Adab al-Mufrad

Benefits and Issues:
➊ The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam adopted a questioning style so that this matter would become firmly established in the minds of the people and they would pay complete attention to it.

➋ The matter of the tongue is extremely sensitive. The majority of people will enter Hell due to the misdeeds of their tongues. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has declared control over the tongue as the foundation of salvation in the Hereafter. When he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made the tongue the basis of all matters, Sayyiduna Mu'adh radi Allahu anhu was astonished and submitted in the presence of the Prophet:

((وَاِنَّا لَمُؤَاخَذُونَ بِمَا نَتَکَلَّمُ بِهِ؟))
"And will we also be held accountable for what we speak?"

He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam replied:

((ثَکِلَتْكَ أمُّكَ یَا مُعَاذُ وَهَلْ یَکُبُّ النَّاسَ في النَّارِ عَلَی وُجُوهِهِمْ أوْ عَلَی مَنَاخِرِهِمْ اِلاَّ حَصَائِدُ ألْسِنَتِهِمْ)) (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, al-Iman, Hadith: 2616)
"O Mu'adh! May your mother lose you! Is it not the harvests of their tongues that throw people face down or on their noses into the Fire?"

Similarly, the second major cause that leads a person to Hell is his desires (shahawat). Allah the Exalted has commanded in the Noble Qur'an to stay away from adultery (zina) and its causes, and this is such a severe sin that if a married person commits it, the command is to stone him to death (rajm). If he does not repent sincerely (tawbah nasuh) and the prescribed punishment (hadd) is not carried out, then in the Hereafter there will be the punishment of Hell. Allah the Exalted has described this quality of the successful believers that they guard their private parts. And whoever, despite having the ability, refrains from adultery purely out of fear of Allah the Exalted, Allah has promised to grant him the shade of His Throne on the Day of Resurrection.

➌ For entry into Paradise, it is necessary that a person fulfills the rights of Allah the Exalted and the rights of the servants. If there is taqwa (God-consciousness), then a person will observe the rights of Allah the Exalted and will fulfill His commands and prohibitions. And by "good character" (husn al-khuluq) it is indicated that he deals well with the servants and fulfills their rights. Thus, these two qualities are the opposite of the two Hell-deserving qualities mentioned earlier.

If the tongue is not protected, then it leads to Hell; and if it is protected, then that is good character, which is a cause for entry into Paradise. The one who does not guard his private parts is devoid of taqwa, and thus his end is Hell; but if he has taqwa, then Paradise becomes easy for him.