KHUTAB IV: 16. FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN ISLAM (1)

16. FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN ISLAM (1)

(ANUMA  23.10.09)

Brothers in Islam,

          Anything we say, and anything we do, either good or bad, it is all recorded by the angel, and we will be accountable for it in the Hereafter. Allah says:

  مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ (ق  : ١٨)

 Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher

 by him, ready (to record it). (Q. 50:18)

In another verse Allah says:

وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّى

إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ (الأنعام ٦ : ٦١)

He is the Irresistible (Supreme) over

over His slaves, and He sends guardians

(angels guarding and writing all of one’s good and

bad deeds) over you, until when death approaches

one of you, Our messengers (angel of death

and his assistants) take his soul, and they

they never neglect their duty. (Q. 6:61)

 In a h.adīth  narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās r.a. the Prophet s.a.w. narrating about his Lord the Almighty, said:

 إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ ثُمَّ بَيَّنَ ذَلِكَ

فَمَنْ هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً

 فَإِنْ هُوَ هَمَّ بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ عَشْرَ حَسَنَاتٍ إِلَى

 سَبْعِ مِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ إِلَى أَضْعَافٍ كَثِيرَةٍ وَمَنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَمْ

يَعْمَلْهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ حَسَنَةً كَامِلَةً فَإِنْ هُوَ هَمَّ

بِهَا فَعَمِلَهَا كَتَبَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُ سَيِّئَةً وَاحِدَةً (رواه البخاري)

Allah ordered (the appointed angels

over you) that the good and the bad deeds

be written, and He then showed (the way) how

(to write). If somebody intends to do a good deed

and he does not do it, then Allah will write for him a full

 good deed (in his account with Him); and if he intends

 to do a good deed and actually did it, then Allah will write

for him (in his account) with Him(its reward equal) from ten

 to seven hundred times,to many more times: and if somebody

 wants to doa bad deed and  he does not do it, then Allah

 will write a full good deed (in his account) with Him,

 and if he intended to do it (a bad deed) and

 actually did it, then Allah will write

 one bad deed (in his account)

(Reported by Bukhārī)

          On the authority of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا

 أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ جَارَهُ

 وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ ضَيْفَهُ

Let him who believes in Allah and

the Last Day either speak good or keep silent,

and let him who believes in Allah and the Last

Day be generous to his neighbour, and let him

who believes in Allah and the Last Day

be generous to his guest

 (Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim)

On the authority of Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ

فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَانِ (رواه مسلم)

Whosoever of you sees an evil action,

let him change it with his hand; and if he

is not able to do so, then with his tongue;

and if he is not able to do so, then with his

heart-and that it the weakest of faith.

 (Reported by Muslim)

          On the authority of Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:  I said:

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنِي بِعَمَلٍ يُدْخِلُنِي الْجَنَّةَ وَيُبَاعِدُنِي عَنْ النَّارِ قَالَ

لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَنِي عَنْ عَظِيمٍ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَسِيرٌ عَلَى مَنْ يَسَّرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكْ

بِهِ شَيْئًا وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَتُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ وَتَصُومُ رَمَضَانَ وَتَحُجُّ الْبَيْتَ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ

عَلَى أَبْوَابِ الْخَيْرِ الصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ وَصَلَاةُ

الرَّجُلِ مِنْ جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ قَالَ ثُمَّ تَلَا { تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنْ الْمَضَاجِعِ حَتَّى بَلَغَ يَعْمَلُونَ }

ثُمَّ قَالَ أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِرَأْسِ الْأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ وَعَمُودِهِ وَذِرْوَةِ سَنَامِهِ قُلْتُ بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ

رَأْسُ الْأَمْرِ الْإِسْلَامُ وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلَاةُ وَذِرْوَةُ سَنَامِهِ الْجِهَادُ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِمَلَاكِ

ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ قُلْتُ بَلَى يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ فَأَخَذَ بِلِسَانِهِ قَالَ كُفَّ عَلَيْكَ هَذَا فَقُلْتُ يَا نَبِيَّ

