Neglecting What is of No Concern – Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani رحمه الله

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَم is reported to have said: “One result of the excellence of the person’s practice  of Islam is neglecting what does not concern him.” Every person who practices Islam and applies it is interested in what is really relevant to him and turns away from what is irrelevant to  him. Being busy with what is of no concern to you is the business of those who are idle and in  illusion. The person who is deprived of the pleasure of His Master is he who did not act on what he was commanded but instead occupied himself with irrelevant things. This is deprivation itself, resentment itself, and banishment itself.

Woe to you! Obey the commandments, refrain from the prohibitions, show acceptance at times of affliction, and then surrender your– self to the hand of destiny without asking “why” or “how.” Allah’s (mighty and glorified is He) care for you combined with His knowledge of you are better than your care for yourself combined with your ignorance of your Lord. Be satisfied with what He gives and occupy yourself with offering thanks for it. Do not ask Him for more, for you do not know where your best interest lies.

* Give up the involvement in much babble and idol gossip and squandering money. Do not  spend much time in the company of relatives, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances without  good reason, for that is an illusion. Most of the telling of lies takes place between two, and disobedience does not happen but between two.

None of you should go out of his home except to pursue essential personal and family interests. Make every effort not to be the first to speak and that your speech is only in answer to a question. When a person asks you about some–thing, answer him only when there are benefits for both of you in doing so, otherwise do not answer him. When you see a Muslim brother do not ask him “where are you going to?” or  “where are you coming from?” He may be unwilling to tell you about his personal affairs and  thus he would lie, so it would be you who forced him to lie.

Feel a sense of shame from the Honorable Recording Angels (Al‑Kirām Al‑Kātibīn)

Do not dictate to them what you should not be saying. Dictate to them what would make you happy on the Day of Resurrection, words of glorification of Allah, recitation of the Qur’an, and words that relate to your and other creatures’ interests. Increase their ink with your tears and  strengthen their pens with your belief in the oneness of God, then leave them sitting at the  door and enter into the presence of your Lord (mighty and glorified is He).
Curtail hopes. Keep death in front of your eyes. When anyone of you comes across his brother, he should greet him and bid him farewell as if he is about to depart from this world.

Do not speak a lot about things that are of no concern to you, for the Prophet (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) has said: “One result of the excellence of the person’s practice of Islam is neglecting what does not concern him.” Your faults are your business but the faults of others are of no concern to you.

Source: Purification-of-the-mind