HAVE A GOOD OPINION OF OTHERS
One must hold a good opinion of others. When engaged in inter-religious dialogue, it is essential to follow this principle.
It is reported that the Prophet of Islam once observed, “Holding good opinions about others is a form of worship.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 7956)
In life, occasions repeatedly arise when a person comes to mistrust another. For example, this may happen if a person is suspicious about someone. Then, consciously or unconsciously, he comes to regard him as evil, which is why he thinks of being engaged in wrongdoing.
Another major reason for mistrust is the lack of information. Sometimes, an individual is not fully informed about another person’s circumstances. His knowledge is only partial, and because of this, he is not able to view the person in the right manner. He then suffers as a result of this misunderstanding.
Due to such misapprehensions, forming a correct opinion is sometimes difficult. If a person forms an opinion of another person due to prejudice or incomplete knowledge, he will be doing a grave injustice to a fellow human being. In such a situation, one must rid oneself of biased thinking. Moreover, before forming an opinion, one should try to understand the matter completely. This makes the question of holding another person’s good opinion an issue of striving. Perhaps because of this, holding a good opinion of others has been accorded the status of a form of worship.
Holding a good opinion of others is not always a simple matter. Sometimes, it entails rooting out a bad opinion about a person and replacing it with a good opinion. This is an internal struggle, which is why this act will merit a great reward.
When engaged in inter-religious dialogue, it is essential to follow this principle. One must hold a good opinion of one’s dialogue partners who subscribe to a religion other than one’s religion. One needs to cleanse oneself of prejudices and biases and try to see one’s dialogue partners as they truly are, and not through the prism of preconceived notions and stereotypes.
