Treating People According To Their Status In Islam

Opening

Treating People According to Their Status

Everyone that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has granted different bounties and blessings — and amongst those bounties and blessings are different statuses and positions Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given.

In the Qur'an and in the hadith and historically, you will find that in our deen, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us and Nabi ﷺ has taught us through a hadith — we're supposed to treat people in accordance to the status that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given them.

So you find a hadith narration of Abu Dawood, that Aisha radiyallahu anha — a beggar had passed by her and she had given the beggar some bread. Then a man passed by. He was wearing clothes and he had a certain appearance and a certain personality. So Aisha radiyallahu anha made him sit down and he ate food. So she was asked about that.

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4842)

She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us that we should treat people in accordance to their status. So one person who was a faqeer, and whom she probably did not know, she gave food to him and he passed on like that. And the other individual, she knew he had a certain personality, a certain honor that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had given him — so she made him sit down and presented food to him.

You also find in a hadith that Nabi ﷺ mentioned:

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4943; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1919)

That the person — they're not from amongst us, meaning they're not a complete believer — that doesn't have mercy upon the young, our young ones, our children, our youth. And those who are not from amongst us don't recognize and honor the elderly. So what is that? Putting each person in a specific category and treating that person in accordance to that category. The young one you treat with mercy and rahmah, and someone that is older you treat them with respect and honor and veneration.

You find this also practically demonstrated by Nabi ﷺ at the time of the Conquest of Makkah, when Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu brought his father Abu Quhafa to accept Islam. What did Nabi ﷺ say? He told Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2450)

"Had you not left the old man inside his house so that I could come to him, instead of you bringing him to me?" So Nabi ﷺ was treating people physically and demonstrating that you treat people according to their status. And the status varies — it could be based upon a person being young, or a person being elderly, that you have to have honor for.

When it comes to the status within our deen — someone that has knowledge amongst the scholars compared to a regular believer also — each person Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put in different categories that you treat them in accordance to their status.

You find what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned:

Humans themselves as human beings have a separate category. You are a vicegerent on behalf of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You're not the same as the animals outside. Hence your qualities should not match the animalistic qualities outside. You need to act according to your standard also.

One aspect of this hadith that the ulema mention is hikmah and adl, which Nabi ﷺ has mentioned — treat people according to their status. What is hikmah? That you are placing things in accordance to their appropriate position. Meaning you talk appropriately in accordance to the situation and scenario, you deal with people according to their standard. And adl — everything which has a right, you're giving it its due right. Be it an animal, a human being, a kafir, a Muslim, your parents, whoever it is.

The Other Side: You Must Also Act According to Your Own Status

But there's an opposite side to this hadith also. Because when Nabi ﷺ commanded us to treat people according to their status — well, if you don't act according to your own status, how do you expect, how should a person then be treated? According to that status. This is sadly what we have lost here. The hadith is not one angle — it's a different perspective. You need to act according to your status.

If you're a child, a child just plays. They have their toys and they play. They're not really worried about other things. But as you grow older and you reach the age of bulugh and you become mature, you become a father, a husband — you can't act as a child. You find this in the laws and the ethics of every country in the world. If a CEO, a boss, an executive, a prime minister, a president is doing certain things, they won't let that go compared to if a regular citizen of the country was doing it. Because you need to act in accordance to your standard.

If you're a student of knowledge, you need to act according to your standard. There's a different standard that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has set. This is why you find in the Qur'an, when it came to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala correcting Nabi ﷺ, the words used are very harsh.

The Example of the Azwaj al-Mutahharat

Take the example of the Azwaj al-Mutahharat. In Surah al-Ahzab, when they asked for more nafaqa from Nabi ﷺ, asking for more expenditure, Nabi ﷺ had separated from them. And he eventually came back after those ayat were revealed, telling them they had a choice to choose the dunya or to stay with him. Now those ayat which were revealed — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned in Surah al-Ahzab:

Addressing the Azwaj al-Mutahharat — whoever amongst you commits a clear sin, they will get a double punishment. Why the double punishment? Because normally when it comes to punishment for a believer, if you do one sin you get one punishment — and when it comes to good deeds, that can be multiplied. But because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala selected these women to be the beloveds of Nabi ﷺ and selected them to be the wives of Nabi ﷺ, that is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned the threat of a double punishment.

