The Etiquettes of the Speech and the Council

From Luqman’s recommendation to his son, The Most High God says, ﴾And be moderate in thy pace, and lower thy voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass﴿¹

The Etiquettes of Islam

Islam came as a guidance for all the people, and The Noblest Prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) was sent as a mercy for all the worlds. From the most significant aims of prophecy are the straightforwardness of the nation and the guidance of the creatures to the noble morals and the praiseworthy traits. This is clarified in The Most Glorious and Reverent Creator’s description of His prophet as: ﴾And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character﴿²

Moreover, The Concluding Prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) determined the aim of his message in his saying, “I was sent in order to complete the loftiest morals in particular.”³

Henceforth, it is understood that reaching the real happiness and attaining the perfection towards which the human being is craving can be accomplished by means of being characterized with the noble morals and the praiseworthy traits which The Noblest Prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) declared and taught to the people.

The Divine Planning for Man’s Life

The believer who is committed to the religion of The Most High God moves in his life on the basis of an integrated system as regards all the details and issues of life because The Most High God is more knowing of them than he is and more knowing of what benefits and harms him than he himself is.

The Most High God sent Prophet Mohammad (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) with the complete message and made him a good example as regards all the details and issues of man’s move towards perfection. The Most High God says, ﴾You have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern *of conduct)﴿⁴ Also, He says, ﴾…If ye obey Him, ye shall be on right guidance. The Apostle’s duty is only to preach the clear (Message)﴿⁵ He, moreover, says, ﴾And follow the best of (the courses) revealed to you from your Lord…﴿⁶

Within all of these, there is an indication to that the path of happiness and the accomplishment of the virtuous life lie in the shade of obedience and following i.e. following The Prophet and his Household (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) and their followers. Following them is accomplished through two ways:

1- Adopting the sayings of The Prophet and his Household (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household)
2- Taking after their deeds and conduct

The human being who wants to follow up the path of the truth must submit his life to a special educational system, such as: choosing the councils he wants to attend and the speech he has with the others.

The Councils to Be Attended

Not every council one can attend and participate in because many types of council stand as a cause for the corruption of the individual and the society and turning away from The Most High God. Henceforth, the councils must be chosen according to specific bases. And because of this, Wise Luqman recommended his son with: “Elaborately choose the councils. If you find people extolling God, then sit with them: If you are a scholar, then your knowledge will benefit you and they will add to it. If you are an ignorant, they will teach you. And maybe God will bestow upon them a mercy, then it will be bestowed upon you with them.”⁷

The Councils to Be Avoided

1- The Councils of the Hypocrites and the Mockers of God’s Verses and Creed: especially if those sitting in the councils are from the people who do not abstain from the abomination and who are not ashamed of committing it: The Most Glorified and High God says, ﴾Already has he sent you Word in the Book, that when ye hear the signs of God held in defiance and ridicule, ye are not to sit with them unless they turn to a different theme…﴿⁸

Imam Al-Sadik (God’s peace bestowed upon him) illustrated this verse, and it is related in a narrative ascribed to him that he (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “He meant by this the man who denies the truth and belies it and defames the Imams. Leave him and sit not with him whoever he is.”

There is a minimum extent which must be available in the councils which man attends. This minimum extent is represented by the respect of the Islamic sacredness and with not making ridicule of the basic issues such as God’s verses or prophets or the purified Imams (God’s peace bestowed upon them).

2- The Councils of Backbiting: The believer must not sit in a place where the honors of the believers are, by means of backbiting and tale bearing, violated. This is so because the listener to backbiting is a partner in it as is related in the following narrative which is ascribed to God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household): “The listener to backbiting is one of the backbiters.”⁹

It is also related that he (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “He who believes in God and in the hereafter, let him not sit in a council where an Imam is abused or a Muslim is backbitten. God says in His Book, ﴾When thou seest men engaged in vain discourse about Our Signs, turn away from them unless they turn to different theme. If Satan ever makes thee forget, then after recollection, sit not thou in the company of those who do wrong¹⁰﴿¹¹

3- Sitting on the Roads: The roads are public places; and it is, consequently, the right of all the people to get benefit of them without any crowdedness or harassment from anyone. It is not from the public etiquettes to sit in the streets, for this is destructive of chivalry and contradictory with the rationality in addition to that it includes waste of time and harm of the pedestrians. It is related that Imam Ali (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “Never sit on the roads.”¹²

The Councils to Participate In

1- The Councils of Extolment: It is related that God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “Revel in the gardens of heaven.” They asked, “O God’s prophet! What are the gardens of heaven?” He (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) answered, “They are the councils of extolment.”¹³

2- The Councils of Reviving the Affair of The Prophet and his Household (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household): It is related that Imam Al-Rida (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “He who sits in a council in which our affair is revived will have God not deadening his heart on the day the hearts die.”¹⁴

3- Sitting with the Scholars: In Luqman’s recommendation to his son, he said, “O son! Sit with the scholars and verge on them, for The Most Glorious and Reverent God enlivens the hearts with the light of wisdom as He enlivens the earth with the rain of the sky.”¹⁵

4- Sitting with the Righteous Ones: It is related that Imam Zein Al-Abideen (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “Sitting with the righteous ones calls to righteousness.”¹⁶

5- Sitting with the Sagacious Ones: It is related that The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “Sit with the sagacious ones, so that your mind will get complete; your soul will become noble; and your ignorance will be driven away from you.”¹⁷

