The Arabic word used for “good” is “ḥusnā”. As a result, the āyah translates as, “Speak to people good words.”[1] What is interesting is that in other recitations of the verse – namely that of Ḥamzah and al-Kisā’ī – this word is recited as “ḥasanā”. Thus, the āyah translates to: “Speak to people with goodness.” When putting the two meanings together, the instruction is to say that which is best in the best manner. Consequently, the first recitation is a description of what should be said, whilst the second is a description of how it should be said.
The idiom of ‘sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never break me’ is quite inaccurate, for words can cause immense pain. According to both the experiences of life and the instructions from revelation, their repercussions can be immense. With a single utterance, one enters the fold of Islam, and with another one may leave it. With one word, two are wed in marriage, whereby intimacy between the two of them becomes permitted, and with another word, the two are separated, thus becoming strangers to one another.
The people that we interact with throughout our lives are many: the believer and the non-believer, the pious and the impious, the generous and the stingy, the calm and the irascible, and the humble and the arrogant. Thus, this Qur’anic principle is of the essence and of immense practical benefit tens or hundreds of times a day. So, who is most deserving of having this principle applied in their case?
