Transcript Slide 1

In The Name Of Allah,
the most Beneficent, the most Gracious, the most Merciful!
Backbiting & Slander
an Islamic perspective
Islam prohibits
backbiting and
slandering
To talk about backbiting we need
to first define exactly
what is backbiting ?
If we turn towards the sayings of
Prophet Muhammad(saw)
we can find a very accurate
definition of this term and it
differentiates between the term
"backbiting" and "slander" .
Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that
Prophet Mohammad (SAW) said:
"Do you know what backbiting is?”
They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He (SAW) then said,
“It is to say something about your brother
that he would dislike.”
Someone asked him, “But what if what I say is true?”
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,
“If what you say about him is true, you are
backbiting him, but if it is not true then you
have slandered him.“
[Sahih Muslim Book 32, #6265]
So Now we have understood
Backbiting = To say something
about a person in his absence &
that he would not like for you to
say and it is the truth.
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Note: Backbiting is not done by the tongue alone, it can also be
done with the eyes, hands and other movements. For example,
copying somebody who is limping, in order to insult him.
Slander = To say something
that a person would not like in
his absence and that is not
true.
Gossip = To carry tales
back and forth to others.
Remember We are all answerable to Allah
(swt) and one day we will be questioned for
what we spoke.
What will we do then?
It is important to have fear of Allah (swt) in
our hearts. We have to know and realize that
our deeds are being recorded, that Allah
(swt) is seeing everything:
ALLAH (swt) says in the Quran
"Or do they think that We hear not their
secrets and their private counsels? Indeed
(We do), and Our messengers are by them,
to record.“
{Quran: 43-Surah Al Zukhruf #80}
‫‪Allah (SWT) says in the Quran about‬‬
‫? ‪Backbiting‬‬
‫َ‬
‫ين آ َم ُنوا اج َت ِنبُوا َك ِثيرا م َِّن َّ‬
‫َّ‬
‫الظنِّ‬
‫َيا أ ُّي َها ال ِذ َ‬
‫ض َّ‬
‫الظنِّ إِثم َوال َت َج َّسسُوا َوال‬
‫إِنَّ َبع َ‬
‫ض ُكم َبعضا أَ ُي ِحبُّ أَ َح ُد ُكم أَن‬
‫َيغ َتب بَّع ُ‬
‫َيأ ُك َل َلح َم أَ ِخي ِه َميتا َف َك ِره ُتمُوهُ َوا َّتقُوا ََّ‬
‫َّللا‬
‫إِنَّ ََّ‬
‫َّللا َتوَّ اب رَّ ِحيم‬
‫‪Surah 49 Al- Hujuraat Ayah #12‬‬
Translation of the meaning:
O you who believe! Avoid much
suspicions, indeed some suspicions are
sins. And spy not, neither backbite
one another. Would one of you like to
eat the flesh of his dead brother?
You would hate it (so hate backbiting)
. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the
One Who accepts repentance, Most
.Merciful
Surah 49 Al-Hujurat Ayah 12
Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his
dead brother? You would hate it (so hate
backbiting) . And fear Allah.
2. Allah (SWT) says:
"O you who believe! Let not some
men among you deride others who
may be better than they (are), nor
let women (deride) women who may
be better than they are; neither
defame one another, nor insult one
another by nicknames. Evil is a bad
name after faith."
Surah 49 Al-Hujurat Ayah11
3. Allah (SWT) says:
"Woe to every sneering defamer."
Surah 104 Al- Humazah Ayah1
4.Allah(SWT) says:
"Neither obey thou each
feeble oath-monger;
detractor, going about
with slander."
Surah 68 Al- Qalam Ayah{10-11}
Evidence from the Sunnah
1.
Abu Huraira reported
Allah's Messenger (SAW) as saying:
Do you know what is backbiting?
They (the Companions) said: Allah and His Messenger
know best.
Thereupon he (SAW) said:
Backbiting implies your talking about your brother in a
manner which he does not like.
It was said to him: What is your opinion about this that if I
actually find (that failing) in my brother which I made a
mention of?
He (SAW) said: If (that failing) is actually found (in him)
what you assert, you in fact have backbitten him, and if
that is not in him it is a slander.
[Sahih Muslim Book 32, #6265]
2. The Prophet (SAW) said:
"One of the greatest of the major
sins is to stretch out one's tongue
without right against the honor of
a Muslim.”