The Example from Surah al-Kahf: The Fuqara Companions

When it came to Nabi ﷺ himself, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned in Surah al-Kahf — regarding when the leaders of the mushrikun had come to Nabi ﷺ and asked him that if he could make a special gathering for them that did not include the fuqara, the poor Sahabah — amongst them Ammar ibn Yasir, Bilal radiyallahu anhu, Suhayb al-Rumi and other Sahabah. They did not want to sit with them and wanted a special gathering just for themselves. So Nabi ﷺ started to think about it — he never actually made a different gathering for them. But just because he was thinking about it, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed:

The word tarada means to banish, exile, or repel — even though Nabi ﷺ was never going to do that. But the words were mentioned in a harsh manner, because it is not befitting of a prophet to even think about that. Again — you are treating people in accordance to their standard, and you have to act in accordance to your standard also.

The Example from Surah al-Isra

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned in Surah al-Isra:

"If it wasn't for Us making you steadfast, then you would have inclined towards their way a little bit. Then if that were to occur" — and obviously that did not occur with Nabi ﷺ, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is mentioning — "in that case, We would make you taste a double punishment in this dunya and in the akhirah." Those are harsh words that are used. But why? Again, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is addressing a prophet — and Nabi ﷺ, the most beloved and greatest of all prophets. Because again, it is treating someone in accordance to their standard.

The Saying of Imam al-Ghazali

This is why Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah mentioned:

Woe one time to the ignorant person who did not learn. But woe a thousand times to the alim, the person who had learned, yet is still not making practice upon it. Because you have learned and you are still not acting upon it. You have to act in accordance to your standard.

Rights of Neighbors and Relatives

Again, when Nabi ﷺ commanded: أَنْ نُنْزِلَ النَّاسَ مَنَازِلَهُمْ — to treat people according to their standard — you have to act according to your standard as well. Simply by being a Muslim, you have to have a different standard compared to every other human being. And then on top of that, if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has granted you knowledge, or you are deemed a leader, an imam, or a scholar — whoever it is — you have to act in accordance to that.

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned that the people who have the most right upon any human being are our parents. Why? Because of the difficulty they went through, and all the sacrifices and the patience they exercised in raising us. Then your aqarib, your own relatives. And then after that, the regular believers. Why does each one have a different status? Because of the difficulty they went through and the blessings they have given us. So you have to treat people according to their standard.

You also find, when it comes to our neighbors, the ulema have divided neighbors into three types. We know that there are rights for neighbors. But the first type of neighbor is a neighbor who is a Muslim and your relative — uncle, aunt, etc. They have three rights upon you: one for being a neighbor, one for being a Muslim, and one for being your own relative. The second type is a neighbor who is not your relative but is Muslim — they have two rights upon you. And the third type is simply being your neighbor, even if they are a non-believer — they have one right upon you, the right of being a neighbor. So you are treating people in accordance to their standard.

The Saying of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The Hamilul Qur'an

I will end with a saying of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu. The narration comes in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah and al-Bayhaqi. He is talking about a person who is hamilul Qur'an — a person who has memorized the Qur'an and practices the Qur'an. How should his life be? And this is an example to show that we are supposed to be acting a certain way in accordance to the standards that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us.

(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah; al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman)

It is necessary for a hamilul Qur'an — the hafidh of Qur'an, the person who practices the Qur'an; it does not have to be a hafidh who has memorized the entire Qur'an, but a person who has retained some Qur'an, a person who recites it — what is necessary for them?

His night should be different than that of regular people when they are sleeping — what is that? Standing up and praying Tahajjud. His day is different than the people — when the people are indulging in food and they are not fasting, he should be fasting. When the people are always heedless of Allah and just laughing or always happy and heedless, he is in grief: what is going to happen to me on the Day of Judgment? When the people are just laughing and they are heedless, he should be crying — again, what is going to happen to my status? What will happen to me on the Day of Judgment? When the people are just gossiping and talking, he should be recognized for his silence — he only speaks when it is necessary. And when the people are arrogant and haughty and bragging with all these qualities, what does he have? خُشُوع — he is humble. He has humility.

This statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu shows that a person needs to act in accordance to their standard. Whatever status and position Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you — Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu is talking about hamilul Qur'an, but be it a student of knowledge, a scholar, or a regular believer, you need to act in accordance to your standard. A father, a husband, a wife — you have a certain dignity to maintain and you have to act in accordance to that standard.

So may Allah give us the tawfiq to act in accordance to the Sunnah and in accordance to the status and the position that Allah has given us.

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