Page 51 - Non-violence and peace-building

10

Avoid Conflict by

Ignoring the Lesser Evil

mair ibn Habib ibn Hamasha, a Companion of the
U Prophet, instructed his son, saying:

O my son! Keep away from the company of
foolish people, because being in their company
is a sickness. He who keeps away from the foolish
obtains happiness. He who befriends the foolish
repents. He who refuses to tolerate the lesser evil
of a foolish person will have to tolerate the bigger
evil of such a person. And if among you someone
wants to engage in calling people to what is good
and exhorting them to abstain from evil, he must
be prepared to face difficulties, and he must have
faith that he will receive reward for this from
God. This is because he who has faith that he
will be rewarded by God will not face any harm
when faced with difficulties.
If a foolish person throws pebbles at someone, the
latter may immediately react by doing the same thing
to him. However, the best answer in such a situation
is to exercise tolerance. By tolerating ‘pebbles’ you will

50