Idle Talk

Praise be to Allaah The Almighty Who created man in a balanced form, inspired and adorned him with the beautifying light of faith, taught him eloquence and therewith, made him a pioneer and superior being, providing him with a tongue to articulate what is in his heart.

 

Truly, the tongue, from among the greatest blessings of Allaah The Almighty, is one of His most sophisticated and unique creations of all organs in the body. Although small in size, its impact is paramount. Faith and disbelief, which stem from obedience and disobedience, respectively, can not be known except through the testimony of this very organ.

 

Moreover, those who keep their tongues unchecked, fall prey to the devil’s influence, who will cause them to say evil things and lead them to an edge of a bank that is about to collapse, forcing them to fall down. Truly, no one escapes the evil of the tongue except who restricts it to the constraints of Sharee'ah, using it only to utter what is of benefit to him or her in this life and the Hereafter, while preventing it from uttering anything that may bring any harm, sooner or later.

That is why the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, as narrated by Mu'aath, may Allaah be pleased with him: “Could anything cast people in the Hellfire face down” – in another version, “on their noses” – “except the harvests of their tongues?” The phrase “harvests of their tongues” refers to the recompense and punishment for uttering what is prohibited. Each one of us plants good and evil acts with our words and actions; and then, we reap them on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever plants a good word or deed will harvest dignity, and whoever does the opposite only reaps regret. Thus, as the Hadeeth apparently indicates, the most common cause of people entering Hell is the sinful utterance of their tongues.

That includes Shirk (associating partners with Allaah), the gravest sin in the sight of Allaah The Almighty, as well as what is connected to it: ignorantly speaking of Allaah The Almighty. It also encompasses false testimony, doing magic, slander, and other major and minor sins like lying, backbiting and talebearing. In fact, all sinful deeds are mostly associated with utterances that support them.

That is why many Hadeeths refer to the virtue of silence. On one occasion, Sufyaan ibn ‘Abdullaah Ath-Thaqafi, may Allaah be pleased with him, asked: “O Messenger of Allaah, what is the most serious thing you fear for me?” The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, held his tongue and said,“This.” Similarly, another Companion, ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, may Allaah be pleased with him, says: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, how can I obtain salvation?’ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied, ‘Control your tongue [from idle talk].’”

 

Under the chapter entitled Eemaan (faith) in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari, it is stated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “A Muslim is the one who avoids harming other Muslims with his tongue and hand.”He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also said:“Whoever believes in Allaah The Almighty and the Last Day should utter good words or remain silent.” Perhaps one of his more eloquent and concise sayings, this not only bears a command to say what is good, but provides the only alternative as keeping quiet. For, indeed, as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].} [Quran 50:18]

In fact, the stakes are higher; Sahl ibn Sa‘d, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrates that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “He who guarantees for me what is between his jaws and what is between his thighs, I guarantee him Paradise.” This means that the one who uses his or her tongue only regarding relevant matters and restrains it from what does not concern him or her, and guards his or her private parts against illicit acts, is promised Paradise by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Ibn Battaal, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, “This Hadeeth indicates that the greatest trial for man in life is [the responsibility of] his tongue and private parts. Therefore, whoever is protected from their evil is protected from the gravest evil.”

Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned: “One might utter a word thinking it to be trivial and sinks [because of it] in Hell further than the distance of the east”; the wording reported by Muslim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, states: “farther than the distance between the east and west.” Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, that an example of such a word “is what a person utters before an unjust ruler [in order to please him].”

In another version of the Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that it may be “a word that he does not understand”, meaning he is unaware of whether it is good or bad, as explained by Shaykh Al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abdus-Salaam, who added, “Hence, it is prohibited for a Muslim to speak any [such] word.” Commenting on this Hadeeth, An-Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, “[It] encourages a man to watch his tongue. If a person wants to say something, he should think of, and fully grasp, what it is before he utters a word. If he finds that there is benefit in it, he should say it, otherwise, he should hold his tongue.”

‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, would reportedly say: “By Allaah, nothing needs prolonged confinement more than my tongue.” He also used to say, “O my tongue, say good words and you will succeed, and speak no evil and you will be secure; otherwise, you will regret.” Another Companion, Abu Ad-Dardaa’, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, “Protect your ears from your mouth; indeed, you have two ears and one mouth, in order to hear more than you talk.”

Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also said, “They used to say that the tongue of the believer is behind his heart; when he wants to say something, he contemplates it with his heart and then utters it. Whereas, the tongue of the hypocrite is in front of his heart; when he intends to say anything, he utters it before deliberating it in his heart.” He, may Allaah have mercy upon him, went a step further, saying, “He who does not watch his tongue does not understand his religion.”

If you ask why the virtue of silence is so great, it is because the tongue, with hardly any effort may lead to evil, lies, backbiting, talebearing, ostentation, hypocrisy, obscenity, dispute, self-praise, indulgence in falsehood, controversy, distortion, harming people and a violation of their privacy and honor. Moreover, it has a charm that affects the heart, and is motivated by a person’s temperament and is influenced by Satan. Those who indulge in idle talk can barely control their tongues so as to utter what they like and restrain it from what is not pleasing to them. It is one of the ambiguous facts that danger lies in idle talk, whereas safety, in silence, thus its enormous virtue.

Furthermore, keeping quiet strengthens a person’s zeal, maintains his or her gravity, helps him or her focus on meditation, remembrance of Allaah The Almighty and worship, and keeps him or her safe from the ill-effects of idle talk in the worldly life and its punishment in the Hereafter. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].} [Quran 18:50]

Speech can be divided into four categories:

1-   1- Purely harmful – one should remain silent instead of indulging in such talk.

2-   2- That which includes both harm and benefit – such speech must also be avoided, because the elimination of evil takes precedence over the realization of benefit.

3-   3- That which has neither harm nor benefit – this is idle talk and keeping oneself busy with it is a waste of time, which, in itself, is nothing short of a great loss.

4-   4- Purely beneficial – after three-quarters of all categories of talk have been dismissed, it is only this that one must indulge in; however, a threat looms here, as well, since such talk may be subtly tainted with ostentation and self-praise, which is a grave risk.