There is an English phrase ‘You are what you eat’. I beg to differ. I believe it should be ‘You are what you utter’. Give me the next few minutes to explain why.The boneless tongue has the ability to make peace and end wars. It has the ability to destroy families and lifelong friendships. It also the ability to decide between paradise and hell-fire.What is really unique about speech of the tongue is that, in most cases, it’s blurted out. That is why it is such an effective tool of Shaytaan. Shaytaan won’t waste his time trying to convince us to consume alcohol. His experience tells him that most of us won’t even give it a second thought. Rather, he will use his wisdom and get us involved in actions that we don’t even realise is a sin. Let’s call it a deceptive sin. One way he successfully does this is by making us misuse out tongues. In fact, he does it so brilliantly that Nabi ﷺ has said in a hadith:“Whoever guarantees me the protection of the piece of flesh between his thighs (Private parts – Zina) and the piece of flesh between his jaws (control of the tongue), I guarantee him Paradise” (Bukhari)On a side note, scholars mention that Nabi ﷺ indicating towards the most private part of one’s body in such a discreet manner shows the modesty in his speech.Fortunately, Nabi ﷺ has also informed us of the various traps that we can fall in. Below, I give you five ways by which we can misuse our tongues and fall prey to Shaytaan’s trap. These are five types of people that Nabi ﷺ has spoken about in the Hadith. Of course, it’s not the only five that has been discussed, but it is five that are relevant.1. The Insulter
Who doesn’t like laughter? We all do. But there is a limit to it. A joke makes all laugh but when a joke turns into an insult, it makes Shaytaan laugh. I don’t see a problem with the good old ‘Van De Merwe’ jokes but once people’s names are used, it becomes serious. When that lady’s obesity is mocked, it’s not a joke anymore. When that man’s complexion is laughed at, Shaytaan will be the only one smiling at the end of the day. Even if it’s the truth, it’s still mockery…One of the wives of Nabi ﷺ , Safiyyah R.A., was once referred to as ‘Qaseerah’ which literally translates to ‘shorty’. This of course broke her heart. Nabi ﷺ informed that person“…You have uttered such a word that if it has to be dropped into the oceans, it will turn the oceans bitter” (Abu Dawud)The next time we decide to come out with an avalanche of ‘you so fat…’ jokes or pass a comment to the lady who’s been trying her best to keep her weight down, let’s keep in mind that obese or lean, tall or short, everyone has a heart.2. The Two-Face
‘Ay I don’t know what kind of people they are. Breakfast time just one lousy cup of tea and rusks. No biscuits and cakes.’All this after staying for free at their house for an entire week. What’s worst is at their house, the person said the same thing about the people that he/she is currently staying with. The interesting thing is in the Hadith the word ‘Tha Wajhayn’ is used. It literally translates to mean a person who possesses two faces. Besides the gossiping part in the above scenario, the fact that a person could play ‘good guy’ at each house says a lot about the person. If you do it, it say a lot about you. How would you define a two-face. The Hadith gives us a definition, and a warning…“On the day of Judgement, you will find the two-faced lot to be the worst of people, those that go to one group with one face and then meet the next group with a different face.” (Bukhari)In the above Hadith, we find that Nabi ﷺ has referred to such people as the worst of people. This of course also means that their punishment will be from among the worst. This also means that from among the best of people will be the direct opposite, those people that speak good wherever they go.3. The Judge
Picture the common scenario in a courtroom. One seat for the judge and opposite him, about a hundred seats for the others involved in the case. If we could help it, we’ll turn the tables around. One seat for a person involved and about a hundred for the judges.Yes, that’s the unfortunate reality. There is an incident mentioned in the Hadith of a pious man who once told a sinner “you will never enter Jannah”. On the day of Qiyaamah, our Most Merciful Allah will ask this man what authority did he have to make Allah’s decisions and in this way the pious man will be sent to Jahannum while the sinner will be sent to Jannah.Remember, we have no idea what lives in a person’s heart. I always say that sometimes those closest to Allah are the most distant from people. Those that we don’t worry about, those that the community doesn’t care about, those are known as ‘write-offs’, sometimes they could be the closest to Allah.If the above is not a good enough reason, then ponder over this narration…“He who accuses his brother of a sin (that he has made Taubah from) will not die until he gets involved in that same sin.”In simple words, if you accuse a man or lady of Zina, while they already made Taubah for their sins, you will not die until you get involved in Zina. This is regarding those that really did commit the sin. Imagine judging a person regarding a sin that wasn’t even committed.4. The Chatterbox
This one needs to be understood correctly. There is nothing wrong with talking a lot. Some people are naturally quiet and some are naturally talkative. The reason I mentioned this type of people is because when a person talks a lot, there is a greater chance of uttering the wrong statement. A Hadith states…“A man with the habit of silence (with average Ibaadat) is better off than a man with sixty years of Nafl Ibaadat (but he talks a lot).” (Mishkaat)In the above Hadith, two types of people are being compared. The one has average Ibaadat. This means that he performs his Fardh Salaah and nothing more. He fasts in Ramdaan and nothing more. He gives his Fardh Zakaat and nothing more. Along with his average Ibaadat, he has the ability to control his tongue.On the other hand, there is a man who, along with his Fardh Salaah, has sixty years of Nafl Salaah to his name. Along with his Fardh fasts, he has sixty years of Nafl fasts to his name. However, he talks a lot.Despite not having any Nafl Ibaadat to his name, the man who speaks less is superior. But why? Because the Hadith teaches us that the misuse of our tongue destroys our Ibaadat. Therefore, the man who speaks less, even though he has minimal Ibaadat, he is guaranteed to see his Ibaadat after his death. The man that speaks a lot, he has no guarantee of ever seeing his sixty years of Ibaadat. There is a chance that his tongue could destroy his Ibaadat and come death, he will find nothing waiting for him in the hereafter.Once again, nothing wrong in being a chatterbox, but the more you talk, the greater your chances of destroying your ibaadat.5. The Biter
I left the most common vice of the tongue for last. The Hadith tells us that backbiting or gossip is not only disliked by Allah, but it also destroys your good deeds.Most people misunderstand the definition of backbiting. When someone tells them to stop, they say “But it’s the truth!”Let’s take a closer look at the definition of backbiting. A statement will be classified as backbiting when…A) The person or people being spoken about are not aware of the discussion.B) The person or people being spoken about will not like it if they found out about the discussion.C) That which is mentioned in the discussion is true.**If it is false info, it is much worse than backbiting. In this case, along with backbiting, it falls under the category of ‘spreading rumours’ and ‘false accusations/slander’.

