TALKING WHILE EATING
It should be kept in mind
that discussions at meal time
should be kept casual and
not intellectually engrossing.
They will divert attention
away from the food, and it
is the right of the food that
you give it its due respect.
Causal conversation with a
little laughter is encouraged.
Similarly, it is against the etiquettes to eat while
staying remaining completely silent.
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi
EXPECTATIONS FROM THE CREATION
There is only one prescription for living in this
world in peace and tranquility. It is to remove all
expectations from the creation that someone will
do good toward me, someone will help me, or so
and so will console me in time of difficulties etc.
We need to eliminate all expectation and only
trust the Almighty for all of our needs. Once you
have no more expectations from the creation,
then anything you receive from them will please
you and make you happy. Similarly, if you
experience any hardship from the creation, then
it will not effect you since you had not expected
anything less from them.
A BITTER SIP
Using the eyes in haram is devastating for the
spirituality of a believer. If you wish to rectify
yourself then you will have to start with protecting
your gaze from haram. This endeavor seems to
be the most difficult. The markets are filled with
immodesty and sin. In this sort of environment,
one may find it extremely difficult to protect
one’s gaze but if we are after
purifying the heart, then this
bitter sip must be taken. It is
indeed bitter in the beginning
but once the good habit has
developed then it will be so
sweet that it will be difficult to
live without it.
ETIQUETTES OF A PHONE
CALL
There is a new invention in our times that
facilitates causing others inconvenience. This
device is the phone. You can call someone and
talk to him for as long as you wish without any
consideration that they might be occupied with
something else at the time. My father said in
his book, Ma‘arif al Qur’an that it is amongst the
etiquettes of a phone call that you ask the receiver
if he/she has time to talk at that time or if he/she
would like you to call at a later time.
A MAJOR SIN
One day we were sitting with him. He said, “This
habit you have of taking something from one
place and putting it absentmindedly in another is
a major sin. It is indeed bad manners, but it is also
a major sin. Because it agitates a Muslim brother/
sister and agitating another believer is a major sin.
From that day on, we realized that such a small
thing can also be a major sin although it did not
even cross our minds before that.
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