بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice.” [33:70]
When the phrase “fear Allah” is mentioned in the Qur’an, it is typically followed by another commandment. Allah is saying that fearing Him, being conscious of Him, being aware of His presence, all have manifestations and one of them is what follows.
The general translation here is “to say that which is right” (qolou qowlan sadida). The term “sadida” comes from the word “sad'” which is something that removes a gap or opening. It is also like a dam that blocks water from flowing through. What scholars have derived from this is that we should speak in a way which disallows any room for misinterpretation, just as a dam doesn’t allow any leakage. We have to mean what we say and be clear about what we are talking about.
A very important example of this is saying “a’salamu alaikoum”. The Sunnah of saying salam, paired up with this ayah forms a beautiful notion – one which does not allow the true believer to hold grudges or hate others. When we say Salam to others, it means “peace unto you”, and because of this ayah we must mean it from our hearts in order to meet one of the conditions of taqwa (consciousness of Allah) that Allah himself has set.
The final meaning of “qowlan sadida” is correct speech – not only say what we mean, but say the right thing. The prophet (ﷺ) said, “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent.” [Bukhari] This applies to our tone too, as in how we say things. We can say Salam or a good word, but the way we say it puts forward a different message. Language is not just the words we use, but also our body language and the tone we take.
May Allah make us all of those who speak honestly, truthfully and correctly.
Allah knows best.