Mouood Mouood English Edition
We read about the states of Islam’s Prophet (S) that before revelation, he had been silent and reflected, and meditated about the mysteries of creation in Hara cave for several days.
We can summarize advantages of silence in following affairs:
1- Silence insures man against a lot of sins. Prophet (S) says in his short and meaningful phrase:
Whosoever mums is saved.3
The reason for this issue is clear, because most of the sins are performed by tongue. As Prophet (S) says:
Most of man’s mistakes are in his tongue.4
And it is narrated from the Prophet in another tradition:
Keep your tongue save a good utterance and thereby you will overcome Satan.5
2- Silence invites man to thinking and reflection which are the sources of his spiritual life, and thus a silent person is typically resourceful, a thinker and a man of action. In contrast, talkative people are often frail and show less action.
It is narrated in a tradition from Prophet (S):
When you find a believer silent and courtly, contact with him that he teaches you wisdom.6
And also it is narrated from Imam Ali (A.S.):
As intelligence increases, speech decreases.7
In addition to the fact that silence is the best means for reviving reflection power, the above phrase may refer to this point that plenty of mental powers are used for speaking. When these energies are saved, they will form massive power through which understanding of great realities will be possible. Furthermore, silence is tranquilizer of soul and moderator of sentiments.
3- Chattiness as the opposite point of silence, makes man improvident, because it increases man’s errors, decreases his shame, and breaking the barrier of shame as a result of excess of errors, it simplifies evil deeds for man as Imam Ali (A.S.) says:
He, who speaks more, commits more errors. He, who commits more errors, becomes shameless. He, who is shameless, would have less fear of Allah. He whose fear of Allah is less, his heart dies. He, whose heart dies, enters Hell.8
And perhaps on this account, silence is considered as one of the important sorbs.
Worship has ten portions, nine of which exist in silence.9
It should not be mistaken; silence is not like seclusion and dissociation which removes the object of sin. Rather, it is sort of avoiding sin, and in cases that man finds a desire to commit some sins including slander, sin, when he selects continence and silence; he acquires a virtue for his health.
It should also be mentioned that silence when speaking is necessary, is considered as one of the greatest faults, and is the sign of weakness, humbleness, disability, lack of spiritual bravery, and fear of else than God.
It is also noteworthy that as most sins are performed by tongue, a large portion of services and good deeds, like God’s remembrance, guiding people, training and education, bid to good, and forbiddance of wrong, warfare with utterance, too are performed by tongue.
Honesty, the most manifest sign of personality
•Miraculous results of truthfulness
•Lie, source of all sins
• Lie is not compatible with belief
• Lie makes man improvident
• The liar does not trust even himself
•Source of lie
• Way of treating lies
• Lie in exceptional cases
•What is equivocation?
• A new interpretation about equivocation
Undoubtedly, two attributes of truthfulness and honesty (truth and trust) are the most manifest signs of personality. Rather, we cannot call a human the one who lacks these two, and both of them originate from a common source, because truthfulness is nothing else than trust in speech, as trust is nothing else than truth in action, and as we will see their social results are similar.
Haply for this respect, “truth in speech” and “trusteeship” are mentioned together in the sayings of Islamic great leaders, and even in ordinary speech, truthfulness and honesty are accompanied.
Value and importance of truthfulness
As it was referred, truthfulness and honesty are the manifest signs of man’s personality as well as magnificence of his mind and purity of his soul.
Truthful people are usually brave, frank, sincere, disinterested, and free from wrong prejudices and excessive love and hatred, because truthfulness is not possible without them.
In contrast, liars are usually cowards, hypocrites, greedy, fanatic, stubborn, and or involved in wrong love and hatred.
Truthful people are certainly principled. Rarely are such people guileful, erratic, and hypocrite, because honesty is not in concord with any of these affairs. As it will be described in incentives of lying, this attribute originates from one of the above vices, and on this account, we can consider truthfulness as a key for detecting interior of individuals in different aspects, and so truth in speech is called as a means of evaluation of people in the narrations and traditions of Prophet’s House (A.S.):
Imam As-Sadiq (A.S.):
Do not regard one’s long bowing and prostration, because it may be their habit, and if they leave it, are disturbed. Rather, look at their truthfulness and honesty. 10
Holy Qur’an says:
And thou shalt know them by the burden of their talk.(47:30)
Miraculous results of truthfulness
In social point of view, the greatest service that truth and trust can offer to men is attracting confidence and reliance. Of course, we know that all scientific, industrial and economic developments are the results of his life system that is social life.
But collaboration and consultation, which are the basis of social life, are only possible when individuals trust and rely on each other. Otherwise, people will have the problems of social life, disturbances, struggles, disputes and sabotages, without enjoying its advantages.
