Provision for the Seekers: A Brief Study of Selected Ahadith (9)

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that: The Messenger of Allah [ﷺ] said: "The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe, and the believer is the one from whom the people's lives and wealth are safe." (Sunan an-Nasa'i 4995)

• A true believer is one who guards the wealth, life, and honor of the other believers just as he does for himself; he is true, loyal, and trustful to other believers. 

• This applies to giving mindful and sincere advice too

• The reason the tongue is mentioned before the hand is because the wounds of the tongue are far more devastating. They are deeper and can be afflicted at any time, any distance. 

• Therefore we must be careful with our speech, as a habit of excessive talking may lead to committing sins of the tongue

Nawwas b. Sam'an al-Ansari reported: I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about virtue and vice. He said: Virtue is a kind disposition and vice is what rankles in your heart and that you disapprove that people should come to know of it. (Sahih Muslim 2553a)

• In this ahadith the prophet ﷺ is giving us a brief yet wholesome definition of what piety/virtue is; good character, having husnul khuluq

• The ones closest to the prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgement will be those with the best character

• A measure of gauging an individual’s piety is to look at their ikhlaq with their family—a position in which they are their truest selves

• A sin leaves one uneasy and in a state of doubt. It is an action or habit you wish to hide from others.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: That the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Fulfill the trust for the one who entrusted you, and do not cheat the one who cheated you." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1264)

• A believer is not someone who is petty. A believer takes the high road, and does not engage in revenge, because the believer looks to their Lord for approval and reward, rather than to the creation. 

• We are instructed through this hadith to keep our promises, and in case a situation arises in which we can’t, we must pay a kaffara for it

• In instances where someone may insult our deen, we are told to reply with wisdom even then