A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (54) | Keeping the Tongue - Part One

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:04 The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their speech and their actions.

0:09 This includes guarding the tongue against excessive talk.

0:17 And avoiding speech that holds no benefit.

0:21 Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

0:24 "May Allah have mercy on a person who restrains the excess of his speech,

0:28 And prioritizes the excess of his deeds."

0:30 Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

0:34 "By Allah, besides Whom there is no god,

0:37 There is nothing on the face of the earth more deserving of long-term imprisonment than the tongue."

0:44 Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

0:47 "Be fair to your ears against your mouth;

0:50 For you were given two ears and only one mouth,

0:54 So that you may listen more than you speak."

0:58 Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

1:01 "The tongue is the foundation of the body;

1:04 If the tongue is upright, the limbs will be upright,

1:08 But if the tongue falters, no limb will remain steady."

1:13 Mutarrif Ibn al-Shikhkhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

1:17 "Whoever purifies his deeds will purify his speech,

1:20 And whoever mixes them [with corruption], it will be mixed for him."

1:23 Wuhayb Ibn al-Ward (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

1:27 "Whoever counts his speech as part of his deeds will speak less."

1:31 He also said (may Allah have mercy on him):

1:34 "The physicians have agreed that the essence of medicine is dietary restraint,

1:38 And the wise have agreed that the essence of wisdom is silence."

1:43 He further said: "A man may remain silent,

1:47 And thereby his intellect becomes gathered and focused."

1:50 A man once praised another man,

1:52 And one of the salaf said to him:

1:55 "What do you know of him?"

1:57 He replied: "I saw him guarding his speech."

2:01 Ibrahim al-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

2:06 "When a believer intends to speak, he reflects;

2:10 If his speech is for his benefit, he speaks,

2:13 But if it is against him, he refrains."

2:16 It is said in the aphorisms:

2:19 "When the intellect is perfected, speech diminishes."

2:23 Yahya Ibn Abi Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

2:27 "There are two traits; if you see them in a man,

2:30 Know that what lies beyond them is even better:

2:34 If he restrains his tongue,

2:37 And guards his prayer."

2:39 Yunus Ibn ‘Ubayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

2:44 "There are two traits; if they are sound in a servant,

2:47 The rest of his affairs will be sound:

2:50 His prayer and his tongue."

2:52 Some of the salaf said:

2:54 "My tongue is a beast of prey;

2:57 If I let it loose, I fear it will devour me."

3:00 It used to be said:

3:02 "Excessive speech strips away dignity."

3:07 Al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad and Ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on them) said:

3:12 "The most intense form of piety is in the tongue."

3:15 ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

3:18 "I refrain from much speech,

3:21 For fear of showing off."

3:25 He also said (may Allah have mercy on him):

3:27 "If you see a man who maintains long silence,

3:30 And flees from people,

3:32 Then draw near to him,

3:34 For he is being taught wisdom."

3:36 Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

3:39 "When you engage in hadith, you are energetic, but when I speak to you, you ignore me,

3:43 And when you are not in a hadith session,

3:46 You are as if you were dead."

3:48 He replied: "Do you not know that speech is a trial?"

3:52 He also said (may Allah have mercy on him):

3:54 It used to be said:

3:56 "Silence is the ornament of the scholar and the veil of the ignorant."

4:00 Some said:

4:02 "If there are inherent flaws in being inarticulate,

4:06 Then there are equal flaws in eloquence."

4:10 Hatim al-Asamm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

4:14 "If a spy were sitting with you to record your words,

4:19 You would be cautious of him;

4:21 Yet your words are presented to Allah the Almighty,

4:24 So why are you not cautious?"

4:26 It was said to Ibrahim Ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on him):

4:29 "So-and-so is learning grammar."

4:32 He replied: "He is in greater need of learning silence."

4:37 Abu Bakr Ibn ‘Ayyash (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

4:41 "The lowest benefit of silence is safety,

4:44 And safety is sufficient as a blessing;

4:47 The lowest harm of speech is fame,

4:50 And fame is sufficient as a calamity."

4:54 Some eloquent scholars said:

4:57 "[Silence] earns you friendship and love,

5:00 Protects you from a bad outcome,

5:03 Clothes you in the garment of dignity,

5:05 And spares you the trouble of apologizing."

5:08 Our Imam,

5:10 Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him),

5:12 Used to marvel at Badr al-Maghazili (may Allah have mercy on him),

5:16 And would say: "Who is like Badr?

5:19 He has mastered his tongue."

5:21 Hamdan Ibn Dhunun said:

5:24 "My eyes have never seen anyone like Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him)

5:28 In his piety and his guarding of his tongue."

5:31 ‘Ata’ Ibn Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

5:36 "Those who came before you

5:38 Used to dislike superfluous speech.

5:41 Do you not fear that there are guardians over you?

5:44 Is one of you not ashamed

5:46 That if his scroll, which he filled at the beginning of his day, were spread out before him,

5:51 Most of what is in it would be neither of his religion nor his worldly life?"

5:56 Some wise men said:

5:58 "A person’s intellect is hidden beneath his tongue."

6:02 Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say:

6:06 "I have never spoken a word nor performed an action

6:10 Without preparing an answer for it before Allah the Almighty."

