On silence Except when Speaking what is Good, Abandonment of what does not concern one, and Slander

“It is sufficient as a flaw in a person that he sees those faults in others which he is blind to [and disregards] in himself, or that he should fault other people for a matter which is also in himself, and which he cannot turn away from; and that he disturbs the one who sits with him by [discussing] that which does not concern [or benefit] him.”’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh [al-Ṣādiq] (a) say, ‘Blessed be every unknown [critical] [1] servant [of Allah] who recognizes the [nature] of people before they recognize him.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Who will guarantee four things for me in return for four houses in Paradise? [To] give charity without fear of poverty, treat all people with fairness, spread [the message of] peace in the world, and eschew argumentation even when you are right.’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘One who knows the appropriate position of his speech in relation to his intellect reduces his speech about that which does not concern him.’ And Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Beware of arguing with a deluded individual, for indeed every deluded individual has an argument that lasts only until his time comes to an end, and when his time is up, his delusion burns him with the Fire.’” [1]

“The worst servant [of Allah] is he who possesses a doubleface and a forked-tongue, he compliments his brother in his presence yet backbites him in his absence. When he is given, he envies him and when he is wronged, he abandons him.”

“I heard ʿAlī (a) say, ‘Verily Allah has some servants whose hearts have been humbled by the awe of Allah, so they abstain from speech despite being eloquent, articulate, wise, and noble. They race towards Him with pure actions, not considering their numerous [good] deeds to be much, nor being satisfied with [only] little. They consider themselves to be vile while they are [truly] sagacious and virtuous.’”

“Beware of that for which apology is required, for indeed the believer does not do wrong and does not [have to] apologize, while the hypocrite does [something] wrong every day and [then repeatedly] apologizes for it.”

[1] “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Should I not inform you about the most vile among you?’ They said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘[They are] those who go about spreading slander [and gossip], those who cause separation between loved ones, and those who endeavor to find faults in one who is innocent.’”

“Abū Jaʿfar [al-Bāqir] (a) said, ‘One who refrains from [impugning] the honor of people, Allah will pardon him [and protect his reputation] onthe Day of Resurrection, and whoever restrains his anger from the people, Allah will restrain His anger from him on the Day of Resurrection.’”

“Modesty is part of faith, and faith leads one into Paradise. Immodesty is part of depravity, and depravity leads one into the Fire.”

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) say, ‘Speech is of three types: the profitable, the sound, and the detrimental. As for the profitable [speech], it is that where Allah is mentioned. As for the sound [speech], it is that wherein what Allah likes is spoken. And as for the detrimental [speech], it is that in which people are spoken about [in a negative way].’”

“I heard Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) say, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “Verily Allah has forbidden Paradise to every foul-mouthed, obscene, shameless person who does not care about what he utters and what is said to him. If you investigate him, you will not find him but of illegitimate birth or a partner of Satan.” Upon hearing this, one man asked, “O Messenger of Allah, are there really people who are partners of Satan?” He (ṣ) replied, “Have you not read the statement of Allah [where he tells Satan]: And partner with them in their wealth and children (Q17:64)?” Then someone asked, “And are there [really] some people who do not care about what they utter or what is said to them?” So he (ṣ) responded, “Yes. He who criticizes the people and speaks [negatively] about them while he knows that they will not leave him [and will react against what he has said]; such a person does not care about what he utters and what is said to him.”’”

he heard saying, “Verily the good deed that brings the quickest reward is kindness, and the evil deed that brings the quickest punishment is unjust aggression. And it is sufficient as a flaw for a person to look at those faults in others which he turns a blind eye to in himself, and to censure the people for that which he is [himself] incapable of abandoning, and to disturb the one who sits with him by [discussing] that which does not concern him.”

“A bedouin came to the Prophet (ṣ) and said, ‘Advise me, O Messenger of Allah!’ He (ṣ) replied, ‘Yes. I advise you to guard that which is between your legs.’” [1]

“Verily Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, revealed to Mūsā (a) that one of your companions is speaking ill of you so be wary of him. So he said, ‘O Lord, I do not know him; inform me who he is so that I may know him.’ He replied, ‘O Mūsā, I have found fault with him for his slander [and defamation], and you wish Me to [also] be a defamer!’ He said, ‘Then what should I do, O Lord?’ Allah, the Exalted, replied, ‘Divide your companions into groups of ten, then cast lots between them; the arrow will fall on the group of ten which he is part of. Then divide them again and cast lots between them and the arrow will fall on him.’” He (the narrator) said, “When the man saw that lots were being drawn, he stood up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am the companion [who spoke ill of you]! By Allah, I will never repeat it again.’”

“Once, when the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) was with [his wife] ʿĀʾishah, a man sought permission to see him. So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘What a bad brother of the tribe [he is]!’ ʿĀʾishah stood up and entered the inner chamber, and the Prophet (ṣ) allowed the man to enter. As he came in, the Prophet (ṣ) went to meet him and he spoke to him until he had said what he came to say and left. So ʿĀʾishah said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you mentioned him in that way, yet you still welcomed him with a smile on your face?’ So he said to her, ‘Verily among the worst servants of Allah is one whose company is disliked because of his foul-mouthedness.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Paradise is forbidden to three: to the one who puts others under obligation, to the one who backbites, and to the one who is a habitual drinker.’”

And will anything plunge people into the Fire [of Hell] other than what their tongues reap?”[1]

“I heard my father say, ‘It is from the beauty of a person’s [devotion to] Islam to eschew that which does not concern him.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Verily Allah loves the modest, clement, independent, chaste individual. And indeed Allah hates the shameless, obscene, scrounging, importune individual.’”

“I was sitting with Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) when he sent one of his non-Arab servant boys on an errand to a person. The boy left and then returned so Abū ʿAbdillāh began asking him and seeking an explanation from him, but the young lad did not understand him, and this happened a number of times.” He (the narrator) said, “When I saw that his speech did not change and he was not able to understand, I thought that Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) would get angry on him. [However,] Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) looked at him sternly and then said, ‘By Allah, even if you are unable to speak with your tongue, you are not unable to communicate with your heart [and mind]!’ Then he said, ‘Verily modesty, chastity, and inarticulateness – the inarticulateness of the tongue, not of the heart – are part of faith, [1] while immodesty, obscenity and insolence are part of hypocrisy.’”

“After that, she never uttered an obscene word until she left this world.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) used to say in his sermon, ‘Cursing a believer is transgression and fighting him is disbelief. Consuming his property [without permission] is a sin and his property is as inviolable as his blood.’”