Effective Interplay of Silence And Touch

On many occasions, the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would call out to people by their name to capture their attention and then lapse into silence. For instance, once he was travelling with Mu'aath ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, when the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Ya Mu'aath!” and Mu'aath, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Labbayk ya Rasoolullah wa sa’dayk” (At your service, O Messenger of Allah!), and then the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, resumed his silence. This happened twice, by which the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had his undivided attention.

Sometimes, the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would say something and the listeners would not entirely understand what was said. Then he, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would pause and give them a chance to think about it, thus increasing their desire to learn it and listen to his explanation before explaining himself.

The Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also frequently made physical contact when speaking. He, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would hold the hand or the shoulder of the person to whom he was speaking, to make the person pay attention. Narrated Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, "The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, took hold of my shoulder and said: “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.” Mujahid, may Allah have mercy upon him, added, "Ibn Umar used to say, 'If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death.'” [Reported by Saheeh Al-Bukhari]

In teaching, certain touches can be very useful, which is a technique that is overlooked by many teachers and ones they fail to use successfully.

Another example of the effective use of touch to engender a bond between the teacher and the one listener is seen in the Hadeeth of the young boy who came to  the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asking for permission to commit unlawful sexual intercourse.

Abu Umamah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that a young man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, "O Messenger of Allah, give me permission to commit Zina (unlawful sexual intercourse)."  The people shouted until the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked them to stop. The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:  "Let him calm down. Come here."

When the young man came and sat in front of the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he said to him: "Would you like it for your mother?" He said, "No." He said: "Likewise, people do not like it for their mothers. Would you like it for your daughter?" He replied, "No ".

The Messenger of Allah,  sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked the same question with regard to the young man's sisters and aunts in which case the person answered no for each question. Then the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, placed his hand on his chest and said: "O Allah, forgive his sins, purify his heart and make him chaste." [Reported by At-Tabarani]

The young man departed from there, filled with love for the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and nothing was more repugnant to him than unlawful sexual intercourse.