Our beloved Prophet ﷺ has been described as someone who would be silent for long periods of time [Shamail:224]. It is related from the great companion, Abu Darda رضي الله عنه who stated: ‘Silence is a virtue, however only a few poeple implement it‘. [جامع بيان العلم وفضله] Also it is related from Abu Dhiyal [Allah bless him]: ‘Learn silence just as speech, for speech guides you and silence protects you.‘ [جامع بيان العلم وفضله]
Silence is Salvation
The following topics are discussed in this article:
- The ability of speech
- A thought provoking Hadith!
- Inspirational quotes regarding silence
- Ahadith on the importance of silence
- Conclusion
The ability of speech
From the many bounties of Allah Ta’ala upon us is the ability of speech. This is one of the qualities that separates us from other creations. Allah Ta’ala says in the Quraan Majeed:
خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ – عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ (الرحمن)
He created man – He taught him ‘bayaan’
Explaining this, Imam Ibn Katheer [Allah bless him] mentions in his tafseer: Al-Hasan [Allah bless him] said: “Eloquent speech.” This refers to Allah teaching the Qur’an, that is, teaching the servants how to recite it by making it easy for them to speak and pronounce letters with the various parts of the mouth, such as the alveolar bridge, the tongue and the lips.
Allah Ta’ala granted us this great blessing, the blessing of having the ability to converse with others, to understand and relate, to speak and recite, to read aloud and to make dhikr, all through the ability of speech.
Understanding this great blessing upon us, we have to look at the other side of the coin, which is knowing when to talk, and understanding that silence is the best option majority of the time.
A thought provoking Hadith!
When we say that silence is the best option, what do we mean? We mean that a person must refrain from unnecessary talk, from lewd talk, talk that has no benefit, benefit in this dunya or for the Aakhirah, meaning that any talk that is not helping a person in his dunya, business deals or otherwise, or is not helping him in his Aakhirah, such as reading quraan, making dhikr, speaking to his family to improve relations etc, then this will be unnecessary talk. Why this is so important is garnered from the hadeeth that is narrated by Mu’aadh bin Jabal (رضي الله عنه) which is as follows:
وقال معاذ رضي الله عنه لرسول الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يا رسول الله، أنؤاخذ بما نقول؟ فقال: “ثكلتك أمك يا ابن جبل، وهل يكبّ الناس في النار على مناخرهم إلا حصائد ألسنتهم؟! ” (الترمذي)
The crux of the mubaarak hadeeth is that Mu’aadh (رضي الله عنه) asked Rasulullah ﷺ if we will be taken to task for what we say?
Is it not wondrous? The foresight of Sahabah, the way their minds worked, how concerned they were about their Aakhirah. It truly is an inspiration and they are our guiding stars whom we should always take lesson from. Rasulullah ﷺ responds by saying that why else would people be thrown into jahannnam on their faces if not for what their tongues have reaped.
Inspirational quotes regarding silence
The Ulema have understood that a person will be taken to task for the words he utters. We find different stories of pious people of the past who would count all the words they’d spoken in a day.
Imam Hassan Al Basri (Allah bless him) says regarding counting your words:
ومن عد كلامه من عمله، قل كلامه فيما لا ينفعه.(رواه ابن ابي الدنيا)
Whomsoever counts his words from his actions, then speech which does not benefit him will become less.
The statement of Amir al-Mumineen Umar (رضي الله عنه) is famous, the great sahabi says:
ما ندمتُ على سكوتي مرّةً، لكنّني ندمتُ على الكلام مراراً.
I have never regretted my silence, as for my speech, I’ve regretted it many times.
Silence is a virtue that many don’t appreciate. In a world of constant communication, constant chattering and chatting, constant chirping and messaging, people today have lost this valuable quality. We were often told in our childhood,’ Speak when spoken to’, and,’ nobody likes a chatterbox.’ This might have seemed harsh at the time, but the wisdom behind it should resonate with each and every one of us today.
My beloved ustaadh Mufti Yacoob Vally Sahib mentioned to us in class regarding the hadeeth that prohibits excessive talk after Isha salaah, Mufti Sahib said that people tend to talk excessively when there’s no need for it. If we have to speak to someone, we’ll find that what’s necessary to be spoken about can be wrapped up in 5-10 minutes, but the conversation tends to go on, and when the conversation carries on, people end up getting involved in gheebah, or speaking about useless and haraam things just to pass the time, making jokes and the like. But this is not needed. It is more beneficial for a person to go home and speak to his family and laugh with them. This is an ibaadah.
Ahadith on the importance of silence
There are a lot of hadeeth and narrations from sahaabah about the virtues of silence, if a person wants to read further they can read the chapter in Imam Ghazali’s (Allah bless him) Ihyaa Uloomud Deen, and the kitaab silence by Ibn Abi Dunya (Allah bless him)
We will mention two, so as not to make the article too lengthy:
قال ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه، سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول : (ان اكثر خطايا ابن آدم في لسانه). الطبراني
Ibn Masood (RA) narrates that he heard Rasulullah ﷺ saying: ‘Most of the sins of the sons of Adam are due to his tongue.’
