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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.

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Guarding the tongue.

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Guarding the tongue against speaking about Allah without knowledge.

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Exercising caution (wara') in issuing legal rulings (fatwa) and in transmitting reports from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"For a man to live in ignorance after having learned what Allah has made incumbent upon him

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is better for him than to speak about that which he does not know."

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"By Allah, we do not know everything you ask us about;

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and had we known, we would not have concealed it from you,

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for it is not permissible for us to conceal it from you."

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Ibn al-Munkadir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The scholar stands between Allah and His servants,

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so let him seek a way out for his own soul."

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Al-Rabi' Ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Let one of you fear saying, 'Allah has permitted such-and-such, and Allah has forbidden such-and-such,'

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lest Allah say to him, 'You have lied;

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I did not permit such-and-such, nor did I forbid such-and-such.'"

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Sahnun, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

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"Is it permissible for a scholar to say 'I do not know' regarding a matter he actually knows?"

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He replied, "Regarding matters for which there is a clear text from the Qur'an or an established Sunnah, no.

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But as for matters based on personal opinion (ra'y),

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then it is permissible for him to do so,

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because he does not know whether he is correct or mistaken."

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Zubayd al-Yami said:

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"I never asked Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him, about anything

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without seeing signs of aversion on his face;

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he would say, 'I hope,' or 'Perhaps.'"

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Al-A'mash, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"I never heard Ibrahim al-Nakha'i say,

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'This is halal' or 'This is haram.'

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He would only say,

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'They used to dislike this,' or 'They used to like this.'"

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Ibn Mahdi said:

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"A man asked Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, about a matter,

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and he replied, 'I do not know it.'

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The man said,

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'I have traveled from such-and-such a place just to ask you about this.'

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Malik said to him,

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'When you return to your home and your place,

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inform them that I told you:

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I do not know it.'"

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Ibn Wahb said:

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"If I wished to fill pages with the words of Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him,

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saying 'I do not know,' I could have done so."

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He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

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"It was not the way of the people,

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nor of those who passed before us from our salaf,

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nor of anyone I have met whom I would take as a model,

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to say of something, 'This is halal and this is haram.'

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They would not dare to do that.

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They would only say,

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'We dislike such-and-such,' or 'We view this as good.'

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'This is appropriate,'

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or 'We do not see this as appropriate.'

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They would not say 'halal' or 'haram.'

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Have you not heard the saying of Allah the Exalted:

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“Say: Have ye considered what provision Allah hath sent down for you, how ye have made of it lawful and unlawful? Hath Allah permitted you, or do ye invent a lie concerning Allah?” (10:59)

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“Say: Have ye considered what provision Allah hath sent down for you, how ye have made of it lawful and unlawful? Hath Allah permitted you, or do ye invent a lie concerning Allah?” (10:59)

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"Say, 'Has Allah permitted you [to do this]?'"

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“Say: Have ye considered what provision Allah hath sent down for you, how ye have made of it lawful and unlawful? Hath Allah permitted you, or do ye invent a lie concerning Allah?” (10:59)

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The halal is what Allah and His Messenger have permitted,

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and the haram is what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.

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A man asked Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,

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and he said to him, "Ask someone who knows; ask someone who knows."

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Abu Sahl Muhammad Ibn 'Umar narrated

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from some of the scholars of Balkh:

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"I entered Baghdad,

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and there was a man at the bridge calling out for three days, saying:

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'Beware! Judge Ahmad Ibn 'Amran al-Khasafah, may Allah have mercy on him,

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was asked for a fatwa on such-and-such a matter,

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and he answered with such-and-such,

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but that is an error;

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the correct answer is such-and-such.

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May Allah have mercy on whoever conveys this to him.'"

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Taqi al-Din Ibn 'Abd al-Qadir al-Tamimi al-Ghazzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said,

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commenting on this story:

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"This is how scholars should be;

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this is how caution must be exercised in the religion of Allah,

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and this is the sincerity owed to the servants of Allah."

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Sheikh 'Atiyyah Salim said

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regarding his teacher, the scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, may Allah have mercy on them both:

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"Among the things noted about him in his final years

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was his distancing himself from issuing fatwas.

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He would often say,

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'I will not bear anything upon my conscience;

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the scholars say such-and-such.'

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I once asked him about that,

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and he said:

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'A person is in safety as long as he is not tested,

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and being asked is a trial,

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because you are speaking on behalf of Allah,

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and you do not know if you have hit upon Allah's ruling or not.'

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So, as long as there is no definitive text from the Book of Allah

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or the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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it is mandatory to exercise caution regarding it."

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He would exemplify this with the poet's words:

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"If you know a thing, then speak of it;

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but do not speak of that which you are ignorant of."

