Here it is very clear that Islam forbids everything that harms or offends a person, whether it is material by deed or even by words. All these are forbidden by Islam and is not acceptable to its followers.

Allah (swt) wants to protect ears from bad words in general, thus, the child grows up in his family, and he always listens to the best words, and accordingly, only the best actions come from him. A person does not speak except according to what he hears, so if he hears bad and bad words, he must utter them. And if we go back to our father Adam (PBUH), the father of humans – the first creature on the face of the earth – and ask how he used to speak? He must have heard from Allah (swt):

 وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

(And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.”) (Al-Baqara: 31)

The first thing that is learned is nouns. When we want to teach a child to speak, we first teach him the names of things and then we proceed the nouns to verbs. Allah (swt) taught Adam (PBUH) the names first.

In this verse, Allah (swt) commands us not to speak evil words in order to protect society. The Prophet (saws) said:

“He who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent”[1]

So let those who claim that Islam is a religion of terrorism or a religion of violence or a religion of extremism hear these words. Islam does not only forbid the killing of mankind:

 مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا

(whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.) (Al-Maida: 32)

rather it also forbids public mention of evil so that a person does not become accustomed to bad words or do any evil action against anyone, even if he is the closest to him, because this will then be reflected in the rest of society. There is an important note, which is that when Allah (swt) commands children to be kind to their parents, He (swt) prohibited them from saying even the word “uff” (The smallest word to indicated boring):

 وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ

(And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,”) (Al-Issraa: 23)

For that, Imam Ali (May Allah honor his face) said:

 

“If Allah had known in disobedience a word lower than “uff”, He would have forbidden it, so let the disobedient do whatever he wants to do, he will not enter Paradise, and let the obedient does whatever he wants to do, he will not enter Hell.”

Hence, Allah (swt) in general does not like the public mention of evil and asks us to mention the kindness of all the mankind, but there is an exception in this verse:

(… إِلَّا مَن ظُلِمَ …) (…except by one who has been wronged…): We have to understand an important point that this exception is just allowed to prevent spreading the aggression. The Prophet (saws) narrated from Allah (swt) saying:

“O MY slaves, I have made oppression unlawful for myself and I have made it unlawful among you, so do not oppress one another.”[2]

 

[1] Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Virtue, Hadith No. 5672.

[2] Sahih Muslim:  The Book of Virtue, Enjoining Good Manners, and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, Chapter: Forbidding of Oppression, Hadith No. 2577.