Principal Wadud Hassan reflects on how remembering Allah in our hearts can control our tongues. When our time is up in this world, we will return to Allah and we must be wary of how we spend our time and resources before we meet Allah SWT. Allah will grant us what we desire in the hereafter if we follow what he desires in this world. Therefore, we must be mindful of how we speak to others and ensure that we are always speaking kindly to each other even during disagreements.
Our Prophet peace be upon him was kindest when he was speaking to others and said that the strongest person is the person who can control their anger. Principal Wadud tells the story of Abu Bakr and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. They were sitting in the masjid when a man came up to Abu Bakr and began to argue, saying ill-mannered things to him. Abu Bakr looked at the man, stayed calm and didn't respond. After the third argument, Abu Bakr responds to the man to correct him and the Prophet ﷺ gets up and walks away. Abu Bakr follows the prophet ﷺ and asked him why he left. The prophet ﷺ said that when you are quiet, there is an angel responding on your behalf because you had patience but when you engage, shaytan appears. When we engage in an argument, we are in the presence of the shayateen and this will take us away from the prophet ﷺ and Allah SWT.
We must be mindful of what we are saying with our tongues and say things that bring us closer to Jannah. By remembering Allah in our hearts, and practicing patience, we are able to regulate our tongues from hurting others. Talk to Allah often and your heart will see Allah.