Talking Volume 2

CHAPTER THIRTY

Manners of talking

1 See Volume One, Chapter Forty Four for this Sunnah

O Allah (The Exalted) bless our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to the extent of Your favour.

Once Malik Javed went for a walk with a friend called Shelly. Shelly said “Have you met Professor Wary”, Malik Javed said “No.” Shelly said “He is a very educated man and a Doctor.” The next day they both went to meet the Doctor, the Doctor told them how to spend a good life and they talked for some time. Later he said “When speaking, speak slowly and clearly so people can understand you and you can give people a chance to speak. To make people understand try and repeat what you say. When someone is talking then look at the person and pay attention. i

i World’s first journey by Malik Javed

ii Abu Dawood

iii Bukhari

Ludovic Kennedy the TV journalist and presenter states; the three most important qualities in a good speaker are ‘…a relaxed stance, the careful use of gesture and short simple sentences.’

Lord Reith, founder of the BBC, always said that the three main purposes of broadcast radio were to:

1. Educate

2. Inform

3. Entertain

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) educated his Ummah of the truth, he informed us about the rights of people and entertained those who followed the Qur’an and the Sunnah with the glad tidings of Jannah.

Eye contact

Anne Nicholls author of ‘Mastering public speaking’ writes; ‘If you avoid eye contact it looks as if you are unsure of yourself or that you don’t believe in what you are saying. A broad sweep is better than jerky eye movement with your eyes flitting all over the place that unsettles them.’

Facial expression

Anne Nicholls further writes; ‘There is nothing more captivating than a smile. This will help you to relax and make a positive communication. The message it conveys to the person is this: ‘I am pleased to be here and looking forward to meeting you.’ This makes the person feel good and their mood is conveyed back to you – which helps you feel good, too.’

The Sunnah

When someone wanted to talk to our beloved Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) he would turn towards him fully and face him directly. ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) states, ‘When the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spoke it was very clear and every listening person could understand (what he said).’ ii

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that, ‘When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would talk, he repeated it (that which he said) three times so that it could be understood.’ iii

Jabir Ibn ‘Abd-Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) says, “After I accepted Islam, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) never prohibited me from attending his assemblies. Whenever he saw me he smiled.”

To smile at a Muslim brother is charity. Smile and receive the reward of Sadaqa.