[10] Ibn Sammaak: Exemplifying Positive Engagement and Effective Communication with the Rulers

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Ibn As-Sammaak [may Allah have mercy upon him] once gave an admonition to Haaroon Ar-Rasheed [may Allah have mercy upon him], saying, “O leader of the believers! Indeed, you will stand before Allah, and indeed you have a standing that would decide the relocation to another place (i.e. reward or punishment in the Hereafter), so ponder upon where you would be”. Haaroon then wept a lot.

He once approached one of the leaders to intercede for a poor man, saying, “I came to you for a need; the seeker and the giver are honourable if you fulfill the need, and humiliated if you do not fulfill it, so choose for yourself the nobility of giving over the humiliation of withholding, and the nobility of success over the humiliation of refusing to give (when you are able)”.

[Siyar A’laam An-Nubula 8/329