Junaid, a famous scholar once begged another scholar, Behlul for advice. "Well, I shall ask you three questions. If you answer them correctly, you will be advised." Behlul then asked: "Do you know how to talk? how to eat? and how to sleep?"
"I talk with a low voice, politely and to the point, so that the listener is not offended, I eat after having washed my hands, say 'Bismillah' before I begin, and chew the food properly. When I finish, I thank Allah. Before I go to sleep, do my wudhu and retire to a clean bed, then I say the Shahada and sleep," Junaid replied.
Behlul said:
"I thought you were quite learned. You do not know the first and most important things of Islam. It is no use talking softly if what you are saying is a lie. When talking one must make sure that one speaks the truth. When eating, remembering Allah over food which is forbidden, or acquired unlawfully, has no meaning.
You have to ensure that the food is lawful (halaf); that you are not using wrongly the funds of an orphan, a widow or a fellow man. What is the use of sleeping with ablution and all the recitations if your heart is full of malice, jealousy and enmity towards your brother? He who sleeps with a clean heart, sleeps a religious man.
These are the important things, without, them the others are useless."
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited