Monopoly of Speech

Abu Hurayrah reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘The worst of my community are those who talk too much, resorting to pedantry and insolence; while the best of my people are those who have the best manners’. [Ahmad] People should be precise and limit themselves to making their meaning clear without unnecessarily harping on about what is already clear. This is not surprising. We know that the Prophet included rich meanings in few words. In this hadith the Prophet mentions three qualities that make a person join the worst type of people. These are the chatterers who almost speak non-stop. They admire their own speech and feel that they have a claim to being listened to. They love to hear themselves speaking. This is an attitude of arrogance that some people often exhibit. If such a chatterer adds pedantry and insolence to his speech, then he is really a pain in the neck. What is worse is that he merits the Prophet’s description as being one of the worst in the Muslim community. By contrast, the best people are those whose manners are fine and who are kindly to people. They listen to others and accept what is right, without claiming any monopoly of speech or knowledge.
(Compiled From: “Al-Adab al-Mufrad with Full Commentary: A Perfect Code of Manners and Morality” – Adil Salahi)