The good, bad, and ugly of the tongue

The tongue is an important organ of the human body that can make or mar an individual’s desire for bliss in the hereafter. Because of its central role in speech, human language is also referred to as ‘tongue’. The decency in a man’s tongue depends on his moral disposition. For persons with little or no […]

The tongue is an important organ of the human body that can make or mar an individual’s desire for bliss in the hereafter. Because of its central role in speech, human language is also referred to as ‘tongue’. The decency in a man’s tongue depends on his moral disposition. For persons with little or no moral education, the tendency for them to engage the tongue in evils is much higher. Today, modern tools of information technology have made it easier for man to commit more evils with the tongue than he does with the eyes, ears, hands, and legs.

With the tongue, a believer glorifies Allah to get closer to Him. He uses the tongue to preach and invite others to righteousness. Man uses the tongue to disseminate knowledge, win elections, end conflicts, and settle quarrels. Without the tongue with which the warmest and most charming words are uttered, it would not have been easy for many men to win the heart of their sweethearts. There’s no sugar-coated mouth without a tongue. Similarly, the tongue matters in peace-making processes. Yet, the same speech organ (the tongue) is a gateway into many bad things. It can convert an individual into disbelief. Loose tongues cause confusions, break matrimonial homes, and trigger wars.

Rumour is one of the three most heinous evils of the tongue; the others being lying and back-biting. The last has been widened to include gossip which social researchers classify as a natural hobby of the women folk. While rumour is supposedly about public issues, gossip is about private and trivial things. Some scholars define rumour as a subset of propaganda. Rumour is generally believed to be an “unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern.” 

In contemporary Nigeria, nearly every segment of the society including government officials, lawyers, teachers, students, and couples have all bought into the nuisance called rumour. Due to the collapse of our value system, some people today tend to rely more on rumour than facts as basis to accept or ignore a matter. Reported speech is the most common of the two forms in which rumour is rendered. In the first form, you would hear “he said…; “she said….” or “they said…”. The second form is the passive voice which is when you hear “it is being said that…” or “It was said that…” The message carried by the words in either form of a rumour (reported speech and passive voice) often amounts to either misinformation which is simply interpreted as ordinary rumour or disinformation which on the other hand implies deliberate falsehood. Government officials sometimes use disinformation in what they call strategic communication. 

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It is rumour peddling when you share an unconfirmed story with others. Anyone who keeps the company of those whose main source of information is no other than bus stops, motor parks, social media, or food canteens is a potential rumour peddler. It is common to hear rumours about the private life of people, especially as such may concern negative aspects of inter-personal relationships. Some common statements of rumour may include: “They said he is impotent”; “It is being said that she aborted the pregnancy”; “I learnt he was dismissed from service”; “They said he chases the man’s wife when he is away”; etc. On the authority of Abu Hurairah (AR) who said the Prophet (SAW) said “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.”

To slander a chaste woman, indeed, is one of the ugly exploits of the tongue. Wife of the Prophet (SAW), Aisha (RA) once found herself in extreme pain and anguish for a whole month because of false rumours spread then about her. Naive indiscretion often lands good-natured women and those who hold them dear, in difficulties. Such was the case with Aisha (RA). Allah states in Qur’an 24: 23 & 24 “Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this life and in the hereafter: for them is a grievous penalty; on the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions.” 

Rumour spreads like wild fire. It travels fast among vulnerable groups of people especially the poverty-ridden and the unemployed. A society where people live in fear, worry and anger or where there is so much mistrust among citizens or where injustice is the rule rather than the exception is always a fertile ground for creating and sustaining rumour and its mongers. The social media, which offer the environment for rumour to thrive among people, has further worsened the situation. 

In a hadith of At-Tirmidhi, Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “When the son of Adam gets up in the morning, all the limbs humble themselves before the tongue and say: ‘Fear Allah for our sake because we are with you: (i.e., we will be rewarded or punished as a result of what you do) if you are straight, we will be straight; and if you are fraudulent, we will (also) be fraudulent.”

The social consequences of rumour are many. It reduces the credibility of those who spread it. Rumouring is a waste of time and energy. Time that ought to have been utilized productively in the service of Allah and in the creation of wealth, acquisition of knowledge or other profitable ventures is wasted by those who find pleasure in spreading slanders. Rumour hurts people and therefore destroys relationships and reputations. It brings about increased anxiety in an already tensed up environment. It is forbidden in Islam to create fear or tension in the minds of people. Rumouring especially in formal organizations creates camps or cliques and divides people because as people believe in whatever they hear, they tend to take sides. 

When rumour reaches you, Islam requires you to investigate and ascertain the truth especially when such is emanating from persons you do not know or from individuals with questionable character. If you believe in everything you hear and thus pass it on, much harm may be done to the general public for which you will be responsible. Allah  enjoins in Qur’an 49:6 “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth lest ye harm people unwillingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done.” May Allah guide us against the bad and ugly use of the tongue, amin.