severity. But with the Bedouin who urinated in the mosque, the Prophet ﷺ did not deal harshly with him. The likely reason is that the man wearing the gold ring was known to the Prophet ﷺ to be aware of the ruling yet heedless of it, whereas the Bedouin was ignorant and simply did not know. He entered, saw an open space in the mosque, and began to relieve himself, thinking he was out in the desert. When the people rushed toward him to rebuke him, the Prophet ﷺ forbade them from doing so.
Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ showed gentleness to Mu‘āwiyah ibn al-Ḥakam al-Sulamī (may Allah be pleased with him) when he spoke during the prayer, and to the man who had intercourse with his wife during the daytime in Ramadan—for every situation has its proper response.
Therefore, dear Muslim brother, make wisdom your guide in everything you do and everything you say. Allah the Exalted declares: “He grants wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever is granted wisdom has truly been given abundant good; yet none will remember save those endowed with understanding” (al-Baqarah 2:269). We ask Allah to place us among those to whom wisdom is granted and who thereby attain abundant good.
- Tenth: From Ḥudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “By Him in whose hand my soul rests, you must enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Himself; then you will supplicate to Him, but your prayer will not be answered.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, who said: “A hadith …”