An incident in the life of a Sahabi رضي الله  will, Insha-Allah, be an incentive and a means of inspiration for you and me.

Once some Sahabah رضي الله عنهما  were sitting in the court of a king, having been invited to attend a feast. During the course of the meal, a Sahabi رضي الله عنه  accidentally dropped a morsel of food. As is the Sunnat, he picked it up, dusted it and ate it.

Someone commented that this action would not be to the liking of the people of the court. The Sahabi رضي الله عنه  responded: “Must I, for the sake of these foolish ones, discard the Sunnat of my Beloved صلئ الله عليه وسلم  ?”

The person whose objective is to please Allah Ta’ala and Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم  is granted, within his heart, complete and absolute independence.

Thus, our endeavour is to please Allah Ta’ala and Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم . When Islam has made our lives so simple and easy, why introduce complexities and perplexities to life ?

The Aashiq of Allah is therefore neither affected by criticism or praise. Whether he is praised or criticized, it is one and the same. He does not differentiate between the two.