Destructive Effects of Backbiting (Gheebah) From the Islamic Perspective
Islam
Warns Those Who Don’t Cease From Backbiting
Main
Points:
1. The vast
majority of Muslims are currently afflicted by a dreadful epidemic of
backbiting.
2. Backbiting
does not imply lying about someone, but rather speaking truthfully about their
flaws behind their back.
3. Hurting
one's honour and dignity is just as haraam and immoral as harming one's life
and possessions
4. The reward
of backbiters' good acts is transferred to those whom they have been
backbiting.
5. In Islam,
the value of a person's honour and dignity is very high.
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By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
14 June 2022
The vast
majority of Muslims are currently afflicted by a dreadful epidemic of
backbiting. Most houses have now become battlefields as a result of this
backbiting. In families, neighbourhoods, and markets, the same backbiting has
constructed ominous walls of animosity. Many people do not even know what
backbiting is, despite the fact that it is the responsibility of every rational
adult Muslim to know the required regulations concerning it.
We may
readily say that "usury is forbidden and usury is haram" if there is
a usurer. We may readily declare that it is haram if there is a bribe-taker
since we know that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever receives
and gives bribe will not enter Paradise and will become the fuel of Hell."
However, we have forgotten what the Qur'an says regarding backbiting:
“O,
believers! Avoid many suspicions, ˹for˺ indeed, some suspicions are sinful.
And do not spy, nor backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the
flesh of your dead brother? You would despise that! And fear Allah. Surely
Allah is the˺ Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful.” (49:12)
Al-Gheebah
is translated as backbiting. Backbiting does not imply lying about someone, but
rather speaking truthfully about their flaws behind their back. It is not
backbiting to make up a story about someone and then speak behind their back;
instead, it is slander (Buhtaan), which is much worse than backbiting. But
we'll concentrate on backbiting rather than slander here.
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Hazrat Abu
Hurairah said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked: Messenger
of Allah! What is backbiting? He replied: It is saying something about your
brother which he would dislike. He was asked again: Tell me how the matter
stands if what I say about my brother is true? He replied: If what you say of
him is true, you have slandered him, and if what you say of him is not true,
you have reviled him.” (Sahih Muslim, 2589, Sunan Abi Dawud, 4874)
Hazrat
Huzaifah reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying, “No
slanderer (Qattat) will enter paradise” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4872)
Nowadays,
some people sit together and start backbiting a friend, a player, or a
politician until they are satisfied, and then they will go on to the next
person, and so on. Some of us may believe that they'll be all right and that
their graves will be made easy for them because this has become so common and
casual. However, a hadith states that "Backbiting a person is like
devouring the flesh of one's dead brother," while another hadith states
that "the one who commits fornication repents, but the one who backbites
does not repent." (Shu'bul Imaan, Baihaqi) This is because someone who
commits adultery does so as a sin, whereas someone who conducts backbiting does
not.
Hurting
one's honour and dignity is just as haram and immoral as harming one's life and
possessions. Backbiting is plainly condemned in the Qur'an and is compared to
an unattractive behaviour, and the tale of eating the flesh of one's deceased
brother is particularly instructive in this regard (49:12)
The good
deeds of the backbiters are transported to those whom they have
backbitten. They will take from their Hasanaat
or good deeds as much as their Gheebah. And if their good deeds end and
they have no more to give, then they will be taking from their sins equivalent
to the amount of Gheebah that they did behind you. This person has no idea
about how much they are losing here.
The reward
of backbiters' good acts is transferred to those whom they have backbitten.
They will receive as much advantage from their Hasanaat, or good deeds,
as their backbiting has been made. And if their good acts run out and they have
nothing left to give, they will deduct from their sins the amount of Gheebah
they spent behind you. This person has no idea how much loss they are
bearing.
Al-Hassan
Al-Basri was reportedly told that someone was backbiting him. So, he got a gift
and went to the house of the man who backbit him. When the man opened the door
and saw Al-Hassan standing with a grin and a gift of dates, the man became
surprised as he had no relation with Al Hassan. As he offered him the gift,
Al-Hassan stated to him, “I was told today that you gave me some of your Hasanaat,
so I came to thank you!”
Abdullah
Ibn Mubarak said, “If I was to backbite anyone, I would rather backbite my
parents because they have the most right to my Hasanaat.”
In Islam,
the value of a person's honour and dignity is very high and if that person is a
Muslim, the value of his honour and dignity increases even more. That is why
the faith of Islam has commanded us to refrain from all activities which
undermine the dignity of a human being. One of these activities is to find
fault with someone and expose it to others, which would erode the honour and
dignity of human beings. For this reason, while the person whose fault is
exposed to the public gets humiliation and disgrace, the person who keeps on
finding and exposing the mistakes of people also face the hatred and criticism
of the people in return. In this way, the honour and holiness of both those who
seek flaws and those whose faults are mentioned are lost. Therefore, Islam
forbids them to hunt for mistakes and disclose them in front of people without
the permission of Shariah. Islam has also delivered a stern warning to people
who do not cease from it. So that the people, fearing these warnings, will
refrain from this heinous deed and the honour and sanctity of all will be
maintained.
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Also Read: Quran And Hadees
On Friendship and Backbiting In Islam
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In a
hadith, upon passing a grave the Prophet (peace be upon him) said the person of
this grave is being punished for committing a significant transgression. He
went on to explain, that the person was being punished for making false and
defamatory accusations and made friends into enemies. (Sahih al-Bukhari 218).
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Kaniz
Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/backbiting-gheebah-islamic-perspective/d/127243
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