Adab 1: Prohibitions of the Tongue Lecture 10 1
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Line 26 It is prohibited to make something haram for yourself So to say that it is haram for me to speak to this person. It is haram for me to drink milk. Then this is not allowed. If a person breaks this oath, that he has made then there is no kafarah! واهلل and says ت ح ل يف Unless if he promised using In this case he will need to clothe ten people or fast for three days In short none of these statements are binding except for divorce.
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Line 27 - First Prohibition In this line we see the mention of three prohibitions all in one sentence. The first prohibition is: Ordering someone to do something that is haram: الد ال ع لى الخ ي ر ك ف اع ل ه و الد ال عل ى الش ر ك ف اع ل ه The one who guides to goodness is like the one who does the action and the one to guides to evil is like the one who does the action As an example, if a person is in the mood to hit another person and you encourage that action, then you take the sin of that hitting. This is similar to praising the oppression of the oppressor Even if the person does not end up doing the action, then a sin is still incurred by calling to that evil Other examples: Encouraging backbiting/ gossip Encouraging bad behaviour in general If you are in a position of power and you use this power to make someone do something haram
Line 27 - Second Prohibition The second prohibition is to relate everything that one hears. This is based on the hadith: ك ف ى ب ا مل ر ء ك ذ با أن ي ح د ث ب ك ل م ا س م ع It is suffice for a person to lie if he mentions all that he hears If a person does not have any lying on his record, but he has the habit of repeating every thing that he hears, then this would be enough for him to have the sin of lying on his record
Line 27 - Second Prohibition Why is mentioning everything you hear considered tantamount to lying?, It is because everything you hear is not always true. By mentioning everything you hear, you are passing around misinformation. Misinformation could be lies, exaggerated stories. Hence a person is obliged to verify what they hear, before relating it. It should be noted, this of course is a separate rule from backbiting, slandering, gossip etc. Those bits of information are not allowed to be heard or transmitted in the first place. The nature of people is to add his/ her own bits of information to a story, concept before transmitting it. So a person is at risk of spreading someone else s lie as well as adding his/her own lies to the story This characteristic was only absent in the esteemed hadith narrators. This is because they had excellent memories When Allah wants to transmit knowledge he also puts in place the appropriate measures to protect the knowledge.
Line 27 - Third Prohibition The third prohibition is to make false promises This prohibition is taken from the verse: ي ا أ ي ه ا ال ذ ين آ م ن وا ل م ت ق ول ون م ا ال ت ف ع ل ون verse 2 سورة الصف Oh you who believe, why do you say that which you do not do Meaning why do you make promises and break them It is prohibited to make a promise with the intention of not fulfilling that promise This happens when we do not have sincere intentions to fulfil that promise
Line 27 - Third Prohibition If you make a promise and you have a sincere/ genuine intention to fulfil that promise, but something else occurs preventing you from fulfilling the promise then this is not considered making false promises The principle here is to try and fulfil those promises that we make. We should not just speak once a desire comes to heart We should be careful before making a promise. Be cautious of even making promises to yourself Do not make statement like I m going to do this and that and then not fulfil those promises We will go see this person, or do this only to change your desire later If we read the stories of the pious ones before us. We see they had little aspirations in this دنيا and were more concerned with the fulfilment of promise. Not making a hundred promises, rather living simple lives with aspirations tied to Allah
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Line 28 It is obligatory for a person relating a piece of information to ensure that he clarifies that doubt In general relating doubtful information can lead to problems You are not allowed to transmit this information unless you mention your doubts about it: Eg: If you are asked about someone, during a wedding talk, and you are not sure of the information you can day I have not verified this, but I think so and so has two brothers If you relate something in a way that makes the issue seem matter of fact then you have committed a sin. You must ensure that people are at all times fully aware that the information you are giving is unverified
