Holding One's Tongue (Part 11)

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.



Compromising One's Principles

(Nahlawi :) Compromising one's Principles means religious
lassitude and weakness, such as by saying nothing upon
seeing acts of disobedience or unlawful things when able to
change them without suffering harm. Such silence is unlawful.
Its opposite is firmness in religion.
 Allah Most High says, 
يُجَاهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ اللهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَومَةَ لآءِمٍ

'' They fight in the path of Allah and fear not

the blame of whoever may blame them''

                                                                        5: 54

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, 

''Speak the truth, even if bitter.''

 But when one's silence is to prevent damage to oneself
or others, it is a permissible form of assuaging those from
whom one apprehends harm (mudara), and even recom-
mended in some cases, as when it results in being saved
from injustice, or is a means to fulfill a right recognized
by Sacred Law.

Ridicule and Sarcasm

(Nahlawi:) Ridicule entails showing disdain, sarcasm,
or contempt for another in a way that causes laughter,
whether by mimicking another's words or actions, by
a gesture or by allusion. It is unlawful.

Allah Most High says:

(1) ''Those who demean believers who voluntarily

give charity - ridiculing those who find nothing to

give but their own effort - it is Allah who is ridiculing 

them, and they shall suffer a painful torment''  9:79

(2) '' O you who believe : let not some men deride 

others who might well be better than they ; and let 

not some women ridicule others who might well be

better than they. Do not belittle one another or insult

one another with nicknames''          49:11

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said :

'' A gate in paradise will open to one of those who mock

people and cry will be heard, 'come here, come here,' and

he will come forward in concern and anxiety, but when he

reaches it, it will close in front of him. And this will happen

again and again, until the gate will open and the cry 'Come

here, come here' will be heard as before, but he will not

approach because he knows it will only close in front of him.''

Ridicule is only unlawful when it hurts others' feelings. As for
someone who purposely makes himself  a laughingstock,
perhaps such a person enjoys it, and jokes about him are
considered mere humor. What is unlawful is the sarcasm
that offends the person ridiculed, because of the insult and
disdain involved, such as by laughing at his way of speaking,
what he does, how he looks, or his physique because of a
defect therein. To laugh at any of these is to commit ridicule
that is unlawful.

Extracts from
Ahmad ibn Naqib al- Misri
Reliance of the Traveller
Tran .. Nuh Ha mim Keller