O You Who Believe

66)

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice."

[Al-Ahzab 33:70]

The commandment of having fear or consciousness of Allah is typically followed by another commandment. It's as though to say that being conscious and aware of Allah and fearing Allah has manifestations.

For example, elsewhere in Qur'an, Allah says:

"Fear Allah and be with those who are true."

[Surah Taubah 9:119]

So one way of having Taqwa is by fulfilling these manifestations.

In this verse, the command of fearing Allah is followed by the manifestation of speaking that which is right (truth) i.e the kind of speech that should be uttered by you must be truthful and not unjust.

The word sadeeda used for the manner of speech in this verse through which Allah implies that our speech should be truthful, it comes from the root word of sad. Sad can also mean something that removes a gap. Sad is actually a dam (the word is also mentioned in Surah Kahf in Dhul Qarnain's story).

Dams block the water from coming, from overflowing and restrict it in a certain place. So what 'sad' does is; it has no gaps so now water can flow through it.

So one of the implications of the word 'sadeed' in the verse is that we should speak in a manner that leaves no room for misinterpretations. You have to mean what you say and you have to be clear about what you have to say to people. You can't say something you don't mean just to be formal. You don't have to fulfill the formalities if you're not honest about it. You don't have to be disrespectful in a speech but you should be honest and truthful about the words that leave your mouth or hand (in the form of letter). There should be open and clear speech between Believers.

One of the powerful manifestations of this command is one of the things Allah commands us to say just because we're Muslims. And that is 'Assalam o alaikum'.

When a Muslim greet his brother by saying 'Assalam o alaikum' and the brother replies with 'Walaikum assalam' then the two have made an open declaration that there is no fight between them, no quarrels or grudges for eachother.

It's like saying I have nothing against you anymore and I may have had problems with you in the past but now that I've sent peace on you, I'm wishing Allah's peace upon you, I'm wishing I'm at peace with you and that you're life is surrounded by peace, that there is no disturbance that takes away your peace. That is Assalam o alaikum. It's a declaration of peace actually.

Now imagine you had a fight with someone and before leaving you say 'Assalam o alaikum'. That's not 'sadeed', you didn't say what you meant. You just said it because you have to say it.

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:

“It is not permissible for a man to forsake his Muslim brother for more than three days, each of them turning away from the other when they meet. The better of them is the one who gives the greeting of salaam first.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5727; Muslim, 2560).

What Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) meant by this is that 3 says shouldn't go by without you saying Salam to your brother with whom you're having a quarrel. This doesn't simply mean that one is to call his brother, say Salam and hang up.

That's not 'sadeeda' and hence the manifestation is not correctly implied. That's not what the point is. The point is that when you say Salam, and you say what you mean because the ayah says when you speak, speak what you mean, then it implies that whatever the fight is, it's over. Now let's move on.

So if we understood what 'Assalam o alaikum' meant and that became 'qaul sadeed' for us then our relationships would be totally different. Allah wouldn't let us hold grudges. Just the sunnah of saying Salam hence keeps us from holding grudges.

The other meaning is the direct meaning which implies that only when you have something correct to say then speak. Utter truth or remain silent. Speak justly or don't speak at all. Don't speak offensively and dual meaningly i.e adding offensive and good tune together in one sentence. This is also done by disregarding someone in a statement that is done to honour them. This method of speaking unclearly is prohibited.

Whatever you have to say to someone, it must be honest, truthful and your words, body language and method of speech should all line up and give the same meaning so that the other person can understand you very clearly without having to read between the lines.

When facing a problem, another implication is to state the problem to the next person respectfully and not to cover it by words you don't mean.

By fulfilling all of these  manifestations, we can properly fear Allah i.e by fulfulling His commands.

Things we learnt:

> First and utmost priority of a believer is fearing Allah and being conscious of Him.

> Implications or demand of fearing Allah is fulfilling the next commandment given by Allah which is to speak correctly, truthfully and honestly.

> To say Salam in a meaningful and powerful way as to remove all grudges by sending peace on the other from heart is also a part of this.

> To leave no room for misterpretaions or misunderstandings by stating whatever is meant clearly and honeslty.

> In case of a fight, one should properly address the problem to the other respectfully instead of pretending to be fine.

> When meeting a brother with whom you had a quarrel, your Assalam o alaikum should become 'qaul sadeeda' and should come from your heart truthfully as it removes all grudges and strengthens relationships. By doing so, we also fulfill Allah's command.

> To speak the truth in all cases is the demand of 'qaul sadeeda- truthful or just speech'. If except for false news or talk, we know nothing then it is better to remain silent.

> We should not hold double meanings behind our words and be respectfully clear in our speech.

> We all make mistakes towards eachother so we should be truthful in our Salam and should forgive eachother.

May Allah soften our hearts so we forgive eachother.
May Allah make our Salam 'qaul sadeeda'.
May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balaghul mubeen.