ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · İKİNCİ BÂB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · İkinci Madde
It is advisable to speak little, for it protects one from sin and earns respect.
Know, esteemed one, that the friends of Allah have said: This is a time for silence. It is a time to remain at home, unless there is a necessary need to go out. The human being is held hostage by two small things: the heart and the tongue. While speech is indeed a bounty from Allah to humankind, the silence of the tongue is deliverance from every affliction. The tongue is the scale of man; releasing it is like unleashing a harmful lion. Silence is the garment of dignity and composure. An apology is sufficient cause to avert evil.
You are under your command as long as you do not speak. When you speak, you fall under the dominion of your words. He who speaks little is safe from reproach. The value of one whose silence is prolonged becomes great. One who covers the faults of others has their own faults covered and becomes beloved to the hearts. Everyone dislikes gossipers and talebearers. Much speaking is a fault, a cause for shame. Silence, however, is elevation and dignity. Restraining the tongue is safety, security. Restraining the heart leads to insight (irfan).
The danger of the tongue is great, for it is an arrow that strikes its target without missing. A tooth is like a stone; the tongue is like a flint. Words are like fire; he who speaks them is a fool. The listener is either a cotton shop or a gunpowder store. Therefore, he who sparks a flint with gunpowder and cotton is senseless.
Three things invite all calamities and misfortunes: amusement and entertainment, jesting, and frivolous talk. The punishment of the gossiper and talebearer is severe. Such people are estranged from humankind and their Lord. Much speaking harms friendship. Excessive speech brings disdain, boredom, and aversion. Unnecessary talk leads to the exposure of faults and the increase of animosity in hearts. Even friends hate one who speaks bitter words. Gossiping about friends is a disgrace and shameful in every respect.
The wise person avoids contention, and the foolish one does not do more than remain silent to punish him. The value of a question exceeds the worth of its answer. The benefit of beautiful words belongs to the speaker. Even if there is eloquence and fluency in speech, deliverance lies in refraining from it. Jesting is a calamity for grandeur and dignity. To bring up a kindness done (minnet) is a calamity for generosity. Speak truthfully when you speak, and fulfill your promises when you make them. Sweet words and spreading greetings are the sunnah (practice of the Prophet). Sweet words and spreading greetings earn the love of people. Making beautiful speech a habit leads one to their goal. The truthfulness and honesty of the tongue is the salvation of humankind. Much speaking tires the ears. To be insistently persistent in something causes it to be forbidden. Abundant silence leads to dignity and composure. Excessive laughter is frivolity and a cause for reproach. Excessive jesting invites blame. Much laughter kills the heart. Excessive idle talk is a sign of ignorance. The abundance of words indicates the deficiency of meaning. Silence is the adornment of reason and the veil of the ignorant.
Be of beautiful speech! Be of a cheerful countenance! Never tell anyone a lie at any time! Do not disgrace yourself! One who speaks sweetly becomes beloved in hearts. He who laughs much has little awe. He whose jesting is abundant has little intellect. The speaker with soft and sweet words is sought after. Much laughter kills the heart. He who lies often has little truthfulness. The beauty of one whose words are true increases. The sins of one who speaks little decrease. Gossipers are disliked, and talebearers are condemned. One who is preoccupied with frivolous things becomes distant from their ultimate purpose. He who speaks much through mockery (istihza) and jesting has low value. He who complains to people complains to Allah and cannot be among those who give thanks.
He who investigates hidden faults does not find the love and friendship of hearts. One who praises his own self actually cuts it off. He who condemns his own self finds salvation. He who attains salvation through silence is like one who finds spoils through speaking. Truthfulness in words, gentleness and compassion in action, beauty in character – these are signs of felicity. Man is defined by his tongue; yet the tongue is his enemy. One who speaks bad words regrets it. The wise person should treat the ignorant with kindness and smile at him gently, as a doctor would speak sweetly to his patient to the extent of his understanding. He who abandons gossip finds contentment. Silence is beauty and dignity. Lying is shame and fault.
The benefits of silence are endless; its lowest benefit is the salvation of the capital (sermaya). The primary cause of the soul’s destruction is the tongue. Guard your secret so that it remains a secret, for a secret does not remain a trust. He who reveals his secret does not find salvation. If you keep your secret, your secret becomes your salvation. The end of revealing a secret is regret. Do not withhold anything from your friend, but do not tell him every secret.
[Poems]
1-Do not reveal the secret so that you may not be grieved. May you not be a companion to sorrow and affliction.
2-Guard the secret so that your head may be safe. He who reveals a secret will ultimately regret it.
3-He who speaks of his thought is wounded; he who makes it public is hunted.
4-There are many secrets that, if they were on the tip of one’s tongue, many lives would come to one's mouth.
5-The heart is a cage, and the secret is a wild bird. How can a wild bird be comfortable in a cage?
6-Whoever goes on the path of glory will suffer a thousand pains if he does not conceal it.
7-Truth does not become manifest to people; when I hunt, it does not become prey.
Here's a translation of the provided text, aiming for faithfulness and preservation of meaning within a classical Islamic/Sufi context:
The truth is not revealed to those who seek it outwardly; rather, they are afflicted with hardship. If one does not conceal the secret [of divine knowledge], thousands of trials will befall them.
The Real does not manifest itself to creation. One who intends to hunt It becomes the hunted.