6- Sitting with the poor Ones: It is related that God’s prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “Ask the scholars. Talk to the sagacious ones. And sit with poor ones.”¹⁸

The Etiquettes of the Speech

The speech has a great influence on the people’s life and their relationships. It is by the speech that the human being can build the best relationships; and it is also by the speech that he can cause the worst adversaries. This is so due to the importance and impact the tongue has in this life. It is related that Imam Mohammad Al-Baqer (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “This tongue is the key of every good and evil; therefore, the believer must keep up his tongue as he keeps his gold and silver.”¹⁹

In addition, it is related that The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said in his recommendation to his son Mohammad bin Al-Hanafeeya, “God created nothing better or worse than the speech is. It is by the speech that certain faces are enlightened, and it is also by the speech that certain faces are darkened. Know that the speech is under your control unless you say it. Once you say it, you are under its control…”²⁰

Accordingly, the believer must abide by the etiquettes of Islam in his speech, so that it will not lead him to fall in dangers and forbiddances. He must also think about the speech before saying it because “The slip of the tongue is the worst destruction”²¹ as is related to The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him). Also, the believer must take in consideration several issues:

1- Abandoning the Vain Discourses: The Most High God, in description of the pious ones, says, ﴾…who avoid vain talk…﴿²²

2- Turning Away from Hurting and Disgracing the People: It is related that The Greatest Prophet (God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon him and his Household) said, “The meanest among the people is the one who disgraces the people.”²³

3- Not Raising the Voice while Talking: The Most High God, in Luqman’s recommendation to his son, says, ﴾And be moderate in thy place, and lower thy voice, for the harshest of sounds without doubt in the braying of the ass﴿²⁴

4- Abstaining from Excessive Joking: Joking in itself is fine among the brothers for the pleasure and happiness it brings about, yet the excessive joking has bad impacts. It is related that The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “Joking excessively leads to losing face, and laughing excessively leads to wiping the belief.”²⁵

For Reading

The Courageous Teacher²⁶

Ibn Al-Sakeet, one of the great scholastic and literary men, was a follower of the two Imams Mohammad Al-Jawad and Ali Al-Hadi (God’s peace bestowed upon them), and he was an ardent lover of Imam Ali (God’s peace bestowed upon him). Though he used to frequent to the Abbasid court, he was not from the preachers of the sultans and he at no day bargained his belief.

The Abbasid Al-Moutawakkil had an exceptional respect towards him, to the extent that the former chose the latter from among many scholars to teach his two sons.

And it happened that one day, Al-Moutawakkil asked him, “Whom do you love more: my two sons or Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein?” That great man applied the best struggle for God’s sake i.e. a word of truth in the face of the tyrant sultan and said to him with all the dignity and with all the pride of his loyalty to the guiding Imams, “Qonbor is dearer to me than you and your sons are.” [Qonbor is the servant of The Prince of the Believers (God’s peace bestowed upon him)]

Upon hearing Ibn Al-Sakeet’s words, Al-Moutawakkil flamed up with rage and ordered that he be beaten and kicked and that his tongue be cut. And then they beheaded him, so he passed away to his Lord as a martyr who had sacrificed his soul for the sake of the authority [of the household].

1- The Noble Qur'an/ Luqman Chapter/ Verse 19
2- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Qalam [The Pen] Chapter/ Verse 4
3- Bihar Al-Anwar [The Seas of Lights]/ Part Sixteen/ Page 210
4- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Ahzab [The Federates] Chapter/ Verse 21
5- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Nour [The Light] Chapter/ Verse 54
6- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Zumar [The Groups] Chapter/ Verse 55
7- Al-Kafi [The Sufficient]/ Part One/ Page 39
8- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Nisaa [The Women] Chapter/ Verse 140
9- Mustadrak Al-Wasael [Making Up for the Means]/ Part Nine/ Page 133
10- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Anaam [The Cattle] Chapter/ Verse 68
11- Mustadrak Al-Wasael/ Part Twelve/ Page 315
12- Bihar Al-Anwar [The Seas of Lights]/ Part Seventy Two/ Page 465
13- Wasael Al-Sheeaa [The Means of the Shiite]/ Part Seven/ Page 231
14- Wasael AL-Sheeaa/ Part Fourteen/ Page 502
15- Bihar Al-Anwar/ Part One/ Page 204
16- Al-Kafi [The Sufficient]/ Part One/ Page 20
17- Meezan Al-Hekma [The Standard of Wisdom]/ Part One/ Page 204
18- Bihar Al-Anwar [The Seas of lights]/ Part One/ Page 198
19- Meezan Al-Hekma/ Part Four/ Page 2777
20- Man La Yahdourouhou Al-Fakih [He Who Has No Jurisprudent to Refer to]/ Part Four/ Page 387
21- Meezan Al- Hekma [The Standard of Wisdom]/ Part Four/ Page 2779
22- The Noble Qur'an/ Al-Mo’minoun [The Believers] Chapter/ Verse 20
23- Bihar Al-Anwar [The Seas of Lights]/ Part Seventy Two/ Page 142
24- The Noble Qur'an/ Luqman Chapter/ Verse 19
25- Wasael Al-Sheeaa [The Means of the Shiite]/ Part Twelve/ Page 117
26- Mawaqif Al-Sheeaa [The Attitudes of the Shiite]/ Part Two/ Page 337