Watch What You Say!

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Forty Hadiths on Poisonous Social Habits by Yahya M.A. Ondigo

Here’s a taste of what’s inside:

(عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مَا يَتَبَيَّنُ فِيهَا, يَزِلُّ بِهَا فِي النَّارِ أَبْعَدَ مِمَّا بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ. (متفق عليه

Abu Hurayrah reported that he heard the Prophet (sa) say:

<<Indeed, the servant (of Allah) will speak a word, while being unaware of (its consequences), and due to it, he will be cast into hellfire, farther than the distance between the east (and the west).>> (Muslim)

Commentary on the hadith

One of the most dangerous and most common poisonous habits is a loose tongue. Many of us easily forget that we will be accountable for every word that we utter. Because of the hazardous nature of this organ, Allah’s Messenger (sa) rightly advised us as follows:

<<…Whosoever believes in Allah and the last day should either speak good (sensible talk) or keep quiet.>> (Bukhari)

By the same token, Imam ash-Shâfi‘i offered the following guidance in line with the aforementioned hadith:

When one desires to talk, then it is upon him to think before he speaks. If there is beneficial good in what he will say, then he should speak. If he has doubt about that, then he must not speak until he clears that doubt [by making his speech good].[1]

The rules and principles of Sharia maintain that every individual, who has been entrusted by the state with a particular responsibility, has a grave duty to guard his or her tongue from all types of speech, uttering only the words that predominantly benefit. Therefore, in a situation in which speaking and remaining silent both contain the same amount of benefit and harm, the Sunnah is to refrain from speaking altogether. This is because permissible speech (that is equal in benefit and harm) paves way towards something that is not only disliked but forbidden. In such cases, the forbidden usually prevails; applying precautions after the damage has been done will not repair it in the least.

The tongue is one of the most important organs in the human body as it controls all speech and therefore, controls many affairs through which we earn rewards and sins. If we do not control our tongues, we will be doomed to destruction. The Prophet (sa) emphasized this in the following hadith:

<<Mu‘âdh ibn Jabal narrated: I accompanied the Prophet (sa) on a journey. One day, I was near him while we were moving.

I requested: O Messenger of Allah! Inform me about an action by which I will be admitted to paradise and which will keep me far from the fire.

He advised: You have asked me something very significant. But it is easy for whomever Allah makes it easy: Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with Him, establish the salâh, give the zakâh (obligatory charity), fast during Ramadan and perform Hajj to the House (Kaaba).

He (the Prophet [sa]) further said: Shall I not guide you to the doors of good? Fasting is a shield and charity extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire—and [so does] a man’s prayer in the depths of the night. He recited:

{Their sides forsake their beds to call upon their Lord…} until he reached: {…what they used to do.} (Qur’an 32: 16-17)

Then, he asked: Shall I not inform you about the head of the entire matter, and its pillar and its hump?

I answered: Of course, O Messenger of Allah!

He stated: The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the salâh, and its hump is jihad.

Then he inquired: Shall I not inform you about what governs all that?

I replied: Of course, O Messenger of Allah!

He grabbed his tongue and said: Restrain this!

I queried: O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say?

He stated: May your mother grieve your loss, O Mu‘âdh! Are people not tossed into the fire upon their faces, or upon their noses, because of what their tongues have wrought?>> (A reliable hadith recorded by at-Tirmidhi)

The tongue and the heart are the best parts of the body; they can make us successful if they are kept pure. At the same time, they have the potential to be the worst parts of the body; they can destroy a person if they are not controlled. Furthermore, from the statement of wise man, Luqmân, revealed in the Qur’an, we can understand the magnitude of the need to guard our speech:

{Be modest in your bearing and subdue your voice. Certainly, the harshest of all sounds is the voice of the donkey.} (Qur’an 31: 19)

An excerpt from Forty Hadiths on Poisonous Social Habits by Yahya M.A. Ondigo available from IIPH.

[1] “Guarding the Tongue: From Al-Adhkaar of Imam An-Nawawi”, Al-Muntaqaa Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 1, January 2000 http://www.quraan.com/index.aspx?&tabid=31&artid=34, last accessed April 2010.