39- BACKBITING ( G I B A T )

Telling shortcomings of a believer (Mumin) or a non-muslim citizen (Zimmi) to others in their absence in order to make them look lowly or in order to put them down is backbiting Backbiting (Gibat) is forbidden (Haram.) It will not be a forbidden action if the person, who listens to, does not know the person being backbitten. If the person who has been backbitten would be sad when he hears these, then it is backbiting. When a person is being talked about some shortcomings with respect to his body, his family-tree, his ethics, his business-affairs, his speech, his religion, his worldly-affairs, his clothing, his house, his animals and if that person becomes sad when he hears that talk, then, the talk is backbiting. Doing it through hints or body-language or writing would be forbidden just like if it was done through talk. When someone mentions a sin or shortcoming of another Muslim in the presence of religious persons or memorizers (Hafizs) of the Qur'an, and those who are present there say, "Oh, thanks to Allahu ta'ala! We are not like that!", their expression would be the worst kind of backbiting. Also, while someone is being mentioned, if the people there say, "Thanks to Allahu ta'ala, He did not make us unethical like that person" in order to put that person down, that would be the worst kind of backbiting. It is backbiting to say that such and such a person is a very good person but it would have been better if he wouldn't have such and such shortcomings in his worships. The following was ordered in the "Hujurat" chapter, 12th verse of the Qur'an, "Do not backbite each other!". Backbite is talking behind each other in others' absence. It has been said that backbiting someone is like eating flesh of a dead human. In the following hadith Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "On the day of Judgement, a person's reward-book will be opened. He will say, Oh my Lord! While I was in the world I performed such and such worships but they are not recorded in the page. He will be answered by the following: they are erased from your book and written to the books of the persons whom you have backbitten," and "On the day of Judgement, a person's good-deeds-book 'Hasanat' will be opened. He will see there the worships he never performed. They will tell him that these are the rewards 'Thawabs' of those who have backbitten you." Abu Hurayra, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, related the following: we were sitting down with Rasulullah, peace be upon him. One of us got up and left. Some of us said that he has left because he was disturbed. Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "You made 'Gibat' of your friend. You have eaten his flesh." Aisha, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with her, said the following: I said by Rasulullah, peace be upon him, that such and such a woman was tall. He replied, "Spit out whatever is in your mouth!" I spat out. A piece of meat came out of my mouth. Allahu ta'ala has power to manifest attributes and specificities as material objects. Backbiting is telling something behind some religious brethren or behind a non-muslim citizen such that upon hearing the spoken shortcomings, they will become sad. Allahu ta'ala sent the following revelation to Moses, peace be upon him: "Those who backbite and then repent for it will enter to the Paradise, last. Those who backbite and do not repent for it, will go to hell first." One of the great friends of Allahu ta'ala, namely, Ibrahim bin Athham, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, was invited to a reception. While they were around the food-table, someone mentioned that one of the invited persons was not there. Someone else replied by saying that he is a slow person. Ibrahim bin Athham, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, said that his remark was backbiting and left the place. In the following hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "If a shortcoming which is attributed to someone exists in that person, that will be backbiting. If it doesn't exist in that person then it will be slandering." Telling shortcomings with respect to religion would be backbiting. For example, saying that he doesn't pray his "salats", or he drinks wine, or he steals, or he carries words between persons constitutes backbiting. Telling worldly-shortcomings such as he is deaf or squint-eyed is backbiting. If the religious shortcomings are communicated in order to make him look evil then, that is backbiting. If it was said by thinking about his reformation or pity then, it won't be backbiting. Talking in generalities does not constitute backbiting. For example, there are people in this town who don't pray, or there are communists in this town or there are thieves would not be backbiting because a specific person was not intended.

