Watch Your Tongue January 21, 2007
Posted by aMuslimForLife in Hadith, Tasawwuf/Sufism.trackback
Watch Your Tongue
Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salaam) said to Muadh Ibn Jabal, “Shall I not tell you of what controls all that?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ So he took a hold of his tongue, and said: ‘Restrain this!’ (ie hold your tongue) I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we say?’ He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’adh! Is there anything that causes people to be dragged on their faces – or he said – on their noses into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?’” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad- Sahih) (1)
My Thoughts:
This hadith is so important because it evolves around the issue of one’s speech. Learning how to properly control one’s speech is very difficult to implement because of how often we speak. The hadith above expresses the importance of learning how to control one’s speech. The number one thing that leads people to hell fire is one’s speech.
Sahl Ibn Sa’ad reported that Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever can guarantee for me (that he will guard) what is between his jaws (tongue) and what is between his legs (private parts), I will guarantee for him Paradise.” (Bukhari)
So what is the sunnah regarding one’s speech? The sunnah of Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam) regarding speech is based on the following hadith.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say what is good or remain silent.” (Bukhari)
The default of one’s speech is that one remains silent and one does not speak unless one is sure that his speech will be good. If one is unsure if it will be good or bad than one remains silent. So the sunnah is that one remains silent until one is sure.
Some of the sins related to one’s tongue:
1) ghiba: (Backbiting)
2) namima: (Gossiping)
3) suma (showing off (riya) with speech)
4) iftikhar (boasting to others, making claims)
5) kadhib (lying)
6) khawd fi al-batil (mentioning the useless or immoral)
And Allah knows best.
(1) The Complete Hadith:
Mu’adh Ibn Jabal reported: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me of an act that will take me to Paradise and keep me away from the Hellfire.’ He said:
‘You have asked me about a major matter. But it is easy for he whom Allah, may He be Exalted, makes it easy for. You must worship Allah, associating nothing with him. You must perform the prayers and pay the Zakat. You must fast in Ramadan and perform the Hajj to the House (Ka’bah).’ Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and (so does) the praying of a man in the depths of the night.’ Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited: ‘(Those) who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of what We have bestowed upon them. No soul knows what is kept hidden for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do.’ [Surah As-Sajdah: 16] Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar and its uppermost part?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allaah!’ He said: ‘The peak of the matter is Islam. The pillar is prayer and its uppermost part is Jihad.Shall I not tell you of what controls all that?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ So he took a hold of his tongue, and said: ‘Restrain this!’ I said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we say?’ He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’adh! Is there anything that causes people to be dragged on their faces – or he said – on their noses into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?’” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad- Sahih)
JazakAllah for sharing this.
Beautiful indeed.
Keep up the good work.
I saw this post of yours on another board. Is this what you meant by controlling your tongue?
Originally posted by aMuslimForLife :
I prefer to call you Wahabi, not in an act of name calling but it is more descriptive of your manhaj. Calling you Salafi is actually a disgrace to the Salafus Saleh. And that is my honest opinion.
Some have suggested calling you Taymiyyati but in all honestest, But Ibn Taymiyyah supported Tasawwuf and Wahabis are anti-Tasawwuf just like Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab. So Wahabi is more befitting the Salafi Movement.
I stopped calling you Wahabis, because I think you were on your period and started crying like a little girl. You can dish it out but you can’t take it.
As Salaam Alaykum,
Anyway, that was a very old post. And I openly apologize for that, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for it.
I am out of the debating game and name calling game for good in sha Allah. Debating only causes you and your opponant to sin without the two you realizing it, under the self deception that the two you are doing a righteous deed.
And I wanted to add, it is from adab of the Sunnah to cover the mistakes for ours brothers.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “No slave veils another slave in this world without Allah veiling him on the Day of Rising.” [Muslim]
Abu Hurayra said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘All of my community will be given safety except for those who flaunt themselves. An aspect of flaunting yourself is to do an action by night and then in the morning, when Allah has veiled you, to say, “O so-and-so! I did such-and-such yesterday,” removing Allah’s veil in the morning after your Lord has veiled you in the night.’” [Agreed upon}
jazak allah kheir for this great advice!
If you like to read Islamic Arabic lectures that have been translated into English you can visit DaralislaamLive non-profit: http://www.daralislaamlive.com it has translated lectures of Amr Khaled, Wagdi Ghonem and Khalid Abudllah. For all people who love to read more on Islam! If you like it, please share it, bookmark it, advertise it, jazakum Allah kheir!