of the Prophet ﷺ: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good, or else remain silent”—the very ḥadith the author cited. Therefore, when the two options, speaking or keeping quiet, are evenly balanced, safety lies in silence. If a person doubts whether his words will bring benefit, the preferable course is not to speak, for nothing rivals the security of silence; the silent one is safe—unless the situation demands speech, in which case he must speak. For instance, if he sees something objectionable he may not remain silent; he is obliged to speak, advise, and forbid the wrongdoing. But if no benefit requires speech, then he should stay silent, for that is safer.

Realize as well that the Prophet’s statement “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent” shows that one must keep quiet whenever his words are not positively good, because the Prophet ﷺ made speaking good words a condition of faith in Allah and in the Last Day; otherwise, silence is required.

Good speech is of two kinds. First, good in and of itself, such as reciting the Quran, uttering tasbīḥ, takbīr, and tahlīl, teaching sacred knowledge, and the like—this is intrinsically good. Second, speech whose wording is merely permissible but that produces benefit: it fosters affection, puts one’s brothers at ease, and gladdens them in one’s company. This too is good; for if a person were to sit mute from the beginning of a gathering to its end, people would grow weary of him and dislike his company, saying, “What a stern, harsh fellow!” But if he speaks words that bring them joy, and those words are permissible, then his speech is counted as good.

On the other hand, whoever speaks lies to make people laugh has been threatened with punishment, for the ḥadith declares: “Woe to the one who tells a lie so that the people may laugh….”