concerning worldly matters, or a request arising within it, does not invalidate prayer; only speaking of such things invalidates it. Thus, the Muslims’ agreement establishes that this is not speech.

Moreover, the two Sahīh collections report that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah has pardoned my community for what crosses their minds, so long as they do not speak of it or act upon it.”

He thus stated that Allah has pardoned inner thoughts unless they are spoken aloud. He distinguished between inner thoughts and speech, and stated that a person is not held accountable for them until he speaks of them. By agreement of the scholars, this means until he utters them with his tongue. It is therefore clear that this is what constitutes speech in the language, for the Lawgiver—as has been established—addressed us in the language of the Arabs.

The Sunan collections also report that Muʿādh said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, will we really be held accountable for what we say?” He replied:

“What casts people into the Fire on their faces—or he said, on their noses—other than the harvest of their tongues?”

He thus made clear that speech is what is uttered with the tongue. The Sahīh reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The truest statement uttered by a poet is Labīd’s line: ‘Indeed, everything apart from Allah is vain.’”

The two Sahīh collections also report that he said:

“Two phrases are light on the tongue, heavy in the Balance, and beloved to the Most Merciful: ‘Glory and praise be to Allah; glory be to Allah, the Magnificent.’”

Allah Most High has said:

“And to warn those who say, ‘Allah has taken a son.’ Neither they nor their forefathers have any knowledge of this. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.”

The Sahīh reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The best speech after the Quran consists of four phrases, and they occur in the