Kinds
Of Speech That We Must Refrain From: Ruling On One Who
Curses
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
I know theres certain types of speech which we
must refrain from. like the speech the Prophet
sallalaho alayhe wasalam stayed away from please could
you send that to me.
Praise be to Allaah.
The Muslim has to control his tongue and not speak
unless he says something good.
Al-Bukhaari (6018) and Muslim (47) narrated from Abu
Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever
believes in Allaah and the Last Day, let him speak
good or else keep silent…"
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "If he
wants to speak, then if what he wants to say is good
and he is confident that he will be rewarded for it,
whether it is obligatory or praiseworthy, then let him
speak, but if it does not seem to him that it is good
and he will be rewarded for it, then let him refrain
from speaking, whether he thinks it is haraam or
makrooh or permissible. Based on this, it is
recommended to refrain from saying permissible words
and we are enjoined to avoid that, lest that lead us
into something that is haraam or makrooh, which is
what happens in many cases or in most cases. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
‘Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a
watcher by him ready (to record it)'
[Qaaf 50:18]
Imam al-Shaafa'i understood the hadeeth to mean that
if a person wants to say something, he should think
about it: if it seems to him that it will not do any
harm, then he should speak, but if he thinks that it
will do some harm or he thinks that this is most
likely, then he should refrain from speaking."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) commanded us to control our tongues in more than
one hadeeth, such as that narrated by al-Tirmidhi
(2406) from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir who said: "I said, ‘O
Messenger of Allaah, what is salvation?' He said,
‘Control your tongue, keep to your house and weep over
your sin.'" Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Targheeb, 3331.
Al-Tirmidhi (2616) also narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
Mu'aadh, after teaching him some of the laws of Islam,
"Shall I not tell you what is the foundation of all
that?" I [Mu'aadh] said: "Of course, O Prophet of
Allaah." He took hold of his tongue and said, "Control
this." I said, "O Prophet of Allaah, will we be held
responsible for what we say with it?" He said, "May
your mother be bereft of you, O Mu'aadh! Will the
people be thrown into Hell on their faces or on their
noses for anything other than the harvest of their
tongues?"
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
2110.
The hadeeth enjoins refraining from indulging in
specific things, because that is something that is of
no benefit to a person, and indeed it may cause him a
great deal of harm in his spiritual and worldly
affairs.
It was narrated from Ibn Mas'ood that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "If
my companions are mentioned, then keep quiet; if the
stars are mentioned, then keep quiet; and if the
divine decree is mentioned, then keep quiet."
(Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 2/96. Classed
as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
34).
This hadeeth indicates that it is not permissible for
a person to speak badly of the companions of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
and that he should keep quiet about the disputes that
occurred among them, because speaking badly of them or
criticizing them implies that one is rejecting what
Allaah said about them in the Qur'aan, where He
praised them by saying (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhaajiroon
and the Ansaar and also those who followed them
exactly (in Faith). Allaah is well-pleased with them
as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for
them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to
dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success"
[al-Tawbah 9:100]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah. And those who
are with him are severe against disbelievers, and
merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and
falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty
from Allaah and (His) Good Pleasure. The mark of them
(i.e. of their Faith) is on their faces (foreheads)
from the traces of prostration (during prayers)"
[al-Fath 48:29]
This is how Allaah has described them in His Book, so
no doubt they are of just character and are the best
and greatest of mankind. So no one hates them but a
hypocrite and no one loves them but a believer.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said:
"One of the basic principles of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ah is that they think and say nothing to
criticize the companions of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as Allaah
has described them in the verse in which He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
‘And those who came after them say: Our Lord! Forgive
us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and
put not in our hearts any hatred against those who
have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of
kindness, Most Merciful'
[al-Hashr 69:10]
And they obey the command of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): ‘Do not
curse my companions, for by the One in Whose hand is
my soul, if any one of you were to spend the
equivalent of Mount Uhud in gold, he would not reach
the status of one of them, nor even come half way.'
