WEBVTT

00:00:00.850 --> 00:00:04.049
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

00:00:04.049 --> 00:00:09.599
The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.

00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:13.580
Guarding the tongue.

00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:18.730
Guarding the tongue against speaking about Allah without knowledge.

00:00:18.730 --> 00:00:24.429
Exercising caution (wara') in issuing legal rulings (fatwa) and in transmitting reports from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

00:00:24.429 --> 00:00:29.260
Al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:34.259
"For a man to live in ignorance after having learned what Allah has made incumbent upon him

00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:38.259
is better for him than to speak about that which he does not know."

00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:42.420
"By Allah, we do not know everything you ask us about;

00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.420
and had we known, we would not have concealed it from you,

00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:48.420
for it is not permissible for us to conceal it from you."

00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:52.869
Ibn al-Munkadir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:00:52.869 --> 00:00:57.869
"The scholar stands between Allah and His servants,

00:00:57.869 --> 00:01:00.869
so let him seek a way out for his own soul."

00:01:00.869 --> 00:01:05.189
Al-Rabi' Ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:10.189
"Let one of you fear saying, 'Allah has permitted such-and-such, and Allah has forbidden such-and-such,'

00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:13.189
lest Allah say to him, 'You have lied;

00:01:13.189 --> 00:01:17.189
I did not permit such-and-such, nor did I forbid such-and-such.'"

00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:20.609
Sahnun, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

00:01:20.609 --> 00:01:25.640
"Is it permissible for a scholar to say 'I do not know' regarding a matter he actually knows?"

00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:31.640
He replied, "Regarding matters for which there is a clear text from the Qur'an or an established Sunnah, no.

00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.640
But as for matters based on personal opinion (ra'y),

00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:36.640
then it is permissible for him to do so,

00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:40.640
because he does not know whether he is correct or mistaken."

00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:44.019
Zubayd al-Yami said:

00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:49.019
"I never asked Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him, about anything

00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:52.019
without seeing signs of aversion on his face;

00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:56.019
he would say, 'I hope,' or 'Perhaps.'"

00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:59.409
Al-A'mash, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:03.439
"I never heard Ibrahim al-Nakha'i say,

00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.469
'This is halal' or 'This is haram.'

00:02:05.469 --> 00:02:07.469
He would only say,

00:02:07.469 --> 00:02:11.469
'They used to dislike this,' or 'They used to like this.'"

00:02:11.469 --> 00:02:14.699
Ibn Mahdi said:

00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:19.699
"A man asked Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, about a matter,

00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:22.699
and he replied, 'I do not know it.'

00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:24.699
The man said,

00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:29.699
'I have traveled from such-and-such a place just to ask you about this.'

00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:31.699
Malik said to him,

00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:34.699
'When you return to your home and your place,

00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.699
inform them that I told you:

00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:39.699
I do not know it.'"

00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:41.949
Ibn Wahb said:

00:02:41.949 --> 00:02:47.949
"If I wished to fill pages with the words of Malik Ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him,

00:02:47.949 --> 00:02:51.210
saying 'I do not know,' I could have done so."

00:02:51.210 --> 00:02:53.210
He, may Allah have mercy on him, also said:

00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:55.210
"It was not the way of the people,

00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:58.210
nor of those who passed before us from our salaf,

00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:01.210
nor of anyone I have met whom I would take as a model,

00:03:01.210 --> 00:03:05.210
to say of something, 'This is halal and this is haram.'

00:03:05.210 --> 00:03:09.270
They would not dare to do that.

00:03:09.270 --> 00:03:11.270
They would only say,

00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:15.270
'We dislike such-and-such,' or 'We view this as good.'

00:03:15.270 --> 00:03:17.270
'This is appropriate,'

00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:19.270
or 'We do not see this as appropriate.'

00:03:19.270 --> 00:03:22.270
They would not say 'halal' or 'haram.'

00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:25.270
Have you not heard the saying of Allah the Exalted:

00:03:25.270 --> 00:03:30.270
“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)

00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:34.270
“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)

00:03:34.270 --> 00:03:38.270
"Say, 'Has Allah permitted you [to do this]?'"

00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:40.270
“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)

00:03:40.270 --> 00:03:44.430
The halal is what Allah and His Messenger have permitted,

00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:48.939
and the haram is what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden.

00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:52.939
A man asked Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him,

00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:58.460
and he said to him, "Ask someone who knows; ask someone who knows."

00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:02.460
Abu Sahl Muhammad Ibn 'Umar narrated

00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:04.460
from some of the scholars of Balkh:

00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:07.460
"I entered Baghdad,

00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:12.460
and there was a man at the bridge calling out for three days, saying:

00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:17.459
'Beware! Judge Ahmad Ibn 'Amran al-Khasafah, may Allah have mercy on him,

00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:20.459
was asked for a fatwa on such-and-such a matter,

00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:22.459
and he answered with such-and-such,

00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:24.459
but that is an error;

00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:26.459
the correct answer is such-and-such.

