I was walking back home from Salah and I happened to see a young child of around the age of seven standing near a shawarma stall. But there was something peculiar about him that puzzled me to the point that I stopped to observe.
This cute little guy, in all the innocence that accompanied his age and pretty well dressed so he couldn’t have been poverty stricken, was pointing at a coffee seller, one of those guys you see walking around with a jug of coffee and some cups. This little child was pointing at the cups he was carrying and then pointing towards his mouth. He did this a couple of times whilst running around the coffee seller. It made me wonder why he wasn’t just asking for coffee since I was sure he could speak, but all that came out of his mouth were sounds like ‘aaaaa –aaaa’ while he kept pointing at the cups and then towards his mouth, back and forth.
That’s when I realized he was dumb, he was severely speech impaired.
At such a young and bubbly age, at an age when people like us learn to read and spell after having learnt the English Alphabet with precision, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala did not facilitate this little guy from a blessing that we take for granted. Allah is the Most Just and He does whatever He Wills.
It made me wonder whether he will ever get his voice back again and enjoy communication that is one of the most powerful bonds between human beings. Did this child ever look into his mother’s eyes to say how much he loves her? (May Allah bless her for her patience wherever she is). I imagined the problems he might be facing at school. Will he ever be able to make dhikr of Allah and read the most blessed book on the planet that is the Quran out loud?
I was pretty sad at thoughts that kept rushing through my sensitive head but then I remembered a something that our Prophet Muhammed Sallalahu Alayhi wa sallam said.
Narrated by Sahl bin Sa’d RadhiAllahu Anhu :
Allah’s Messenger Sallalahu Alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him.”
Sahih Al Bukhari
Volume 8, Book 76, Number 481
I thought that this deprivation of his could be a means by which Allah wants to grant him paradise. This could be a mean for him to avoid the accountability we will all hold towards the use of our tongues which hold a very high place of responsibility like the Prophet (PBUH) indicated in the hadith above.
This deprivation of his could save him from all the useless speech, from all the ill talk, from all the gossip, backbiting and use of foul language that is done today without the slightest of worry. He wouldn’t have to be held accountable for any of this and perhaps it could save him form the hell fire and admit him to paradise.
But than what about us who have been given the blessing of speech? Is it really a blessing in today’s time I wonder? Will it really be helpful for us on the day when we will be held responsible for every single word that was uttered through our mouths or through our fingers on the internet or through concealed messages?
I leave you with an Aya from the Quran that we must all carefully reflect upon.
Allah says,
“On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions.”
[ Surat An-Nur : Verse 24 ]
And how we love to talk…..
Written by Jibran Asif Shareef