(Agreed upon)."
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 3/152.
Abu Zar'ah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"If you see a man criticizing any one of the Sahaabah,
then know that he is a heretic, because the Qur'aan is
true, and the Messenger is true, and what he brought
is true, and no one conveyed all of that to us but the
Sahaabah. So whoever criticizes them means in effect
to say that the Qur'aan and Sunnah are false, so it is
more appropriate that he should be criticized and
ruled to be a heretic who is misguided."
Al-Sawaa'iq al-Muhriqah ‘ala Ahl al-Rafd wa'l-Dalaal
wa'l-Zandaqah, 2/608.
With regard to the second part of the hadeeth, which
enjoins refraining from speaking about the stars, what
is referred to by that – and Allaah knows best – is
seeking guidance by the stars concerning matters that
are unseen, as the people of the jaahiliyyah used to
do by means of astrology, such as using the movement
of heavenly bodies to indicate when certain earthly
events would occur, such as the blowing of the wind,
rainfall, changes in prices, and other matters which
they claimed to know from the movements of heavenly
bodies. They used to say that whoever got married
under such and such a star, such and such would happen
to him, or whoever traveled under such and such a
star, such and such would happen to him, and whoever
was born under such and such a star would be lucky or
unlucky, etc.
(See Kitaab al-Tawheed by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan,
Baab Id'aa' ‘ilm al-Ghayb min Qiraa'at al-Kaff
wa'l-Finjaan wa ghayrihima. See also Fataawa al-‘Aqeedah,
2/185-186-187-190) by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, where he
makes some very useful comments).
With regard to the third part of the hadeeth, which
refers to refraining from speaking about the divine
decree (al-qadar), Abu Ja'far al-Tahhaawi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:
"The divine decree is a secret known which Allaah has
hidden from His creation. No angel who is close to Him
and no Prophet whom He sent knows that. Pursuing such
matters only leads to failure and deprivation of the
mercy of Allaah, and it leads to injustice, so beware
of looking into the matter, thinking about it and
wondering about it. Allaah has kept knowledge of His
decree from His slaves, and has forbidden them to
pursue the matter, as He says in His Book
(interpretation of the meaning):
‘He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while
they will be questioned'
[al-Anbiya' 21:23]
So whoever questions what Allaah does has rejected the
ruling of the Book, and whoever rejects the ruling of
the Book is a kaafir."
Sharh al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah, p. 276
So the Muslim has to submit to Allaah in all His
affairs, and know that whatever happens to him could
never have missed him, and what misses him could never
have happened to him. There is a lot that may be said
on this topic. May Allaah bless the man who believes
in the will and decree of Allaah without indulging in
philosophical discussion about the matter.
And Allaah knows best.
Ruling on one who curses life
Is it permissible for a man to curse life if he gets
angry or if heg ets fed up? We hope that you can
advise us concerning that.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible for a man to curse life if he
feels fed up, because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, in a hadeeth qudsi that
Allaah says, "The son of Adam offends Me by inveighing
against [the vicissitudes of] Time, and I am Time. In
My Hand is the alternation of night and day." It was
also narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Do not inveigh against
Time, for Allaah is Time", i.e., He is the One Who is
controlling Time. So when man is afflicted with
calamity, he must be patient and seek reward, for
Allaah has enjoined patience.
And Allaah said to His Prophet ` (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the
meaning):
"This is of the news of the Unseen which We reveal
unto you (O Muhammad); neither you nor your people
knew it before this. So be patient. Surely, the (good)
end is for the Muttaqoon (the pious)" [Hood 11:49]
Let man know that no matter what happens there is
something worse than that somewhere else in the world.
If he understands that, then his problem will become
easier to bear.
From the fatwas of Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih
‘Uthaymeen for al-Da'wah magazine, issue # 1757, p. 45
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