Gossip and Slander

from the January 14, 2011 sermon

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

Say to the servants of Allah that they should only speak those words that are the best. Surely, Satan sows (disagreements) among them. Surely, Satan is a plain enemy to mankind.

Abu Huraira narrated that Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked his companions, "Do you know who is bankrupt?" They answered, "The bankrupt among us is the one who has neither wealth nor possessions." Muhammad (pbuh) said, "The bankrupt of my people will be the one who will come on Judgment Day with deeds of prayer, fasting, and charity, but he also reviled so-and-so, slandered so-and-so, illegally devoured so-and-so's wealth, killed so-and-so, and struck-so-and-so. His good deeds will be credited to their accounts, and if his good deeds fall short of their claims, their sins will be deposited in his account, and then he will be thrown in the Fire."

The evils of the tongue are varied. We described two of these in the previous sermons (lying and backbiting). Now I will describe another evil of the tongue we should beware, and that is gossip and slander. Gossip and slander is that a person improperly narrates the speech or actions of a person to another person with the intention of causing that person harm (defamation of character). This type of person might say, "So-and-so said this about you", and then tells another story to the other person, in order to sow enmity and hatred amongst them. These stories may contain truth or lies or both. Regardless, Allah has forbidden gossip and slander:

Do not obey every worthless habitual swearer, scorner, going about with malicious gossip -- a preventer of good, transgressing and sinful.

And Muhammad (pbuh) said, a person who goes about gossiping will not enter Paradise. So gossip and slander are grave sins, and is a cause for punishment in the grave.

Abdullah ibn Abbas narrated that Allah's messenger (pbuh) passed by two graves and said, "These two are receiving punishment, and that too not for a major sin. But indeed they are great sins. One of them used to let his clothing be soiled with urine, and the other one used to go about gossiping (to rouse hostilities).

In the narration of Imam Ahmad, Muhammad (pbuh) said, "The worst of people are the slanderers going about with gossip, sowing enmity among friends, prodding into people's shortcomings."

Slandering and defaming are not the characteristics of a believer. A slanderer has two faces, to some people he shows one face, and to others he shows another. This is the characteristic of a hypocrite, not a believer. Muhammad (pbuh) warned us to safeguard ourselves from it:

Beware the worst person in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment: A person with two faces, approaching some with one face, and approaching some with another.

A true believer has a single face that he shows to the people, and a single tongue with which he speaks only that which pleases Allah, to whom all praise and glory is due.

So, why do people slander and gossip? One reason that prompts a person to slander is envy and hatred. These feelings incite a person to malign another person. Another reason is ignorance of Allah and the Messenger's injunction against it. If the slanderer knows the punishment for this sin (not entering Paradise and suffering in the Hellfire), he would not indulge in it. Indeed, Muhammad said, "A slanderer will not enter Paradise."

Allah has described nine characteristics of an evil person in Surah Al Qalam. Allah says:

Do not yield to every mean swearer, a slanderer, going about with gossip, hinderer of good, transgressor, sinful, cruel, moreover wicked.

These nine characteristics are:

1. Swearing often. A person who swears by God often is likely a liar who thinks that people will not believe him or her otherwise.
2. A mean person who has no dignity, who neither respects him or herself, nor do people respect him or her.
3. A slanderer, who is used to defaming and degrading people because he or she is not just in action and speech.
4. A person who goes about with juicy gossip, spreading mischief and telling lies to sow enmity between friends.
5. A person who hinders all that is good, from him or herself and others, and thwarts entry into Paradise.
6. A person who is a transgressor and oppressor.
7. A person who perpetually commits sins and unlawful acts.
8. A cruel person, who is therefore not liked by people.
9. A person who is wicked, and none are safe from his or her mischief. 

A person involved in gossiping needs to repent to Allah and save the tongue from gossip, because an evil characteristic is often accompanied by another such characteristic, or worse. Gossip, for example, is often accompanied by lying and hypocrisy. The sin of gossip leads to other sins, and even to the sin of killing, as is narrated in this story:

A man intended to purchase a servant from another person. The seller warned him that the person is a gossip and a slanderer. The man said, "No problem, this is simple and I can deal with it." So he purchased the servant. After a few days, the servant said to the man's wife, "Your husband wants to divorce you and marry another woman. Should I tell you how to avoid it?" The wife nodded in agreement. The servant continued, "When your husband is sleeping, get a razor and cut some hairs from his beard." The wife agreed to do so. Then the servant approached the husband and said, "Your wife wants to cut your throat in your sleep and then marry her lover, so beware of her." In the evening, the man lay down and pretended to sleep. When the wife approached with a razor in hand, he jumped, took the razor, and killed her with it. When her family learned of his crime, they killed him in retaliation. All of this happened because of the slander on the part of one evil servant.

Gossip caused the wife of Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) to enter into Hellfire. Whenever guests came to Lot (pbuh), she would reveal this to evil people, so she was made to enter the Hellfire with them, even though she did not lie but merely relayed the actions of her husband. This same characteristic caused the wife of Prophet Noah (pbuh) to enter into Hellfire:

Allah has set forth an example for the disbelievers: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of Allah's righteous servants, but they both betrayed them. So they (Noah and Lot) could not protect them (their wives) from Allah at all, and it was said to them (the wives): "Enter the fire along with those who enter!"

The scholars have said that the betrayal of the wives of Noah and Lot (pbut) was gossip. When Allah revealed something to Noah (pbuh), his wife relayed it to other people. And when Lot received guests in his house, his wife relayed their presence to evil people.

It is said that the act of gossip is more harmful than an act of Satan, because Satan works by whispering, whereas a gossip works in the open. Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Whoever propagated a word from a Muslim in order to scandalize the Muslim, Allah will condemn him (the gossip) to Hellfire on the Day of Judgment."

What should we do in the face of gossip and slander? If a person comes to you and says, "So-and-so said 'such-and-such about you, or intends such-and-such for you", what should we do?

We should do the following things:

1. Do not believe the gossip nor his story, as Allah has said, "Oh you who believe! If a rebellious, evil person comes to you with news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance and afterwards become regretful for what you have done."
2. Advise the person to give up gossip because Allah and His messenger (pbuh) have forbidden it.
3. Do not entertain evil thoughts about your fellow Muslim. Allah has said, "Oh you who believe! Avoid much of suspicion, indeed some are sins."
4. Do not spy on your fellow Muslim after hearing these things, because Allah has warned us, "Do not spy."
5. Do not continue the gossip among other people, otherwise you will be in the same category with the gossip.

Hasan Basari said, "He who spreads gossip to you, also spreads gossip about you."

Dear brothers and sisters, I advise you and myself to stay far away from slandering others, and to save our tongues from gossip. Know it well that each of us will be held accountable for the words uttered by our tongues and for our actions.

Finally, the cure for gossip is the following:

1. Remember that if we save our tongues from backbiting and slandering, we will enter Paradise (by Allah's will).
2. Remember that the person who spreads gossip and slander will litigate against him or herself on Judgment Day, and will be the recipient of the gossip's good deeds, and if the good deeds are not sufficient, the gossip will receive the bad deeds of the victim, and enter into Hellfire (Allah forbid).
3. Remember death, the grave, the reckoning, and the Day of Judgment.
4. If your ego (nafs) incites you to gossip, remember that you are in fact inviting Allah's wrath.

I advise all of us that when a gossip approaches us, we do not listen to the words of the gossip, and remember that gossiping is a sin. Save your tongue and ears from listening to it.

And Allah knows best.