There is one more thing to know about taking or giving advice. First, we need to understand what the purpose of consulting someone is that we get an opinion from another person who has some experience and knowledge of that particular area. However, if someone has sought our opinion about a matter, he is not bound to act on our suggestion, he has full right whether he chooses to act on it, or not. If he feels that what we have suggested is not the best course of action to suit his circumstances, then, from the point of view of the Shariah, he is well within his rights not to act on it. Sometimes people feel upset and angry if they suggested something which wasn’t then acted upon. They feel that their opinion was devalued or ignored. This is not correct. The purpose of consulting someone is to find out their opinion about the matter. This opinion then doesn’t become binding on the person who sought it.  

There is another great lesson we learn from the event of Hudaibiyah. It is that Deen (religion) is not the name of fulfilling one’s own wishes, it is not the name of following one’s emotions and desires. In fact, Deen is the name of obeying the orders and commandments of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Even when we are very emotional about something, and our emotions are tempting us to do something, Deen is the name of bringing our emotions under control at that time, and obey the will and command of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Before the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed, the emotions of Muslims dictated that they fight the non-believers and do not accept the humiliating conditions that the non-believers were forcing on them. But once they saw what the Holy Prophet ﷺ was doing, their temperaments cooled down and they followed the example of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.