Dr. Bilal A Bhat , Intizar Ahmad
Allah had sent Prophets and Messengers from time to time for our guidance. Their mission has always been to reform society, purify it from corrupt practices and set it on a course which Almighty Allah has defined for it. Man’s status as Allah’s vicegerent on earth requires him to follow a certain code of conduct to deserve this title. The last in the chain of Messengers of Allah, our beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has given us golden principles and comprehensive rules to live by, which are a key to our over all success in this world and hereafter. World accepts this fact that no one was, is, and will ever be as aware of human psychology as was the greatest benefactor of humanity, the last of Allah’s Messenger Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Holy Prophet (PBUH) guides us in every field of human activity. The core values, which he (PBUH) taught us form the very foundations of a balanced, moderate and healthy social order; a social order which promotes and establishes love, brotherhood, peace, tolerance, mutual respect, understanding and good will. He (PBUH) has also warned us of those practices which corrode and weaken those foundations endangering the whole edifice of society. Islam considers man to be responsible for himself, his actions as well as for others. It prompts upon him towards reforming society and standing against all kinds of corruption: moral, political, economic, and social …etc. The tongue with the ability to speak is a gift that Almighty Allah has bestowed on man in His creation. This has been stated in the following verse in Holy Quran (Sura Rahman 55:3-4): He has created man: He has taught him speech (and intelligence). The Messenger of Allah(s) says: Blessed is the man who speaks good and is triumphant; or keeps silent in the face of evil and is secure. Tongue which expresses our inner thoughts and feelings is one of our greatest blessings. We should judge ourselves before being judged by others. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, A man utters a word pleasing to Almighty Allah without considering it of any significance for which Allah exalts his ranks (in Jannah); another one speaks a word displeasing to Allah without considering it of any importance, and for this reason he will sink down into Hell [Al-Bukhari]. Speaking is one of the most effective means to achieve social improvement or corruption. An influential speaker can lead a human society towards moral and spiritual decay or corruption.
The extent of the influence of the tongue is so much that the most pious man who lived his whole lifetime to establish the prayer, is presented as being one who does not pray in the minds of the other people. It is important that one should think before he speaks. Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported: I heard the Prophet (PBUH) saying, A person utters a word thoughtlessly (i.e., without thinking about its being good or not) and, as a result of this, he will fall down into the fire of Hell deeper than the distance between the east and the west [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. This hadith shows the disadvantage which can be caused by the improper use of the tongue. In another hadith Prophet (PBUH) said, The most excellent among Muslims is one from whose tongue and hands the other Muslims are secure [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The whole of the Muslim is sacred, his blood, his property and his honor.” [Muslim] And in his farewell Khutbah, he (peace be upon him) said: “…Indeed your blood, your wealth and your honor are all Haraam (sacred) to each other, just as this day is sacred (the Day of ‘Arafah), in this sacred month (Dhul Hijjaa) in this sacred place (the sacred precinct of Makkah).” [Al-Baihaqee] Allah, the Most High said: “Do not backbite one another, would any one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother, verily you detest this….” [Al-Hujuraat 43:12] The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Backbiting is mentioning something about your brother that he dislikes.” [Maalik & Ibn Mubaraak] And in another narration, he (peace be upon him) said: “Backbiting is to mention about a person something about him in his absence”. [Abu Dawood] The Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Do you know what is gheebah (Backbiting)? They said “Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) know best.” He (peace be upon him) said: “Mentioning about your brother what he would hate (in his absence)’. It was said: ‘What about if what I say about my brother is true?’ He (peace be upon him) said: “If what you said about him is true then you would have backbited him, and if it is not true, then he is slandered (buhtaan).” [Muslim] It is important to note that if a man is oppressed, he can go to the honest ruler or honest judge or some honest person who has the ability to stop the oppression, and make a petition. In the case of “commanding good and forbidding evil”, a person is allowed to mention the known innovation or sin of another person, in order to warn others about it. However, if one declares the actions of people that are done in secret, this is considered to be backbiting. Allah, the Most High said: “Help one another in righteousness and piety; but do not assist one another in sin or transgression” [AlMaaidah 5:2]
