The Tongue

If a person is good, it reflects in their saying. Allah has made it very easy for the tongue to move, and it is not difficult to realize that a person’s tongue moves much more as if compared to the limbs.
So if a person is not careful about what he says, even a single saying of his can invalidate his actions. It is for this reason that the whole body warns the tongue saying, “Fear Allah concerning us, for we are (dependant) upon you. If you are upright then we will be upright and if you are corrupt then we will be corrupt.” - Sunan at-Tirmidhi (1912), Mishkaat (4838) and Riyaadh as-Saleheen (2/1521)

And at the same time, the tongue is a great blessing from Allah. If we look at the animals, who are unable to speak, we realize the importance of this great tool of communication.
The gratitude that we should show for this great blessing should include, using it for the obedience to Allah, for reading the Qur'aan, for seeking Knowledge, to enjoin good and forbidding evil. The prohibitions of the tongue are that you do not lie, abuse, use foul language, backbite and slander.

Allah says in the begining of Surah al-Mumineen, “Indeed successful are the Believers, those who in their prayer have Khushu’ (fear of Allah) and those who refrain from vain talk.” [Soorah Mumineen : 1-3]
Here Allah mentions that refraining from vain talk is a sign of the successful believers.
Allah also mentions refraining from vain talk after he mentions al-Khushu’.
This is because too much talk makes the heart hard. It is not possible to reach the level of Khushu’ (fear of Allah) unless one refrains from vain talk.

Imaam an-Nawawee - rahimahullah - mentions “Know it is incumbent upon all to guard their tongues from most speech, except a word that has some benefit in it....” - Kitaabul-Adhkaar
And for those who take heed there is a constant reminder in the verse, “Not a word is said except that there is a watcher by him ready to record it.” - [Soorah Qaf (50):18]

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammed - (S. A. W). - said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or keep silent.”

Imaam ash-Shafiee - rahimahullah - said. “If you wish to speak then it is upon you to think before you speak. If you think there is good in it then speak and if not then do not speak.”

The earlier mentioned Qur'aanic verses, Hadeeth (sayings) of our noble Prophet and advices by the scholars of Islaam are a guide for those searching for salvation against vain talk. So before we talk, should we not ask ourselves....

Will this saying of mine please Allah?

Will this saying of mine bring me closer to Allah?

Does this saying earn with it obedience to Allah?

If yes, then speak, otherwise one should keep quiet.

Researchers in ethics say that there is a cause of corruption for everything.
The tongue is not an exception to this. Many things will corrupt it. Nearly sixteen causes have been cited for the corruption of the tongue.

01 - Talking in vain or useless
Talking in vain will only waste our time and is one of the causes of corruption of the tongue. Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "One of the signs of goodness of a Muslim man's submission to Allah (SWT) is avoiding vain talk."
Ibn Abbas (RadhiAllahu Anhu) said: Achieving the following five matters is more beneficial than owning the best types of horses:
(1) - Not involving yourselves in conversations that do not concern you, as there is no guarantee that you would not sin therein.
(2) - Not talking about things that do concern you, until you find the proper time; as a person may talk about a matter that does concern them but at the wrong time and therefore produce a bad consequence.
(3) - Not arguing with a wise or a foolish person, as the wise person would desert you and the foolish person would humiliate you.
(4) - Mentioning your brother, in his absence, with things with which you would wish him to mention you with in your absence and forgiving him for that which you would wish him to forgive you for.
(5) - Performing the actions of one who is certain that he would be rewarded for the good and punished for the bad that he does.
It is a fact that the majority of those who take the lead in vain talk during sinful gatherings talk so much that one who listens to them comes to realize that they themselves are not aware of what they are saying and that there is no thought process behind their words.
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "No servants of Allah's (SWT) belief will be correct until his heart is corrected, and his heart will never be corrected until his tongue is."

The first phase of achieving this correctness is for a person to give up that which does not concern them and not to involve themselves in things that they were not asked about.

Islam has dispraised frivolities and idle talk as they are immaterial and evil. In fact, the more a person stays away from them, the higher their rank becomes with Allah (SWT).
Conversely, the more a person indulges in them, the more their punishment will be with Allah (SWT).

Our Tongue is Our Greatest Blessing

Undoubtedly, the tongue and the ability to speak are the greatest blessings that God has bestowed on man in His Creation.
This has been explicitly stated in the following verse:
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ
“He has created man: He has taught him speech )and intelligence(.” ]The Holy Qur’an, al-Rahman 55:3-4[
Speech has been described as meaning “uncovering” an object in Arabic. Our tongue expresses our inner thoughts and feelings. Our speech uncovers our inner thoughts and expresses what we think. If it was not for our ability to speak, we would be quiet just like animals and there would be no more discussion, explaining and understanding among men.

Different Languages as a Sign of God
The Almighty God stated in the Holy Qur’an:
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِينَ
“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know.” ]The Holy Qur’an, al-Rum 30:22[
This clearly expresses that the existence of various colors, races, and languages among mankind is one of the signs of God.

Language as a Means of Getting to Know Others
There are various ways to get to know each person. One of these ways is through speech.

Each person introduces his own personality when he talks. Our speaking clearly expresses our inner purity or wickedness. One can tell whether you are a good man or a corrupt one. Imam Baqir )( said:
المَرْءُ مخْبُوءٌ تَحْتَ لِسَانِهِ.
“A man is hidden under his tongue.” ][
The tongue will unveil the curtain and display our real character.
The Nature of Verbal Sins
Imam Ali )( said the following about the tongue:
جِرْمُهُ صَغيرٌ وَجُرمُهُ ثَقِيلٌ
“Its mass is small, but its sin is great.”
This wise saying clearly states how our little tongue can be used to create great sins. Each of the body parts that God has given us has a specific characteristic and purpose. Some have certain limitations, too. For instance, the eye can only see certain colors.
The ears can only hear sounds.

Preparing For The Hereafter

Once a man saw in his dream, that a lion was chasing him.
The man ran to a tree, climbed on to it and sat on a branch. He looked down and saw that the lion was still there waiting for him.

The man then looked to his side where the branch he was sitting on was attached to the tree and saw that two rats were circling around and eating the branch. One rat was black and the other one was white. The branch would fall on the ground very soon.

The man then looked below again with fear and discovered that a big black snake had come and settled directly under him. The snake opened its mouth right under the man so that he will fall into it.

The man then looked up to see if there was anything that he could hold on to. He saw another branch with a honeycomb. Drops of honey were falling from it.

The man wanted to taste one of the drops. So, he put his tongue out and tasted one of the fallen drops of honey. The honey was amazing in taste. So, he wanted to taste another drop. As he did, he got lost into the sweetness of the honey.

Meanwhile, he forgot about the two rats eating his branch away, the lion on the ground and the snake that is sitting right under him.
After a while, he woke up from his sleep.

To get the meaning behind this dream, the man went to a pious scholar of Islam. The Islamic scholar who interpret the dream said, the lion you saw is your death. It always chases you and goes wherever you go.

The two rats, one black and one white, are the night and the day. Black one is the night and the white one is the day. They circle around, coming one after another, to eat your time as they take you closer to death.

The big black snake with a dark mouth is your grave. It's there, just waiting for you to fall into it.

The honeycomb is this world and the sweet honey is the luxuries of this world. We like to taste a drop of the luxuries of this world but it's very sweet. Then we taste another drop and yet another.

Meanwhile, we get lost into it and we forget about our time, we forget about our death and we forget about our graves.