Speaking well to people (al-qawl al-hasan)

The Sheikh asks whether the command to speak well to people is limited to those we love, or to the Muslim, the believer and the observant, or whether it includes the one who has strayed and the one who does not believe in our religion. He answers that the verse is general: it does not say 'to the believers' or 'to those who pray' but 'to people', because the Prophet ﷺ was sent as a mercy to the worlds. ^{1 2 3}

He mentions the command that God's servants say what is best, and holds that between a good word and a better one a person should seek the better, because the heart is a vessel and the tongue a ladle that draws from it: if the heart is full of mercy, affection and connection with God, the tongue brings out these beautiful meanings. ^{4 5}

He relates that the Commander of the Faithful asked al-Asma'i for the plural of 'miswak'; not wanting to say 'masawik' (which also means 'your faults'), al-Asma'i said 'the opposite of your virtues, Commander of the Faithful', out of courtesy (needs_source: the story is the Sheikh's narration). ^{5 6 7} He relates that al-Abbas, asked whether he or the Prophet was older, said: he is greater than I, and I was born before him. ^{7 8}

He likens a good word to the bait put on a fishing hook: it draws hearts, good and not so good. ⁹ He holds that when a child at home errs, he should not be confronted with the fault at once; first his good qualities should be mentioned, because good speech is the greatest key to hearts and minds. ^{10 11}

He quotes the Arab sage's saying that the wounds of spears heal but what the tongue wounds does not, and cites the command to speak nobly to parents, not to rebuke them and not to say 'uff' to them. ^{12 13 14 15}

He wants to hear good speech from ruler and ruled, superior and subordinate, spouses and neighbours, and criticises those who insult people, states, groups and schools of thought on some satellite channels, holding that they have not heeded the command to speak well; this is his view. ^{15 16}