One Hundred And Fifty Lessons For Life

Lesson One Hundred Forty Two: Criterion For Assessment Of Intellect And Ignorance

Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) said:

Translation

The tongue is the criterion for assessment of insolence or ignorance and the scale of intellect and wisdom.[^1]

Brief Description

The tongue is the most important window to man’s soul , the key to understanding his personality, and the best means for assessment of the degree of his intellect . Through a simple and seemingly unimportant rotation , this tongue of ours unveils the curtains and reveals the inner realities of man’s soul.

For this reason, many Islamic instructions are focused on correction of tongue and we are admonished frequently by our great leaders to be careful in what we say. It is true that complete correction of tongue is not possible without correction of soul and mind, but we can avoid a lot of painful consequences of inappropriate movements of tongue through silence and self-control in our speech.

[^1]: Tuhaful Uqul, page 143. Sharh Nahjul Balaghah, vol 7, page 88. Giraru Al-Hikam, page 211.