Many interesting stories and wisdom can be taken from the Koran and hadith. One of them is the following story.
One day, in Mecca, a blind man, Abdullah bin Ummi Maktum, came to the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam . At that time, the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam was calling on the nobles of the land of Mecca/Quraish to convert to Islam. His hope was that with the entry of these dignitaries, his followers would be attracted.
Umi Maktum's son said, " O Messenger of Allah, read the Qur'an to me, teach me what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala taught you ."
Umm Maktum's son repeatedly said this, while he did not know that the Prophet was addressing the nobles. This made the Prophet feel irritated and sour-faced, and he turned away from him. This incident led to the revelation of Surah 'Abasa (80), which is basically a warning to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) , not to turn away from anyone in need.
" He (Muhammad) frowned and turned away . " (QS Abasa: 1)
The moral of this story is to avoid being deceived by someone's appearance, wealth, and social status. As Tukul often says, " Don't judge a book by its cover," or " underestimate ," we may often sneer at someone because of their appearance and social status. In social life, we are often dazzled and deceived by appearances. Yet, often what is hidden is something very valuable.
Surah 49 of Al-Hujurat warns us not to belittle others, as the one being belittled may be better than the one doing the insulting. The surah also clearly states that Allah (swt) created humans with different conditions, but these differences do not determine the superiority and nobility of a person or a group in the sight of Allah (swt) , but rather their piety. We can see this in the following verse:
" O you who believe, do not let men insult (other) men, because it may be that the people who are insulted are better than the people who humiliate, and do not let women insult (other) women, because it may be that the woman who is humiliated is better than the woman who humiliates. Do not insult your neighbor and do not call them names (which are not good). The worst of the calls are (the calls) that are bad (ungodly) after believing. And whoever does not repent, then they are the wrongdoers...O people! Indeed, We have created you from a man and a woman, then We made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. (QS Al Hujuraat: 11 and 13)
Differences aren't meant to put each other down or humiliate each other. They're meant to allow people to learn from and help each other. This is especially true when it comes to differences in appearance alone. We can't judge a person's spiritual depth based solely on their appearance.
May we be kept away from degrading and humiliating other people. Amen .
Author: Dr. Gancar C. Premananto*
*Coordinator of the Master of Management Study Program, FEB, Universitas Airlangga Surabaya
Source: https://suaramuslim.net/dont-judges-a-book-by-its-cover-1/