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Your Tongue and Guard It

Allah ( ) has blessed us with tongues. He said:

"The Most Merciful taught the Qur'n; He created man and taught him eloquence."1
Allh ( ) created the human being and gave him the ability to speak. Because Allh gave us
the ability to speak and communicate, this gift should be used for the highest purposes.
On the authority of Anas ( ), the Prophet ( )said, The mn of Allahs servant will not be
upright until his heart is upright and his heart will not be upright until his tongue is upright.2
We live in a time where offensive language is almost as common as the oxygen one breathes.
The tongue is a double-edged sword; the servant of Allah may use it to insult and abuse
someone, slander him and violate his privacy, or he may use it to recite the Quran, mention
Allah or enjoin good and forbid evil; and thus the tongue becomes his means to salvation and
happiness.
Allah ( ) has made the tongue very easy to move. It moves much more than any other limb of
the human body. So if a person is not careful about what he says, a single word might invalidate
his actions. It is for this reason that the limbs of the body warn the tongue every morning as
mentioned in a hadith. They say:
Fear Allah regarding us, for we are dependent upon you. If you are upright then we will be
upright but if you are corrupt then we will be corrupt.3
The tongue is a great blessing from Allah ( ). We should show gratitude to Him by using it for
what it was created for obedience, mentioning Him, reciting the Qur'an, seeking and
conveying knowledge, enjoining good and forbidding evil. And we must avoid using the tongue
to lie, abuse others, backbite or slander people. Allah ( ) says at the beginning of Surah alMu'minn:
" # $ * ) " '& +, !
./ '& 0# 1 2 / 4 5
Certainly will the believers have succeeded those who are during their prayer humbly
submissive, and those who turn away from ill speech4
Here Allah ( ) considers refraining from ill speech a sign of being one of the successful
believers. We also notice that Allah has mentioned refraining from ill speech after mentioning
khush. This is because too much talk hardens the heart, and it is not possible to reach the level
of khush unless one refrains from ill speech.
Imm an-Nawawi said, Know that it is binding upon all to guard their tongues from most
speech, except a word that has some benefit in it....5
1

Surah ar-Rahman 55: 1-4.

Musnad Ahmad.
3
Sunan at-Tirmidhi.
4
Surah al-Mu'minun: 1-3.
5
Kitbul-Adhkr.
2

The Messenger of Allah ( )said, Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should say
something good or else keep silent.6 He ( )also said, Guard your tongue, stay in your
home and weep over your sins.7 And when asked which Muslim is best, he ( )replied,
"The one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe."8
Sahl bin Sad ( ) reported that the Messenger of Allah ( )said, Whoever guarantees for
me what is between his jaws and whats between his legs (i.e., the tongue & the private parts) I
guarantee for him Jannah.9
When Mudh bin Jabal ( ) asked the Prophet ( )about that which would take him into
Paradise and keep him away from the Fire, he mentioned the pillars of Islam and informed
Mudh of the importance of the night prayers and of jihd. He then said, Shall I not inform
you of the foundation of all that? He took hold of his tongue and said, Restrain this. Mudh
asked, O Messenger of Allah, will we be blamed for what we talk about? He ( )said,
May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mudh! Does anything topple people into the Fire on
their faces (or he said, on their noses") except the fruits (consequences) of their tongues?10
Ibn Masd ( ) has been quoted as saying. There is nothing more in need of prolonged
imprisonment than my tongue. And Umar bin Abdul-Azeez ( ) observed, One who counts
his speech as part of his deeds will minimize his words except about what concerns him.
A man said to the Prophet (), O Messenger of Allah, tell me of something I should adhere
to. He ( )said, Say, My Lord is Allah and remain steadfast. The man asked, What is
the thing that you fear for me most? The Messenger of Allah ( )took hold of his tongue
and said, This!11
That is because many people do not consider their speech as an accountable deed, so they are
carelessly excessive in talking. They do not restrict themselves to truth, discretion and good
manners but engage in gossip, slander, mockery and disputes. They raise their voices in
accusation or interrupt others with airs of superiority.
The Prophet ( )gave a severe warning when he said, Sufficient for a person as sin is his
speaking about all that he hears.12 He meant that it is a sin sufficient to place one in the
Hellfire, because such speech can hardly be free from untruth or exaggeration or exposure of
that which should be concealed.
If we contemplate the numerous possibilities for sin by the tongue we will know that if it is left
uncontrolled we cannot escape responsibility. So we should practice restraint and occupy
6

Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Narrated by Ibnul-Mubarak in az-Zuhd (no.134), Musnad Ahmad (5/259), Sunan at-Tirmidhi (2531) and graded as saheeh
by al-Albnee (no.890).
8
Sunan an-Nasa'i 4999.
9
Saheeh al-Bukhari (8/481).
10
Sunan at-Tirmidhi, hasan saheeh.
11
Musnad Ahmad, Sunan an-Nasi, Sunan Ibn Majah and Sunan at-Tirmidhi.
12
Abu Dawud - saheeh.
7

