Purification of the Heart
Signs, Symptoms and Cures of
the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart
Translation and Commentary of
Imam Mawlud's Maášharat al-Qulub
by Hamza Yusuf
Derision
POEM VERSES 167-69
As for derision, tend to it with the same treatment used for
arrogance, and with the knowledge that one's purpose in
[derision] is to humiliate someone.
Yet by doing that, a person actually humiliates himself with
God and is recompensed with misfortune.
Also treat it by knowing the severe warning that has come in
Sahib Muslim about showing contempt for any Muslim.
Definition and Treatment
The next disease is derision, ridiculing people, making jest at their expense. Musa pbuh told his people that God had commanded them to sacrifice a cow. They replied, "Are you mocking us?" Musa pbuh then told them, "I seek refuge in God from being ignorant" (QURAN, 2:67). Mocking people is therefore a form of ignorance, whether it is lampooning, caricaturing, or name calling. Humor and levity are important in human life. But levity as a way of life harms the spiritual heart. And laughter and amusement at the expense of the dignity of others is wholly inappropriate, although it is the staple of the comedians of our day.
Imam Mawlud says that the cure for the psychology and practice of mockery is similar to that of arrogance, since a person who mocks another most likely sees himself as superior to his victim. Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "Do not belittle anyone, for he may be a saint of God." Even if one sees a man inebriated and bellicose, vomiting in the street, one should not ridicule him, for one does not know what his future holds. Imam al-Qurtubi once said, "When he was bowing down to idols in Makkah, Umar ibn al-Khattab was still beloved to God." Only God knows the seal of people and their destinies. Moroccan proverb says, "Never mock any creature of God, for it might be beloved to He who created it."
In the Quran, it is said, O you who believe, do not let people mock another people; for it may be that these are better than them; nor should women mock other women, for it may be that these are better than them. And do not taunt one another nor insult each other with nicknames (QURAN, 49:11). God also commanded, Do not revile those who call upon others apart from God, for they may then revile God out of ignorance (QURAN, 6:108). This Quranic ethic guards against inciting people to do things that are sacrilegious and harmful to their own souls, for if people start to curse God the Exalted, they invite the worse kind of harm. Even in the context of triumph, being boastful and exulting is ignoble. The Prophet pbuh in his victories was never boastful. He was completely magnanimous and grateful to God the Exalted. When he entered Makkah in the final conquest of his beloved city—whose people tortured, mocked, and reviled him—he entered with his head bowed and granted clemency to its inhabitants. He was entirely beautiful in character and compassion.
Supplicating God against one's enemies is not forbidden; in fact, it is recommended that people ask for victory when under attack, siege, aggression, or occupation. Regarding the situation in occupied Palestine, its people are under great stress and awful occupation. It is their right to ask God to relieve them of the tyranny that takes away their sons and daughters. But there is a problem in creating enmity with world Jewry and falling into the habit of cursing them outright and calling them names. In fact, many Jewish thinkers have condemned the occupation and are among the most vociferous critics of Israeli injustice.
The opponents of the Prophet pbuh were particularly vicious against
Muslims. Hind bit into the liver of Hamza when he was martyred at the Battle of
Badr. But she later became Muslim, a Companion of the Prophet pbuh —a member of that special
generation of humanity. She, in fact, narrated hadith that can be found in the
well-known compilations. Repentance is a recourse that the Lord of the Worlds
has given humanity. Reflecting on the ethic that the Quran communicates to us
in the aforementioned passages reveals that there is strength in dealing nobly
with people. It is simply a better way to live. The treatment for derision is
to realize that the essence of mockery is to humiliate people. Those who mock
people in this life shall be mocked in the Hereafter, for it is a divine law
that God recompenses people with the like of what they have done.
Source: Purification of Heart
to be continued ....
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