SERMON 140
About backbiting and speaking ill of others
(1)
Those who do not commit sins
and have been gifted with safety (from sins) should take pity on sinners
and other disobedient people. Gratefulness should be mostly their
indulgence and it should prevent them from (finding faults with) others.
What about the backbiter who
blames his brother and finds fault with him? Does he not remember that
Allah has concealed the sins which he committed while they were bigger
than his brother's sins pointed out by him? How can he vilify him about
his sins when he has himself committed one like it? Even if he has not
committed a similar sin he must have committed bigger ones.
By Allah, even if he did not
commit big sins but committed only small sins, his exposing the sins of
people is itself a big sin.
O' creature of Allah, do not
be quick in exposition anyone's sin for he may be forgiven for it, and do
not feel yourself safe even for a small sin because you may be punished
for it.
Therefore, every one of you
who comes to know the faults of others should not expose them in view of
what he knows about his own faults, and he should remain busy in thanks
that he has been saved from what others have been indulging in.
(1).
The habit of fault finding and backbiting has become so common that even
the feeling of its evilness has disappeared. And at present neither the
high avoid it nor the low; neither the high position of the pulpit
prevents it nor the sacredness of the mosque. Whenever a few companions
sit together their topic of conversation and engaging interest is just to
discuss the faults of their opponents with added colourisation, and to
listen to them attentively.
Although the fault finder is
himself involved in the faults which he picks up in others, yet he does
not like that his own faults should be exposed. In such a case, he should
have consideration for similar feelings in others and should avoid
searching for their faults and hurting their feelings. He should act after
the proverb: "Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto
you."
Backbiting is defined as the
exposure of the fault of a brother-in-faith with the intent to vilify him
in such a way as to irritate him, whether it be by speaking, acting,
implication or suggestion. Some people take backbiting to cover only that
which is false or contrary to fact.
According to them to relate
what was seen or heard, exactly as it was, is not backbiting, and they say
that they are not backbiting but only relating exactly what they saw or
heard. But in fact backbiting is the name of this very relating of the
facts, because if it is not factually correct it would be false accusation
and wrong blame.
It is related about the
Prophet that he said:
"Do you know what
backbiting is?" People said, "Allah and His Prophet know better." Then
he said, "Backbiting means that you say about your brother a thing which
pains him." Someone said, "But what if I say what is actually true about
him?" The Prophet replied, "It is backbiting only when it is factually
true, otherwise you would be accusing him falsely."
There are many causes for
indulging in backbiting, and because of this a man commits it sometimes
knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali has recounted
these causes in detail in his book Ihya' `ulumu'd-din. A few of the
important ones are:
- 1)
-
To make fun of anyone or
to make him appear abased.
- 2)
-
To make people laugh and
to display one's own jolliness and high spiritedness.
- 3)
-
Expressing one's feelings
under the influence of rage and anger.
- 4)
-
To establish one's
feelings under the influence of rage and anger.
- 5)
-
To disprove one's
connection or involvement in a matter; namely that a particular evil was
not committed by oneself but by someone else.
- 6)
-
To associate oneself with
some group when in their company in order to avoid strangeness with
them.
- 7)
-
To belittle a person from
whom it is feared that he will expose some fault of one's.
- 8)
-
To defeat a competitor in
the same calling.
- 9)
-
To seek position in the
audience of someone in power.
- 10)
-
To express sorrow by
saying it is sad that so-and-so has fallen in such and such a sin.
- 11)
-
To express astonishment,
for example, to say it is wonderful that so and so has done this.
- 12)
-
To name the committer of
an act when expressing anger over it.
However, in some cases fault
finding or criticising does not fall under backbiting.
- 1)
-
If the oppressed complains
of the oppressor in order to seek redress, it is not backbiting. Allah
says about it:
-
Loveth not Allah open
utterance of evil in speech except by one who hath been wronged..
(Qur'an, 4:148)
- 2)
-
To relate anyone's fault
while giving advice is no backbiting because dishonesty and duplicity is
not permissible in counselling.
- 3)
-
If in connection with
seeking the requirements of a religious commandment the naming of a
particular individual cannot be avoided, then to state the fault of such
person to the extent necessary would not be backbiting.
- 4)
-
To relate the
misappropriation or dishonesty committed by someone with a view to
saving a Muslim brother from harm would not be backbiting.
- 5)
-
To relate the fault of
someone before one who can prevent him from committing it is not
backbiting.
- 6)
-
Criticism and expression
of opinion about a relater of traditions is not backbiting.
- 7)
-
If a person is well
acquainted with someone's shortcoming, then to relate such a fault in
order to define his personality, for example, describing a deaf, dumb,
lame or handless person as thus, is not backbiting.
- 8)
-
To describe any fault of a
patient before a physician for purposes of treatment is not backbiting.
- 9)
-
If someone claims wrong
lineage then to expose his correct lineage is not backbiting.
- 10)
-
If the life, property or
honour of someone can be protected only by informing him of some fault,
it would not be backbiting.
- 11)
-
If two persons discuss a
fault of another which is already known to both it would not be
backbiting, although to avoid discussing it is better, since it is
possible one of the two might have forgotten it.
- 12)
-
To expose the evils of one
who openly commits evils is not back-biting as the tradition runs:
-
"There is no backbiting in
the case of he who has torn away the veil of shamefulness."
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