How does pondering over the purpose of creation prevent someone from gossiping?

We should reflect on why we are here. We know that the main purpose is to get to Paradise. Therefore we need to avoid everything that will prevent us to enter Paradise.

Mu’adh bin Jabbal, on one occasion asked Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to identify from him some good deeds which he could do that can put him in Paradise. Prophet (ﷺ) listed for him a number of good deeds, and at the end of the list he said: “I will inform you about the foundation of all of these deeds” Mu’adh said, “Please.”, then Prophet (ﷺ) took hold of his tongue and said “control this”. After mentioning all of the good deeds, he said that we need to control of our tongues. Then Mu’adh said, “O, Messenger of Allah, are we held to account for whatever we said? Anything that we said?” And then Prophet (ﷺ) said, “May your mother feel sad for you, O, Mu’adh. Is there anything which causes people to enter the hellfire beside the harvest of the tongues?”[1]

We want to achieve Paradise, this is our purpose, and this is what Prophet (ﷺ) said, we need to restrain our tongues, and avoid any gossips, and we are guaranteed to enter the Paradise by Rasulullah (ﷺ). There are some ways to help us restrain our tongues:

Remind Ourselves of Death And The Hereafter

Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Remember often the terminator of our pleasures, death.”[2]

He encourages people to go to the graveyard to remember our end. Normally people avoid the graveyards. Maybe they just go in the end of Ramadan, on Eid day, but just for the act of ritual, and it is not part of Sunnah to go to the grave on Eid. It is Sunnah to go to the graveyard regularly. Especially when people are being buried or going to be buried, we should go there. We need the young people to go to see the graves, see the burial. Remind them of death. Of course, some people might say women not supposed to go to graveyard. But actually, that is not a stronger position.

Aa'ishah (رضى الله عنها) went to the graveyard after the Prophet (ﷺ) died. And even some companions who had other understanding said to her “Why go to the graveyard, when Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited us?”. And she said: “Yes, he prohibited in the initial stages, but then he (ﷺ) permitted it”.[3] In other words, when Prophet (ﷺ) said in the well-known hadeeth, “I used to prohibit you from visiting the grave, now go visit it because it will help to remind you the hereafter. It will soften your hearts”[4]

And the statement is not only for men, but also for women. That’s why Prophet’s (ﷺ) wives used to go to the graves after his death.

But to go there regularly, every other day, every other week, it is what Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Allah is not pleased with the women who frequently visit the grave, because it becomes an obsession”.[4a]

We should use logic and common sense, what are the pros and cons

List out the benefits of giving up backbiting. And list up for ourselves the harms and negative consequences of backbiting. They will help us to remind us to give up the gossip. And also when we consider our own time and backbiting happens within time frames, and it will be asked on the day of judgments. Allah will ask us when we are resurrected, on what we have used with our times.

Be particular with how we use our time

Keep ourselves busy with things which are beneficial to us and others. Actively involved in the activity available in our community. As they said, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. It is true. If we are not involved, we will have spare time, and we will end up filling that time with activities which are displeasing to Allah. We will end up calling our friend and start a useless conversation. We don’t need to have that kind of time. Allah said,

“If you finished with the formal worship, then continue with other forms of worship”[5]

Because all of our life, we should form it as worship. So we will end up with activities which involve Muslim programs, such as reading Islamic books, involved in Islamic educations, doing charities, etc.  We can also learn to use computer to use internet for beneficial knowledge. And we should also do things which will increase the level of our emaan and taqwa. Such as attending the gatherings which Allah is remembered, learning and teaching the religions, reading the Qur’an regularly not only in Ramadan, reading hadeeth, and reading Seerah of Rasulullah (ﷺ). We should increase the quality of our own life.

References:

[1] [Sunan al-Tirmidh (2616) and Sunan Ibn Majah (3973)]

[2] [Sunan at-Tirmidhi]

[3] [Mustadrak al- Hâkim (1/376), Sunan al-Bayhaqî (4/78) and Tamhîd Ibn `Abd al-Barr (3/233)]

[4] [Sunan Abî Dâwûd (3235) and Musnad Ahmad (23005)]

[4a] [Sunan at-Tirmidhi 1056]

[5] [Qur’an: 94:7]