At present the most common social evil are backbiting (gibah), tale-bearing, slandering, or rumour mongering. Among all things, the tongue deserves to be prisoned longer than anything else (because most of our sins are committed by it). Backbiting (ghibah) is a grave sin and is only permitted in certain exceptional cases, such as: mentioning to someone who will be able to get you your rights, asking a religious ruling, warning someone of the potential harms, about someone who sins openly, etc. It is better to talk directly to the person who hurt your feelings and sort out matters with gentleness and politeness. Keeping your feelings in your heart will only make you suffer. It’s good to talk and sort out the ill-feelings that exist. Allah the Exalted made it clear in Noble Quran that defaming another Muslim in his/her absence is like eating the flesh of one’s dead brother (Qura, 49:12), which obviously, everybody hates. Of course, slander is a more heinous sin than backbiting, since it involves not only backbiting but also lying with intent to maliciously dishonor a Muslim. Whoever backbites or witnessing to falsehood or slanders, Allah, the Most High vows to expose their faults. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Shall I not inform you about the greatest of sins.” The companions said: “Most assuredly” He (peace be upon him) said: “Shirk! (associating partners) with Allah, ungratefulness to parents’, he was reclining but now sat up and said: ‘and bearing false witness’, he continued to repeat it so much that we said: We wish that he would stop speaking.” [Bukhari & Muslim] Imaam Adh-Dhahabee in his work Al-Kabaair (The Major Sins) said: “The bearer of false witness commits several major sins. Mas‘oud, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Truth guides to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Janaah and indeed a person would involve in truth until he is written with Allah as truthful. And lying guides to immorality which guide to Jahannam, and a person would lie until he is written with Allah as a liar.” [Bukhari & Muslim] Some factors that cause backbiting and their cures are (a). Subsiding anger: This is done by backbiting the person who kindles his anger – so every time this person makes him angry, he subsides it by backbiting the person. Through this (the backbiting), he feels he is getting even with the other person. The cure for this is the advice of the Messenger (peace be upon him): “Whoever suppresses his anger while in a position to enforce it, Allah will call him at the head of the creation until he chooses for him from the hoor ‘een (special women of Jannah that are promised to the believer), for him to marry from them as he pleases.” [Ahmad and AtTabaraanee] (b) Wanting to keep Mends: In order to maintain friends with others, a person indulges in backbiting because he is afraid of losing their friendship. Thus he does not reprimand them when they backbite, but indulge in it with them. To cure this he must remember the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): “Whoever solicits the pleasure of men by displeasing Allah, Allah will consign him to mankind.” [At-Tirmidhi] (c) Wanting to raise one’s status with other people: This is done by debasing others, by saying things like such and such a person, is ignorant or his understanding is weak, thus indirectly implying that he is more knowledgeable than the one he debases. In order to cure this sickness, the perpetrator must be reminded that Allah is the final judge and this person that he is claiming ignorant, might be better than him with Allah. Furthermore, that person may be excused because of his lack of understanding. (d) Playing around and making fun of others: This could involve mockery and sarcasm. It is enough to remind those indulging in this practice of what Allah, the Most High said: “O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter is better than the former…” [Al-Hujuraat 49:11] At other times, it could involve lies, as mention is made of some people in a way to make others laugh. It is enough to answer with the statement of the Messenger (peace be upon him): “Woe to the one who speaks and lies to make people laugh, woe to him, woe to him.” [Ahmad, Abu Dawood & others] (e) Envy: Through envy, a person is backbitten because of his noble position and high standing, in order to debase and reduce his worth in people’s eyes. The envier should reflect upon the statement of the Messenger (peace be upon him): “Faith and envy cannot exist together in the heart of the slave”. [Ahmad 8: 436] (f) Fear of Blame: Something is attributed to a person who wants to free himself from it, by blaming another person totally, although they both had shared in the act. He does this so that he can free himself from being blamed. The correct thing to do is to acquit himself honestly, and not try to throw the blame upon anyone else (g) Having too much spare time. This can cause a person to fall into backbiting, because it is easy for such an idle mind to become busy with men, their honor and their faults. To correct this a person must spend his time in acts of obedience to Allah, worship, seeking knowledge, and teaching others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Two blessings are misused by people, good health and spare time to do good.” [Bukhari] (h) Trying to get close to a person in authority to acquire material gains. In order to get close to those in authority and to gain their favors, someone may backbite his workmates with his boss. To cure this, he must realize the true value of this world with Allah, the Glorious, and that He is the Provider, and that He would allow him to get only what he deserves. And no boss can give him anything if Allah, the Sublime does not will such for him.