a matter of
Character
GOOD SPEECH
Among the many important life lessons that I learned from
my mother, the one that I have benefited the most from since
my reversion to Islam is, "If you don't have anything good to
say, then don't say anything at all."
"Striving for the past five years, to make my life conform
to the tenants of Islam and to the Sunnah of the Prophet,
sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, I now realize the true wisdom of
this statement. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said,
"Let he who truly believes in Allah and the Last Day, speak
good or be silent." (Bukhari)
As a child, I half-heartedly followed this advice, because
in my limited understanding I thought the lesson was just not
to hurt anyone's feelings. Now I understand that the lessons
are innumerable.
Speech is the main method of communication among human
beings, it is how we convey our desires and emotions. Our
speech reflects our "true" personalities, because the tongue
is the vessel from which the contents of the heart pour forth.
If a person's heart is good and pure, good will be reflected
in their speech. But, if a persons' heart is corrupted and
evil, this too will be reflected in their speech. The tongue,
if used correctly can be a source of a major blessing, and if
it is used incorrectly, it can be a source of evil and a cause
for eternal punishment, "Sometimes a person says a thing which
pleases Allah, and in return Allah raises his status (rewards
him); and sometimes a person says something which displeases
Allah, and it takes him to hell." (Bukhari)
Good speech is among the signs of true Imaan and it will be
a source of success in the hereafter, as Allah says, "The
Believers are successful, those who in their prayer have
Khushu' (fear of Allah) and those who refrain from vain
speech." [23:1-3]
The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, has also warned
us regarding leaving our tongues unrestrained. Many of Muslims
don't enter into conversations or discussions intending to
commit major sins, yet very often even lawful talking leads to
undesirable results. This is a common pitfall for many
Muslims, especially those who indulge in idle and unnecessary
talk. Alhamdulillah, Allah has not left us unarmed in this
battle, for our benefit He has enclosed the tongue in its own
small prison between our teeth and lips. Human nature demands
that we feel apart of "the group" or sometimes we just want to
add our "two cents," but before we open the prison doors, and
uncage the beast, we should remember that silence is often a
virtue and the rewards can be great. "Whoever guards what is
between his jaws and legs, I will guarantee him paradise." (Bukhari)
It would seem however, to anyone who happened into a gathering
of Muslims, in any city in the world, that being successful
and an open invitation to paradise by insufficient of an
incentive for Muslims to incorporate good speech into their
daily lives and more importantly their moral fiber. It is most
unfortunate that indecent speech, back biting, and slander
have become commonplace among the Muslims today, men and
women. Satan has indeed succeeded in deceiving us into
justifying this behavior as just a "little thing." At least
seventeen times a day we ask Allah to guide us to His Straight
Path and to make us among those people with whom He is well
pleased, how far off that path we must be when a major sin in
the sight of Allah, becomes a "little thing" in our eyes.
Maybe we have just forgotten the consequences.
The main consequence of vain and indecent speech is that it
puts one under the threat of Allah's punishment. Among the
other consequences is that it corrupts and hardens the heart,
it has been known to sever the ties of kinship and has also
brought about the premature end to many friendships.
Allah, has given us the ability to perform both good and
indecent speech. He has also put in man the fitrah to choose
the former over the latter, His Pleasure from His Displeasure.
Speech is a blessing from Allah, we must show gratitude for
this great blessing by using it for spreading the 'Salam,'
reading the Qur'an, enjoining good, forbidding evil, sincerely
advising our brothers and sisters in faith and in all other
things that bring us closer to Allah.
So the next time we open the prison doors, we should
remember the invitation of Allah's Messenger, sallallaahu
alayhe wasallam, to a paradise wherein are things that no eyes
have seen and no heart has felt, and that Allah has equated
good speech with true eman, but as the weeks pass, if we
forget this very important lesson and we are ever in doubt,
the best thing is just to remain silent, to leave that which
makes you doubt for that which does not.
Ruqayya bint Joan
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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