Although most of us have good intentions when we ‘advise’ others, oftentimes our words have the opposite desired effect.
We need to pause before advising and ask ourselves, “are my words gentle and kind”?
What the Prophet said about ease
Abu Hurairah narrated:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said; “The religion (of Islam) is easy, and whoever makes the religion a rigor, it will overpower him. ” (Al-Bukhari)
As you can see above, our religion is the definition of ease. Out of the 24 hours in the day, Allah only requires us to devote around 20 minutes a day to praying. The rest of the time belongs to us. Allah could have required us to pray every 20 minutes throughout the day but to make it easy, He only requires us to pray 5 times a day.
He could have required us to pay thirty percent zakah every year (kinda like Uncle Sam does) but instead requires us to pay 2.5% of our SAVINGS. Surplus money. Islam is ease.
Advising others kindly
When we advise harshly or in a way that could push a person further away from Islam, we are going against what we’ve been advised by our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him).
Offering advice should always be done with ease. To learn how to properly advise someone, check these 15 helpful tips.
This short khutbah by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi further explains the hadith above including why we should set a high bar for ourselves but a low bar for others.
Source: Yasir Qadhi Youtube Channel