Spiritual
DISCOURSE
Backbiting
Another disease of the internal
character is backbiting. It is an illness
from which hardly any creation of
Allah is safe and is so prevalent that all
of us are involved in it in one way or
another. The severity of this sin can
be understood by paying attention to
the words of Quran, the likes of which
have not been used for any other sin.
Allah says, “And spy not, nor backbite
one another. Would any one of you
like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?
So, you would abhor that” (49:12).
According to this verse, backbiting is
akin to eating the flesh of a deceased
brother. The gravity of this sin is
understood with what it is being compared
to - eating human flesh, and
that too, of one’s own brother who has
passed on. Any human being who has
even the slightest sense of humanity
would never, ever, even think of
committing such an abhorrent act.
The Quran is comparing backbiting
to such a disgusting act! It is indeed a
kabeera (major) sin and not an ordinary
one.
Although consuming alcohol or
eating pork are also major sins, but
backbiting is more severe of a sin as
the former pertain to the rights of
Allah while the latter encompasses
the rights of fellow human beings.
Allah may forgive the violation of His
rights, but in principle, the rights of
human beings are not forgiven unless
forgiven by them.
By Mufti Taqi Usmani
The sinner may repent and seek
forgiveness thousands of times, offer
salat, or observe fasting but the sin
of backbiting would not be forgiven
until forgiven by the subject of
the backbiting. Allah has said, “I will
forgive you My rights but if you cause
bodily harm to My slave, damage his
property, smear his honor, or violate
his rights I will not forgive you until
he pardons you or you repay him
his due rights.” Therefore, violating
fellow human beings’ rights is a very
serious matter and backbiting is one
such violation.
Defining backbiting
What is backbiting? It is to talk about
a person behind his back in such a
way that if he were to listen to it, he
would be hurt or feel bad about it. If
we closely examine our daily conversations,
we would realize how much
of these chats involve talking about
other people.
Some people argue in their own defense,
that they would have no hesitation
in repeating themselves in front
of the person they talked about. Such
people should know that the criterion
for backbiting is not whether they
would be able to repeat themselves in
the presence of the person or not but
whether the person feels hurt by his
words.
Backbiting and Slandering
A Sahabi once asked Rasulullah a, “O
Messenger of Allah, is it a sin if the
person who I backbite matches what
I have said about him?” Rasulullah a
replied, “If what you say about him
is really found in him then you are
backbiting him. However, if you say
about him that which is not found in
him then you are mixing slander with
backbiting and, thus, committing two
sins.”
Comments of a Professor
A University Professor once read
an article on backbiting written by
me. He then wrote to me, “You have
condemned backbiting in your article
declaring it a grave sin that is unlawful
and forbidden which must be
given up. I thought over it and came
to the conclusion that if backbiting is
taken away from our lives, then our
lives would become dull, devoid of
any pleasure. If a few of us were to sit
together and converse on a certain
topic but exclude backbiting from
it, then what could we talk about?
There would be absolutely nothing
enjoyable to talk about. No jokes to
crack. You have written such a lengthy
article and condemned backbiting to
such an extent that it seems like you
want everyone to abandon enjoyment
and have no fun in life.” He was
a professor who concluded based on
his own understanding saying, “I do
not believe that Islam would disallow
something that man is always
indulged in, and without which there
would be no fun.”
In reply to his letter, I wrote to him,
20 July – August 2021 | AL-MADINAH