Silence is Wisdom

It has been said that “It is better to stay silent than to say something you will regret.” Many of us have ego problems. Ego is something that can cost us way too much than we can imagine. And it is quite hard to swallow it. Ego problems are as old as history. And it has harmed people more than nuclear weapons have. We say so hurtful things to people around us that sometimes the regret lasts a lifetime.

Now, we’re all humans and we make mistakes. And we sometime don’t realize the value of things that we have, specially our tongues. We say things, we make comments and completely cross the line sometimes that we don’t realize the magnitude of that problem. And because Allah takes the time to mention this particular problem in the Quran, it should make us appreciate that this is not a light matter. We need to regulate our words then. And in many cases, silence is the solution.

 

Imam Ali says that the wiser man is, the less he will speak. Think about this for a second. Wisdom will come about as you reflect on the nature of everything. You’ll adopt silence because it’s the smart thing to do. Silence guards secrets, silence controls the tongue, silence gets rid of nonsense, silence sharpens the wit, and silence increases the value of your words.

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said that one who knows the value of his speech will also know the value of silence. In fact, if one adopts silence, he will value his speech and therefore guard it like he guards his wealth.

There are various hadith which highlight the significance of silence. According to one report Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: