and the Last Day should only speak of good things or remain silent.”^[1]

The Companion Sayyidunā Aswad رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ said, “I said to the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, ‘O Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, advise me!’”

The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked, ‘Can you control your tongue?’

‘If I cannot control my tongue, what shall I control?’, I replied.

‘Can you control your hands?’ asked the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

‘O Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, if I cannot control my hands as well, then what can I control?’ I enquired.

‘Then only say good things from your tongue, and your hands should only be raised in goodness,’ replied the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.”^[2] 

Sayyidunā Anas b. Mālik رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ relates how the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “The faith of a person is not complete until his heart is sound, and the heart of a person is not sound until his tongue is correct.”^[3]

The tongue is like a venomous snake

There are approximately 18,000 worlds. The dream world is a realm referred to as ꜤĀlam al-Ruʾyā (عالَمِ رؤیا). In this, our spoken words are depicted as snakes.  The great imam of dream interpretation, Imam Ibn Sīrīn رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه says, “If a person sees a snake coming out of his mouth, then the interpretation is that he will say something that will cause harm to his life.”^[4]