By Shaykh Syed Anisul Haque
11 July 2025

﷽

This week, I want to speak directly to something we all struggle with, myself included. It’s not a limb or a habit we often think about, but its effects are everywhere: the tongue.

Let me begin with a hadith that clearly shows us how serious the matter of the tongue is. A man came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah, a woman prays at night, fasts during the day, gives charity, but harms her neighbours with her tongue.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “There is no good in her. She is among the people of Hellfire.”

Then the man described another woman, someone who performs only the obligatory prayers and gives a little in charity but never harms anyone. And the Prophet ﷺ said, “She is among the people of Paradise.”

This reminds us clearly how serious our speech is in the eyes of Allah. Because it shows us that all our acts of worship can be undone by the words we let slip without thinking. This small, boneless organ can lift someone to Paradise or drag them down to the hellfire.

And in this era of mass communication, it’s not only what we say with our mouths. Our phones, our keyboards, our screens, they’ve all become part of our tongue. A comment on social media, a tweet, a meme, a voice note, these are the new forms of speech. And the harm they can cause is just as real. 

The Prophet ﷺ once described, in a powerful vision, the punishment of a man whose lies spread across the world: a hook tearing through his face, over and over. It’s terrifying. But it's meant to be. Because the truth is, when we’re careless with our words, the damage doesn’t stop with us.

Let’s take a moment to think about when the Prophet ﷺ asked, “Do you know who is the bankrupt one?” The companions replied, “The one who has no money or possessions.” But the Prophet ﷺ said, “The bankrupt person from my nation is the one who comes on the Day of Judgement with prayers, fasting, and zakat, but he also comes having insulted this one, slandered that one, consumed this one’s wealth, spilled this one’s blood, and hit another. Each of them will be given from his good deeds. If his good deeds run out before justice is done, their sins will be placed upon him, and he will be thrown into the Fire.”

This Hadith really forces us to stop and think. It doesn’t matter how much we pray or fast if we’re careless with our words and our treatment of others. It all counts. That’s why I keep reminding myself: guarding my speech is just as important as guarding my prayers. And I urge all of us to take this seriously, just like we protect our money and property, we need to protect our tongues

So how do we do it?

• First: Muraqabah – always being conscious that Allah sees and hears everything. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751H/1350CE) described this as the awareness that your inner thoughts and outer actions are constantly under the gaze of Allah. Every word, every post, every conversation, it’s all recorded.
  
  
• Second: kasratul samth – increased silence. This means training ourselves to stay silent unless there’s a clear benefit in speaking. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Say good or remain silent.”
  
  I want to share something that made this very real for me. One Eid, a group of us were watching old videos from the masjid. At first we were just laughing and remembering good times, but then the laughter shifted. We started joking about some of the people in the videos. That’s when one of the brothers, may Allah have mercy on him, suddenly said, “Brothers, we might be backbiting.” Just like that, a light-hearted moment had crossed into something sinful.

• Third: occupy the tongue with what truly benefits – Dhikr. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.” If we keep it busy with good, there’s less opportunity for harm.

Before concluding this week’s sermon, let me take a moment to remember a tragedy we must never forget – the genocide in Srebrenica. As we mark its 30th anniversary, we recall how over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were brutally murdered, and the world stood by watching. Thirty years on, the pain remains just as fresh. To this day, their families carry the burden of grief and injustice.

And as we look around today, we see history repeating itself. Our brothers and sisters in Palestine are going through unimaginable suffering, bombings, displacement, starvation, and occupation. Once again, the world watches and does little.  

Sadly, history is repeating itself. We witness our brothers and sisters in Palestine facing circumstances just as dire, if not worse. But from the genocide in Bosnia, we draw a powerful lesson, one that we must hold onto tightly in these times: trials may come, and suffering may persist, but they are not the end. 

There is no doubt that these trials will pass. There is no doubt that our brothers and sisters will one day return to their lands with dignity. And there is no doubt that, by the will of Allah, we will emerge more united, more resilient, and stronger than ever before.

As believers, we mustn’t lose hope. We remember that Allah is Just, and that victory belongs to those who remain patient and steadfast.

O Allah, forgive us for our sins and guide our speech. O Allah, have mercy on our brothers and sisters in Bosnia and Palestine. Grant them justice, peace, and victory. Return them to their homes with honour. Unite our hearts, strengthen our faith, and keep our tongues moist with Your remembrance. 

Ameen.

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