Question:
A hadith says: “Modesty, speaking little, and shyness are part of faith. Foul speech and excessive talking are signs of hypocrisy.” They ask whether this hadith is authentic.
They also raise an additional point to clarify their doubt. They ask whether this statement refers to speaking throughout the day with family members and children. They also mention professions such as teachers, whose work involves speaking constantly. If speaking a lot is considered a bad quality or a sign of hypocrisy, then would that apply to teachers or speakers as well?
Answer:
The narration they mentioned appears in several books such as Tuhfatul Ashraf, Tahdhibul Kamal, Jami‘ut Tahsil, and also in Musnad Ahmad. The narration is reported from the companion Abu Umamah al-Bahili. The person who narrates it from him is Hasan ibn Atiyyah.
In hadith science, when someone narrates from another person, both narrators must have lived during the same period and must have met each other or heard directly from each other. However, Hasan ibn Atiyyah never met Abu Umamah. Scholars such as Imam Muslim and Ibn Adi have clarified in their works that there was no meeting between them. Abu Zur‘ah also stated that Hasan did not hear from Abu Umamah.
Furthermore, scholars such as Ibn Hibban explain that Hasan belongs to the generation of the Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in. The generations are classified as follows: those who saw the Prophetﷺ are called the Sahaba; those who saw the Sahaba are called the Tabi‘in; and those who saw the Tabi‘in are called the Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in. Hasan ibn Atiyyah belongs to this third generation. Since he did not meet any companion, if he narrates directly from a companion, it means that there is a missing narrator in the chain. Because of this missing link, the hadith becomes weak. Therefore, the narration about excessive speech being a sign of hypocrisy is not authentic.
Also, even from the perspective of meaning, the idea that speaking a lot itself is a sign of hypocrisy does not agree with Islamic teachings. Speech is something Allahﷻ taught human beings. In the Qur’an it is said that Allahﷻ taught man speech and expression. Speaking clearly and explaining things in detail is a gift from Allahﷻ . When someone explains something thoroughly, it naturally involves many words.
Therefore, speaking more when explanation is needed cannot be considered blameworthy. What Islam condemns is speaking falsehood, harmful speech, or immoral speech. If someone speaks good words, he is good; if someone speaks bad words, he is blameworthy.
Sometimes a topic requires a long explanation. In other situations, a short statement is sufficient. Speech is like food: when a person needs more food he eats more, and when he needs less, he eats less. In the same way speech should be according to necessity.