An Islamic Treasury of Virtues
8. Manners In Speech
~ 179 ~
Faithful of falsifying the facts. “It belongs to me,” he
asserted. The judge thereupon asked Ali who his
witnesses were and Ali produced his son, Hasan,
and a slave, Qambar. The judge then told him that
he would have to bring another witness in place of
Hasan. “Do you reject the testimony of Hasan?”
asked Ali, to which Shurayh replied, “That is besides
the point. You yourself have taught me that a son’s
evidence in support of his father is not acceptable.”
(AL-SHA‘BI)
PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PUBLIC SILENCE
Describing the gatherings of the Prophet, Ali ibn
Abi Talib said, “While the Prophet was speaking,
they all kept their heads bowed as if they had birds
perched on top of them. Only when he had finished
what he was saying would the others speak up, and
no one ever quarrelled about anything in his
presence. While one person was speaking, the
others would listen quietly until he had finished
what he had to say. In this way, everyone was given
an equal opportunity to have his say.
(AI-TIRMIDHI,
SHAMAIL)
