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Tuesday 17 January 2023

Etiquette for Believers: Speak what is good or keep silent (Hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)

A true believer is a symbol of peace and love for others. In fact, ne does not have to tell someone that he is a Muslim, for his acts should be talking louder than his tongue. We have been sharing the etiquettes exhibited by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in our previous posts. Today we share yet another Hadith which teaches three etiquettes to the believers if they truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. 

This Hadith is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī  (Book 78 - Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab) كتاب الأدب / Chapter 85: To honour guest and to serve him  بَابُ إِكْرَامِ الضَّيْفِ وَخِدْمَتِهِ إِيَّاهُ بِنَفْسِهِ) as Hadith 6136, given herein under:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي حَصِينٍ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلاَ يُؤْذِ جَارَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ ضَيْفَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him):

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should not hurt his neighbor and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should serve his guest generously and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should speak what is good or keep silent."

There are three things mentioned in this Hadith: (1) Being good with the neighbor, (2) Treating the guest well and (3) speaking what is good or better keep silent.

We have already published a Hadith on Rights of Neighbour, which amply highlights the importance of our behavior towards our neighbor. As for the treatment to the guest, we shall share a specific Hadith shortly. For now, let us explain the third etiquette mentioned in the aforesaid Hadith: Remaining silent unless something good is to be spoken. 
Gary Chapman referred to "words to bullets" and seeds in his book titled Love as a Way of Life. The metaphors he used fittingly represent the contrasting impact of words in our lives. Words are bullets, our mouth is a gun. When fired upon others, you can obviously harm them.

That is words once uttered, just like a fired bullet, do harm even before one realizes how badly one has spoken. No amount of explanation can clarify one's viewpoint thereafter. There are people who are in the habit of talking too much and such people are more often than not talking about things that they should not have and hurt others. 

The above quoted Hadith thus advises a believer to remain silent if one cannot come up with anything good. While one is in the company of others, it is better to keep silent and be on the listening end and should not just proffer one's comments to mark one's presence. Silence allows us to think and channel our thought process. While others are engrossed in a futile discussion and putting across argument after argument to score a point over the others, a true believer remains silent and is putting together his view point so that nothing bad or hurtful words are let loose. Remember silence is an act, advised to maintain peace and good relations between one another.

Remember: Noise is linked to a lower level of learning, for those who talk excessively have no substantive point of view and keep other guessing of their actual mindset. Thus, in the noise of one's unnecessary words, one exhibits one's level of thinking and wisdom. Silence in fact teaches one patience and allows control over oneself for not letting oneself flow into the tide unprepared.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Please refer to our exclusive reference page Etiquettes taught by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for more etiquettes attributed to Prophet Muhammad.

You may also refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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