Learning from surroundings | Three categories of people

Bismillah.

Quoted from a tausiyah given by Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin al-Hamid in reference to Kitab Bidayatul Hidayah by Imam al-Ghazalli.

Nabi Isa alayhisalam was asked: "from whom did you learn adab?" He replied: "No one, but when I see an ignorant act, I will want to avoid it." 

Habib Ali said we can and should learn from our surroundings, from people around us, if we see a stingy person and we dislike such behavior then we should not be stingy ourselves.

There are three categories of people:

1. One who is like a staple food - who is needed all the time.

2. One who is like medicine - who is needed on occasions but not all the time.

3. One who is like a disease - we do get infected at times though we try to avoid, hence we should be smart in preventing it. 

May Allah guide us all and beautify our characters.

Ameen.

Reference: http://www.darulmurtadza.com/