01/06/2025
WHERE ARE THE RECONCILIATORS?
When conflicts break out—between individuals or groups—everyone watching tends to play a role:
-Some take sides and pour fuel on the fire.
-Some turn it into entertainment—catching cruise while relationships burn.
-Some remain indifferent, untouched, unmoved.
-And then, a rare few step in… striving to reconcile.
But sadly, the reconciliators are few—perhaps because reconciliation is not without its hazards. It demands patience. It demands wisdom. It demands thick skin. You may be misunderstood, insulted, even labelled a hypocrite. And if you're not careful, you might get dragged into the storm you're trying to calm.
Yet Allah says:
"So be mindful of Allah, set things right between yourselves, and obey Allah and His Messenger—if you are truly believers."
(Surah al-Anfal, 8:1)
If you can’t reconcile, then at least don’t add fuel to the fire. Remain silent.
One simple but powerful way to reduce the endless quarrels and back-and-forths we keep witnessing is to check:
our intentions,
our sincerity,
our words,
and how we phrase them.
Allah says in Surah al-Furqan (25:63) that among the qualities of His true servants is:
"When the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace."
If this is how we are to respond to the ignorant, then how much more patience and good speech is deserved when a fellow student of knowledge, or even a scholar—with some shortcomings—addresses us?
O students and admirers of scholars—be patient. Don’t be the spark that ignites fitnah!
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Shall I not tell you what is better in rank than prayer, fasting, and charity?"
They said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!"
He said:
"Reconciling between people. For spoiling relations is the shaver—it shaves away good deeds." (Sunan Abi Dawud 4919, Sahih)
And Allah declares plainly:
> "وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ"
"Making peace is better." (Surah an-Nisaa, 4:128)
So again, if you can't reconcile between people—at least, keep quiet.
—Abu Muhsin
