It was reported that the prophet (SAW) was once performing tawaaf when he looked at the Ka’bah and said,

مَا أَطْيَبَكِ وَأَطْيَبَ رِيحَكِ مَا أَعْظَمَكِ وَأَعْظَمَ حُرْمَتَكِ وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَحُرْمَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ حُرْمَةً مِنْكِ مَالِهِ وَدَمِهِ وَأَنْ نَظُنَّ بِهِ إِلاَّ خَيْرًا

‘How good you are and how good your fragrance; how great you are and how great your sanctity. By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of the believer is greater before Allah than your sanctity, his blood and his wealth, and to think anything but good of him.’

A believer’s wealth cannot be taken without permission, their blood cannot be shed, and it goes even beyond that – their honor and reputation is also sacred and no one is allowed to tamper with someone else’s reputation, just like we cannot tamper with someone else’s wealth. This hadith goes on to say, “It is even haram for us to have incorrect judgements and assumptions about other Muslims.” We cannot pass a judgement about someone without having facts in front of us and we cannot assume bad things or view others in a negative light. The prophet (SAW) taught us how sacred each person is. What does this mean? It means that it is our responsibility to look at each other with an eye of love and respect. We must respect each others’ life, reputation and respect. We must respect that every person is entitled to their own respect. Everyone is entitled to that and no one has the right to take that away from them. Everyone has the right to be looked at in a positive way instead of being judged on hearsay and false rumors. We are not allowed to mistreat each other.

Sometimes, the intention is not to mistreat another person and just to joke around. Once, the prophet (SAW) was sitting with a group of his companions. One of them got up to do something. As he was gone, one of the companions took his slippers and put them underneath him. When this person who had left came back, he said, “My shoes were right here. Where did they go?” Everyone acted like they did not know where they went. Then, after some time, the one who had them said, “Here they are.” The prophet (SAW) was told that this happened in the gathering. The companion was told, “How could you frighten another believer?” Right away, he said, “O Prophet of Allah, I was just joking.” Again, the Prophet (SAW) repeated himself. Other incidents of this nature also happened in the time of the Prophet (SAW), and right away, he addressed it.