56. Speech

Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar from Abdullah ibnUmar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "If a man says to his muslim brother, 'O kafir!' it istrue about one of them." Malik related to me from Suhayl ibn Abu Salih from his fatherfrom Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "When you hear a man say, 'The people areruined,' he himself is the most ruined of them all." Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from AbuHurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "Let none of you complain about time, for Allah is time.' Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said that Isa ibn Maryamencountered a pig on the road. He said to it, "Go in peace." Somebodyasked, "Do you say this to a pig?" Isa said, "I fear lest I accustommy tongue to evil speech." Malik related to me from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Alqama from hisfather from Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani that the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A man speaks what ispleasing to Allah and he does not suspect that it will have the resultthat it does, and Allah will write for him His good pleasure for ituntil the day when he meets Him. And a man speaks what excites thewrath of Allah and he does not suspect that it will have the resultthat it does, and Allah will write His wrath for him for it until theday when he meets Him." Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar that Abu Salih as-Samman informed him that Abu Hurayra said, "Truly a man utters wordsto which he attaches no importance, and by them he falls into the fireof Jahannam, and truly a man utters words to which he attaches noimportance, and by them Allah raises him into the Garden." Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid, "Two men from the east stood up and spoke, and people wereamazed at their eloquence. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, 'Some eloquence is sorcery,' or he said,'Part of eloquence is sorcery.' " Malik related to me that he heard that Isa ibn Maryam used tosay, "Do not speak much without the mention of Allah for you willharden your hearts. A hard heart is far from Allah, but you do notknow. Do not look at the wrong actions of people as if you were lords.Look at your wrong actions as if you were slaves. Some people areafflicted by wrong action and some people are protected from it. Bemerciful to the people of affliction and praise Allah for Hisprotection." Malik related to me that he heard that A'isha, the wife of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent a message toone of her family after the evening prayer, saying, "Will you notallow the recording angel to rest?" Malik related to me from al-Walid ibn Abdullah ibn Sayyad thatal-Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Hantab al-Makhzumi informed him that aman asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, "What is backbiting?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "It is to mention about a man what hedoes not want to hear." He said, "Messenger of Allah! Even if it istrue?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "If you utter something false, then it is slander." Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar thatthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"Whomever Allah protects from the evil of two things will enter theGarden." A man said, "Messenger of Allah, do not tell us!" TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wassilent. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, repeated what he had said the first time. The man said to him,"Do not tell us, Messenger of Allah!" The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, was silent. Then the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said the same thingagain. The man said, "Do not tell us, Messenger of Allah!" Then theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said thesame thing again. Then the man began to say what he had saidpreviously and a man at his side silenced him. The Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whomever Allahprotects from the evil of two things will enter the Garden. They arewhat is between his jaws and what is between his legs, what is betweenhis jaws and what is between his legs, what is between his jaws andwhat is between his legs." Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that Umaribn al-Khattab came upon Abu Bakr as-Siddiq pulling his tongue. Umarsaid to him, "Stop, may Allah forgive you!" Abu Bakr replied, "Thishas brought me to dangerous places." Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar saying, "Abdullah ibnUmar and I were at the house of Khalid ibn Uqba who was away at themarket. A man came who wanted to speak to Abdullah ibn Umar and I wasthe only other person present Abdullah ibn Umar called another man sothat we were four and said to me and the man whom he had called, 'Go alittle way off together, because I heard the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Two do not conversesecretly to the exclusion of another.' "' Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"Two must not converse secretly to the exclusion of another person." Malik related to me from Safwan ibn Sulaym that a man asked theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Can Ilie to my wife, Messenger of Allah?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "There is no good in lying." Theman said, "Messenger of Allah! Shall I make her a promise and tellher?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "It will not be held against you." Malik related to me that he heard that Abdullah ibn Masud used tosay, "You must tell the truth. Truthfulness leads to right action.Right action leads to the Garden. Beware of lying. Lying leads tocorruption, and corruption leads to the Fire. Don't you see that it issaid, 'He speaks the truth and acts rightly,' and, 'He lies and iscorrupt.' " Malik related to me that he heard that someone said to Luqman,"What has brought you to what we see?" meaning his high rank. Luqmansaid, "Truthful speech, fulfilling the trust, and leaving what doesnot concern me." Malik related to me that he heard that Abdullah ibn Masud used tosay, "The slave continues to lie and a black spot grows in his heartuntil all his heart becomes black. Then he is written, in Allah'ssight, among the liars." Malik related to me that Safwan ibn Sulaym said, "The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, 'Can themumin be a coward?' He said, 'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can the mumin be amiser?' He said, 'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can the mumin be a liar?' Hesaid, 'No.' " Malik related to me from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his fatherfrom Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Allah is pleased with three things from you,and He is angry with three things from you. He is pleased that youworship Him and do not associate anything with Him, and that you takehold of the rope of Allah altogether, and that you give good counselto the one to whom Allah gives command over you. He is angry with youfor gossip, squandering property, and asking too many questions." Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from AbuHurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "One of the most evil of people is the two-faced personwho shows one face to these people and another face to those people." Malik related to me that he had heard that Umm Salama, the wifeof the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"Messenger of Allah! Shall we be destroyed while there are people whoare salih among us?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Yes, if there is much wickedness." Malik related to me that Ismail ibn Abi Hakim heard Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz say, "Some say that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, will notpunish the many for the wrong action of the few. However, when theobjectionable action is committed openly, then they all deserve to bepunished." Malik related to me from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha thatAnas ibn Malik said, "I heard Umar ibn al-Khattab, when I was goingout with him to visit an orchard, say to himself, and there was a wallbetween him and me and he was inside the garden, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,amir al-muminin! Well done! Well done! By Allah, fear Allah or he willpunish you.' " Malik said, "I heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad used to say, 'Ihave seen the people, (i.e. the companions), and they were notimpressed by speech.' " Malik said, "He meant that only action anddeeds would be looked at, not words." Malik related to me that Amir ibn Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr wouldstop speaking when he heard thunder and say, "Glory be to Allah whomthe thunder glorifies with His praise and the angels from the fear ofHim." (Subhana-aladhee yusabihu ar-radu bi hamdihi wa mala'ikatu minkhiyfatihi.) Then he would say, "This is a severe warning to thepeople of the earth." Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr fromA'isha, umm al-muminin that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, died, the wives of the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to send Uthman ibn Affanto Abu Bakr as-Siddiq to ask him about their inheritance from theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace A'ishasaid to them, "Didn't the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, say, 'No one inherits from us. What we leave issadaqa.' " Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from AbuHurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "My inheritance is not divided up by the dinar. What Ileave apart from the maintenance of my wives and provision for myservant is sadaqa."