6:15 Guarding the tongue against backbiting,

6:21 And tracking the slips, errors, and faults of others.

6:25 ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say:

6:30 "Do not occupy yourselves with mentioning people, for that is a trial;

6:35 Instead, occupy yourselves with the remembrance of Allah, for that is a mercy."

6:39 ‘Amr Ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by a dead mule,

6:45 And said: "For one of you to eat from the meat of this mule

6:49 Until his stomach is full

6:51 Is better for him than to eat the flesh of a Muslim man."

6:55 Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

6:59 "If you wish to mention the faults of your companion, remember your own faults."

7:04 ‘Awn Ibn ‘Abd Allah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

7:08 "I do not think anyone becomes preoccupied with the faults of others

7:12 Except out of heedlessness regarding his own self."

7:16 It was said to al-Rabi‘ Ibn Khuthaym (may Allah have mercy on him):

7:19 "Will you not mention people [their faults]?"

7:21 He replied: "I am not pleased with my own self,

7:25 So how could I be free from criticizing myself to criticize others?

7:29 People fear Allah regarding the sins of others,

7:33 Yet they feel secure regarding their own sins."

7:37 Al-Awza‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

7:40 "I heard Yahya Ibn Abi Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) say:

7:45 'It will be said to the servant on the Day of Resurrection:

7:48 Rise and go to so-and-so to take your right from him.'

7:51 He will say: 'My Lord, I do not know of any right I have against him.'

7:57 It will be said: 'Yes, he mentioned you on such-and-such day for such-and-such.'

8:03 And on such-and-such day for such-and-such.'"

8:05 Al-Awza‘i said:

8:07 "Is he a sincere advisor to himself who will have his good deeds taken away tomorrow,

8:12 While he looks on in humiliation and fear,

8:15 Wishing there were a great distance between him and his brother in Allah?"

8:20 Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

8:24 "The expiation for eating the flesh of your brother [backbiting him]

8:27 Is to praise him and pray for his good."

8:31 Sufyan Ibn Husayn said:

8:33 "I mentioned a man negatively in the presence of Iyas Ibn Mu‘awiyah (may Allah have mercy on him),

8:39 He looked at my face and said:

8:41 'Have you fought the Romans?'

8:43 I said: 'No.'

8:45 He said: 'The people of Sindh, India, and the Turks?'

8:48 I said: 'No.'

8:50 He said: 'So the Romans, the people of Sindh, India, and the Turks are safe from you,

8:56 Yet your Muslim brother is not safe from you?'

8:59 He said: 'I never did it again after that.'"

9:04 When a man was mentioned negatively in the presence of Muhammad Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him),

9:10 Muhammad would mention him with the best qualities he knew of him.

9:13 Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

9:17 "It is an injustice to your brother to mention the worst you know of him,

9:21 While concealing his good."

9:23 Bakr al-Muzani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

9:27 "If you see a man preoccupied with the faults of others while forgetting his own,

9:33 Know that he has been deceived."

9:36 Al-Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

9:40 "A man might say:

9:42 'La ilaha illa Allah' [There is no god but Allah],

9:45 Or 'Subhan Allah' [Glory be to Allah], and I fear for him the Fire."

9:49 It was asked: "How so?"

9:52 He said: "He backbites in his presence and finds it pleasing,

9:57 So he says 'La ilaha illa Allah,'

10:01 But this is not the place for it.

10:03 The place for this is to advise him regarding his own self and say to him:

10:08 'Fear Allah.'"

10:10 It was said to Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him)

10:13 Regarding a man to whom Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim gave a thousand dirhams:

10:18 "Do not name anyone for us."

10:23 He said (may Allah have mercy on him):

10:25 "No one has ever spoken against people

10:28 Except that he fell and his hadith was discarded."

10:31 There was a man in Basra called al-Aftas,

10:35 Who used to narrate from al-A‘mash and others,

10:38 And he had gatherings,

10:40 And his hadith was authentic,

10:42 Except that no one was safe from his tongue,

10:46 So his hadith and his reputation vanished.

10:49 Al-Muwaffaq Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said about one of the scholars of his time,

10:54 Who was afflicted with tracking the faults of people,

10:58 Especially the people of knowledge and righteousness:

11:01 "I thought he would be more prominent in issuing fatwas than his father and others,

11:07 Until I saw fatwas of others that were more sound in answer and more correct.

11:14 I thought he was afflicted with that

11:17 Because of his love for proving people wrong,

11:20 And his pursuit of their faults.

11:22 It is not unlikely that Allah punishes a servant with the same type of his sin.

11:26 He occupied much of his time refuting people in their writings,

11:32 Exposing their hidden mistakes,

11:35 And loving to point out their slips.

11:38 A servant does not reach the reality of faith

11:41 until he loves for people what he loves for himself.

11:45 Do you think he would love for himself, after his death,

11:49 for someone to stand up to expose his slips,

11:52 criticize his writings, and highlight his mistakes?

11:56 Just as he would not love that for himself,

11:59 he should not love it for others,

12:02 especially for the early Imams

12:05 and the preeminent scholars.

12:08 Allah the Almighty has shown us a sign in his deviation from what is correct,

12:13 in matters that are apparent even to those beneath him in rank.

12:17 The life of peace between word and deed.

A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (54) | Keeping the Tongue - Part One

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