There were two individuals from Banī Isrāˈīl, one of whom was a devout worshipper and the other a major sinner. The people would refer to the worshipper as “the worshipper of Banī Isrāˈīl” and to the sinner as “the shameless one of Banī Isrāˈīl”. Once, the sinner passed by the worshipper and saw that the clouds were shading him. Witnessing this, the sinner thought to himself, “I am extremely sinful and he is an ardent worshipper, perhaps if I sit with him Allah Almighty will have mercy upon me.” He then proceeded to sit with the worshipper.

On the other hand, the worshipper, who perhaps did not have knowledge of Satan’s traps and spiritual diseases, began to have negative thoughts and said to himself, “What a great worshipper I am and what a lowly sinner he is; how dare he sit by me!” He then forced the sinner to move from his side with great disdain.

At that moment, Allah Almighty sent the following revelation to the Prophet عَلَيْهِ  السَّلام of that era, “Tell both of them to start their deeds afresh, as I have forgiven the sinner (due to his positive thinking) and nullified the good deeds of the worshipper.” It is mentioned in another narration that the cloud which was shading the worshipper moved at once above the head of the sinner.^[1]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                                     صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Two lessons learned from this narration

Dear Islamic brothers! We have just heard a narration that inspires both mercy and fear, which teaches us two things:

(1) We should not look down on others

The first thing we learn is that we should never look down on others.