Advising and Defaming and the Sin of Backbiting (Part 2)

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Haafidh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (May Allaah have Mercy on him) says:

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

All praises belong to Allaah, the Lord of all of creation and may the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon the leader of those who have Taqwaa, the Seal of the Prophets, upon his family, companions and those who follow them in guidance until the Last Day.

To begin:

This is an inclusive yet concise treatise which expounds on the differences between advising and defaming your fellow Muslim.

Both of these actions potentially involve a person “mentioning about another that which the other party dislikes[1]”, so deciphering the difference between the two has escaped most people, and Allaah is the Source of all correctness[2].

Know! Talking about your brother with a description that he dislikes is Haraam if such speech has the intent of slander, indicting shame or casting defamation.

However, if speaking about a Muslim will bring about a greater good which the broader Muslim population could benefit from, then with this intent and with the greater good in mind, it is not Haraam to talk about others rather it falls under the ruling of being recommended[3].  

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[1]On the authority of Aboo Hurayrah [may Allaah be Pleased with him] who said that the Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] asked, “Do you know what backbiting is?” The Companions [may Allaah be Pleased with them all] replied, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “To mention something about your brother that he would not like to hear.” They asked, “But what if it is true?” He replied, “If it is true then the person has backbitten him and if it is a lie then the person has slandered him.” [Reported by Muslim (2589)] [TN]

[2] Giving advice (النصيحة) is defined as one intending to spread good between people and/or repelling harm from reaching them. Either the advisor seeks to alert them to something that will benefit them or warn them, so that harm may be averted.

Critcising (التعيير) is defined as having no other intention except to seek fault in others, either because of their skin colour, or their appearance, or their financial status, or their lineage etc. all of this is Haraam.

It is narrated that Aboo Dharr al-Ghafaaree [may Allaah be Pleased with him] said, “I abused a man and insulted his mother, so the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said to me, “Oh Aboo Dharr! You are a man who still has pre-Islaamic ignorance (Jaahiliyyah) within you!”” [Reported by al-Bukhaaree (30)]

It is also narrated that A’aishah [may Allaah be Pleased with her] said, “Once I mentioned to the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] that Safiyyah was a woman that was … - and then she made a gesture with her hand to criticise her short height.” To which the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] responded by saying, “Oh A’aishah! You have uttered a despicable statement (gesture); if you were to throw it in the sea, the water would become corrupted.”” [Reported by Aboo Dawood (4875) and at-Tirmidhee (2502) who classed it as Hasan Saheeh]

Based on this, it is not permissible to describe another person’s faults with the intent to defame and insult, however, if by describing the fault of another will avert the one being advised from harm then this it is permissible. In this case, it becomes obligatory to be concise and specific – mentioning only the negative characteristic without delving into the person’s affairs further. This is how the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] warned against marrying Mu’aawiyyah and Aboo Jahm because of negative traits they possessed, and advised the woman to marry Usaamah bin Zayd [may Allaah be Pleased with him] instead [Reported by Aboo Dawood (2284) and classed as Saheeh by al-Albaanee].

The point is that there is a vast difference between advising and defaming.

Sincerely advising others is a form of enjoining good and forbidding evil and must be done according to one’s ability, addressing the one being advised according to their level of understanding and according to the importance of the good that needs to be enforced. One must be balanced between exaggeration and negligence.

Two actions sometimes can be combined in one; seeking to give advice by defaming! A person may want to advise but does so by spreading insults such as saying, “So and so is an innovator” or “So and so is a sinner”. However at times, it may be that a person who wants to advice is forced to criticise, such as if a person intends to warn against a sinner or an innovator, but in this is not blameworthy. However, at other times it may be Haraam to broadcast such information (due to the lack of need of warning against such a person). Details of the differences between advising and defaming and its explanation are yet to come in this book.

What we must understand at this stage is that most people do not differentiate between advice and defaming, they include defamation as being a part of giving advice. This is due to their ignorance as to what advice truly entails whilst others, have no intent to advise, but only to defame. Giving advice by what is dictated by the Sharee’ah is the balanced position between both these extremes. 

[3] It is imperative that one abandons the sin of backbiting and should rectify their intention so that they become sincere advisors instead.

Allaah, the Most High, Says:

“O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.” [al-Hujaraat 49:12]

This is the principle that Muslims must abide by;  not to seek disrespect others even if one is speaking the truth.

If there is a person that must be warned against and doing so will bring about a benefit for others, then stopping the wickedness of this person is obligatory according to one’s ability, so that the Muslims will be protected from this evil that this person is spreading. However, this is on the condition that the one advising others is someone who is sincere to the Muslims and only intends that harm be averted from them.

Exposing the wickedness of others is known as التوضيح الحال and does not fall under the sin of backbiting, especially if one is exposing an innovator. In this scenario, the one advising must be honest in his objectives and have insight in how he proposes to bring about change. He must have an understanding as to what will benefit the Muslims and how to prevent harm from reaching them.

Some of the Salaf would speak about others (innovators and those spreading false information) in order to protect the religion, lest authentic knowledge and incorrect information be confused with one another. This is something commonly found in the discipline of علوم الحديث. Therefore, talking about others can take different rulings; at times it may be Waajib (e.g. to repel harm), at other times it may be Mandoob (e.g. to bring about a greater good), at other times it may be Mubaah and at other times it may be Haraam (e.g. to talk about others with the intent to defame).