An example of the practical application by the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, of the verse: ((Take what is easy, enjoin what is right, and turn away from the ignorant)).

The Shaykh : Among such examples is what the Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his "Sahih" that a man from the Muslims, one of those with rough and harsh temperaments, named Hudhayfah ibn 'Uyaynah, stayed as a guest with his nephew. This nephew was close to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and was among his private companions. Hudhayfah said to his nephew, "Ask permission for me to see this Amir, meaning 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, so that I may enter upon him." He said, "I will do so." 'Umar ibn al-Khattab gave him permission. The surprise was that this man, Hudhayfah ibn 'Uyaynah, rushed to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab with a very blunt and harsh word. He said, "By Allah, O 'Umar, you do not give generously, and you do not judge between us with justice." 'Umar returned the bluntness to him with what he had said to him. "You do not give generously" means that if you give from the treasury of the Muslims, you give a little that does not fatten nor satisfy hunger, and you do not give the generous amount, meaning a large sum of money. "And when you judge between people, you do not judge between them with justice." Thus, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became very angry, so much so that he was about to punish him. One of those sitting there reminded him, saying, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Lord of the Worlds says: And this man is among the ignorant." 'Umar calmed down, for he was one who stopped at the Book of Allah. When he was reminded that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commands forgiveness and turning away from the ignorant, 'Umar remained silent and did not hold that ignorant man accountable for his speech in which he accused him of stinginess and miserliness in distributing the wealth of the Muslims to them, as he also accused him of injustice and lack of fairness in judging between them. This was the stance of the Salaf in responding to the etiquettes of the Qur'an, and among them is this noble verse: We have understood the meaning of 'afw, which is forgiveness and pardon, and it remains for us to know the meaning of 'urf, what it is. The verse says: So we have understood that 'afw is forgiveness, and what is 'urf? The scholars of tafsir all said: It is the ma'ruf which is forgiveness which is the ma'ruf, meaning the ma'ruf in terms of its being legislated as good, and that it is among what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has legislated. So hold fast to it, just as you must hold fast to forgiving people when they make a mistake with you. These are the meanings of this noble verse in light of what 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr interpreted in this authentic hadith.