Beauty, Quality and Worth - Imam Shadeed Muhammad

I recently came across Imam Shadeed Muhammad’s Instagram account for the first time and was really impressed by his wisdom and the things he had to say. In one of his recent video’s, part of the #livingwithprophetyusuf Ramadan Series, he talks about beauty:

“Beauty if determined by quality not quantity. Allah called the story of Prophet Yusuf أحسن القصص ‘The Most Beautiful Story’ along with the fact that He only mentioned it one time in the entire Quran, unlike other stories such as Prophet Adam, Musa and others which are mentioned many times. When you understand your value you don’t keep extending yourself to those who don’t appreciate it.”

The thing that struck me from the video was when he said:

You only get to disrespect me one time, you only get to violate my value one time, because I know my worth and I’m not going to keep extending myself to people if they don’t see my value...it's imperative we take the lessons and apply them to our own lives.

I have spent half a lifetime putting up with petty and rude relatives and acquaintances and holding my tongue out of fear of Allah SWT and the severing of kinship ties. Then I either mull over the insult and let it bother me, or feel angry but also guilty that I have something in my heart against someone.

I found his words so empowering: if you value yourself you don’t extend yourself to those that don’t appreciate it. Basically, move on, there are plenty of other good people. A thought I would like to hold on to.