Our master Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), said,

“Beware of (bad)opinion.

(Bad)opinion is the most lying form of speech.

Do not deceive one another
nor envy one another
nor hate one another
nor compete with one another excessively (for worldly gains)
nor shun (avoid, ignore) one another.

Rather be the slaves of Allah as brothers.”

The things mentioned in this Hadith are those which tarnish relationships by creating hatred and enmity in the hearts.

The Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) first mentioned (the disease of) having (baseless) bad opinion about others. This is a kind of false delusion. The situation of one who is afflicted with this disease is such that if he has the slightest disagreement with someone, he considers all of their actions to be based on evil intentions. Based on this baseless bad opinion about them, he additionally associates other non-existing bad things to them. The natural reaction to this is that his behaviour towards them is also affected by this. Thereafter there is some reaction from others as well. Hearts break apart due to this, and relationships become stained permanently.

The Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) has called bad-gumani (having bad opinion about others) as the most untrue speech. Apparently it means that lying by tongue is known to everyone as a big sin, but people don’t normally consider having (baseless) bad opinion about others as being a grave sin. Rasulullah (sallalahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has informed us that having (baseless) bad opinion about others is the biggest lie, and this sin of the heart is not less grave than the sin of lying by tongue.
Just like the evilness of having (baseless) bad opinion about others has been mentioned in this Hadith, similarly having good opinion of others has been called the best form of worship in another Hadith. It is stated that “Having good opinion of others is a part of good worship).

After bad-gumani (having (baseless) bad opinion about others), among the other things Rasulullah (sallalahu ‘alaihi wasallam) forbade us is not to deceive each other, and if we see someone in a good state we should not wish bad for him. And we should not shun (avoid, ignore) each other. The case with all these is that these things sow the seed of hatred and enmity in hearts. And the love, sympathy, brotherhood and unity that is expected and desired from our Iman-based relationship with other Muslims becomes impossible.

In the end the Hadith says: “Rather be the slaves of Allah as brothers”. There is an indication in these words that only when you keep your hearts clean from the above-mentioned evil qualities can you truly live as brothers.

Source: Baab Al-Shahnaa’, Hadith Number 410, Adab Al-Mufrad of Imam Bukhari (r.a.) with Urdu Translation and Explanation of Maulana Muhammad Khalid Khan Garhi (student of Maulana Ashiq Ilahi Muhajir Madani Rahimahullah)

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