Is It Permissible to Call Someone Stupid or Dumb, If They Are Doing an Inappropriate Action?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Is it permissible to call someone stupid or dumb if they are doing an inappropriate action?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is not permissible for a Muslim to speak down upon another Muslim, nor is it permitted for one to abuse another verbally.
Your calling your brother dumb or stupid is inappropriate, and even though the situation warrants admonishment, one must be refined in their word choice when advising others. The word choice should be conducive to the goal which is to change the behavior to that which is more pleasing to Allah Most High. [Birgivi; Tariqa al-Muhammadiya]
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The true Muslim is the one from whose tongue all other Muslims feel safe.” [Nawawi; Riyadh al-Salihin]
Changing the Wrong: Good Intentions
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever among you sees a wrongful deed, let them change it…” [Muslim]
Note the word ‘change’. Merely shouting names at someone will not guide them to change, and for this reason, it is clear that one’s intention in that harsh admonishment is from one’s ego and for other than Allah’s sake.
The Etiquettes of True Belief in Admonishing
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The true believer does not insult, nor curse, nor speak shameful or lowly speech.” [Ahmad]
Imam al-Ghazali mentions the signs of arrogance the following: “The arrogant person is he who when he admonishes others is harsh, and when he is admonished, he rejects it haughtily.” [Umar bin Hafiz; Qabs Nur al-Mubin min Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then travelled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
