Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 11/157
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
GHEEBAH (BACK-BITING)
Back-biting means to speak
someone’s defects behind him. If
the defect we are speaking about
is not present in that person,
then it is allegation, which
amounts to double sins. Truly,
it is a taste-less sin.
When back-biting ingresses in to
our conduct, it leaves adverse
effects on the soul. One of
which is enmity and hatred
towards the victim, which
gradually increases. At the time
of death, when the veils of
angelic realms are lifted, the
back-biter may be brought to
witness the station of his
victims before Almighty Allah,
and the honor and blessings
bestowed upon them by the
Almighty.
QUR’ANIC PRONOUNCEMENTS:
1.
“…nor
let some of you back-bite
others” (49:12)
2.
“Does
one of you like to eat the flesh
of his dead brother. But you
abhor it” (49:12)
3.
“Surely (as for) those who love
scandal should circulate
respecting those who believe,
they shall have a grievous
chastisement in this world and
hereafter.” (24:19)
4.
“Surely, the hearing and the
sight and the heart, all of
these shall be questioned about
that.” (17:36)
5.
“Wael (woe) to every slanderer,
the defamer.” (104:1)
6.
“Allah does not love public
accusations unless one is truly
wronged. Allah is All-Hearing
and All-Knowing.” (4:148)
The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said:
“O Ali, if some one hears the
back-biting of his Muslim
brother committed in his
presence, yet he does not rally
to his assistance, despite being
capable of doing so, Allah shall
humiliate him in this world and
hereafter.”
On inquiry from Abu Zar (r.a.)
as to what is Gheebah, he said,
“It is to mention about your
brother that which he detests.”
“The listener is one of the two
back-biters”
“Back-biting is worst than
adultery. One indulges in
adultery. Thereafter, if he
really feels ashamed of it and
makes true repentance, and
sincerely seeks forgiveness,
Allah forgives him. But if a
person back-bites someone after
this even if he repents, it is
of no use until that person
forgives him. That’s why
back-biting is worse than
adultery as it is bilateral,
where as adultery concerns only
Allah. Back-biting involves both
Allah and the poor person who
was back-bitten. Unless that
person forgives, Allah will not
forgive him”
“No fire is faster in consuming
dry wood than gheebah in
consuming a devotee’s virtues”
Hazrat A’isha narrates, “Once a
woman came to visit us and when
she turned to go away, I made a
gesture by my hand to indicate
that she was short in height.
There upon The Prophet, may
Allah’s blessings be on him and
his progeny, said, “You have
committed her gheebah.”
Once, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
stoned a man for commission of
adultery. One of the persons
present remarked to his friend,
“This one was finished where he
stood, like a dog.” Thereafter,
the Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
accompanied by the two men
passed by a carcass and he said
to them, “Now take a bite of it,
you two” They said, “O Messenger
of Allah, should we take a bite
of a carcass?” The Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
replied, “That which you have
taken of your brother was more
rotten than this.”
“One who walks on the path of
gheebah of his brother and
divulging the defects, the first
step that he takes will be into
Hell and Allah shall divulge his
defects in front of all
creatures.”
“Whoever back-bites a Muslim
spoils his fasts and breaks his
wuzu and shall come on the Day
of Resurrection with his mouth
stanching more rotten than a
carcass.”
“On the night of Mairaaj, I
passed by a people who were
scratching their faces with
their finger nails. I said: O
Gibraeel! Who are these people?
He replied, “These are those who
perpetrated the people’s gheebah
and slandered their reputation.”
Commander of the Faithful Imam
Ali (a.s.) addressed
to his companion, Nawf al-Bakali:
“Abstain from gheebah, for it is
the food of the dogs of Hell
fire. O Nawf, untrue is the one
who claims to be of legitimate
birth and yet devours the flesh
of people through back-biting.”
Nahjul Balagha, sermon 140 is
titled as: About back-biting and
speaking ill of others.
Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (a.s.) said,
“One who spreads and talks about
what he saw or heard about a
believer is one of those who, as
mentioned by Allah in Holy
Qur’an, will taste a painful
chastisement as he likes to
expose evil deeds.” “Allah
drives such person out of His
shelter even if this man had
fasted in Ramazaan.”
“The havoc wrought on the
believer’s face by back-biting
is swifter than the one wrought
by ‘akalah’ (a disease that
consumes the flesh) in the side
of his body”
“Whoever does a favor to his
brother by refuting his
back-biting upon hearing it in a
gathering, Allah shall save him
from a thousand kinds of evils
in this world and 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 back-biting seventy
times.”
“O You who have embraced Islam
with your tongues but in whose
hearts Islam has not entered, do
not disparage Muslims and do not
seek their defects. Verily,
Allah will seek out the person
who is after their defects; and
one who has Allah after his
defects will be humiliated even
in his own abode.”
“Gheebah is equal to infidelity,
and listening to and being
pleased with it, is polytheism.”
Imam Musa al_Kazim (a.s.) said,
“If one speaks about a person in
his absence about those of his
traits which are actually
present in him and people are
also aware of it then it is not
gheebah. But if he mentions some
thing which is present in the
person but people are unaware of
it, it would be gheebah.
Moreover, what he says is not
present in the man, it is
allegation.”
Back-biting Permissible in
the following situations:
To protect Muslims from the
evils of another person
including the situation when one
is required to vouch for the
integrity of a marriage
prospects.
When the person being talked
about does not conceal his
violations of the Divine
Commands.
To describe the fault of a
patient before a physician for
purposes of treatment.
To criticize a narrator of a
Tradition for authenticity.
Cure for the spiritual disease:
The back-biter should purge this
bad habit and nourish the roots
of unity, sincerity and
solidarity in his or her heart
and follow these steps:
1.
Reflect about the effects of
back-biting in this world and
life hereafter. Ponder over the
golden words of Prophet Muhammad
(s.a.w.s.) and his Progeny and
the consequent chastisement.
2.
Even if one has enmity with a
person he should not resort to
back-biting. It is mentioned in
traditions that the good deeds
of the back-biter are
transferred to the book of deeds
of the victim and his bad deeds
are transferred to the
back-biter.
3.
If possible, repent and seek the
victim’s forgiveness. Otherwise
seek mercy of Allah for him.
4.
Make determination to get rid of
this habit and control one’s
tongue.
5.
The back-biter should search if
he has any traces of inferiority
complex. |
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.