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Assalamu Alaikum,

I remembered hearing this particular story at an Islamic event a couple of months ago. I just wanted to share it with you in hopes to remind us all the importance of what we say. To read more interesting stories, visit http://www.livingislam.org. 

The Triple Filter Test

During the golden Abbasid period, one of the scholars in Baghdad, the capital of the Muslim caliphate at that time, was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.

One day, an acquaintance met the great scholar and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," the scholar replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," the scholar continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say.

That's why I call it the triple filter test.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and.."

"All right," said the scholar. "So you don't really know if it's true or not."

Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," the scholar continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded the scholar, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

___________

So the moral of the story is:

"O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former)"... Hujurat 49.12

"And spy not on each other behind their backs..." Hujurat 49.13

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Comments

Zenaira
12/05/2009 5:12pm

Jazakillah for sharing this!

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reader
12/05/2009 10:59pm

you need to post more stories like this - they are edu-tainment.

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