Giving advice is always helpful and is considered as an act of good virtue. In Islam, the concept of advice is extremely significant. It is a fact that the whole religion of Islam is encompassed with advice. Furthermore, the word ‘advice’ appears twelve times in the Holy Quran, in seven distinct forms and in various contexts. Throughout human history, prophets and messengers are proven to be the greatest examples of providing advice to their followers and to mankind. All of their advice and guidance focused on worshipping the universe’s one and only God, being good to their fellow men, being good to their parents, and being good to themselves. Also, advice is to be offered by parents to their children, as well as by children to their parents.
Advice is to be given and to be offered to all people in the society. It has to be for the truth and for the pleasure of God. One has to be sincere in his advice. However, there are rules and regulations that need to be adapted, otherwise the advice will be an insult and brings negative repercussions. Before submitting advice to anyone, it is advisable to verify the information and its sources and also try to understand the situation and the conditions that led a person to do what he has done; give the benefit of doubt to other person.
A genuine piece of advice delivered at the correct moment and with proper etiquette can greatly assist a person in overcoming obstacles and opens the way to self-improvement. It also fosters brotherhood ties, brings the community together, and strengthens mutual love and respect. If you try to advice someone to do something, make sure to be polite and humble and if you advise someone to stop doing a bad habit, make sure that you yourself are not doing it. When giving someone advice, keep in mind that he or she has feelings, age, dignity, and integrity.
We must not think that we can be always right or our understanding of things is the only truth available; try to be soft, lenient, compassionate, loving, caring and understanding. When offering advice to someone, we must do so in private rather than in public; otherwise, it would be considered an insult. Let us set a positive example for others in our lives.
(Author is pursuing MA in Islamic studies and is a social activist)
