Pretending to be Deaf
Haatim ibn Alwaan al-Asam Rahimahullah was a great saint of Khurasaan and a companion of another great saint, Shaqiq Balkhi Rahimahullah. He was given the title of al-Asam, “the deaf one”, because of an interesting incident. A woman once came to ask him a question and, accidentally, passed wind. He heard the sound that was emanated causing her to be quite embarrassed.
But the saint said to her, “Please raise your voice.” In this way, he gave her the impression that he was partly deaf so that she would think that he had not heard her passing wind. This made her feel much better. Due to his kind consideration and respect for her, he was referred to as “the deaf one” for the rest of his life.
Moral
The lives of the pious resonate with the following hadith of Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam : “A Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. He does not oppress him nor does he hand him over (to the enemy). Whoever fulfils the needs of his brother, Allaah will fulfil his needs. Whoever removes discomfort from a Muslim, Allaah will remove his discomforts on the Day of Qiyamah (judgement). Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allaah will conceal his faults on the Day of Qiyaamah.”
Reference : Pearls from the Path, Volume 1; page 51; Muslims at Work Publications; 2010