ourselves with repentance and doing some righteous deeds which leave no opportunity for idle
words and pastimes.
In Surah al-Hujurt, Allah ( ) has forbidden certain practices within society so that brotherhood
can be truly established. They are: ( 8 9 :9 0; : ) = &< ridiculing, insulting and calling
one another names.
: + A * 0 # C & D # A * 0 # C & D 5 # 5 = & A 0# & &* '&
H I A J
. N OK P/ Q;& # & 4 "9
K 9
8 9 : 9 0+ A C H
"O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be
better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them.
And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is
the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who
are the wrongdoers." 13
First, Allah said: 5 # 5 = & A let not a people ridicule another people. Ridicule (<& = )
means to be cynical against another. He said, "a people" ( 5) in the indefinite form to indicate
that the prohibition is not directed to any specific person, but rather, it is meant to address a
common habit among all people, one which Islam came to eradicate. The word 5 includes
both males and females. But then a separate warning has also been given to females.
Unfortunately, nowadays ridicule and sarcasm are considered a sign of intelligence. When
people laugh at his remarks, the offender feels proud and makes more remarks. Then he
becomes devoted to this practice. So do not be sarcastic with each other; don't make insulting
comments in the name of humor and watch the way you speak to each other.
Establishing brotherhood involves the prohibition of discrediting one another. No real
brotherhood can remain in an environment in which peoples faults are being exposed. There is
nothing more pathetic than an ignorant ill-mannered man making fun of a noble well-mannered
one.
It's very easy to be critical of someone's flaws and make him the object of your ridicule, but
Allah ( ) says: *0 # C & D Maybe they [who are ridiculed]are better than them.
In whose perspective are they better than the ones who ridicule them? When you ridicule
someone you obviously consider yourself superior to him. But Allah ( ) is saying: as far as I'm
concerned, maybe the people you're making fun of are better than you.
Then He said: C H : + A And do not insult one another. Al-lamz can be criticism of
someone by a bodily gesture, by means of ones eyes, by a deep breath or by snickering. This
subtle kind of criticism is not done in speech. You might insult someone without saying a word.
But Allah is aware of it.
He used the words:
yourselves, because
You are one nation.
13

C H : + A He didn't say don't insult others, but He said not to do it to

you should know that you are one among the Muslims and they are of you.
So the one who is discrediting others is in fact doing so to himself.

Surah al-Hujurt 49: 11.

Previously, ridicule was done only by the tongue, eyes, or body movements. Today, it is done
through text messages or posting remarks and photos on social networking sites. But these
modern methods do not change the ruling. It is still a major sin.
Then Allah said:
8 9 : 9 0+ A And do not insult one another and do not call each other by
[offensive] nicknames. The names forbidden are those which have bad connotations or those
disliked by the one so named.
The Prophet ( )strictly condemned all kinds of mockery and did not hesitate to reprimand
any of his abah who did it. Once, when Ab Dharr al-Ghifri said to Bill, "O son of a
black woman," the Prophet ( )turned to him and said angrily, You are a man who still has
some jahiliyyah [pre-Islamic practices]in him." Ab Dharr immediately realized his error and
placed his cheek on the ground, telling Bill to put his foot on his head. He refused to move
until Bill complied.
Obviously, when you call someone a bad name he will come up with a worse name for you as
an act of retaliation. This will cause disruption in society, and even if among friends there will
be something in their hearts. Your friend might not say anything to you directly and keep it to
himself. But then, on the Day of Judgment, when that friend has a deficiency of good deeds and
is desperate, he will come after you and say: "This person used to call me offensive nicknames
and I'd like to be compensated." So beware of making offensive comments and gestures.
H I A J
Allah then added: & 4 "9
K 9 Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's]
faith. The seriousness of verbal abuse (ridicule and insults) is emphasized in this yah, as if to
say: the worst of titles is that of immorality [i.e., after being called a believer, you chose to be
called disobedient]. Such acts will either decrease ones level of mn. The Prophet ( )said,
Insulting a Muslim is fusq (deviance and rebellion). 14 When you realize this, you should
hasten to make tawbah, for Allah concludes by saying: N OK P/ Q;& # And whoever
does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
When you have faith, you will keep away from these practices and ask for forgiveness if you
forget and fall into error. In fact, believers should always wish to support and assist each other
and want good for one another. Believing friends excuse one anothers mistakes and defend
each others honor, never speaking ill of the other or putting him down. They keep each others
secrets and advise one another privately. The Prophet ( )said,
None of you [truly] believes until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself.15

14
15

Al Bukhari and Muslim.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Watch your tongue and change your bad habits:

H & #
4 ; Q 5 & 4 A 5 # U
Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].16
You will find a constant reminder in the following verse:

The angels record everything, and we will be questioned about what we say. Therefore, it is
imperative that we try to keep our speech clean and modest. The Messenger of Allah ( ) said,
A true believer does not taunt or curse or abuse or talk indecently.17
If we are in the habit of losing control and speaking immodest words, can we guarantee that
those words wont be our last? What if they are our last? Wouldn't we rather remember Allah
and say, L-ilha ill-Allh, as our final words in order to enter Paradise?
To break the habit of thoughtless speech is not difficult, but it requires a conscious effort. If we
train ourselves daily to be engaged in dhikr, even if it is something simple such as saying,
Alhamdullilah, Subhanallah, Allahu akbar whenever we can, we may begin to replace bad
words with good ones. Memorizing the Quran serves the same purpose.
Good and pure speech in this life is a cause for admission into Paradise, because it is a sign of a
good and pure heart. So if every time we are about to say something inappropriate we
remember Allah, we will be able to purify our tongues from ill-speech and we will be in a
constant state of worship.
We pray that Allah ( ) enables us to say the good things that promote love, unity and courtesy
among us, and that He seals our lives with good deeds and with the word of tawheed, l ilha
ill-Allh.

16
17

Srah Qf, 50:18.

At-Tirmidhi hasan.