Hadith on Preaching : Avoid Boring Your Audience

📖Sahih Muslim 2821 a
Shaqiq reported: We were sitting at the door of Abdullah (b. Mas’ud) waiting for him (to come out and deliver a sermon to us). It was at this time that there happened to pass by us Yazid b. Mu’awiya an-Nakha’i. We said: Inform him (‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) of our presence here. He went in and Abdullah b. Mas’ud lost no time in coming out to us and said: I was informed of your presence here but nothing hindered me to come out to you but the fact that I did not like to bore you (by stuffing your minds with sermons) as Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) did not deliver us sermon on certain days fearing that it might prove to be boring for us.

• The meaning of the Hadith emphasizes the importance of effective communication and preaching at the right time. The Hadith highlights that even though Abdullah bin Mas’ud was aware of his audience waiting for him to deliver a sermon, he chose to delay his sermon because he did not want to bore his audience. This indicates that it is important for preachers and speakers to be mindful of their audience’s attention span and receptiveness and to deliver their message in a way that is engaging and relevant to the audience. Additionally, the Hadith serves as an example of Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) wisdom and consideration for his companions, and how this can be applied to modern-day preaching and communication. Therefore, the Hadith encourages preachers and speakers to be considerate of their audience and to adapt their message to suit the audience’s needs and preferences.