00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:30.459
May Allah have mercy on whoever conveys this to him.'"

00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:36.839
Taqi al-Din Ibn 'Abd al-Qadir al-Tamimi al-Ghazzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said,

00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:39.839
commenting on this story:

00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.839
"This is how scholars should be;

00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:46.839
this is how caution must be exercised in the religion of Allah,

00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.839
and this is the sincerity owed to the servants of Allah."

00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:53.220
Sheikh 'Atiyyah Salim said

00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:58.220
regarding his teacher, the scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, may Allah have mercy on them both:

00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:02.220
"Among the things noted about him in his final years

00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.220
was his distancing himself from issuing fatwas.

00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:07.220
He would often say,

00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:10.220
'I will not bear anything upon my conscience;

00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:14.350
the scholars say such-and-such.'

00:05:14.350 --> 00:05:16.350
I once asked him about that,

00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:18.350
and he said:

00:05:18.350 --> 00:05:22.350
'A person is in safety as long as he is not tested,

00:05:22.350 --> 00:05:24.350
and being asked is a trial,

00:05:24.350 --> 00:05:26.350
because you are speaking on behalf of Allah,

00:05:26.350 --> 00:05:30.350
and you do not know if you have hit upon Allah's ruling or not.'

00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:34.449
So, as long as there is no definitive text from the Book of Allah

00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:38.449
or the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

00:05:38.449 --> 00:05:40.449
it is mandatory to exercise caution regarding it."

00:05:40.449 --> 00:05:43.449
He would exemplify this with the poet's words:

00:05:43.449 --> 00:05:47.480
"If you know a thing, then speak of it;

00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:51.480
but do not speak of that which you are ignorant of."

00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:55.579
"Whoever loves to be seen in the forefront,

00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:59.579
and hates to say 'I do not know,' his vital points have been struck."

00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:05.819
Guarding the tongue from speaking about what does not concern one.

00:06:05.819 --> 00:06:12.060
Someone visited Abu Dujanah, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was ill,

00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:15.060
and his face was radiant.

00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:16.060
He said:

00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:21.060
"There is no deed of mine more reliable in my own estimation than two things:

00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:24.060
I would not speak about what did not concern me,

00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:28.060
and my heart was sound toward the Muslims."

00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:30.800
Some of the salaf said:

00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.800
"Whoever busies himself with what does not concern him

00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:35.800
wastes what does concern him."

00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:39.120
Al-Fudayl Ibn 'Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.149
"You spoke about what did not concern you,

00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:45.149
so it distracted you from what did concern you.

00:06:45.149 --> 00:06:47.180
Had you busied yourself with what concerned you,

00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:50.540
you would have abandoned what did not concern you."

00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:53.540
Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:58.569
"A man will not be righteous until he abandons what does not concern him.

00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:00.569
When he does that,

00:07:00.569 --> 00:07:03.569
it is hoped that Allah will open his heart."

00:07:03.569 --> 00:07:07.889
Ma'ruf al-Karkhi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:07:07.889 --> 00:07:11.019
"The servant's speech regarding what does not concern him

00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:14.019
is a form of abandonment (khidhlan) from Allah the Exalted."

00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:21.449
The discourse of the salaf on preferring silence over speech at times,

00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:22.449
and vice versa.

00:07:22.449 --> 00:07:28.540
'Ubayd Allah Ibn Abi Ja'far, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:31.660
"If a person is speaking in a gathering

00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:33.660
and he finds his speech pleasing,

00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:34.660
let him hold his tongue.

00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:36.660
And if he is silent

00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:38.660
and he finds his silence pleasing,

00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:40.660
let him speak."

00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:45.079
Malik Ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.079
"Patience is silence,

00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:49.079
and silence is part of patience.

00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:53.110
The speaker is not more pious than the silent one,

00:07:53.110 --> 00:07:57.110
except for a scholar who speaks when it is appropriate

00:07:57.110 --> 00:07:59.110
and remains silent when it is appropriate."

00:07:59.110 --> 00:08:06.819
Guarding the tongue from affectation in speech.

00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:10.819
Ibrahim Ibn al-Mahdi said to 'Abd Allah Ibn Sa'id,

00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.889
his scribe, may Allah have mercy on them both:

00:08:13.889 --> 00:08:16.889
"Beware of pursuing obscure, archaic words

00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:19.889
in the hope of attaining eloquence,

00:08:19.889 --> 00:08:22.889
for that is the greatest form of speech impediment.

