Chapter IV: Dangers of the Tongue
Solaiman-b-Jaber said: I came to the Prophet and asked him:
Teach me such a thing which will benefit me. He said: Don't neglect a good deed even though it is small, even though it is so small as to pour water to the bucket of another from your bucket, even though it is so small as to meet with your brother with a good news and even though it is to back-bite one after he has gone from you. Bara'a-b-Azeb said: One day the Prophet gave us sermon, even the freed male and female slaves heard it from their houses. He said: O people, don't back-bite the Muslims - those who have brought faith by tongue but not by heart. Don't enquire into their secret things, because God will follow the secrets of a Muslim who enquires into the secrets of his brother Muslim, God dishonours one in his own house in whose secrets God enquires.
Jesus Christ got revelation: He who dies after repentance for his back-biting will enter last of all in Paradise. He who dies without such repentance, will enter hell first of all. Hazrat Anas said: The Prophet once ordered all his companions to fast and said: Don't break your fast before I order you. All the companions fasted. When the night came, a man came there and said: O Messenger of God, I have fasted. Now order me to break it. Thus one by one came to the Prophet and the Prophet ordered him to break fast. Then a man came and said: O Messenger of God, two women in my family fasted but they are not coming to you out of shame, order them to break fast. The Prophet turned his look from him and he again asked him. At this time he said:
How have they fasted when they ate the flesh of men at day time?
Tell them that if they fasted, they should vomit it. They then
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vomited and suddenly a condensed clot of blood fell from their bellies. The Prophet said: By One in whose hand there is my life, if a drop of blood would have remained in their belly, Hell fire would have devoured them.
Hazrat Anas reported that the prophet once mentioned about interest and characterized it as a great sin and said: One dirham interest is more heinous to God than 36 fornications, but the greatest interest is to destroy the honour of a Muslim. Hazrat Jaber said: I was in a journey with the Prophet. He said while passing by two graves: These two persons are punished not for any great sin. One is punished for back-biting. Another is punished as he was not accustomed to cleanse after passing calls of nature. Then he took a fresh palm branch, divided into two and fixed one to each grave and said: So long as this branch does not become dry and remain fresh, punishment will be light on them.