OF THE ETIQUETTE OF ISLAM IN SPEECH AND DEBATE

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An article written by Dr. Abd al-Karim Zidan and published in the Islamic Education Magazine in its issue issued in Dhu al-Hijjah 1393 AH / December 25, 1973AD .

Written by Dr. Abdul Karim Zidan

There is an etiquette that a person must observe while talking with others and discussing him with him, and these ethics as a whole are called by Islam or referred to, or it is required by its rules and principles, and after that it is one of the meanings and requirements of Islamic morals. And so that the Muslim knows that he is responsible for what he says, and he is accountable to him or the Lord of a word that he says .

From these etiquette :

1) Not to speak a lot in gatherings , and let the Muslim’s slogan be to hear more than he speaks, because too much speech without mentioning God hardens the heart. It came in the noble hadith on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ (Do not speak a lot without mentioning God Almighty, because speaking too much without mentioning God is cruel to the heart, and if people are far from God the hard heart ).

2) A Muslim hears a lot of news and sayings, so people should not talk about everything he hears , because that may lead him to lie. It came in the noble hadith (It is enough for a person falsely to speak with everything he hears) and the interpretation of that is that he hears the truth and lies. If it happens with everything he hears He lied to his news of what was not, so the scholars interpreted this noble hadith .

3) For a Muslim to distance himself from the backbiting of others , and backbiting as it came in the hadith of the Messenger of God اخYour brother reminded you of what he hates, even if what you say is present in him, but if what you say about him is not present in him, then this is the falsehood as it came in the hadith. And if the backbiting is forbidden, then hearing it is the same, so the Muslim should strive to convert the hadith of the mughtabeen into another hadith that is safer for their religion and is more beneficial to the listeners .

4) Obscenity is not permissible in speech, neither in the face of seriousness nor in the face of humor, for God Almighty hates the indecent obscene as it came in the hadith of the Messenger of God Among the vulgarity is stabbing, cursing and insulting. Nor curse, obscene, or indecent). In another hadith, the Muslim insults debauchery and fights infidelity. And the prohibition of insulting includes the dead as well as the living, which came in the hadith of the Messenger of God (Do not curse the dead, for they have led to what they gave ).

5) Staying away from hypocrisy and controversy that is intended to prevail over others, and for this reason his abandonment was required in Islam and a reward for it, he said (I am the leader of a house in heaven for those who left the hypocrisy, even if he is right ).

6) The discussion should be with the intention of revealing the truth and showing the right , and it does not matter after that if the truth is revealed and the rightness is revealed by you or by others, so if this intention in the discussion missed it was from the whims and absurdities of the Devil and from good to cut them immediately .

7) Let the Muslim’s words be clear and simple, free from being arrogant and arrogant to people with his words , avoiding eloquence, glorification of words , showing favor to others, and arrogance over them .

8) That his speech was calm among us, heard and understood by the attendees , as it was among the merits of the Prophet that if he spoke a word he repeated it three times until it was understood about him and it was a chapter that everyone who hears it understands. This requires that the narrator refrain from strange words that are not familiar to listeners and do not need them, and he may do this in his desire to show his virtue or inform others of his ability to speak and his rhetoric, and this is not the correct intention in the scales of Islam .

9) That the Muslim stands steadfast in everything he says , and the saying is not made arbitrarily. The Almighty said (And do not stop what you have no knowledge of )

10) If he is with two, then he does not belong to one of them, so he speaks to him in secret, so that the third does not hear him, or speaks to him in a language that the other does not understand, because that beats his heart .

11) To stop talking about the nation and its problems and sorrows , because that does not benefit him, and it is a complaint to people, and it is contrary to the Qur’anic literature. They do not want to hear the concerns of others .

12) Let your speech and debate be in an easy way free from harm, contempt and mockery of others. God Almighty commanded his prophet Moses and his brother Hawn, and he sent them to Pharaoh (So say to him a soft speech, perhaps he will remember or be afraid ).

13) Do not interrupt someone else if he speaks and listen to his words until he finishes it, then comment on him with what is beneficial and indicates if there is a need or benefit in the comment .

14) Do not respond to others their entire words if you see a mistake or falsehood in it, because rightness is not returned if it is associated with a mistake, and the truth is not returned if it is associated with falsehood, but rather it is necessary to accept the right and the truth and return the error and falsehood. That is why God Almighty reproached the Jews and Christians for the right and wrong of restitution for each sect. The Almighty said (And the Jews said: Christians are not against anything, and the Christians said, The Jews are not against anything and they will follow ).

15) Let your speech be meaningful, meaningful, and a noble purpose that you mean, not just for words and wasting time .

16) Avoid faith and swear by God in your speech, and make the listener believe you without an oath of what you return from saying the truth and mentioning the facts .

17) Do not get angry , and urge yourself to suppress its anger, do not speak while you are angry, and do not argue while you are angry, for the anger goes by the argument and the tongue escapes from its sanity and brings what is dishonorable .

After this is some of the etiquette of hadith and discussion, the Muslim needs it in his relationships with others and his sitting with them, and it is easy to say and difficult to apply, but with determination to observe it after seeking the help of God, it becomes, God willing, easy to apply as it is easy to say .

Dr. Abdul Karim Zidan