بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
Of the most virtuous traits of the believer is silence.
It is reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever is silent is safe.” Jabir ibn Samura, Allah be well pleased with him, was asked, “Did you used to sit with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace?” to which he replied, “Yes. He had long silences and seldom laughed. His companions would mention poetry and their business and they would laugh and he might smile.”
Whoever wishes to speak, then choose words of remembrance of Allah, or commanding the good, or forbidding the evil; and he must avoid words that do not concern him.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, then let him say the good or remain silent.”
It is said that nine-tenths of well being are in silence and that tribulations are connected to speech. One of the righteous said, “I imposed on myself to pray two cycles of prayer for every word that doesn’t concern me, but that proved easy for me, so then I imposed on myself to fast a day for every word that doesn’t concern me, but that proved easy for me and I didn’t desist, so then I imposed on myself to give one silver coin in charity for every word that doesn’t concern me, and I found that tough.”
Imam al-Ghazali mentions, “The definition of speech that does not concern you is that you say words that had you been silent instead you would neither sin, nor suffer in your state or wealth. An example of this is that you sit with a people and mention to them of your travels and what you saw in them of mountains and rivers and what circumstance you experienced, and what you enjoyed of food and clothing, and those Shaykhs and incidents that impressed you – these are all matters that had you been silent instead, you would neither sin nor suffer. Even if you exerted yourself to not mix this account with falsehood from addition or subtraction, nor praising yourself through boasting of the tremendous matters that you experienced, nor backbiting or speaking ill of something Allah created, you have still wasting your time – and how on earth can you be safe from the sins that we have mentioned?”
Avoid talking too much, as plentiful speech is not free from mistakes. Excessive speech, beyond what is needed, is considered speech that doesn’t concern a person as is asking questions about what is not important. He shouldn’t deem his words of no consequence, even if they be few. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “Verily the slave says a word of the pleasure of Allah Might and Majestic, to which he does not ascribe any importance, but Allah raises him whole degrees by it; and verily the slave says a word of the anger of Allah to which he does not ascribe any importance, but he plunges by virtue of it into Hell.”
A person should speak in small, measured words. The speech of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was clear, whoever heard it understood it; if someone wanted to count his words they could.
A person should be soft spoken, and not raise his voice unnecessarily. In the Qur’an, Luqman says to his son, “lower your voice; surely the most hateful of voices is braying of the asses.” Qur’an 31:19
May Allah purify our tongues and grant us beautiful speech. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
