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Nor backbite one
another; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?
You would abhor it.
(Qur'an 49:12)
Prophet
Muhammad (s) once said to Imam ‘Ali (‘a): “O ‘Ali! When someone hears
the backbiting of his Muslim brother committed in his presence, yet he
does not rally to his assistance despite being capable of doing so, God
shall humiliate him in the world and in the Hereafter.”
[Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Wasa'il al-Shi`ah, vol. 8, hadith no.
16336]
Diseases of
the Soul …
Backbiting
(gheebah)
Abu Dharr (r) once
asked the Prophet Muhammad (s): “O Messenger of Allah, what is
gheebah?” He replied: “It is to mention about your brother that which
he detests.”
Abu Dharr
(r) said: “O Messenger of Allah, what if that which is mentioned of him
should actually be in him?” He (s) replied: “Know that when you mention
that which is in him, you have committed his gheebah, and when you
mention that which is not in him, then you have slandered him.”
[Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Wasai'l al-Shi`ah, vol. 8,
hadith no. 16312]
Consequences of Backbiting
The
Prophet (s) once gave counsel to Abu Dharr (r) , saying: “O Abu Dharr!
Beware of backbiting, for backbiting is graver than adultery (zina’).”
Abu Dharr (r) said: “Why is that so, O Messenger of Allah?” He (s)
replied: “That is because when a man commits adultery and then repents
to God, God accepts his repentance. However, backbiting is not
forgiven until forgiven by its victim.”
q Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Wasai'l
al-Shi`ah, vol. 8, hadith no. 18312
The
Noble Messenger (s) said: “Whoever backbites a Muslim spoils his
fasts and breaks his wudu', and shall come on the Day of
Resurrection with his mouth's stench more putrid than a carcass',
and it shall irk those who are with him in his station (mawqif).
If he dies before repenting, his death is like that of one who dies
while considering permissible that which is prohibited by God, the
Exalted and the Glorious.”
q Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Wasa'il
al-Shi`ah, vol. 8, hadith no. 16316
Imam
al-Sadiq (‘a) narrated from the Prophet (s) who said: “O you who have
embraced Islam with your tongues but in whose hearts faith has not yet
entered, do not disparage Muslims and do not seek their defects.
Verily, God will seek out the defects of he who is after their defects;
and one who has God after his defects will be humiliated, even in
his own abode.”
q Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 2,
"Kitab al-Iman wa al-Kufr", "Bab man talaba 'atharat
al-Mu'minin", hadith no. 2
Imam
al-Sadiq (‘a) narrated from the Prophet (s) who said: “The havoc
wrought on the believer's faith by backbiting is swifter than the one
wrought by aklah (a disease that consumes the flesh) in the side
of his body.”
q Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 2,
"Kitab al-Iman wa al-Kufr", "Bab al-Gheebah wa
al-Buht", hadith no. 1
When
backbiting ingresses into our conduct, it leaves adverse effects on the
soul. One of these is cultivation of enmity and hatred towards
the victim, which gradually increases. At the time of death, when
the veils of the angelic realm (al-malakut) are lifted, the
backbiter may be brought to witness the high station of his victims
before God, and the honour and blessings bestowed on them by the
Almighty Lord. The backbiter's hatred and enmity towards the
person may then lead him to hate God Almighty! Thus, he will leave
this world with enmity of God in his heart, and enter everlasting
wretchedness.
Prohibition of
Listening to Backbiting
In
the same manner as backbiting is prohibited, so also is listening to
it. Indeed, as some traditions indicate, the listener is like the
backbiter in all the evil aspects—so much so that his act is a grave
sin carrying an obligation to seek forgiveness from the victim.
The
Prophet (s) said: “The listener is one of the two backbiters.”
q Al-Fayd al-Kashani, Al-Mahajjat
al-Bayda', vol. 5, p. 260
Imam al-Sadiq
(‘a) narrated from the Noble Messenger (s) who is once said to have
forbidden both backbiting and listening to it. Then he (s) said:
“Lo, whoever does a favour to his brother by refuting his backbiting
upon hearing it in a gathering, God shall save him from a thousand
kinds of evils in this world and in the Hereafter. And if he does
not do so despite his ability to refute it, on him shall be the burden
of one who commits his backbiting seventy times.”
q Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Wasa'il
al-Shi`ah, vol. 8, hadith no. 16316
Among
the more subtle forms of backbiting is listening to it with
amazement. Such a person expresses his amazement in order to make
the backbiter more lively in his descriptions. His amazement
encourages the latter in his evil act. For instance, he will say,
“Strange”
or “Astaghfirullah!”.
Or
he might say, “I didn't know that!” or “I didn't know he
would do such a thing!” These expressions are meant to affirm the
backbiter's statements and to encourage him to add something
more. These acts are in fact the Devil's artifices. Surely,
to affirm backbiting is also backbiting; as is to listen to it, or even
to remain silent upon hearing it.
q al-Shahid al-Thani's Discourse as quoted in Forty Hadith by Ayatullah Khumayni.
Is Backbiting Ever Allowed?
There
are very few situations where it is permissible to speak about the
faults of another person. One must be very careful not to let the
existence of these exceptions allow transgression
into
sin. Some of these situations are:
q to protect Muslims from the evil of another person, including
situations where one is asked to vouch for the integrity of a marriage
prospect
q when the person being talked about does not conceal his
violations of Divine commands
q to describe any fault of a
patient before a physician for purposes of treatment
criticism about a narrator of traditions (hadith).
The Cure for this Disease
If
someone, God forbid, has been guilty of this ugly act, he or she must
purge this vice and nourish the roots of sincerity, unity, and
solidarity in his or her heart by following these steps:
q Meditate for a while about the effects of this sin in this world
and in the Hereafter. Reflect on the fearsome, frightful forms that
will beset you in the grave, in the Barzakh, and on the Day of
Resurrection. Heed the words of the Holy Prophet (s) and his
household (‘a) for their pearls of wisdom in this regard will overwhelm
you. Then weigh a quarter of an hour's pleasantries, gossip, and
satisfaction of the imaginative lust against thousands upon thousands
of years of adversity or eternal damnation in hell and everlasting
painful chastisement!
q Consider this: even if you have enmity toward a person whom you
backbite, that animosity requires that you should not resort to
backbiting. It is stated in the traditions that the good deeds of
the backbiter are transferred to the book of deeds of the victim of his
backbiting, and the victim's sins are transferred to the record of the
backbiter.
q Repent and seek the forgiveness of the victim, if this is
possible without any chance of vicious consequences; otherwise, you
must implore God's mercy for the victim.
q Gather all your strength to rid your soul of this sin at all
cost, by making a covenant with yourself to abstain from this
abominable for a certain time. Bring your tongue under control and be
fully watchful of yourself, steadfastly vigilant, calling yourself to
account. God willing, it is hoped that after some time you will
find yourself reformed and free of its ill traces. Gradually the burden
of the task will ease, and you will feel a natural disposition to
dislike and detest it. At that point, you will come to possess
spiritual peace and delight in achieving freedom from this vice.
q Backbiting often results from a weakness in the backbiter’s own
soul, such as an inferiority complex. You should pry into your
soul to discover what weakness prompted you to backbite your brother or
sister; then set out to remedy the weakness.
Conclusion:
q The Prophet (s) said: "No fire is faster in consuming dry
wood than gheebah in consuming a devotee's virtues."
q [Al-Mahajjat al-bayda', vol. 5, p. 264]
Courtesy
Al-Islam.org
To find out more about authentic Islam, visit:
http://al-islam.org/
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