By Aisha Stacey<\/p>\n
In the previous articles about respect, we discussed how respect for each other, our environment and ourselves was inherent in the religion of Islam.\u00a0 The concept of treating ourselves and everything around us with respect is not possible without complete submission to God, and without understanding how and why we surrender to His will.\u00a0 God reminds us in Quran that our sole purpose in life is to worship Him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I (God) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).\u201d (Quran 51:56)<\/p>\n
Worshipping God does not spending \u00a0the entire day in one place praying, it does not mean that we neglect the life of this world in favour of a life of seclusion; what it means is that we fulfill our obligations towards God and attempt to have Him constantly on our minds and tongues.\u00a0 The mundane tasks of life become worship when they are done to please our Creator.\u00a0 When we fulfil our obligations such as to pray, fast, and give charity, it becomes worship when done with a sense of gratitude and humbleness.\u00a0 God does not need us, for He is Self-sufficient and Omnipotent. We are the ones in need of Him.\u00a0 He is the reason for our existence and He is the foundation on which we should build our lives.<\/p>\n
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Lives lived with out purpose lead to nothing but loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time!\u00a0 Man is in loss, Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth, and recommend one another to patience.\u201d (Quran 103:1-3)<\/p>\n
However, filling our lives with purpose enables contentment and this allows us to show respect for each other and ourselves.\u00a0 Respect for God means obeying Him.\u00a0 Obeying God means we are in the enviable position of being worthy of others respect.\u00a0 Failure to surrender to God leads to lives devoid of respect.\u00a0 Treating each other with contempt, gossiping and backbiting shows a lack of respect in our lives.\u00a0 Engaging in the great sins of lying, spying on others and using bad words also means we are not worthy of being shown respect by others.<\/p>\n
Lying is one of the major reasons for corruption in society. \u00a0Any form of lying creates enmity and sews disrespect between people, but the most obnoxious form of lying is to falsely attributing things to God or to his Prophets and Messenger. \u00a0Islam forbids lying and enjoins the believers to be truthful.\u00a0 The words of Quran testify to this.\u00a0 God says:<\/p>\n
\u201cO you who believe!\u00a0 Be wary of God, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).\u201d (Quran 9:119)<\/p>\n
And<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026who does more wrong than one who invents a lie against God, to lead mankind astray without knowledge?\u201d (Quran 6:144)<\/p>\n
In his narrations and sayings, Prophet Muhammad often exhorted his followers to adhere to honesty and stay away from the vices inherent in lying.\u00a0 He said,<\/p>\n
\u201cBeware of telling lies, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hellfire.\u201d<\/a>[1]<\/strong><\/p>\n Even one of his greatest enemies attested to the fact that Prophet Muhammad was truthful and commanded truthfulness.\u00a0 Abu Sufyan<\/a>[2], although despising the Prophet, revealed that he commanded his follows to pray, to be truthful and to uphold the ties of kinship.<\/a>[3]<\/p>\n Prophet Muhammad warned his followers of the evils of spying on others when he said,<\/p>\n \u2018Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the falsest of speech.\u00a0 Do not eavesdrop; do not spy on one another; do not envy one another; do not forsake one another; do not hate one another.\u00a0 Be, O slaves of God, brothers.\u201d<\/a>[4]<\/strong><\/p>\n Indeed God himself has reminded us to avoid suspicion.\u00a0 He said:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAvoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicions are sins.\u00a0 And spy not\u2026\u201d (Quran 49:12)<\/p>\n In Islam, it is not permissible to search for or reveal the secrets of others.\u00a0 Spying and all it involves, such as eavesdropping and asking too many private questions, is forbidden because it involves disrespecting the private lives of others by disobeying God.<\/p>\n The great and well respected Caliph Umar ibn Abdul-Azeez\u00a0 said to someone who passed on\u00a0 malicious gossip to him:<\/p>\n \u201cIf you wish, we can look into the matter.\u00a0 If you are lying, you will be one of the people mentioned by God in the verse, \u201cIf a rebellious evil person comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.\u201d (Quran 49:6) <\/strong>\u00a0If you are telling the truth, you will be one of the people mentioned in the verse, \u201cA slanderer, going about with calumnies.\u201d (Quran 68:11) <\/strong>\u00a0Or if you wish, we will forgive you\u201d.\u00a0 He said, \u201cForgive me, O Leader of the believers, I will never do it again.\u201d\u00a0 Lying, gossiping, slandering and spying are great sins, so to is using bad words.<\/p>\n Bad words show disrespect to those being spoken about and a total lack of self-respect.\u00a0 Reviling, insulting, cursing and rudeness, these are bad words and they usually are uttered when someone is overcome by anger.\u00a0 Anger is an emotion that may open the doors to all kinds of evil and disrespect.\u00a0 It can sometimes result in breaking the bonds of goodwill and even destroy family relationships.\u00a0 Anger can even move beyond just using insulting words and cause one person to physically harm another.<\/p>\n Prophet Muhammad was not a person to use insulting words or obscene language and he did not curse people. \u00a0If he wanted to rebuke someone he would say, \u201cWhat is wrong with him?\u00a0 \u2013 woe to him!\u201d<\/strong><\/a>[5] \u00a0The true believer, the one submitted to God, must learn to control his tongue and not speak unless he says something good.\u00a0 In his sayings, Prophet Muhammad reminds us that whoever believes in God the Last Day (or Judgement) must speak good or keep silent<\/a>[6].\u00a0 He said trading insults with a believer was evil, fighting was minor disbelief and cursing a believer was like killing him.<\/a>[7]<\/p>\n Stern words indeed, they leave no room for misinterpretation.\u00a0 Bad words lead to evil doing and ultimately punishment.\u00a0 God reminds us that the best speech is the remembrance of God because it brings contentment and a sense of peace.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest\u201d (Quran 13:28)<\/p>\n A person who keeps himself busy doing good deeds and seeking God\u2019s pleasure is a person who knows the meaning of respect.<\/p>\n Footnotes:<\/p>\n <\/a>[1] Saheeh Muslim<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSpying<\/h2>\n
Foul Language<\/h2>\n
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