The Evils of Backbiting

Allah, to whom all praise and glory is due, says:

Do not spy nor backbite about some of you to others. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of a dead Muslim? No, you would despise that. Fear Allah. Surely Allah is the one who accepts repentance, the most Merciful.

And Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in his last sermon:

Verily, your blood, your property, and your honor are as sacred and inviolable as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, and in this town of yours.

Allah has given many blessings to his servants. Amongst these blessings is the blessing of speaking with the tongue. If we use this blessing of Allah to our benefit (praying, reciting Qur'an, remembering Allah), we will enter Paradise, insh'Allah. But if we use this blessing of Allah for hurtful things, we will qualify to enter the Hellfire (Allah forbid).

The tongue is the most important organ in the body. When the tongue is truthful, the heart and the rest of the body stay correct. When the tongue is corrupt, the heart and the rest of the body are corrupted.

Allah says:

Not a word does one utter but there is a watcher by it ready (to record).

And Muhammad (pbuh) said:

A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands, the other Muslims are in peace.

Muhammad (pbuh) defined backbiting for us. According to Abu Hurairah, Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Do you comprehend what backbiting is?" The people said, "Allah and His messenger know best." He (pbuh) said, "Talking about your brother what he would abhor." Someone asked, "What if my brother has what I describe?" He (pbuh) said, "If your brother is the way you describe, you did backbiting on him. And if he is not like that, you slandered him." This hadeeth tells Muslims not to describe their brothers and sisters in Islam with words she would despise or dislike, even though those words may well be true. It is recommended to describe other Muslims in good words or remain silent. To describe them in repulsive terms is not permitted, because doing so amounts to either backbiting or slander, and these are not the attributes of a Muslim.

Note: Many Americans confuse backbiting with gossip, but these two things are different. Backbiting is making fun of another person behind their back. Gossip is talking about another person (true or false) with the intent to defame them. Both of these actions are forbidden in Islam.

Uqbah ibn Amir narrated: "I asked Muhammad (pbuh) 'what is the way to safety?' He (pbuh) said, 'Guard your tongue, stay in your house, and cry over your sins'." I advise you and myself to save our tongues from the evils of backbiting. Most people do not consider backbiting as a big sin, but in reality it is a huge sin, because it leads a person to Hellfire (Allah forbid). Muaz ibn Jabal asked, "Will we be held accountable for what we say?" Muhammad (pbuh) said, "What's the matter with you?! People will be thrown into the Hellfire on their faces because of words uttered from their tongues!"

Why do people backbite?

One of the reasons that prompts a person to backbite is envy. A person speaks ill of his brother in Islam on account of envy for his wealth, or his kids, or his position. Both envy and backbiting are forbidden.Ibn Abd Al-Bar said, "By Allah! People cross all limits in backbiting and slander, and this is because of ignorance and envy."

Another reason that prompts a person to backbite is weakness of faith in Allah, and weakness in fear of Allah. A strong believer does not backbite anyone, because he knows that Allah will hold him accountable for his deeds. A believer controls his ego (nafs).

Another reason that prompts people to backbite is involving themselves in vain talk, mocking, and joking. It is not permitted for a Muslim or Muslimah to continue to sit in a setting where people talk ill of other people behind their backs, because Allah describes it as an attribute of the people of Hellfire:

we used to speak idle-talk with vain talkers.

Qatadah said about this verse, "It means, whenever idle-talkers talked falsehood, we joined them."

If a person attends a gathering, where people are backbiting others, if he or she doesn't admonish them, then he or she should leave the gathering. The one who does not do this will be among the sinners. Ibn Abd Al-Bar said, "A group of scholars disliked idle talk and joking because it leads to a bad end (Hellfire), and talks about honor of other people."

If people were to know the consequences of backbiting they would surely abstain from it. Backbiting has several negatives in this world and the hereafter. The person who backbites has his sins exposed in this world and in the Hereafter. Ibn Umar narrated, "Muhammad (pbuh) climbed on to the podium and proclaimed: 'O you who say you believe with your tongues but the faith does not enter your hearts! Do not torture the believers, nor slander them, nor prod into their cover. He who prods into the cover of his Muslim brother, Allah will prod into his cover, and whomever Allah prods into his cover will be exposed, even though he is in the security of his house." Saif ur Rahman Mubarakpuri explains, "The saying 'Allah will prod into his cover' means Allah will expose all his shortcomings even though he hides it from the people inside his house."

Those who backbite will be punished in their graves. Qatadah said, "Punishment of the grave is on three accounts: one third from backbiting, one third from slandering, and one third from urine (that soils the clothes)."

I advise those who are used to speaking ill of people behind their backs to repent and ask Allah's forgiveness, because it is forbidden to do so. One hadith tells us that Aisha, one of the wives of Muhammad (pbuh), spoke ill about Safiyyah, another wife of Muhammad (pbuh), in her absence. Muhammad (pbuh) admonished Aisha by telling her that the sin of a single bad word is enough to pollute the water of an ocean. This hadith applies to a great number of people, especially but not exclusively women, who think it is normal to tell about the shortcomings of other women and to tell other people about their mistakes. This is forbidden.

There are, however, circumstances in which it is permitted to speak ill of another person in his or her absence. These are:

1) If you are wronged, you can complain to the judge or the authorities and describe to him or her the circumstances in order to claim your right.

2) If you want to warn someone from the mischief of another person. If you know about a person who does bad things and you tell other Muslims only because you want them to take caution concerning the mischief maker, it is not considered backbiting.

3) If a person seeks your opinion about another person in regards to marriage, and you know the person well, you should appraise the inquirer about this person's characteristics (good and bad), and this is not backbiting.

Dear brothers and sisters, if we were to reflect upon ourselves, each one of us would discover many faults that we possess. Why should we indulge ourselves in talking about other people's faults, while forgetting or ignoring our own? It is not the attribute of a believer to vilify a person by saying words that expose the shortcomings of our fellow Muslims, even if they are true.

And Allah knows best.