As easy as it is to move the tongue; the sins which are committed by it are taken lightly or considered weightless. Most of us assume ourselves to be far away from backbiting, gossiping and slandering.

Abu Huraira  reported Allah’s Messenger  as saying:

Do you know who is poor? They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: A poor man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The poor of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then his sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire. ¹

The sins of the tongue can make us bankrupt on the Day of Judgment, na’oodhubillah. Prevention is better than cure. Therefore I would like to share five effective tips to save ourselves from consequences of these sins.

      1.Do not assume things about others.

“I think she has an affair because she is always online, late in the night.”

“I am not sure but I think they’re going to get divorced.”

“I guess their income is haram.”

SubhanAllah! Such assumptions are not at all healthy for the society. Assumptions are mostly caused by faults in observations and they are always followed by unwanted rumors. This contributes to destruction of the whole society. Most importantly, the ones who assume and pass stories about others are committing the sin ofnameemah (malicious gossip).

“O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.” (Al-Hujurat, 49:12)

Always remember, it’s a Qur’anic prohibition to stop assuming things about others.

     2. Verify the news before sharing.

Both in real life and cyber world, we receive news which are mere rumors. Spam filtering is one of the crucial traits of Muslims. Allah  Himself asks us to be alert regarding these issues.

“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Al-Hujurat, 49:6)

3.Remind yourself that you are going to have some dead meat!

This is not new to us. Many of us know that backbiting is like eating the dead flesh of others.

“O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.” (Al-Hujurat, 49:12)

The dead flesh is prone to rapid growth of worms and viruses because it no longer has blood supply. A Muslim should always take a couple of seconds to realize that they are eating this kind of meat, before they backbite others.

     4.Eliminate the bad company

All of us have some people in our lives who kindle gossip. We have to make sure to not be in their company because birds of the same feather flock together.

        5. Remember – it’s now available online!

Chat apps and social networks successfully keep individuals connected to each with non-stop gossip about others. Blogs, websites and news forums contribute more to this by offering chinwags about celebrities, politicians and many more.

Hitting like or unlike and commenting does not necessarily define our contribution to these online sins; a single visit is enough to raise the page’s view rate and take its position higher on the web search.Whether it is done offline or online, sin remains sin. Therefore, we must take extra caution before visiting such web pages.

Let’s never forget that guarding the tongue and protecting others from its sins is one of the best attributes of Islam.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Musa Ash’ari  :  I asked the Messenger of Allah  which (attribute) of Islam is more excellent. Upon this he remarked:

“One in which the Muslims are safe, protected from the tongue and hand of (other Muslims).” ²