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"Whoever loves to be seen in the forefront,

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and hates to say 'I do not know,' his vital points have been struck."

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Guarding the tongue from speaking about what does not concern one.

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Someone visited Abu Dujanah, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was ill,

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and his face was radiant.

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He said:

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"There is no deed of mine more reliable in my own estimation than two things:

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I would not speak about what did not concern me,

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and my heart was sound toward the Muslims."

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Some of the salaf said:

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"Whoever busies himself with what does not concern him

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wastes what does concern him."

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Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"You spoke about what did not concern you,

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so it distracted you from what did concern you.

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Had you busied yourself with what concerned you,

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you would have abandoned what did not concern you."

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Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"A man will not be righteous until he abandons what does not concern him.

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When he does that,

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it is hoped that Allah will open his heart."

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Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"The servant's speech regarding what does not concern him

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is a form of abandonment (khidhlan) from Allah the Exalted."

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The discourse of the salaf on preferring silence over speech at times,

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and vice versa.

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'Ubayd Allah Ibn Abi Ja'far, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"If a person is speaking in a gathering

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and he finds his speech pleasing,

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let him hold his tongue.

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And if he is silent

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and he finds his silence pleasing,

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let him speak."

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Malik Ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Patience is silence,

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and silence is part of patience.

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The speaker is not more pious than the silent one,

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except for a scholar who speaks when it is appropriate

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and remains silent when it is appropriate."

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Guarding the tongue from affectation in speech.

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Ibrahim Ibn al-Mahdi said to 'Abd Allah Ibn Sa'id,

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his scribe, may Allah have mercy on them both:

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"Beware of pursuing obscure, archaic words

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in the hope of attaining eloquence,

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for that is the greatest form of speech impediment.

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Stick to what is simple,

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while avoiding the language of the vulgar."

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Whose backbiting is permissible?

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'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"There is no sanctity for a wicked person."

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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"There are three for whom backbiting is not applicable:

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the treacherous leader,

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the person of innovation who calls to his innovation,

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and the sinner who openly commits his sin."

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Ibrahim al-Taymi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"There are three who have no protection against backbiting:

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the oppressor, the sinner,

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and the person of innovation."

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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:

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"They did not consider it backbiting

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as long as the person was not named."

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Guarding the tongue from breaking promises.

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When death approached 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, he said:

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"A man from Quraysh once asked for my daughter's hand,

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and I had given him something akin to a promise.

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By Allah, I will not meet Allah with a third of hypocrisy;

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bear witness that I have married her to him."

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Shu'bah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"I never made an appointment with Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him,

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but that he would say to me when he wanted to part ways:

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'There is no appointment between me and you.'

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Yet when I arrived, I would find he had already preceded me."

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Guarding the tongue from harshness and sharpness.

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Some of the salaf said:

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"People never speak a harsh word

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but that beside it is a word that is softer,

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which would have sufficed in its place."

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Abu al-'Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted concerning the covenant He took from the Children of Israel:

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"And speak to people good [words],"

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"meaning, say to them the best of speech,

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and treat them with the best of what you would love to be treated with."

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Guarding the tongue from asking about what has not occurred.

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A man came one day to Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,

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and asked him about something—I do not know what it was.

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Ibn 'Umar said to him:

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"Do not ask about what has not happened,

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for I heard 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may the pleasure of Allah be upon him,

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curse the one who asks about what has not happened."

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'Umar, may the pleasure of Allah be upon him, said from the pulpit:

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"I adjure by Allah any man who asks about what has not happened,

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for Allah has already clarified what is to be."

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Other benefits.

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Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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"There is no part of the believer more beloved to Allah the Exalted than his tongue;

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through it, He admits him to Paradise.

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And there is no part of the disbeliever more hateful to Allah the Exalted than his tongue;

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through it, He admits him to the Fire."

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Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"It is incumbent upon the believer

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to be more protective of his tongue than he is of his own footsteps."

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Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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Hakim once came upon a group of people who were conversing,

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so he stopped by them, greeted them, and said:

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"Speak as people who know that Allah hears their words,

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and that the angels are recording them."

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Yahya Ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"Hearts are like pots boiling in the chest with whatever is inside them,

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and their ladles are the tongues."

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So, wait for a man to speak,

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for his tongue will ladle out for you what is in his heart,

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whether it be sweet, sour, fresh, or bitter.

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The ladling of his tongue will inform you of the flavor of his heart.

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Some of the wise once said to their sons:

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"Refine your tongues,

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for when a man is struck by a calamity,

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he may borrow his brother’s mount or his brother’s garment,

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but he will find no one to lend him his tongue."

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The life of peace lies between speech and action.