*Fear Allah in Your Support and Opposition*

Shaykh-ul-Islam Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (May his shadow remain long over us), in the biography of his respected father, Mufti-e-Azam Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi (May Allah have mercy on him), titled "Mere Walid Mere Shaykh" (My Father, My Mentor), writes:

..."When selfishness (personal ego) becomes involved in the support or opposition of any person or group, neither the support remains within its limits nor the opposition. Instead, what happens is that if a person is to be supported, nothing less than proving him completely spotless satisfies, and if someone is to be opposed, nothing less than proving him entirely black (sinful) is acceptable. Nowadays, such demonstrations in support and opposition have become common. Rather, sometimes it also happens that when a person is favored by the times, all his mistakes are covered up, and he is raised onto a pedestal of praise and adulation. And when that same person, for some reason, falls from grace, all his virtues are obliterated, and irreparable flaws are found in him. My respected father (May Allah have mercy on him) was strictly against this way of thinking and used to say that this path is contrary to truth and justice."

(My respected father's sight would find goodness even among enemies and opponents, and he never hesitated to openly acknowledge their virtues). Sometimes, when the general atmosphere turns against a person or a group, making accusations and spreading rumors about them is usually not considered a fault; instead, people find pleasure in searching out news of their flaws, and even verification is not deemed necessary. In such situations, my respected father would strictly restrain his associates from this behavior and say, "If a person is bad from one perspective, from where does it follow that all his dimensions must necessarily be bad, and that his unnecessary backbiting and slander against him have now become permissible?"