Keep Quiet If You Don't Know

One must not speak a single word, offer even the smallest comment, based merely on conjecture without knowing the facts well. Silence is far the wiser course. The judgments born of assumption can be the cause of death—to the body or to the soul.

In Sunan Abu Dawood, there is an account related by Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him. He says: "We were on a journey in winter. One of our companions suffered a blow to the head from a stone. That very night, as it happened, he experienced a nocturnal emission. But fearing the injury would worsen if he bathed, he sought counsel from his companions—could he perform tayammum (purification by sand or dust, as an alternative to water ablution or full bathing) instead? His companions, speaking from immediate knowledge, said, 'Since water is plentiful and you are capable of using it, we see no reason for you to perform tayammum.' Hearing this, he bathed. Water seeped through the wound into his head, and he died."

When news of this tragic event reached the Prophet, he said: "His companions have killed him. May Allah destroy them! If they did not know, why did they not ask? The cure for the disease of ignorance is to ask questions. Tayammum would have been sufficient for this man. Or he could have bound his head and still bathed, washing only over the bandage with his hand. What greater sin could there be than to speak, spread rumors, offer comments, and make judgments about a matter or a person without knowing it clearly—relying instead on hearsay or mere assumption?!"