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Line 29 - First Prohibition In this line there are three prohibitions: The first prohibition is giving evil eye: Evil eye is a harm that can come when you look at something with intrigue and amazement and whilst doing so do not attribute the beauty to Allah This coveting desire/ astonishment when you see something that somebody likes, can result in العني We believe in it because the Prophet, SAW, said: الع ني ح ق The evil eye is a truth/ a reality - A narration from Muslim ال ع ني ح ق ي ح ض ر ه ا الش ي ط ان. The evil eye is a truth/ a reality in which the devil is present The evil eye is a type of poison that Allah has created in sight of the one who watches
Line 29 - First Prohibition The العني is not conditional on intention. You can even give العني to yourself or to your own children, wife etc? العني How do we ensure we are not giving We have to mention a form of,ت ب ار ك specifically give praise to Allah, and attributing that beauty to Allah The Prophet, SAW, was told by a man who that the man had given العني to someone He said to him باركت هال which means why did you not praise Allah. So we should say something to this effect: تبارك اهلل احسن الخالقني اللهم بارك فيه
Line 29 - First Prohibition Lesson from this: We should understand that this desire, to look at everything/ everyone and be interested in العني them can lead to We should understand that our hearts are constantly seeking to be seduced and memorised The more our hearts are impressed by the glamours of this دنيا the more our eyes widen in search for it One may ask why is العني mentioned in a book about the tongue: تبارك The first answer is because, one who commits it, has an obligation to mention a form of The second answer is because giving العني is sometimes accompanied with an action of the tongue Eg: What beautiful skin you have! What lovely hair your daughter has! What a lovely looking jacket you have! Etc.
Line 29 - Second Prohibition The second prohibition is املن (reminding others of what you have done for them) Allah says in سورة البقرة verse 264: ي ا أ ي ه ا ال ذ ين آم ن وا ال ت ب ط ل وا ص د ق ات ك م ب امل ن و األ ذ ى ك ال ذ ي ي نف ق م ال ه ر ئ اء الن اس و ال ي ؤ م ن ب اهلل و ال ي و م اآل خ ر Oh you who believe, do not negate/falsify your Sadaqah with املن or اال ذ ى (harm) like the one who gives his money with رىاء and does not believe in Allah and the final day So in short doing some deed, any deed, for someone and then reminding them later on is a way to destroy that deed So we should be very careful when we do something for someone, because when we offer this action, it should be solely for Allah and not as a way to remind people If we are sincere in our Sadaqah then we should realise that we should not go back and claim favours
Line 29 - Second Prohibition If a person, who did some deed for someone else, goes back to him/ her and seeks that recognition then he should ask himself: Was the deed done in the first place purely for Allah, and as an offering, or was it to seek some later recognition? Had the deed been solely for Allah, then the person would only expect a reward from Allah and not from a person We should be specifically careful with close family. Children, spouses, siblings: There may be genuine times in which we see that they are denying the blessings of Allah by ignoring them. At this point if we were to have to mention things we did for them in order to give them this appreciation then it is permissible This is however very difficult: By mentioning your deeds you put yourself at risk of attributing that deed to yourself, to your own capacity. You also may end up feeling as if they owe you something, so you may in your heart begin to seek some small amount of recognition Such circumstances, it is probably better to seek alternative council. We should recognise that such circumstances are like treating a sickness with poison, and may be better avoided altogether
Line 29 - Second Prohibition In short this is really a very big lesson on the singularity of intention. We should also note that if we are receiving favours from people then we should in our hearts have a deep gratitude for the services Allah provides to us through these people The Prophet, SAW, said: م ن ال ي ش ك ر الن اس ال ي ش ك ر اهلل He who does not thank the people does not thank Allah Be grateful to everyone, because indirectly their services, end up benefitting you
Line 29 - Third Prohibition The third prohibition is اال ذ ى (causing harm) This is mentioned here because the Ayah in which من is mentioned also mentions this too Because the types of harms are so many in this sentence Mawlud says that any harm in general is prohibited E.g: If you are giving someone charity and you throw the money at them. Maybe you mention something to the person whilst giving it In general a Muslim should have a deep intuition for things that may harm someone. For example there may be things that do not cause harm to someone, but to someone else is harmful. It is not sufficient to suppose, or to assume that this will not affect the person. We should be very careful. With those around us, even more so, because we begin to make assumptions as to what they should and should not find offensive If you genuinely did not seek harm, but caused it then there is no sin on you. But you should still seek pardon. Next time you do the same crime it becomes a sin