So I said to them, “This is a ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger once ended the prayer after two rakʿahs; when he was informed, he completed the prayer, gave the taslīm, and then performed the prostration of forgetfulness after the taslīm.” They replied, “Never! We will not accept that.” It was asked, “Which scholars do you trust?” They said, “We accept the verdict of so-and-so and so-and-so.” When they went to the scholar, he told them, “It is sound, and it is the sunnah.”
Yet some imams shrink from prostrating after the taslīm, even though they know the sunnah requires it, fearing the tongues of ordinary worshippers. This is contrary to the pledge the Prophet (peace be upon him) took from his Companions: “Stand up for the truth and do not fear the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah.”
The same principle applies to honesty in dealings. When someone states matters as they truly are, people sometimes say, “These are mere misgivings; you do not have to tell everyone everything.” For example, they may conceal a defect in merchandise, saying, “It is minor and people accept it.” A Muslim, however, must fear Allah, uphold justice, and do what is required, letting no one’s criticism deter him in Allah’s cause. As I mentioned earlier, if the general public are rough and uninformed, it is best to teach them the sharīʿah before enforcing it, so that their hearts become tranquil. When the rulings are then applied, they already have some knowledge and do not react with aversion.
187 – Fifth ḥadīth: On the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The example of the one who abides by Allah’s limits and the one who violates them is like a people who drew lots for places on a ship. Some were on the upper deck and some on the lower. Whenever those below needed water they had to pass by those above, so they said, ‘If we were to bore a hole in our share of the ship, we would not disturb those above us.’”