Sometimes...
Sometimes, we see a person enter into a gathering and immediately, everyone present falls into a state of fear lest the person should begin to speak, since they have all felt the bite of his tongue and his harsh words. The tongue is something very dangerous - of course however, we must realize that the importance of the pen and what it writes is no less than what the tongue speaks, and it actually may even be more dangerous![^2] In the second sentence, the Prophet (S) stated, “O' ‘Ali!
The worst of people is the one whom people show respect to out of fear of his evilness.” As we know, people generally show respect to people for two reasons: The individual's moral character and worthy traits and since they benefit from being in the company of such people. They want to repel the dangers and threats which these people can cause. Truthfully, others are scared that if they do not show respect to a particular person, then that person shall do something bad to them!
There is a story which has been related about a person who had stated, “I will give the wealth in the public treasury to two groups of people: one group are those who who follow and respect me only because they benefit materialistically from me, while the other group are those who respect me since they want to repel the evil which I can cause them!” Question: Why is such a person as mentioned in the tradition the worst person?
Answer: His sins are actually much greater in number compared to others since he is harming others by compelling them to act contrary to their own desires by forcing them to show respect. If such a person was to gain wealth from his actions, then without doubt, this wealth would be forbidden and he would not be permitted to use of it!
If such a person was to give an amount of money from the public treasury to a person so that the he would not embarrass him in public (out of fear) then that money would be similar to eating the flesh of the swine! In the third sentence in the tradition, the Prophet (S) has stated, “O' ‘Ali!