The way of salvation

'Uqbah ibn 'Amir (May Allah be pleased with him) said:

"I asked the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) "How can salvation be achieved?" He replied, "Control your tongue, keep to your house, and weep over your sins." [At-Tirmidhi].

The companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) feared the torment of Allah - blessed and exalted is he – due to the reminders which they heard from the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). To the extent that one of them assumes that the fire is in front of him and would see it with his eyes. As if he would be drawn to it because of his sins and his failure to obey his Lord.

Therefore, many of them used to ask about the ways to protect themselves from the torment of Allah - the Almighty – they would say the following statement in this world before the say it in the Hereafter: Where to escape from the torment of Allah?

He says it while believing that there is no shelter from Allah except to Him, and no escape from His wrath except with His kindness.

We derive three lessons from the first commandment:

One of them is that the best one in terms of remembering Allah is the best one to act righteously. The first thing that a Muslim should do is to guard his tongue against telling lies, backbiting, slandering people and insults.

The second lesson is that the tongue which is a small organ, is the most persisting among the organs in terms of committing the sins. It will not stop talking unless one controls it and puts it behind his heart.

The third lesson is that holding the tongue is something that only the believer can do. He is the one who always makes his tongue behind his heart so that does not utter any word unless he understands its meaning.