Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar from
Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man says to his
muslim brother, 'O kafir!' it is true about one of them."
Malik related to me from Suhayl ibn Abu Salih from his
father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you hear
a man say, 'The people are ruined,' he himself is the most
ruined of them all."
Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "Let none of you complain
about time, for Allah is time.'
Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said that Isa ibn
Maryam encountered a pig on the road. He said to it, "Go
in peace." Somebody asked, "Do you say this to a pig?" Isa
said, "I fear lest I accustom my tongue to evil speech."
Malik related to me from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Alqama
from his father from Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "A man speaks what is pleasing to Allah and
he does not suspect that it will have the result that it
does, and Allah will write for him His good pleasure for
it until the day when he meets Him. And a man speaks what
excites the wrath of Allah and he does not suspect that it
will have the result that it does, and Allah will write
His wrath for him for it until the day when he meets Him."
Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar that Abu
Salih as-Samman informed him that Abu Hurayra said, "Truly
a man utters words to which he attaches no importance, and
by them he falls into the fire of Jahannam, and truly a
man utters words to which he attaches no importance, and
by them Allah raises him into the Garden."
Section: Disliked Speech and Speech Without the Mention
of Allah
Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam that Abdullah
ibn Umar said, "Two men from the east stood up and spoke,
and people were amazed at their eloquence. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
'Some eloquence is sorcery,' or he said, 'Part of
eloquence is sorcery.' "
Malik related to me that he heard that Isa ibn Maryam
used to say, "Do not speak much without the mention of
Allah for you will harden your hearts. A hard heart is far
from Allah, but you do not know. Do not look at the wrong
actions of people as if you were lords. Look at your wrong
actions as if you were slaves. Some people are afflicted
by wrong action and some people are protected from it. Be
merciful to the people of affliction and praise Allah for
His protection."
Malik related to me that he heard that A'isha, the wife
of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
sent a message to one of her family after the evening
prayer, saying, "Will you not allow the recording angel to
rest?"
Malik related to me from al-Walid ibn Abdullah ibn
Sayyad that al-Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Hantab al-Makhzumi
informed him that a man asked the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, "What is backbiting?"
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "It is to mention about a man what he does
not want to hear." He said, "Messenger of Allah! Even if
it is true?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "If you utter something false,
then it is slander."
Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn
Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "Whomever Allah protects from the
evil of two things will enter the Garden." A man said,
"Messenger of Allah, do not tell us!" The Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was
silent. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, repeated what he had said the first
time. The man said to him, "Do not tell us, Messenger of
Allah!" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, was silent. Then the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said the same
thing again. The man said, "Do not tell us, Messenger of
Allah!" Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said the same thing again. Then the
man began to say what he had said previously and a man at
his side silenced him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whomever Allah
protects from the evil of two things will enter the
Garden. They are what is between his jaws and what is
between his legs, what is between his jaws and what is
between his legs, what is between his jaws and what is
between his legs."
Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father
that Umar ibn al-Khattab came upon Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
pulling his tongue. Umar said to him, "Stop, may Allah
forgive you!" Abu Bakr replied, "This has brought me to
dangerous places."
Section: Two People Conversing to the Exclusion of
Another
Malik related to me from Abdullah ibn Dinar saying,
"Abdullah ibn Umar and I were at the house of Khalid ibn
Uqba who was away at the market. A man came who wanted to
speak to Abdullah ibn Umar and I was the only other person
present Abdullah ibn Umar called another man so that we
were four and said to me and the man whom he had called,
'Go a little way off together, because I heard the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, say, "Two do not converse secretly to the exclusion
of another.' "'
Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar
that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "Two must not converse secretly to the
exclusion of another person."
Malik related to me from Safwan ibn Sulaym that a man
asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, "Can I lie to my wife, Messenger of
Allah?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "There is no good in lying." The
man said, "Messenger of Allah! Shall I make her a promise
and tell her?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "It will not be held against
you."
Malik related to me that he heard that Abdullah ibn
Masud used to say, "You must tell the truth. Truthfulness
leads to right action. Right action leads to the Garden.
Beware of lying. Lying leads to corruption, and corruption
leads to the Fire. Don't you see that it is said, 'He
speaks the truth and acts rightly,' and, 'He lies and is
corrupt.' "
Malik related to me that he heard that someone said to
Luqman, "What has brought you to what we see?" meaning his
high rank. Luqman said, "Truthful speech, fulfilling the
trust, and leaving what does not concern me."
Malik related to me that he heard that Abdullah ibn
Masud used to say, "The slave continues to lie and a black
spot grows in his heart until all his heart becomes black.
Then he is written, in Allah's sight, among the liars."
Malik related to me that Safwan ibn Sulaym said, "The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, was asked, 'Can the mumin be a coward?' He said,
'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can the mumin be a miser?' He said,
'Yes.' He was asked, 'Can the mumin be a liar?' He said,
'No.' "
Malik related to me from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his
father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is
pleased with three things from you, and He is angry with
three things from you. He is pleased that you worship Him
and do not associate anything with Him, and that you take
hold of the rope of Allah altogether, and that you give
good counsel to the one to whom Allah gives command over
you. He is angry with you for gossip, squandering
property, and asking too many questions."
Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "One of the most evil of
people is the two-faced person who shows one face to these
people and another face to those people."
Section: Punishing the Many for the Actions of the Few
Malik related to me that he had heard that Umm Salama,
the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "Messenger of Allah! Shall we be destroyed
while there are people who are salih among us?" The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "Yes, if there is much wickedness."
Malik related to me that Ismail ibn Abi Hakim heard
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "Some say that Allah the
Blessed, the Exalted, will not punish the many for the
wrong action of the few. However, when the objectionable
action is committed openly, then they all deserve to be
punished."
Malik related to me from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi
Talha that Anas ibn Malik said, "I heard Umar ibn al-Khattab,
when I was going out with him to visit an orchard, say to
himself, and there was a wall between him and me and he
was inside the garden, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, amir al-muminin!
Well done! Well done! By Allah, fear Allah or he will
punish you.' "
Malik said, "I heard that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad used to
say, 'I have seen the people, (i.e. the companions), and
they were not impressed by speech.' " Malik said, "He
meant that only action and deeds would be looked at, not
words."
Malik related to me that Amir ibn Abdullah ibn
az-Zubayr would stop speaking when he heard thunder and
say, "Glory be to Allah whom the thunder glorifies with
His praise and the angels from the fear of Him." (Subhana-aladhee
yusabihu ar-radu bi hamdihi wa mala'ikatu min khiyfatihi.)
Then he would say, "This is a severe warning to the people
of the earth."
Section: The Legacy of the Prophet, may Allah Bless Him
and Grant Him Peace
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn
az-Zubayr from A'isha, umm al-muminin that when the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, died, the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, wanted to send Uthman ibn Affan to
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq to ask him about their inheritance from
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace A'isha said to them, "Didn't the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'No one
inherits from us. What we leave is sadaqa.' "
Malik related to me from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "My inheritance is not
divided up by the dinar. What I leave apart from the
maintenance of my wives and provision for my servant is
sadaqa."