[Sunan Abî Dâwûd (4877)]
3. Aishah (RA) relates
that she said to the Prophet (SAW): "It
should tell you enough about Safiyyah
that she is short."
To this he (SAW) replied: "You have
said a word that if it was to be mixed
with the water of the sea, it would
contaminate it."
[Sunan al- Tirmidhî (2502) & Sunan Abî Dâwûd (4875)]
4. Two Companions once criticized a man who had
been punished for committing adultery.
The Prophet (SAW) was traveling and he passed by
the carcass of a donkey.
He (SAW) said: "Where are those two people? Get
down and eat from the flesh of this donkey!"
They said: "O Prophet of Allah! Who would eat
this?"
He said: "What the two of you have recently done
by defaming the honor of your brother is far worse
than eating from this."
[ Sunan Abî Dâwûd (4428)]
Eat from the flesh of this donkey ?
Can we ?
5. Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
The Prophet (saw) said: ‘When I was taken up
to heaven I passed by people who had nails
of copper and were scratching their faces
and their breasts.’
I asked: ‘Who are these people, O Jibrael?’
He replied: ‘They are those who were given
to back biting and who aspersed people's
honour.’
[Sunan of Abu- Dawud (4860) ]
6.Narrated by AbuBarzah al- Aslami
The Prophet (saw) said :‘O community of
people, who believed by their tongue, and
belief did not enter their hearts, do not backbite Muslims, and do not search for their
faults, for if anyone searches for their faults,
Allah will search for his fault, and if Allah
searches for the fault of anyone, He
disgraces him in his house!’
Sunan of Abu- Dawud (4862)
7.One time, the Messenger of Allah (SAW)
pointed towards two graves and said to his
companions that both of these people are
being punished in their graves. One of them
used to backbite people and the other was
not careful about spilling drops of urine on
his clothes and body whilst urinating.
Some words of the Pious Predecessors
Amr b. al-Âs, while traveling with his companions, once
passed by the dead, rotting body of a mule and said: "I
swear by Allah, it is better that one of you should eat from
this until he fills his stomach than for him to eat the flesh
of a Muslim ."
Kab al-Ahbâr said: "Backbiting nullifies a person's good
deeds."
Al- Hasan al- Basrî said: "I swear by Allah, backbiting is
swifter in consuming the religion of a Muslim than a
gangrenous infection is in consuming the human body."
Sufyân b. `Uyaynah said: "Backbiting is worse than a
debt. A debt can be paid out, but backbiting cannot."
`Ali b. al- Husayn once heard two people engaged in
backbiting and said: "Keep away from backbiting, for it is
the broth of the mongrels among people."
What to do if I did Backbiting
Gossiping before knowing this ?
* Backbiting violates the rights of Allah and the
rights of people simultaneously. Hence,
It is necessary to ask for forgiveness from
the victim first, since Allah will not forgive
until the victim forgives.
If the victim has died or is untraceable, then ransom has to be paid.
Anas (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:
“The ransom for backbiting is to pray to Allah
for forgiveness by saying, “ O Allah! Forgive
my sins and his too.”
What we need to do now ?
Today this disease is so widespread that it is seen
in every house. What we need to do is take this
disease out of us.
Narrated By Sahl bin Sa'd :
The Prophet (saw) said, "Whoever
guarantees me (the chastity of) what is
between his legs (i.e. his private parts), and
what is between his jaws (i.e., his tongue), I
guarantee him Paradise."
[Sahih Bukhari Vol 8, Book 82, #799]
The problem is not with the evidence that it
is forbidden. The problem is
* How to eliminate this from within
ourselves?
* How do we make sure we do not commit
this sin anymore?
One thing is for sure, we have to stop this
today....right now.
Let Us see Some factors that causes backbiting and how we can
deal them & cure this disease from us ?
1.Subsiding anger
Cause: This is done by backbiting the person who kindles
his anger -so everytime this person makes him angry,
he subsides it by backbiting the person. Through this
(the backbiting), he feels he is getting even with the
other person.
Cure: The cure for this is the advice of the
Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam
"Whoever suppresses his anger while in a
position to enforce it, Allah will call him at the
head of the creation until he chooses for him
from the hoor'een (special women of Jannah
that are promised to the believer), for him to
marry from them as he pleases .[Ahmad and At- Tabaraanee]
2. Wanting to keep Mends
Cause: In order to maintain friends with
others, a person indulges in backbiting
because he is afraid of losing their
friendship. Thus he does not reprimand
them when they backbite, but indulge in it
with them.
