The Etiquette of Differing
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وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ حُسَيْنٍ:
Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn mentions,
ذَكَرْتُ رَجُلًا بِسُوءٍ عِنْدَ إِيَاسِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَنَظَرَ فِي وَجْهِي وَقَالَ:
I mentioned a man negatively in the presence of Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah. He looked into my eyes and asked,
Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah
أَغَزَوْتَ الرُّومَ؟
Have you been to war with the Romans?
Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn
لا!
No.
Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah
السند وَالْهِنْدَ وَالتُّرْكَ؟
How about [the people of] Sindh, the Indians, or the Turks?
Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn
لَا.
No.
Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah
أَفَسَلِمَ مِنْكَ الرُّومُ وَالسِّنْدُ وَالْهِنْدُ وَالتُّرْكُ وَلَمْ يَسْلَمْ مِنْكَ أَخُوكَ الْمُسْلِمُ؟
So the Romans, the Sindhis, the Indians and the Turks were saved from you, whilst a single Muslim brother of yours wasn’t?
Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn
فَلَمْ أَعُدْ بَعْدَهَا
I never mentioned anyone negatively again.
SourceIbn Kathīr, Al-Bidāyah wan-Nihāyah, 9/336
ابن كثير، البداية والنهاية، ط. السعادة (الشاملة 23708)، 9/336
Plain text version
وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ حُسَيْنٍ: ذَكَرْتُ رَجُلًا بِسُوءٍ عِنْدَ إِيَاسِ بْنِ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَنَظَرَ فِي وَجْهِي وَقَالَ: أَغَزَوْتَ الرُّومَ؟ قُلْتُ: لا! قال: السند وَالْهِنْدَ وَالتُّرْكَ؟ قُلْتُ: لَا. قَالَ: أَفَسَلِمَ مِنْكَ الرُّومُ وَالسِّنْدُ وَالْهِنْدُ وَالتُّرْكُ وَلَمْ يَسْلَمْ مِنْكَ أَخُوكَ الْمُسْلِمُ؟ قَالَ: فَلَمْ أَعُدْ بَعْدَهَا
Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn mentions, “I mentioned a man negatively in the presence of Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah. He looked into my eyes and asked, ‘Have you been to war with the Romans?’
I replied, ‘No.’
He then asked, ‘How about [the people of] Sindh, the Indians, or the Turks?’
I replied again, ‘No.’
He then remarked, ‘So the Romans, the Sindhis, the Indians and the Turks were saved from you, whilst a single Muslim brother of yours wasn’t?’
I never mentioned anyone negatively again.”
Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāyah wan-Nihāyah, 9/336
Part of The Etiquette of Differing: quotations from the scholars on how to deal with differences.
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