One of the greatest
problems confronting modern Muslims is our inability to tolerate each
other, let alone others. Our tradition has a rich science known as "the
courtesies of differences and the etiquette of discussion." In this
edifying talk, The Etiquette of Disagreement, one of the greatest
scholars today, Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, illuminates the essential
aspects of this subject.
All Muslims who plan to engage in any
conversation should listen to this talk over and over again until its
meanings are internalized and they understand that the secret of
interlocution is a desire to know and not a desire to conquor. Only
when we sublimate our egos and have a desire to engage in genuine
dialogue with others do we achieve a spiritual status of what the
English refer to as "the gentleman" and what the Arabs call al-adib -
"the gentle one." - Hamza Yusuf