(may Allah have mercy on him) - : "Chapter on what has been transmitted regarding excessive praise."

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on what has been transmitted regarding excessive praise." He narrated beneath it with his authentic chain of narration, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakrah from his father, meaning Abi Bakrah al-Thaqafi, one of the famous Companions: that a man was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and a man praised him well. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He said it multiple times. Meaning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this phrase. Multiple times, at least three times, then he followed that (peace and blessings be upon him) with his saying: .
In this hadith is an etiquette from the Islamic etiquettes that the majority of Muslims today have abandoned, and not only that, but they have turned it upside down. That is, in this hadith, it is not permissible for a Muslim to praise his Muslim brother to his face, out of fear that he may be afflicted by this praise. As for disparagement, it is clear that we are harmed; meaning we try to make ourselves weak and polite by praising them, even if falsely. Whereas, according to the Shari'ah, it is not permissible to praise a Muslim for his Muslim brother, even if it is the truth. If one must praise him, he should not be definitive in his praise of him, but rather he should soften the impact of the praise on his companion by expressing doubt in his wording, saying: "I think he is such and such." For example, it is not correct to say to a person we think is righteous: "By Allah, you are a righteous man, by Allah you are a good man, by Allah there is nothing wrong with you," and similar phrases that the masses of people today are accustomed to saying, while they think they are doing well. The Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said in this hadith to the one who praised his companion: ; meaning: you have killed him and done to him spiritually what a knife or sword does physically. The sword cuts the neck of his opponent, so his praise of his companion does to him what his sword does to his opponent. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not suffice with this word once, but he repeated it over and over: he was saying: , and in a narration: , he repeated it three times. Then it is as if the Messenger (peace be upon him) qualified this absolute statement, because if he (peace and blessings be upon him) had stopped at this phrase: , it would have meant that praise is not permissible absolutely. But he softened it for his Ummah by saying: ; meaning: do not be definitive in certifying a person as righteous, because the statement of the one who speaks about his companion, whether male or female, the ruling does not differ in wording; it came absolutely: "So-and-so is righteous," as if the Preserved Tablet was revealed to him and he was certain that he is righteous. This means that he is judging about Allah that he is righteous, and this is naturally not permissible. Therefore, he (peace be upon him) said: "And no one should certify anyone as righteous before Allah," meaning do not judge about Allah that so-and-so is certified, pure, righteous, clean, and other such meanings. Rather, one should hold back from praise and not praise absolutely. But if one is in a situation that indicates that this person is actually righteous, but his judgment of his righteousness is only based on what appears to him, he has not split his chest or revealed what is in his heart, but he has judged based on what appeared to him of his actions. So, based on this appearance, he says: "I think he is such and such," "I suppose he is such and such," and does not certify anyone as righteous before Allah. This etiquette must be observed by us today, even if what is said about such an etiquette in this severity is mentioned, and this has no flexibility, no aspects of leniency. Islam looks at the consequences of matters. It is true that if a person praised another, that other person might be pleased with him, but what is the benefit of his pleasure if his praise of him led him and his companion to the Fire? Therefore, let our striving and constant effort always and forever be for the pleasure of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even if that leads us to the displeasure of other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So the Messenger (peace be upon him) says to the one who must want to praise: We should note this phrase ; meaning it is not permissible to say about the open sinner that he is righteous, while he is an open sinner with us. But if we think a person is righteous, we say: "We think he is righteous." As for the open sinner, it is never permissible to praise him; therefore, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: , meaning our leader and our respected and honored one . So this praise, where we say with an expression of doubt and hesitation "I suppose he is such and such," its place is with the one we see as such, the one we see as deserving of praise. But if we do not see him as such, it is not permissible to praise him absolutely; because if we say "I suppose he is such and such" and the reality is that we do not think he is such and such, then we have lied to ourselves and lied to others. Therefore, in this hadith is actually a great etiquette that we are most worthy of observing in our society today, which has almost become a non-Islamic society.