Projecting of oneself so as to be acceptable to others
Submitted by Shaheen Kola on
Condition
I get worked up because a lot of the times my family and people around me are not understanding me when I speak, or even when I tell them things nicely for instance about Salaah.
When I speak anything, Allah Ta’ala knows I try my best to do it in a sweet way but they always think I am fighting or performing or stressing when in actual fact I am very calm at that stage and watching the words I say to them.
When they misunderstand then yes I do get worked up sometimes and it leads to a lot of unnecessary fights etc. It becomes very demoralising because the family have this misconception about me that I am always stressing when I am calm but just worried about my Salaah or trying to be on my guard so Nafs doesn’t overpower me and they either think I am too tense or hyper etc so what do I do ?
Answer
One's own image of oneself and that same image from someone else will always be different! We think of ourselves composed, etc. while somebody else looks at it very differently. Since we have to relate to them we have to project an image acceptable to them of us.
May Allah Ta’ala make it very easy for all of us. The rule of thumb in all matters is to turn to Allah Ta’ala for guidance, think carefully and just keep on trying our very best.