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becomes allowable to them to gouge out his eye. (Compiled by al-Bukhâri and Muslim.)
Likewise, he prohibited listening clandestinely to people’sconversation without their knowledge or approval,
saying, He who listens clandestinely to people’sconversation against their wishes will have molten lead
poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection. (Compiled by al-Bukhâri and Muslim.)
Allâh Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala has made it obligatory on the person who wants to visit someone at his home
not to enter the house until permission is given and he has greeted its inhabitants: O you who believe, do not
enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission and offered salam (greeting) to its
people; that is best for you in order that you may be heedful. And if you do not find anyone therein, do not
enter until permission is given to you. And if you are to, ‘Withdraw,‘ then do 60; that is purer for y; and Allâh
knows what you do. (24: 27-28) Said the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), He who pulls the curtain and looks into a house
before he is granted permission to enter has committed an offense. (Reported by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhî)
The texts prohibiting spying and searching out people‘s faults apply equally to the government and to
individuals. Mu‘awiyah reported the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) as saying, “If you seek out people’s faults, you will
corrupt them, or bring them very near to corruption” (Reported by Abû Daoud and by Ibn Hibban in his
Sahih.), and Abû Imamah reported that the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, The ruler who sows suspicion among the
people corrupts them. (Reported by Abû Daoud.)
Backbiting
The sixth evil prohibited in the verses cited above is backbiting (gheeba): And do not...backbite one another.
(49:12) The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) wanted to drive home the meaning of backbiting to his Companions through
questions and answers. He asked them, ‘Do you know what backbiting is?‘ They replied, ‘Allâh and His
Messenger know best‘. He said, ‘It is saying something about your brother which he would dislike‘. Someone
asked ‘What if I say something about my brother which is true?‘ The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied, ‘If what you
say of him is true, it is backbiting and if it is not true you have slandered him.’ (Compiled by Muslim, Abû
Daoud al-Tirmidhî,and al-Nisai.)
When a person dislikes someone, he is likely to find faults in his appearance, behavior, lineage, and
anything else which pertains to him. ‘Aishah narrated that she said to the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), “Do you see
that Safiyyah (another wife of the Prophet) is such and such?”, meaning that she was short. The Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) replied, “You have spoken a word such that, if it were mixed in the water of the ocean, it would
darken it.” (Reported by Abû Daoud, al-Tirmidhî,and al-Bayheqi.)
Backbiting is nothing but a desire to belittle people, to slander their honor, and to deride their
accomplishments in their absence. Since this is stabbing in the back, it is an expression of narrow-
mindedness and cowardice. Backbiting is a negative trait, and only those engage in it who themselves are
not achievers. It is a tool of destruction, for one who is addicted to it leaves no one without throwing a dart at
him and wounding him.
It is no wonder then, that the Qur‘ân paints such a repulsive picture of this vile habit as would make people
shrink from it in horror: And do not...backbite one anther; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead
brother? You would abhor that. (49:12)
Since one feels sick at the very thought of eating human flesh, how much more revolting it is to think of
eating the flesh of one’s dead brother!
Whenever an opportunity arose, the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) stressed this Qur‘ânic imagery in order to imprint it on
people’shearts and minds. Ibn Mas‘ood narrated, “We were sitting with the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), then a man
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got up and left. Whereupon another person spoke ill of him. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) told him, ‘Pick your teeth.’
The man replied, ‘Why? I haven‘t eaten any meat.’ The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied, ‘You have eaten your
brother’s flesh.’ ” (Reported by al-Tabarani on sound authority.)
Jabir narrated, “While we were with the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) the wind brought a foul odor in our direction,
whereupon the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, ‘Do you know what this odor is? It is the odor of those who backbite
the Believers.’ ” (Reported by Ahmad on reliable authority.)
All these textual quotations demonstrate the sanctity and dignity which is accorded to one in Islâm. However,
scholars have listed some exceptions, necessarily limited to certain circumstances, when talking about a
person in his absence is permitted. Among these exceptions is the instance of a person who has been
wronged and who complains about the wrongdoer. While he must then speak about what the other dislikes,
it is his right to do so in order to secure justice; consequently, he is given permission to describe the wrong
he has suffered. Allâh Ta‘ala says: Allâh does not like the announcing of evil in public speech except by one
who has been wronged; and Allâh is Hearing, Knowing. (4:148)
If someone wants to investigate the character or suitability of a person with whom he wants to enter into
partnership, who has asked for his daughter in marriage, or who is seeking employment with him, it is
permissible for those who have been asked to give their frank and honest opinion. Here there is a conflict
between two obligations: one, to give good advice to the person who seeks the information, and two, to
protect the honor of the person about whom the opinion is sought. But the first obligation takes precedence
over the second, as it is more important and more sacred. Fatimah bint Qais asked the Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
about two men who had asked for her hand in marriage. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) told her about one of them,
“He is good for nothing and has no property,” and about the other, “He does not put his stick down from his
shoulder,” meaning that he frequently beat the women of his household.
It is also permissible to speak about a person without his knowledge if a legal opinion or religious ruling is
required concerning him or if help is needed to combat some evil he may be causing, or to refer to him by a
name, title, or characteristic which he dislikes but without which he cannot be identified, as for example, “the
lame person” or “the person with one eye.” Likewise, cross-questioning a witness or criticizing the
reporters of ahadith and news is permissible. (See al-Ghazzali’s discussion of the uses and abuses of
speech in his Ihya; al-Nawawi’s Commentary on the Sahih of Muslim; and al-Shawkani’s treatise on what is
permissible and what is prohibited in talking behind the backs of others.)
The general rule concerning the permissibility of speaking about someone in his absence is governed by two
considerations: (1) the need and (2) the intention.
1.
When there is no compelling need to mention the third person in a manner in whicl1 he would dislike, one
must refrain from violating the sanctity of his personality and honor. If there is a need to mention him but the
need can be met by an indirect reference, one must not be explicit. If a general discussion is sufficient, the
mentioning of specific persons must be avoided. For example, in seeking a juristic opinion, one can phrase
the question as, “What would your opinion be if someone did such and such a thing?” rather than, “This
person is doing such and such. What do you think about it?” Again, if one must identify the person, he must
mention only what is true, since ascribing anything false to him is haram.
2.
In any event, the intention is the decisive factor. The speaker knows his own motives better than anyone
else—whether it constitutes a genuine complaint against wrongdoing or mere spite, an inquiry concerning an
issue or a slander, a scholarly criticism or envious backbiting, 9. piece of good advice or the spreading of a
rumor. It is said in this connection that the Believer is a sterner judge of himself than a tyrannical ruler or a
greedy partner could be.
Islâm has decreed 1hat the listener is the partner of the one who is absent, and he must defend his absent
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