is jihad in Allah’s cause.” He also said:

“O Muādh, shall I tell you of the gateways to righteousness? Fasting is a shield, charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire, and so does a man’s prayer in the depths of the night.” He then recited:

“Their sides forsake their beds; they call upon their Lord in fear and hope, and spend out of what We have provided for them. No soul knows what joy is kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do.”

Then he said, “O Muādh, shall I tell you what holds all of that together?”

I replied, “Yes.”

He said, “Restrain this tongue of yours,” and took hold of his tongue.

Muādh said, “O Messenger of Allah, will we really be held accountable for what we say?”

He replied, “For shame, O Muādh! What casts people into the Fire on their noses but the harvest of their tongues?”

This is explained by his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as authentically reported in the two Sahīhs:

“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.”

Speaking good is better than remaining silent about it, while refraining from evil speech is better than uttering it. As for perpetual silence, it is a prohibited religious innovation. Likewise, abstaining from eating bread and meat and from drinking water is also among the blameworthy religious innovations. As authentically reported in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Ibn Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man standing in the sun and asked, “What is this?”

They replied, “It is Abū Isrā’īl. He has vowed to stand in the sun, not to seek shade or speak, and to fast.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Tell him to sit down, seek shade, speak, and complete his fast.”