It is reported from Abu Hurairah radiyallaahu anhu- who said:
The Messenger of Allah -salallaahu alayhi wasallam said:
“ I warn you of suspicion, for suspicion is the most false form of talk.” Agreed upon.
Transmitted and recorded by Imaam Bukhaari in his “Sahih”#6066 and Imaam Muslim in his “Sahih”#2063.
COMMENTARY
The hadith shows the importance of the following:
♦ It shows that it is disliked to have bad suspicion of a fellow Muslim.
Suspicion is thoughts or doubts that usually end up in one accusing others or taking a stance against them without any concrete proof.
The word “Hadith” in the hadith has two meanings:
• When one speaks, it is called hadith
• when one speaks to himself is called (hadith Annafs)ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺍﻟﻨﻔﺲ .
The Messenger of Allah salallaahu alayhi wasallam said:
“Anything that one has in his mind, or speaks to himself, Allah will not take him into account for that.
This ruling applies as long as it is not spoken to others, or done in actions.
♦ It indicates that zann (suspicion) is Haraam (proscribed). However, it is not in every case that suspicion is Haraam. Therefore, one has to look at both the Quran and hadith.
In the Quran, Allah says in chapter 49, verse 12:
“O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much as possible, for suspicion in some cases is a sin.
From this verse, it becomes evident that the hadith doesn’t imply that all suspicion is haraam. In this ayah, Allah states that suspicion in “some cases is a sin.” There are a few cases where it is allowed to be suspicious of another person.
For instance, if a person is known to be a thief, then it is obvious that people might suspect him if something were to be stolen and he had a similar thing that was stolen with him. Another example is when one is in a situation where it is obvious there may be haraam taking place. Definitely, one passing by might suspect anyone found there to be also involved in the act. Thus, suspicion in this case might be valid.
♦ Lastly, one should be extremely careful not to fall in matters of doubt or to put oneself in a situation where it could be a cause of doubt and suspicion in others minds. For instance, for a man to be alone with a non-mahram woman may cause suspicion in peoples heart, so one should avoid such situations.
Another example is when three people are in a group, and two walk away to talk, the third is excluded and begins to feel suspicious about what the other two are talking about or speaking with a language that is not understandable by the third person.
Allaahu A’alam!
Baarakallaahu feekum!