Suppose, a person performs his daily prayers, fasts but also harms people by his actions. For example, he beats others, steals or takes others' properties by force (Gasb). Also, he harms people by his talk. For example, swears, slanders, backbites, carry words from one to another. Telling his openly committed sins to others won't be backbiting. In general, if one shamelessly commits Harams and "Bidat" or "Fisq" openly then, informing others about him would not be backbiting. It would not be a sin if one informs the government so that the government would prohibit that person from committing those prohibited actions. While son of a person is committing prohibited actions secretly by hiding from his father and another person in the community knows what he is doing. That person should tell or write to his father if he knows for sure that his father will stop him from doing the prohibited actions. It would not be permissible (Jaiz) to inform his father if one does not know for sure that he will stop him. Informing him in that case would cause animosity between them. If someone is harming others with his actions, informing others about him won't be backbiting because the intention is to save others from his harm. Also, it would not be backbiting if one tells his harm to others because one pities and feels sorry for him. Telling his harmful behavior in order to make him look evil would be backbiting. In six instances telling shortcomings and mistakes of a person to others in his absence would not be backbiting. One tells it because one pities and feels sorry for him. One tells so that they may stop him. Telling in order to get a legal decision (Fatwa). Telling in order to protect others from his harm (Sharr). If a shortcoming became a nickname of that person, one is forced to call him by his nick name in order to describe him. Telling his oppression, sin, "Fisq" or "Bidat" which is known to everybody. Telling by getting mad and with the intention of making him look evil would be backbiting. Telling fault of a merchandise to a prospective buyer would not be bacbiting of the seller. Telling shortcomings of a girl to a person who wants to marry to that girl would not be backbiting but would be giving advice. It is necessary (Wajib) to give advice to a person who does not know anything about it. If a person commit some prohibited actions secretly and some prohibited actions openly, telling his secretly committed sins to others is backbiting and telling his openly committed sins or oppression (Zulm) to others is not backbiting. Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "It would not be backbiting to tell about a person who took off the shame-Jilbab". "Jilbab" is the large head-cover of the women folk. In this case, taking off the "shame-jilbab" means committing prohibited actions (Harams) openly. This hadith points out that this type of person does not have any shame. Imam al-Ghazali, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, and some other scholars said that whether one's ill-talk or talking about the openly committed sins is backbiting or not does not depend on the intention of the talker. The ill-talk is backbiting regardless of the intention, i.e., it is not necessary to have an intention of making him look evil. For this reason, we should be very careful not to backbite anyone.

There are many reasons which lead a person to commit backbiting. We will inform eleven of them at this point: animosity toward him; thinking that he should be joining to the people around himself; ill-speaking about a person who is not loved in a society; letting others know that he does not commit such sins; letting others know that he is superior to him; being jealous of him; to make others laugh; in order to make joke; in order to tease him; in order to show astonishment for someone one never expects that he would do such an action; in order to show one's sadness or pity toward him; or in order to show one's dislike about him because of his comitting sins.

Backbiting causes decrease in one's rewards (Thawabs) and causes others' sin to be added to his own. Thinking about these all the time saves one from committing backbiting.

Backbiting is of three types: in the first instance one says that one did not commit the backbiting, one only expressed what existed in him. Saying in this manner causes disbelief because it comes to mean that he is asserting that a forbidden act (Haram) is permissible (Halal). In the second case the intention is to let the person who has been backbitten to hear these. This would be a grave sin. This kind of backbiting will not be forgiven only through repentance. It also requires to get the forgiveness of the person whom one has backbitten. In the third case, the person who has been backbitten would not be aware of this. This kind of backbiting is forgiven by repentance and by praying for him.

A person who realizes someone is backbiting in his presence should prohibit it immediately. It was reported that the following was said by Rasulullah, peace be upon him, "Allahu ta'ala will help a person in this world and in the next world 'Akhirat' if he helps some religious brethren of his in his absence" and "It is enough sin for one who does not help one of his religious brethren while he is powerful enough to do so when he is backbitten by someone" and "If a person protects honor of his religious brethren in the world, Allahu ta'ala will save him from hell fire by sending an angel" and "If one protects honor of his religious brethren, Allahu ta'ala will save him from hell-fire." While backbiting is committed, a person who is present there should stop it with words if he is not afraid of the backbiter. If he is afraid of him then he should reject it through his heart otherwise he will be sharing the sin of backbiting. If it is possible to stop him or possible to leave, he should do one or the other. Using sign language, e.g., his head or hand or eyes is not enough. It is necessary to tell him that he should stop backbiting.

The atonement (Kaffarat) for backbiting is the feeling of sadness, repentance, and asking his forgiveness. Asking his forgiveness without feeling sorry is no more than hypocrisy, which is another sin. [It is written in Ibn-i Abidin's book Radd-ul-Muhtar, 5th volume, page 263 that it is forbidden to backbite a dead person as well as a non-citizen disbeliever (Zimmi).]