وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمۡشُونَ عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ هَوۡنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلۡجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلَٰمًا
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace.
The more deeply a person who believes in Allah grasps how tremendous life is, the better they realize how helpless and small they themselves are.
The greatness of Allah inevitably leads a person to humility.
The phrase “Allahu Akbar” declares two things: the greatness of Allah, and that I, for my part, have no such greatness.
وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ
And the servants of the Most Merciful
They are the ones who walk upon the earth هَوۡنًا (with humility, in a gentle manner). They do not stomp heavily on the ground as they walk.
In Surah al-Isra’ Allah has told us: “Do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth [apart].”
This is not only about the physical act of walking. Some people have a certain air in the way they walk, a manner of moving all their own, that intimidates others or displays arrogance. Even the way they walk makes people uncomfortable or puts fear into them.
This applies to young men and young women alike; the believer, however, walks with humility and dignity.
The ayah continues:
وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلۡجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلَٰمًا
And when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace.
The word جَاهِل here refers to someone who cannot control their emotions. The word خَاطَبَ means to address someone loudly, in front of everyone.
Ignorant people do not lower their voices; they want to be the center of attention. They try to impress those around them by saying the most extreme things, to prove how “crazy” they are. They feed off each other’s reactions and compete to say ever more obscene or shocking things. They recognize no limits on what they will say.
When such people try to engage with you, the best response is “salam”; that is, to take a peaceful stance.
This does not mean you have to say “As-salamu ‘alaykum”; it can also be saying, “It’s fine, calm down,” to defuse the situation. It means giving them peace, that is, leaving no room for any conflict on your part. You do not drag the argument out any further.
When someone acts out of ignorance, as a captive of their emotions, you cannot enter into an intellectual conversation with them. You cannot present rational arguments to someone who has set reason aside and surrendered completely to raw emotion.
The opposite of the jahil is the عَاقِل, that is, a person who controls their emotions and uses their reason instead.
There is a time to bring certain matters up, and a time to let certain things take their course. To recognize this and be able to hold back, you must have intelligence and humility.
Once, while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was speaking with one of the leading men of the tribe, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him), who was blind, came to him seeking knowledge. The Prophet (peace be upon him) frowned, displeased at this interruption. Thereupon Allah revealed Surah ‘Abasa: “He frowned…”
One might ask: since Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) was blind, how could he have been hurt?
The lesson to draw from this is: you must not show impatience. You must be patient with people.
All people can make big mistakes. But when you are engaged in conveying the message, people look for ways to dismiss your message. At a single misstep they immediately say, “See? There, he made that mistake.”
That is why you must be far more careful and hold yourself to much higher standards.