Question:
Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah,
Sheikh Gibril,
I hope you and your family are with ‘aafiya.
In Kitab al-Arba’een of Imam al-Ghazali, he mentions a hadith in the section on fulfilling the rights of Muslims which I couldn’t ascertain its origin. It is ‘Guard (ittaqoo) the places of suspicion (mawaadhi’ at-tuhm).’
Wassalaam,
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
Allah bless you and yours always.
Mulla `Ali al-Qari said in al-Asrar al-Marfu`a under the entry “Ittaqu mawaqi` al-tuham“:
<<‘Steer clear of situations that give rise to accusations.’ This is the meaning of `Umar’s (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased) statement, ‘Whoever walks suspicious paths will be under suspicion.’ Al-Khara’iti narrated it halted at `Umar in Makarim al-Akhlaq in the wording ‘Whoever puts himself in a suspicious spot, let him never blame any that think ill of him.’>>
The latter report is narrated from the Companion Budayl b. Warqa’ from our liegelord `Umar by al-Khara’iti as stated by Hafiz al-Silafi in al-Muntaqa min Makarim al-Akhlaq lil-Khara’iti (p. 105 §236).
Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (Allah sanctify his secret) always avoided drinking from a bottle of water inside the car that picked him up at night after tarawih in London—although parched—lest it give rise to ill thinking.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
