May 20, 2008

Hadith and Qur'anic Quotes on Backbiting

Asalaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaathu,

Insha'Allah you are all enjoying the blessings of Allah (swt).

Woe to every slanderer and backbiter! (Surah Humaza 104:1)


Listen! Allah is calling us: [O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it…But fear Allah, for Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.] – Surah Al-Hujurat, 12.

This could involve mockery and sarcasm. It is enough to remind those indulging in this practice of what Allah, the Most High said: “O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter is better than the former…” [Al-Hujurat 49:11] It could very well be that Allah loves them and does not love us.

Rasoolullah said, “A man might speak a word without thinking about its implications, but because of it, he will plunge into the Hell-Fire further than the distance between the east and west” (narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).

So, backbiting (gheba) can even be making fun of a person. Rasoolullah sallalahu allayhi wassalam vigorously opposed all aspects of backbiting even when it occurred in his own family. For example, Aishah (ra) made a sign with her hand indicating to the Prophet sallalahu allayhi wassalam that the woman was short of stature. The Prophet immediately chastised her, saying “You have backbitten!” (Tirmidhi)

The Prophet sallalahu allayhi wassalam once asked, “Do you know what is backbiting?” The companions said, “Allah and His messenger know best.” The Prophet said, “To mention about your brother that which he hates.” They said, “If what we say about our brother is true?” He replied, “If there is in him what you say of him then that is backbiting, and if you say of him what is not true then you have slandered him.” (Muslim)

The prophet (saw) has clearly stated that “the gossip-monger will not enter paradise” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Let us consider what Cool Guy Muslim says:
“How lightly we take it when talking poorly about our own Muslim brothers and sisters! How many of us stay silent when someone else talks ill of our brothers and sisters in our presence? How many of us thinking it nothing to even roll our eyes when a name is mentioned. Saying something as simple as “may Allah guide him” with the wrong tone may be considered backbiting as it may be something that defames the honour of our Muslim brother or sister (however, it should be understood that this occurs only when a negative tone is used to make this statement). We need to defend our brothers and sisters when they are not present to defend themselves.”

May Allah subhanahu wata’ala save us from the punishment that is reserved for backbiters and gossip-mongers and may He have mercy on us. Ameen.

Insha’Allah make du’a for your sister,

Ma’asalam :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

: (

But this is why I'm okay with people talking trash about me now. I'm being rewarded, Insha'Allah.

The antidote said...

asalaamu alaikum

mashallah nice blog, its nice to read things like these only because it reminds us of our deen and that the little thins we do may be sinful without us knowing

rahmah said...

Asalaamu alaikum wa rahamtullah
I really like your blog.
Masha-Allah you are using technology in such a way to benefit us all.

Jazakallahu khairun katheerun fee dunya wa fil akhira...Ameen

A.F said...

assalam alaikum.
avery insightful post. and a really good blog :-)