In the narration of Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) the Prophet ﷺ said to him, “Shall I not tell you what controls all of this?”—that is, what governs everything we have mentioned. I replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He then took hold of his own tongue and said, “Keep this in check.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, will we really be held to account for what we say?”—meaning: are we answerable for our speech? He answered, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Muʿādh”—an expression meant to emphasize the matter—“and are people toppled on their faces into the Fire for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?” So beware, my brother, of that harvest and guard your tongue. Guarding the tongue means protecting it from lying, deceit, false testimony, tale-bearing, backbiting, and every utterance that distances a person from Allah and incurs punishment. One must completely avoid all of that. We ask Allah to preserve for us our religion, the safeguard of our entire affair. He is indeed capable of all things.

1523 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Do you know what backbiting is?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “It is to mention about your brother something he would dislike.” Someone asked, “What if what I say about my brother is actually in him?” He responded, “If what you say is truly in him, you have backbitten him; and if it is not in him, you have slandered him.” Narrated by Muslim.

1524 – Abū Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his sermon on the Day of Sacrifice at Minā during the Farewell Pilgrimage, “Indeed, your blood, your wealth, and your honour are inviolable…”