inflicted by him .,To remove anger from the soil of heart is not possible as it is a natural attribute of man. To appease it and to act contrary to its nature is possible. To act in agreement with anger is to take retaliation. The Prophet said: love your friend in a moderate manner, perchance he may become someday your enemy , Get angry at your enemy in a moderate manner, perchance he may turn to be your friend sometime. Hazrat Omar said: Let not your
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112 ' The Book of Wordly Usages . Vol-II
love exceed the limit and let not your hatred lead you to the path of destruction.