Yassiru wa laa tu-‘assiru wa Bashiru wa laa tunaffiru

The Prophet of Allah, Salalaahu alahi wa Sallam, Blessings and Peace on Him, His Family and His Companions said, - “Make things easy and do not overwhelm. Spread glad tidings and do not drive away (alienate).” - (Bukhari and Muslim)

This is one of the shortest hadith, if not the shortest I have come across. This hadith or prophetic saying is sahih (authentic) and appears in the collections of ahadith of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, may Allah be pleased with them. It summarizes so well the psychology of the Prophet of Allah Salalaahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam when it comes to bringing people closer to Allah Subhanahu wa T’ala. It consist of only nine words in Arabic, but it speaks volume of how we should approach Islam and convey it to others. When we are with friends, we only need to tell them what they need to know at that time and not overwhelm them. Life is already too heavy on most people. The Prophet of Allah Salalaahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam is fully aware of this reality and thus was able to master the art of conveying the message by giving glad tidings to those who believe and wish to be in a state of happiness whether in din, duniya, barzakh or akhira. There is no need to update this general Sunnah or methodology of the Prophet of Allah Salalaahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam by adding to it or enhancing it. Crossing this line is either a manifestation of our ego or disrespect for The Prophet of Allah. May Allah protect us from this erroneous way of thinking. Too often today, we find ourselves becoming over-zealous when it comes to inviting to Islam. Let us be mindful of this, lest we may be only driving others away from the beautiful and complete way of life given to us by Allah Azza wa Jal and His Beloved Prophet ‘alaihis Salaatu wa Salaam.

Let us always strive to adopt this hadith as a framework in our understanding of Islam and how we convey it to those Allah has put in our path.