اللَّهِ وَإِنَّا لَمُؤَاخَذُونَ بِمَا نَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ فَقَالَ ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ يَا مُعَاذُ وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ

النَّاسَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ أَوْ عَلَى مَنَاخِرِهِمْ إِلَّا

حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ  )رواه الترمذي)

O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take

me into Paradise and will keep me away fromHell-fire. He

 said: You have asked me about a major matter, yet  it is  easy

 for him whom Allah Almighty makes it easy. You should worship

 Allah, associating nothing with Him; you should perform the

 prayers; you should pay the zakat; you should fast in Ramadan;

 and you should make the pilgrimage to the House. Then he said:

 Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting [which] is

a shield; charity [which] extinguishes sin as water extinguishes

 fire and the praying of a man in the depths of night. Then he

 recited: “Who  forsakes their beds to cry unto their Lord in

 fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them.

 No soul knoweth what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward

 for what they used to do. [Qur’an 32:16].” Then he said: Shall

 I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar, andits topmost

part? I said: Yes, O Messenger of  Allah. He said: The peak

 of the matter is Islam; the pillar is prayer; and its topmost is

 jihad [lit. “exertion”;  any effort made in furtherance of the

cause of Islam, including war in defending Islam]. Then he

said: Shall  I not tell you of the controlling of all that? I

 said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah, and he took hold of his

 tongue and said: Restrain this. I said: O Prophet of Allah,

will  that what we say be held against us: He said: May

your mother be bereaved of you, Mu‘ādh! Is there

anything  that  topples people on their faces—

or he said on their noses—into Hell-fire

 other than  the harvest of  their tongues?

(Reported by Tirmidhī)

An unidentified poet says in his poems:

إِحْفَظْ لِسَانَكَ أَيُّهَا الإِنْسَانُ   *   لاَ يَلْذَغَنَّكَ إِنهُ ثُعْبَانُ

كَمْ فِيْ المَقَابِرِ مِنْ قَتِيْلِ لِسَانِهِ   *   كَانَتْ تَخَافُ لِقَاءَهُ الشُّجَعَانُ

Watch out for your tongue O man,

Do not let it bite you, for it is a snake. How

 many a person [lying] in his grave as a victim

of his tongue [the tongue] which brave

 people are afraid to meet.

Another unidentified poet says in his poems:

لاَ تَنْطُقَنَّ بِمَا كَرِهْتَ فَرُبَّمَا   *   نَطَقَ  اللِّسَانُ بِحَادِثٍ فَيَكُوْنُ

لاَ تَمْزَحَنَّ بِمَا كَرِهْتَ فَرُبَّمَا   *   ضُرِبَ الْمَزَاحُ عَلَيْكَ بِالتَّحْقِيْقِ

Never talk about something you hate, the tongue

might talk about an accident then it [really] happens

Never joke about something you hate,

For it might actually happen to you.

In the Middle East, when they talk about a very smart or tricky person they say: قَبَّحَهُ اللّه “May Allah make him ugly (disgraceful), or قَبَّحَ اللّهُ وَجْهَهُ “May Allah make his face ugly.”  The term “bastard” which means “an illegitimate child” could be used colloquially either (1) as a term of abuse for ruthless insensitive person, such as “He is a heartless bastard, leaving his wife in that way.” (2) not abusively, but a friendly colloquial, such as, “Harry, you old bastard! Fancy meeting you here!” The word bloody which keeps reminding me of serious accidents has also two meanings colloquially: as derogatory (insulting), such as: “He is a bloody fool, or as a praise, such as: You are a bloody genius! The term damn, originally means “Allah’s condemnation with everlasting torment” is used colloquially to indicate annoyance and impatience, such as, I don’t give a damn, meaning “I don’t care at all.” Instead of saying: “What the hell is going on, why don’t we say instead, “What the heaven is going on?”

As these words and colloquial expressions have double and opposite meanings we should understand them and be careful with them, and it would be better not to use them in order to avoid using them in the wrong place. There is another word we should not use as decent Muslims. Even the late Ahmad Deedat when he referred to it, out of courtesy, instead of even just saying it which is apparently a taboo for him, he said the words Father Uncle Cousin King representing the four letters of the word. (MAS)