Islamic Manners:  The Art of Listening

By Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda (al-Hanafi)


If a person starts telling you, whether in private or
public, something that you already knew very well, you
should not rush to reveal your knowledge of it or to
interfere with his speech. Instead, show your
attention and concentration.

The honorable Tab'i Ata ibn Abi Rabah(R.A.) said:

"A young man would tell me something that I may have heard before he was
born. Nevertheless, I would listen to him as if I had never
heard it before."

Khalid ibn Safwan al-Tamimi, who frequented the courts
of two Khalifahs: Umar ibn Abdul Aziz and Hisham ibn
Abdul Malik, said:

"If a person tells you something
you have heard before, or news that you already
learned, do not interrupt him to exhibit your
knowledge to those present. This is rude and ill
mannered."

The honorable Abdullah ibn Wahab al-Qurashi
al-Masri(R.A.), a companion of Imam Malik(R.A.),
Al-Laith ibn Sad and Al-Thawri, said:

"Sometimes a person would tell me a story that I have heard before
his parents had wed. Yet, I listened as if I have
never heard it before."

Ibrahim ibn al-Junaid said:

"A wise man said to his son: 'Learn the art of listening
as you learn the art of speaking.'" Listening well
means maintaining eye contact, allowing the speaker to
finish the spech, and restraining your urge to
interrupt his speech.

Al-Hafiz al-Khatib al-Baghdadi
said in a poem:

Never interrupt a talk
Though you know it inside out


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   All knowledge (al-'ilm) is but a branch of worship(al-ta'abbud)
      and all worship is but a branch of abstinence(al-wara')
        and all abstinence is but a  branch of trust in God(Tawakkul)
           and Trust in God has neither limit nor finite end.
                [Imam Abu Talib al-Makki-Qut al-qulub]