00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:24.920
Stick to what is simple,

00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:31.189
while avoiding the language of the vulgar."

00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.190
Whose backbiting is permissible?

00:08:33.190 --> 00:08:37.500
'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.789
"There is no sanctity for a wicked person."

00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:44.789
Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:08:44.789 --> 00:08:47.789
"There are three for whom backbiting is not applicable:

00:08:47.789 --> 00:08:49.789
the treacherous leader,

00:08:49.789 --> 00:08:53.789
the person of innovation who calls to his innovation,

00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:57.240
and the sinner who openly commits his sin."

00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:01.240
Ibrahim al-Taymi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:04.240
"There are three who have no protection against backbiting:

00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.240
the oppressor, the sinner,

00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:09.429
and the person of innovation."

00:09:09.429 --> 00:09:12.460
He also said, may Allah have mercy on him:

00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:15.460
"They did not consider it backbiting

00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:19.539
as long as the person was not named."

00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:24.309
Guarding the tongue from breaking promises.

00:09:24.309 --> 00:09:30.340
When death approached 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, he said:

00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:34.340
"A man from Quraysh once asked for my daughter's hand,

00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:38.440
and I had given him something akin to a promise.

00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:42.440
By Allah, I will not meet Allah with a third of hypocrisy;

00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:46.950
bear witness that I have married her to him."

00:09:46.950 --> 00:09:50.049
Shu'bah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:55.049
"I never made an appointment with Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him,

00:09:55.049 --> 00:09:59.049
but that he would say to me when he wanted to part ways:

00:09:59.049 --> 00:10:02.049
'There is no appointment between me and you.'

00:10:02.049 --> 00:10:08.289
Yet when I arrived, I would find he had already preceded me."

00:10:08.289 --> 00:10:12.289
Guarding the tongue from harshness and sharpness.

00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:15.090
Some of the salaf said:

00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:18.220
"People never speak a harsh word

00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:23.220
but that beside it is a word that is softer,

00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:25.220
which would have sufficed in its place."

00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.440
Abu al-'Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:34.440
regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted concerning the covenant He took from the Children of Israel:

00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.440
"And speak to people good [words],"

00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.440
"meaning, say to them the best of speech,

00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:45.440
and treat them with the best of what you would love to be treated with."

00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:51.870
Guarding the tongue from asking about what has not occurred.

00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:56.830
A man came one day to Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,

00:10:56.830 --> 00:11:00.830
and asked him about something—I do not know what it was.

00:11:00.830 --> 00:11:02.830
Ibn 'Umar said to him:

00:11:02.830 --> 00:11:05.830
"Do not ask about what has not happened,

00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:09.830
for I heard 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may the pleasure of Allah be upon him,

00:11:09.830 --> 00:11:13.830
curse the one who asks about what has not happened."

00:11:13.830 --> 00:11:18.120
'Umar, may the pleasure of Allah be upon him, said from the pulpit:

00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:23.120
"I adjure by Allah any man who asks about what has not happened,

00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:27.120
for Allah has already clarified what is to be."

00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:31.389
Other benefits.

00:11:31.389 --> 00:11:36.799
Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said:

00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:41.799
"There is no part of the believer more beloved to Allah the Exalted than his tongue;

00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.799
through it, He admits him to Paradise.

00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:49.860
And there is no part of the disbeliever more hateful to Allah the Exalted than his tongue;

00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.860
through it, He admits him to the Fire."

00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:56.149
Abu Hazim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:11:56.149 --> 00:11:58.149
"It is incumbent upon the believer

00:11:58.149 --> 00:12:03.149
to be more protective of his tongue than he is of his own footsteps."

00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:07.759
Ibn 'Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.759
Hakim once came upon a group of people who were conversing,

00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:15.759
so he stopped by them, greeted them, and said:

00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:21.759
"Speak as people who know that Allah hears their words,

00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:24.759
and that the angels are recording them."

00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:28.179
Yahya Ibn Mu'adh, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:33.179
"Hearts are like pots boiling in the chest with whatever is inside them,

00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:36.179
and their ladles are the tongues."

00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:40.179
So, wait for a man to speak,

00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:44.179
for his tongue will ladle out for you what is in his heart,

00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:48.179
whether it be sweet, sour, fresh, or bitter.

00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:52.179
The ladling of his tongue will inform you of the flavor of his heart.

00:12:52.179 --> 00:12:55.620
Some of the wise once said to their sons:

00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:58.620
"Refine your tongues,

00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.620
for when a man is struck by a calamity,

00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:05.620
he may borrow his brother’s mount or his brother’s garment,

00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:08.620
but he will find no one to lend him his tongue."

00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:17.019
The life of peace lies between speech and action.