Hazrat Moulana Maseehullah Rahmatullahi alaihi mentions:
“To offend a person is nothing compared to offending the Deen (Islam)
Here please note: If the next person is offended by some aspect of the shari’ah, then this is not called hurting his feelings. Also, if there is offence to the Din by following somebody’s opinion, then one cannot accept his opinion, no matter how offended he feels. His opinion has to be ignored. In other words, to offend a person is nothing compared to offending the din
Nowadays, a completely wrong meaning is attached to the expression “offending somebody”, We find, at times, westernised persons telling the molvis: “What is the matter? You are not prepared to accept anything we say: We feel very offended and it is not a nice thing to offend others. When confronted in this way, there is no question of being overwhelmed. Our response: “We are there to serve. Our lives are there to please, to cheer, to bring ease and comfort, to be magnanimous. But we have no choice. What can we do? To accept your views would be to offend our Din. At this point the Din says something else. And you also admit that this is Din. Most probably you were not aware what the Din had to say on the issue, that is why you voiced a different opinion. We are certain that, when you realise your error, you will retract your viewpoint.
When the position has been explained thus, the following response would be forthcoming: “Maulana, please forgive me, m’af. I was not aware of the deeper aspects involved. In-shá-Allah Ta’álá, I will bear it in mind in future
This is an illustration of the etiquette of speaking. Talk to a person at his level. Islám has certain maxims. This is one of them:
كلموا الناس على قدر عقولهم
Talk to people at their level of intelligence”
Adapted from “For Friends”