The Senate Committee on Customs and Excise is set to summon the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali (retd.), over the move by the NCS to concession its duty collection function to a foreign firm, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

The vice chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who disclosed this to our correspondent on Friday, said the NCS boss was expected to bring all documents relating to the agreement he signed with the foreign firm.

The senator said, “Our committee will write the CG, NCS to demand for the documents with which the agreement was signed. He is expected to bring all the documents relating to the agreement. All of us in the committee did not support the concessioning idea.

“If the CG, NCS refuses to bring the documents, we will write the Minister of Finance who is the chairman of the board, and a centre point of the deal to bring them. We want to see the agreement. We held a meeting on the issue during the week.

“As soon as we go through the documents and we find out that it is almost the same thing which other administrations had done in the past which is just to find jobs for the ‘boys’, or a special interest for some people to steal our money, we will kick against it.

“There is no amount of money we want to generate in the Customs that the personnel of the Nigerian Customs Service, if properly trained and monitored, cannot generate.

“What is the essence of the seven per cent cost of collection? It is to collect maximum revenue. What the Comptroller General of the NCS should do is to recruit more personnel instead of looking for foreigners to come and spend a false N3.4bn, claiming that they will spend the amount on ICT.

“Meanwhile, the NCS had already awarded a contract of almost N384m early this year on the same scanner that the foreign firm said it would invest money on.”

Foreign firm promises to invest $3.1bn, generate $176bn in 20 years

Investigations by our correspondent recently revealed that the Federal Government had perfected plans to concession the Nigeria Customs Service automation project, also known as the e-customs, to a private firm.

The concessionaires were said to have promised to invest $3.1bn and generate $176bn within the 20-year contract period, estimated at about N3tn per annum.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that the Federal Executive Council had approved the controversial concession contract to Messrs E-Customs HC Project Limited.

It was said to have got the job at the cost of $3.1bn for a period of 20 years under Public Private Partnership arrangement.