In Islam, Backbiting Is Forbidden, But What About Exposing Injustice In Order To Restore Justice? What Is The Position Of Whistleblowers In Islam?
Is It
Permissible For A Muslim To Reveal The Fault Of Others?
Highlights
1. Is it
considered backbiting to expose the wrongdoings of others?
2. It is
forbidden to speak badly of others in public.
3. Only in the
case of justice and in the face of oppression is it allowed to reveal the
mistakes or misdeeds of others.
4. The
oppressed have the right to speak out against injustices that have been done to
them.
.....
By
Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
10 December
2021
The verse
of the Quran provides answers to the questions under discussion:
“Allah does not love the utterance of evil
words except in the case of someone who has been wronged. God hears all and
knows all.” (4:148)
Here,
Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, warns us that He does not like anyone to speak
ill of others in public. In other words, He dislikes and despises it, and He
will punish those who do it. This covers any offensive and upsetting words,
such as insulting, slandering, reviling, and so on. All of this is forbidden
and Allah despises it. This shows that He appreciates good words like zikr, as
well as loving and kind words.
The sole
exception in this verse is for oppressed people who make their oppression
public in order for others to defend them from it. As a result, oppressed
people may receive assistance, while oppressors may be restrained once they
realise their reputation is being slandered.
In this
regard, Hazrat Abu Hurairah related that once a person complained to the Holy
Prophet about a neighbour who was causing him undue hardship. The Holy Prophet
recommended the individual put all of his personal belongings on the road. When
the person followed the Holy Prophet's counsel, everyone who passed by inquired
as to why he was outside. People began cursing his neighbour after he replied
that it was due to the problems his neighbour was causing him. As a result, the
neighbour was humiliated, and he eventually told the individual to return to
his home, swearing to Allah that he would never cause him any trouble in the
future.
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This
above-mentioned verse is interpreted to mean that the oppressed people are
allowed to pray against the one who has wronged them, to complain about him,
and to speak hurtful things back to him, without lying about it, going beyond
the level of damage done to them, or crossing the boundary and reviling others.
However, it is best to forgive him and not respond in kind, as Allah instructs,
“...But whoever forgives and reconciles, his reward is with Allah” (42:
40)
According
to verse 42:40, if a person is injured by another, the best course of action is
to forgive the wrongdoers. If he is unable to pardon, he may seek justice for
himself, but only to the extent of the injury, he has suffered. He will become
the oppressor himself if he goes beyond the harm that has been done to him.
Muhaddithin
narrates a beautiful hadith about the reason for the revelation of this verse
(4:148):
Narrated
Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab: While the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was
sitting with some of his companions, a man reviled Abu Bakr and insulted him.
But Abu Bakr remained silent. He insulted him twice, but Abu Bakr controlled
himself. He insulted him thrice and Abu Bakr took revenge on him. Then the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) got up when Abu Bakr took revenge. Abu
Bakr said: Were you angry with me, Messenger of Allah? The Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) replied: An angel came down from Heaven and he was
rejecting what he had said to you. When you took revenge, a devil came down. I
was not going to sit when the devil came down. (Sunan Abu Dawud, No. Hadith:
4878)
This verse
(4:148) is known to have been revealed in the prohibition of speaking ill of
others. Several Hadiths also provide guidance in this area, demonstrating that
speaking ill of others is forbidden.
We may
answer the questions asked under this topic based on the above-mentioned
understanding of the verse (4:148). It is forbidden for a Muslim to point out
the faults of others. Exposing others' wrongdoings is likewise forbidden, but
not when it comes to bringing or seeking justice for the downtrodden. It is
only permitted to divulge the faults or wrongdoing of others in the sake of
justice and in the face of persecution. In other words, those who have been
oppressed have the right to speak out against injustices committed against
them.
This verse
also states that for an oppressed person who goes around talking to people
about the injustice that has been done to him or her, this will not be
considered backbiting (Gheebah), which is forbidden, because it is the
oppressor who has provided the victim with the opportunity to complain. On the
one hand, the holy Quran permitted oppressed people to employ the option of
retribution against injustice. On the other hand, it has persuaded the victim
of injustice to make a small sacrifice in this matter of his legitimate right
and take no revenge for the injustice by teaching him to practise high morals,
forgive and forget, and by focusing before him a great gain of the hereafter.
The Holy Quran says,
“If you do good openly or keep it secret or
overlook an evil deed, then, Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Powerful” (4:149)
The
following are some of the most notable Ahadith in this regard:
Abu Huraira
reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:
“When two
persons indulge in hurling (abuses) upon one another, it would be the first one
who would be the sinner so long as the oppressed does not transgress the
limits”. (Sahih Muslim, 2587)
'A’ishah
reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying: “When your
companion dies, leave him and do not revile him” (Sunan Abu Dawud, 4899)
Narrated
Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Make a mention of the
virtues of your dead, and refrain from (mentioning) their evils.” (Sunan Abu
Dawud, 4900)
Abu Huraira
reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying, “Do you know what is
backbiting? They (the Companions) said: Allah and His Messenger know best.
Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) 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 said: If (that failing) is actually found (in
him) what you assert, you in fact backbited him, and if that is not in him it is
a slander.” (Sahih Muslim, 2589)
Narrated
Jabir ibn Abdullah; AbuTalhah ibn Sahl al-Ansari:
The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said, “No (Muslim) man will desert a man who is a Muslim in
a place where his respect may be violated and his honour aspersed without Allah
deserting him in a place where he wishes his help; and no (Muslim) man who will
help a Muslim in a place where his honour may be aspersed and his respect
violated without Allah helping him in a place where he wishes his help.” (Sunan
Abu Dawud, 4884)
The Prophet
is reported to have said, “A backbiter will not enter Paradise” (Sunan Abu
Dawud, 4872)
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-society/whistleblowing-justice-injustice-backbiting/d/125934