Smart Taghabeen
Islamic Stories
The art of feigning ignorance and overlooking faults is extremely important in our lives. The root cause of our family and social problems, as well as those in the workplace, is our tendency to scrutinize and focus on annoying incidents and mistakes committed by others.
Imam Ibn Hanbal was asked, "Where can we find well-being?" He replied, "Nine-tenths of well-being lie in overlooking others' slips." He then added, "In fact, it is all of well-being."
A teacher once told me, "I had a special situation that compelled me to ask the school principal for permission to leave for three hours to handle some personal matters. The principal refused, leading to an unpleasant exchange between us. I then obtained a sick leave certificate from the health center, which granted me three days off. The principal could have simply approved a three-hour exit permit, and the matter would have been resolved. His behavior was unwise."
There is a need for smart overlooking among many officials.
One manager said, "When I was promoted to the position of manager, I had a young employee who was very active and successful in his work. He performed all assigned tasks with intelligence, speed, and accuracy, achieving a high completion rate. However, he was somewhat undisciplined, often leaving his workplace without permission, and his leaves and permits were more frequent than usual.
One day, the young man requested leave to travel with friends. I rejected his request. Instead, he submitted a sick leave request, calling in to feign illness and apologize for his absence. Knowing he was not sick, I went to his house in the morning and waited for him early. When I met him, he was carrying several suitcases. The employee was nearly melting with shame. I pointed out that he had not been able to deceive me, that I was not as naive as he thought, and I reprimanded him, proving he was lying. I even deducted double his daily wage. But what happened next?
A few days later, the young man submitted his resignation.
He was a productive employee. I lost his effort and the high completion rate he achieved. I could no longer report the previous high performance metrics to my upper management, and I found myself in need of searching for another young person capable of achieving similar results, which is difficult.
My behavior was foolish. What did I gain from it?
Courts and Judiciary
Digital Ads
Politics News
That day, I realized that some of what we lose in life is due to being overly restrictive toward others and closing off their escape routes. This leaves the other party with only two options: either they flee from you, and you lose their effort, or they view you as an enemy, plot against you, and curse you, reducing their activity as a form of self-defense.
In either case, you are the loser. Therefore, some degree of overlooking is very beneficial.
Feigning ignorance and overlooking faults is an important card that covers us and protects us.
Among the most beautiful sayings attributed to Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding the meaning of overlooking is: "One of the greatest causes of the heart's rectification is overlooking people's slips and not pursuing their shortcomings."
It is also reported that he said in this context: "The foolish man is not the master of his people, but the master of his people is the one who feigns ignorance."
It is always better to leave your opponent a dignified way out, so that they respect you, rather than to embarrass them, causing them to become your enemy.
It is not required that you win every battle; sometimes, victory is defeat.
Never burn your bridges, as you may need them soon.
This is dedicated to every father and mother, every husband and wife, every brother and friend, and every manager and teacher.
You must win everyone over through a certain degree of overlooking and smart forgiveness. This is not stupidity, but rather the pinnacle of intelligence and insight.
Imam and Preacher
