My OperaSpeak good or remain silent
By غرباء stranger garibmuhacir. Saturday, March 24, 2012 12:08:34 PM
Speak good or remain silent
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
Abu Shuraih Al-Khuza`i (May ALLAH be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, “…and he who believes in ALLAH and the Last Day, let him either speak good or remain silent".
[The full version of the Hadith is as follows;
Abu Shuraih Al-Khuza`i (May ALLAH be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "He who believes in ALLAH and the Last Day, let him be kind to his neighbour; and he who believes in ALLAH and the Last Day, let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in ALLAH and the Last Day, let him either speak good or remain silent".
[Muslim].]
When we have nothing beneficial to say, silence is golden. Once, Mu`âdh b. Jabal asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inform him of some good work that would admit him into Paradise and distance him from the Hellfire. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned to him the virtues of many good deeds, then said: “Shall I inform you of the foundation of all of that?”
Mu`âdh said: “Certainly.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) took hold of his tongue and said: “Restrain yourself from this.”
Mu`âdh then asked: “O Prophet of ALLAH! Are we held to task for the things that we say?”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu`âdh! Does anything topple people headlong into the Hellfire save the harvests of their tongues?” [ Sunan al-Tirmidhî and Sunan Ibn Mâjah ]
We must be vigilant not to speak falsehood. We must think about what we are saying and the possible consequences of our words before we go ahead and speak. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A man might speak a word without thinking about its implications, but because of it, he will plunge into the Hellfire further than the distance between the east and west.” [ Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim ]
An-Nawawî comments on the meaning of this hadith, saying: “This hadith encourages us to guard our tongues. A person who wants to speak should think upon what he is about to say before he utters it. If it then shows itself to have some benefit to it, he may speak it; otherwise he should refrain from doing so.”
