Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … If a person possesses the quality of patience and forbearance, then living among people is more beneficial for him than remaining in seclusion, because only by living among people does one get the opportunity to perform hundreds of great deeds, such as praying for someone in return for their harm, being patient over their annoyance, forgiving the one who angers you, visiting the sick, arranging treatment for a patient, guiding a stranger, hosting a guest, and so on. However, it should be remembered that if, in a certain society, sins are committed openly and it becomes impossible to avoid them despite one’s efforts, then one should, as much as possible, distance oneself from such people. One example of this is our marketplaces, where the sounds of music and songs are common, and the coming and going of unveiled, even semi-naked, women is widespread. Not only is it difficult to avoid looking at them, but in crowded places, there is intense mingling between men and women, to the extent that their bodies begin to touch each other—especially when predatory young men are also roaming about. Entering such marketplaces is akin to plunging into evil.