Hadith Text & Reference

"The son of Adam's speech is against him not for him, except for commanding good, or forbidding evil, or remembrance of Allah."

Book: Chapters On Zuhd

Author: Jami' at-Tirmidhi

Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2412

General Meaning

This profound hadith establishes that most human speech is detrimental to the speaker, counting against them in the Divine Scales. The only exceptions are utterances that serve three sacred purposes: enjoining righteousness, prohibiting wrongdoing, and remembering Allah.

Scholarly Commentary

The phrase "against him not for him" indicates that ordinary speech becomes a source of sin and spiritual detriment unless it falls within the three protected categories. This reflects the Islamic emphasis on guarding one's tongue.

"Commanding good" (al-amr bil-ma'ruf) refers to encouraging virtuous deeds in accordance with Islamic law, while "forbidding evil" (an-nahy 'anil-munkar) means preventing sinful actions. Both require proper knowledge and wisdom.

"Remembrance of Allah" (dhikr Allah) encompasses all forms of worshipful speech including Quran recitation, prayers, supplications, and mentioning Allah's names and attributes.

Spiritual Implications

This teaching cultivates mindfulness in speech (muraqabat al-lisan), encouraging believers to measure their words against these three criteria before speaking.

The hadith promotes the virtue of silence as the default state, breaking it only for beneficial purposes that earn divine reward.

Scholars note that this principle applies particularly to worldly conversations, gossip, and vain talk which occupy most human discourse without spiritual benefit.

Practical Application

The believer should regularly examine their speech, ensuring it either promotes righteousness, prevents evil, or contains remembrance of Allah.

This teaching forms the foundation of Islamic etiquette regarding speech and demonstrates how zuhd (asceticism) applies to verbal expression.

Imam al-Ghazali and other scholars derived from this that preserving one's tongue from harmful speech is among the highest forms of worship.