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “…know that if the nation (all mankind) were to gather together to benefit you with something, it would only benefit you with something that Allah had already prescribed for you…” [At-Tirmidhi] Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (R.A) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): “Who is the most excellent among the Muslims?” He said, “One from whose tongue and hands the other Muslims are secure.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Indeed it is very true that not hurting other peoples feelings and having good manners in general is one of the most important aspects of Islam. Unfortunately, many of us overlook certain social ills, which are rampant in our society and we not only have become insensitive towards them, but also practice them day and night without thinking that by doing so we are disobeying Almighty Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). Many Muslims restrict Islam to modes of worship (ibadaat) and outer appearance, whilst social affairs, one’s relationship with fellow family members, friends, other Muslims and humans in general is not even considered to have anything to do with Islam. Among Allah’s blessings upon man is that He made him a thoughtful and sane being and created a tongue for him. He made him able to utter sounds and clarify what he wants through the words which he speaks. He has only to speak to let people know what he wants. Thus, we should thank Allah for the blessings which He bestowed upon us. We should use our speech in useful ways; not to speak but goodness. A wise man first thinks and then speaks, and a fool speaks and then thinks. For example, if we are in a meeting or a gathering or in a office/factory and want to speak with people, or any discussion comes up then we should first think what we want to say and choose which words to use. If we can offer useful counsel to people or offer advice, we should speak in such a way to make others want to listen. Hence our words will be acceptable to Allah and the people because our speech is beneficial in guiding towards goodness or reconciling people, or teaching useful knowledge, and will increase the love of people to each other. If we say a word of goodness we will get Allah’s reward and the love and respect of the people and so we will be triumphant. As our glorious Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says: If man is not able to say something useful, he should keep silent from bad words and his silence will keep him far from Allah’s wrath and from the harm which might befall him as a result of saying bad words. Whoever does evil deeds to people, people will surely confront him with evil too. And certainly, if we speak bad words it may cause us problems and harm and make us regret and wish we had kept silent and had not spoken.
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) says, A believer’s tongue is located behind his heart. Whenever he wants to talk, he first presents his words to his heart. If the heart approves of what he wants to say it issues an order to the tongue to utter the words. However, if the heart does not issue a permit, then the lips stay sealed. But the hypocrite’s tongue is the leader of his heart. Whenever he wills to say something, he utters it without the approval of his heart. Consequently, our Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) educates us with good manners saying: Either you speak a useful and good word, or be silent which is better for you than speaking evil words. Sahl bin Sa`d (R.A) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Who so ever gives me a guarantee to safeguard what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I shall guarantee him Jannah.”[Al-Bukhari]. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) has given the assurance of Jannah to every Muslim who protects these two parts of the body. Protection here means their use permitted by the Islamic Shari`ah. They should be guarded against every act that is prohibited by the Shari`ah. To conclude among the best characteristics of a Muslim is to speak only the words of goodness and reconciliation. It is better to remain silent if you cannot speak the word of goodness. Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, Affliction caused by the tongue is worse than (that caused by) the strike of the blade of a sword. A person must ask himself before saying anything: Is there any need for me to talk? If there is a need, then it is fine to talk. Otherwise, silence is better because refraining from unnecessary speech is a form of worship. Whoever does not keep a check on his tongue will regret it. For those who do good is good (reward) and even more than that. May Allah guide us all towards true path (… Ameen).
(The authors write on Islamic topics exclusively for “ Kashmir Horizon”. Views are their own)
