The word as a trust (amanat al-kalima)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy presents the word as a trust, and holds that a person who speaks before people will be held to account for what he says. ¹ A word has weight, and it can raise its speaker or lower him. ²³

The Sheikh says trust is wider than the keeping of money, and he cites a hadith in which the loss of trust is a sign of the Hour. ⁴ He mentions a verse on the trust offered to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, which the human being accepted; he does not name the sura of the verse in the recording. ⁵ He says the trust is to worship God by His commands and prohibitions, and that acts of worship such as ablution and humility in prayer are trusts. ⁶⁷ The speaker's view is that everything a person is given is a trust, and that the believer is responsible for upholding his religion in it. ⁸

He cites a hadith on a single word weighing heavily for or against a person. ² He says that righteousness is a cheerful face and gentle, truthful speech, and that a word may raise its speaker in Paradise or lower him in God's wrath. ⁹ He cites a hadith that a single word may lift a person to high ranks or cast him into the Fire. ³ He says that scholars warned against four things: speech, looks, steps and thoughts. He cites a hadith of the night journey in an image of something that cannot return, and says a spoken word cannot be recalled. ¹⁰ He says that a wound from the tongue lasts longer than a wound from the sword, and that a Muslim guards his speech accordingly. ¹¹ He says that a spear wound may heal but a tongue wound may not, and urges repentance and a renewed resolve when one has spoken wrongly. ¹²

He says that our scholars advised guarding the tongue, and that backbiting and tale-bearing breed resentment and envy among relatives, neighbours and colleagues. ¹³ He lists the sins of the tongue: backbiting, gossip, lying, false witness, obscene speech and false oaths. ¹⁴ He defines backbiting and gossip, and says that Muslim homes now broadcast one another's affairs. ¹⁵ He cites a hadith on the believer who eats what is good and does not harm what he touches, and a hadith that the worst of people are those avoided for their harm. ¹⁶ He cites a hadith that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands people are safe, and asks whether people are safe from the tale-bearing of listeners. ¹⁷ He says that keeping trust with people's money, secrets and honour keeps a person safe. ¹⁸

He criticises those who divide lies into white, red and green lies. He says the tongue records every word, and that a lie is a lie. ²⁰ He lists the lies he regards as permitted: in war, between spouses to keep harmony, and in reconciling disputing parties. He says all other lies are forbidden. ¹⁹ He cites Abu Bakr's answer to the Quraysh as an example of a lie permitted to reconcile people. ²¹ He recounts a man who refused to deny his fault before the ruler and was released because he spoke the truth (needs_source: the story is not sourced in the recording). ²²

The speaker's view is that one who speaks before people must respect their minds, and that he will be held to account for his words. ¹ He holds that honesty in the media is one of the gravest trusts, that a public speaker must verify before speaking, and that covering a Muslim's faults is better. ²³²⁴ He gives the example of a father who heard his son promise to study, while the son's conduct over the years contradicted his words, and says that the tongue of state speaks louder than the tongue of speech. ²⁵