A cardinal sinner and a tree. I never thought I’d hear this magnitude of ‘giving the benefit of doubt.’ And it came …

A cardinal sinner and a tree.

I never thought I’d hear this magnitude of ‘giving the benefit of doubt.’ And it came from one of the most influential voices of this religious town rooted in the tradition of knowledge.

Habib Ali al-Mashoor Bin-Hafidz is the Mufti of Tareem and the eldest brother to the very well known Habib Omar.

There are many remarkable stories about him. He’s also one of those men where hundreds shake his hands daily. And yet he makes the effort to look and smile at them. Each one.

He’s said more than once that ‘if you see someone committing a sin, curse the sin, hate it, but not the sinner. And should you see him after, you’ve to assume the best of as you would for others.

Assume that he may be among the best people, high in rank in the eyes of God. If after he commits the act, he walks past a tree, who are you to say that he did not repent, and God accepted it, in that brief moment he was out of your sight?

Are you the All-Knowing?

Therefore assume he did. Think the best of him. Pray the best for him. And that you too may be included among the people of high rank in the eyes of God, for you yourself don’t know how lowly you could be.’

Now I imagine this is not easy for us to hear, heed and practice. But think about the encouragement, good relations, positive vibes and prayers sent to one another among human folk. Is it not one of many ways, often unthought of, to cause for the change in the world many of us often speak about.

Not all lie in our hands, but many in our hearts. And its link to something higher.

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*This post is based on the talk I did in Malaysia and Singapore, as with all other posts in this specific photo album. The talk was called Seeking Islam: Why I’m Still in Yemen. See album description for more info.

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