All praise is due to Allāh, the Lord of the universe. May Allāh raise the rank of Muhammad ﷺ the best of the messengers and the seal of the Prophets and the leader of the pious, the Prophet of mercy. May Allāh raise the rank of his pure and good relatives.
Thereafter, it has been narrated from ^Uqbah the son of ^Āmir, may Allāh raise his rank, that he said: “What is salvation O messenger of Allāh?” He replied, “Hold your tongue and be content with what you have and cry about your sins.” This authentic hadīth is narrated by At-tirmidhiyy in his Jāmi^ and he classified it as authentic and it contains great benefits.
The first thing the Prophet peace be upon him mentioned in this Hadīth is the encouragement to preserve the tongue because the majority of the human’s sins are from the tongue, to the extent that the Prophet peace be upon him said about that “The majority of the son of Adam’s sins is from his tongue” especially when angry and arguing with people. Anger calls the person to reject realities and to stubbornly deny them and other than that among the many corrupt things that their number is not quantified except by Allāh.
Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated that the Prophet peace be upon him said “You will remain safe as long as you are quiet, because when you speak, it will be written for you or against you.” This is the reality. Speaking little contains safety, and it is the thing that the human is praised for and talking a lot is not praiseworthy, it is not something the human is praised for. Even if it was the case that many of the ignorant people consider it a defect if someone does not talk a lot. If they see someone who does not talk a lot they would judge him as dumb they would say, “this person is dumb he does not know how to speak, if he was smart and had understanding he would talk a lot.” However, the people of comprehension and the people of wisdom they look at talking a little and whoever they find that does not talk a lot, they think well of him.
As for the second sentence mentioned in the Hadīth narrated by ^Uqbah the son of ^Āmir “Be content with what you have,” it is an order for the human to suffice with what Allāh has provided and not to look at what others possess. Because the one who is content with what Allāh has provided, it behooves him to be grateful. This is why the human should not look at the one who has more sustenance than him and more money, rather he should look at the one who has less than him so that he gets himself far from coveting and from envying people for what Allāh gave them. That is closer to being detached from the worldly matters which is the situation of the prophets and the righteous pious Muslims. The Prophet peace be upon him used to only use vinegar as his dip for his bread, that is, he only used to have vinegar without any other food with his bread, if there was nothing else in the house to eat with his bread, he would suffice with just vinegar without there being any animal fat or meat or anything else.
As for his saying “and cry about your sins” then that is the crying out of fear of Allāh, crying out of regret for the sin, this is a crying that is accepted by Allāh. “cry about your sins” means that it is an obligation upon the person to repent from his sins and to judge himself for his sins. He looks at himself after some time and checks what sins did he commit so that he repents before it is too late. The Prophet peace be upon him informed that Allāh revealed to Prophet Abraham 10 sheets containing proverbs and preaching. And among what was revealed in it is that the intelligent person should have four spans of time. A span of time that he dedicates to dhikr or prayer to his Lord… a span of time where he judges himself… a span of time where he thinks about the creations of his Lord… and a span of time where he eats and drinks.
The first matter that he mentioned is dedicating some time doing dhikr or prayer, and in that there is tranquility for the heart and comfort in the self and an aid in relying on Allāh. These words have a great preaching. Therefore, the pubescent and sane person should keep these four matters in mind to constantly think about them and to reflect so that leads to applying them.
The second matter is for there to be a span of time where he judges himself, that is, he thinks about himself, what did I do today among the obligations and what sins did I commit, so that he is able to catch himself before it is too late. Therefore, if he remembers that he neglected an obligation he would make it up and if he remembers that he committed a sin he repents from it before he dies.
The third matter is to think about the creations, that is to think about his situation and the situation of the earth that he lives on and the situation of the upper world, the skies and the stars because in this pondering there is an increase in certainty about the perfection of Allāh’s Power and in that there is the strengthening of the belief and an increase in love for Allāh and other than that among the benefits.
The fourth matter is that the human inevitably needs a span of time where he eats and drinks. Furthermore, this fourth matter, Allāh might make it unnecessary for some righteous pious Muslims. Some righteous pious Muslims that is their situation. Allāh makes them have no need to eat and drink and He gives them strength without food or drink and their health is preserved. However, the majority of people inevitably need a span of time where they eat and drink.
O Allāh, bestow upon us to be good followers of the prophets and the righteous pious Muslims. O Allāh, we ask you for forgiveness and health in this life and in the hereafter, and all praise is due to Allāh the Lord of the universe.