Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 929 [Read full issue]
Tongue
"Those who believe in God and the day of resurrection should say good things or be silent." [Bukhari, Muslim]
That's because people who truly believe in God fear God's punishment and hope for God's reward. They work diligently to perform what they have been ordered to do and refrain from what they have been asked to stay away from. The most important thing they can do is restrain their body parts, which they have control over.
The flaws of the tongue are plenty. Hence, those who know these matters well and believe truly in God, fear the Lord and pay attention to what their tongues utter. They only say good things or keep silent.
Some scholars said that all acts of goodwill emanate from four hadiths. They mentioned the above saying of the Prophet, may God's peace and blessings be upon him, as one of the four.
Some people said that the hadith means that when people have something good, truthful, and rewarding to say, they should say it. Otherwise, they should keep silent regardless whether the thing is haram, detestable, or neutrally permissible. Based on this, permissible talk must be avoided when it is feared that such talk might lead to something haram or detestable. This usually happens a lot and often.
Compiled From:
"Ibn-Daqiq's Commentary on the Nawawi Forty Hadiths" - Ibn Daqiq Al-Eid