Imam Ghazali (Allah bless him) mentioned that the reason the virtue for silence is so great, is because the faults and slip ups of the tongue are so many. A person might make mistakes in his speech, and thus could be a problem as he might be giving the wrong message with regards to something important. A person might lie, and there is great sin in this. A person might spread false tales about another with his tongue, this is especially important in today’s time where reputations can be made or broken in a few moments through social media and the like. A person has to be extremely careful about what he says if he uses these social media platforms. And a person should avoid spreading tales about an another, whether they are true or false. A person might backbite another, this is a sad reality in todays time, with many choosing to consume the flesh of their brother by speaking about him in his absence.
A person through his speech will be proud and boastful, or he will be a munaafiq (hypocrite), by saying one thing and then saying another totally opposite later to appease some. A person might also indulge in lewd dirty speech, this is evident in today’s society where anything and everything is spoken about, and all forms of modesty have been lost to people, men and women. It is extremely unfortunate as hayaa(modesty) is an integral part of Iman. A person might end up fighting with another or swearing them, or a person might reveal the faults of another person.
These are just some of the reasons that Imam Ghazali (Allah bless him) mentioned. And these are just some the faults of our tongues. Does a person not see now the great virtue of silence? If a person, before talking, stops to think whether his speech is going to be beneficial, is it going to benefit his Muslim brother in their dunya or Aakhirah, is it kind speech, not harsh and oppressive, is his speech just and fair, is his speech true, is there a need for what he is going to say. If a person truly contemplates, he’ll soon realise that most of the time there’s no need to talk, and that silence will benefit him much more, and this will stop him from falling into the traps of shaitaan.
قال ابو هريرة رضي الله عنه، قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : (من كان يؤمن بالله و اليوم الآخر فليقل خيرا أو ليسكت). بخاري
Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) said: Rasulullah ﷺ said: ‘Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, he should speak good or remain silent.’
From this hadeeth we learn again the greatness of remaining silent, that if a person has nothing good to say, then he shouldn’t say anything. Here Rasulullah ﷺ mentions that a Muslim, a person who has imaan in Allah and the last day, should speak good. We must all analyse our speech before we speak and see if it’s good or harmful. Only if it’s good, should we speak. A point has to be remembered and taken note of, that here we’re speaking about the virtues of silence, but this does not mean that a person when he enters his home should just remain silent. Rather, it is better for a person when entering his home to speak lovingly and kindly to his family, expressing his love and happiness, and he should refrain himself from saying hurtful and harmful words, as we have learnt, if you have something good to say then speak, but if you don’t then it’s better for you to keep quiet.
After learning the great virtues of silence, and the faults of the tongue and the path it takes us down, it would be foolish to still engage in unnecessary speech. It is upon every human, male or female, young or old, to keep in mind this immense point,that these ahaadeeth and ilmi points we’ve mentioned, they are for the Aalim and non-Aalim. Every single person has to take account of himself, check his record, do a round up at the end of the day, and truly think to himself, has he progressed or not?
Conclusion
Another serious point that has to be mentioned, and we will end off on this,
Imam Ghazali (Allah bless him) mentions with regards to this tongue:
فإنه صغير جِرمه، عظيم جُرمه
Verily it’s (the tongue) form is small, but its wound is great/big.
Ask ourselves, how many a times have we spoken harshly, said some words that truly left a scar on the heart of the person we were addressing. Such words that even apologies couldn’t remove the pain. Are there not so many examples surrounding us of brothers not speaking to brothers, cousins not speaking to cousins, parents not speaking to children, because of words that were uttered, statements that were made. How many times has an elder told one younger than them, such painful words, such hurtful statements that brought tears to their eyes.
It’s so often in today’s society where you’ll find the child tell the parent such painful words that the eyes of the parent wells up with tears. This tongue is so small, but the wound it inflict is mightier than any sword or gun, blade or bullet of any kind, and it causes hurt to the heart that can’t just be healed. That is why, from now, going forward, everyone should make a concerted effort. Think before you speak. Think of the impact. Think of the depth of your words , the context, the meaning, the situation. Ponder and reflect. Take account of your accounts. And always remember, if what you have to say is not good, then remain silent, for as it comes in a mubaarak hadeeth:
قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: (الصمتُ حُكمٌ، وقليلٌ فاعلُه) رواه البيهقي
Rasulullah ﷺ said: (Silence is wisdom, and few practice it)
We ask Allah Ta’ala to grant us the ability to take into account our actions, to check ourselves before we say anything that might lead to our destructions, and to only speak that which makes Him happy.
