Alhamdulillah, Allah Ta’aala has blessed us with the ability to critique but it is our responsibility to turn it inwards, towards ourselves, rather than towards others.

If we can do that, then insha’Allah:

• we can start to realize the faults we know, with absolute certainty, exist within our hearts;
• we will realize that mere doubts about others can not compare to the absolute certainty we feel when we look to our own faults;
• we can begin to improve and get closer to Allah Ta’aala.; and, perhaps most importantly
• we will realize that nothing else matters – we are not any better than those we may have criticized – the reality is that Allah Ta’aala is the only One that matters, He is the only one who is Great and worthy of Praise.

“If you have praise for anything, save it for Him; if you have criticism for anyone, reserve it for yourself.”

(Source: notes from Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar’s talk on Recognizing our Place Before Allah)