Cure: To cure this he must remember the
saying of the Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi
Wasallam “Whoever solicit the pleasure of
men by displeasing Allah, Allah will consign
him to mankind”. [At- Tirmidhi]
3. Wanting to raise one's
status with other people
Cause: This is done by debasing others, by saying
things like such and such a person, is ignorant or
his understanding is weak, thus indirectly
implying that he is more knowledgeable than the
one he debases.
Cure: In order to cure this sickness, the perpetrator
must be reminded that Allah is the final judge and
this person that he is claiming is ignorant, might
be better than him with Allah. Furthermore, that
person may be excused because of his lack of
understanding.
4. Playing around and making
fun of others
Cause: This could involve mockery and sarcasm.
Cure: 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-Hujuraat 49:11]
At other times, it could involve lies, as mention is made
of some people in a way to make others laugh.
It is enough to answer with the statement of the
Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam: "Woe to the one
who speaks and lies to make people laugh, woe to him,
woe to him" [Ahamad, Abu Dawood & others]
5. Envy
Cause: Through envy, a person is backbited
because of his noble position and high
standing.
Cure: In order to debase and reduce his worth
in people's eyes. The envier should reflect
upon the statement of the Messenger
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam: "Faith and envy
cannot exist together in the heart of the
slave". [Ahmad 8: 436]
6. Fear of Blame
Cause: Something is attributed to a person who
wants to free himself from it, by blaming another
person totally, although they both had shared in
the act. He does this so that he can free himself
from being blamed.
Cure: The correct thing to do is to acquit himself
honestly, and not try to throw the blame upon
anyone else.
7. Having too much spare time
Cause: This can cause a person to fall into
backbiting, because it is easy for such an idle
mind to become busy with women/men, their
honor and their faults.
Cure: To correct this a person must spend his time
in acts of obedience to Allah, worship, seeking
knowledge, and teaching others. The Prophet
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said: "Two blessings
are misused by people, good health and spare
time to do good." [Bukhari]
8. Trying to get close to a person in
authority to acquire material gains
Cause: In order to get close to those in authority and to
gain their favors, someone may backbite his workmates
with his boss.
Cure: To cure this, he must realize the true value of this
world with Allah, the Glorious, and that He is the
Provider, and that He would allow him to get only what
he deserves. And no boss can give him anything if Allah,
the Sublime does not will such for him. The Prophet
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said:
"...know that if the nation (all mankind) were to gather
together to benefit you with something, it would only
benefit you with something that Allah had already
prescribed for you..." [At-Tirmidhi]
9.Another important factor that many of us
need to change is "bad company“
A good companion would discourage you and stop you
from doing bad. A bad companion would however
encourage you and in many cases make you do wrong
and that is one of the reason why we are suffering from
the negative "Peer Pressure" problem.
Abu Musa (RA) reported Allah's Messenger (SAW) as
saying: The similitude of good company and that of bad
company is that of the owner of musk and of the one
(iron-smith) blowing bellows, and the owner of musk
would either offer you free of charge or you would buy it
from him or you would. smell its pleasant odour , and so
far as one who blows the bellows is concerned, he would
either burn your clothes or you shall have to smell its
repugnant smell. [Sahih Muslim Book 32, #6361]
Note:
Backbiting to save a Muslim from harm is permitted, but
the best thing is not to talk unnecessarily about anyone
in a good way as well because the devil- Shytaan will
entice you into mentioning his faults. For example,
“He's a good person but he has these habits……….”
To save ourselves from this sin and many others,
one should act upon this Hadith which deserves
to be written in gold. The Hadith states,
“Whoever stayed quiet saved himself.”
NOW WHAT
WILL YOU DO
ABOUT IT!?
Don’t you want to save yourself
& your family & relatives &
friends from this major sin ?
May Allah Taa'la save all of us from the hell fire and all
sins that we have committed.
REFERENCES
 1. Article on "Suspicion, spying and
backbiting" online at http://www.interislam.org/Prohibitions/Backbiting.ht
ml
 2. Article on "BACKBITING" online at
www.iad.org/islam/back.html
 3. BACKBITING by Abdul Malik AlQasim Translated by Sami Ayoub and Mrs.
Vivian Taylor Ayoub, DARUSSALAM
Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
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