DAILY POST #87

♦ It indicates that it is disliked and Haraam(proscribed) to backbite and slander others. Backbiting is saying a thing about your brother which are true in reality but he dislikes it. And slandering is making false accusations about your brother in his absence.

These two sins are forbidden by Allah because they sow enmity, evils and discord among people and lead to destruction. They cause hostilities between people of the same household and between neighbors and relatives.

They can decrease the good deeds and increase the evil ones and lead to dishonor and ignominy. Backbiting and
slandering are shame and disgrace. The perpetrators are detested and they shall not have a noble death. Allah forbids these acts, as He says in the Qur’an.

♦ It shows that it is permissible to backbite the disbelievers. In the hadith above, the word” akhaaka” means your brother in Islam. And the kuffar are not our brothers in religion. For this reason, it is allowed to broadcast or expose their bad act in order for the Muslim to beware of following their stinking way of life or manners.

♦ It indicates that backbiting is one of the major sins. Though, there are difference of opinions of scholars on this. Imaam Qurtubi mentioned that there is consensus between scholars that backbiting is a major sin. However, Imaam Ghazali and the author of umdah among the Shaafi’a mazhab counted backbiting among the minor sins. Imaam Azzrakshi said:

Whereas Allah subuhanahu wata’ala has placed backbiting in the same position like eating the dead carcass of a person and many hadith has being narrated which shows a strong prohibition of backbiting”.

♦ In addition, The scholars have stated that backbiting is permitted in certain situations:

• Complaining. It is permissible for the one who has been oppressed or wrong to complain to the ruler or judge and others who have the authority or ability to settle the case with the one who wronged him.

• Seeking help to change evil and bringing back the sinner to the right path, so he may say to the one who he hopes is able to do something “So and so is doing such and such; tell him not to do it again or to stop it.”

• Seeking advice or a fatwa (religious ruling), by
saying to the mufti (scholar), “So and so has wronged me by doing such and such. And the reason for this is because the problem cannot be solved unless when he mentions it to the judge.

• Warning the Muslims of someone’s evil, such as highlighting the weakness of some reporters or witnesses or authors. That also includes seeing someone buying faulty goods, or someone keeping company with one who is a thief or adulterer, or giving a female relative of his to such a man in marriage, and the like. You should tell them about that by way of sincere advice, not with the aim of causing harm like in the case of Muawiya, Abu jahm and usama radiyallaahu anhum jami’an.

• If a person openly commits evil or follows bid’ah (innovation), such as drinking alcohol and armed robbery, it is permissible to speak of what he is doing openly in order to caution others about him. But it is not permissible to speak against him in any other way unless it is for such reason.

• For identification. if someone is known by a nickname such as the dim-sighted one, or the
blind man or the one-eyed or the lame one, it is permissible to identify him as such, but it is not permissible to mention that by way of belittling him, mockery and if it is possible to identify him in some other way, then it is better to do that.