Backbiting
30 sayings
Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) narrates from his ancestors that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, "One who backbites a believing warrior or hurts him or his family members, this deed will be stored at a place which will destroy all of his good deeds and he will be thrown headlong into Hell if the warrior was obedient to Allah."
Iqbal al-A`amal, page 323 link
Muhammad bin Fuzail asked Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.), "May I be sacrificed for you! I have heard a bad thing about one of my brothers in faith. When I talked to that person about this thing, he flatly refused it. I was told about this from very reliable persons." Imam (a.s.) replied, "Do not accept what you are told about your brother. Even if fifty persons tell you about this, swearing by Allah, then too you should reject it and believe that believer. Keep this matter secret for the fear that he would be disgraced if you don't do so. See to it that his personality is not stained. If you don't, you will be like those about whom Allah says: Surely (as for) those who love that scandal should circulate respecting those who believe, they shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter." [Surah Nur 24:19]
Iqbal al-A`amal, page 311 link
Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) narrates that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, "One who spreads scandal is like one who started it. One who hurts a believer in any way will not die until he has faced the same calamity."
Iqbal al-A`amal, page 311 link
Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) narrates from his ancestors that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said that There are four kinds of people who will involve other inmates of Hell in their punishment. They will wail loudly after drinking boiling water. The people of Hell will ask: "What is the sin of these four types of people for they are given extra punishment in addition to that given to us? Their punishment is increasing our suffering also." One of them would be hanging in a casket of fire, second will be drinking vomit and smoke, dirt and blood will be coming out of the mouth of the third and fourth will eat his own flesh continuously. The first one will be asked: "O one away from the mercy of Allah! What sin did you commit for which we have to suffer in addition to our own punishment?" He will reply, "I was having rights of others and I died without fulfilling them." Then the person drinking smoke will be asked, "O one away from the mercy of Allah! What sin did you commit for which we have to suffer in addition to our own punishment?" He will reply, "The reason I am away from the mercy of Allah is that my body used to become impure with urine and I never cared about it." Then the person whose mouth will have dirt and blood coming out will be asked, "O one away from the mercy of Allah! What sin did you commit for which we have to suffer in addition to our own punishment?" The person will reply, "I am away from the mercy of Allah because I used to spread scandals and publicize obscenity." Then the person who is eating his own flesh will be asked, "O one away from the mercy of Allah! What sin did you commit for which we have to suffer in addition to our own punishment?" He will reply, "I used to eat the flesh of people by backbiting and used to slander."
Iqbal al-A`amal, page 312/313 link
Backbiting is to mention your brother's name in connection with what he hates.
Nahj al Fasahah; Tradition No. 255; Page No. 42 link
Backbiting the wicked is permissible.
Nahj al Fasahah; Tradition No. 256; Page No. 42 link
"If a brother in faith of a person is being backbited and the person helps his brother the Almighty Allah will help him in the world and hereafter. If a brother in faith of a person is being backbited and the person does not help his brother the Almighty Allah will disgrace him in his world and the hereafter."
Iqbal al-A`amal, page 316 link
Backbiting is to say something about your brother that he would not like.
Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 8024; Mizan ul Hikmah page No. 127 link
Until when will you sidestep talking about the impudent person?! Disgrace him [through disclosing his insolent acts] so that people may be on their guard against him.
Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 8074; Mizan ul Hikmah page No. 128 link
When one of you backbites about his fellow brother, he must seek forgiveness from Allah for that is penance for it.
Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 8037; Mizan ul Hikmah page No. 129 link
Do not backbite Muslims and do not try to discover their faults.
Nahj al Fasahah; Tradition No. 463; Page No. 68 link
On the night that I was taken on my Night-Journey [to the heavens], I passed by a group of people scratching their own faces with their nails, so I asked, 'O Gabriel, who are these people?' so he replied, 'These are people who backbit about other people and disparaged their reputations.
Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 1, p. 115; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 124 link
Backbiting is worse than adultery', at which he was asked, 'How so?' He replied, 'A man commits adultery, then repents, and Allah pardons him for it, whereas the backbiter is not forgiven until his victim forgives him.
al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, v. 3, p. 511, no. 24] ; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
Backbiting is the attempt of one who is incapable [of doing better himself].
Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 461; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link
Im?m Husayn ibn 'Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (a.s.) said to a man who was backbiting about a man in his presence, 'Stop backbiting, for verily it is the food of the dogs of Hell.'
Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 245; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link
Do not backbite lest you become a victim of backbiting, and do not dig a hole for your brother lest you fall in it yourself, for you will be paid back whatever you put in.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 249, no. 16; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link
A man once came and told Ali b. al-Husayn (AS) [i.e. Imam Zayn al-Abidin], 'Verily x has said that you are astray and that you are an innovator!' So Ali b. al-Husayn (AS) said to him, 'Neither have you observed the right of the man you sat with by transmitting to us what he spoke about, nor have you observed my right by informing me of something about my brother which I would not have known! Beware of backbiting for verily it is the food of the dogs of Hell, and know that whoever frequently talks about people's faults, the frequency of his backbiting is a witness [to the fact] that he only finds faults in others according to the extent present in himself.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 246, no. 8; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link
Backbiting eats away at a man's faith faster than a gangrenous sore can eat away to the inside.
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 357, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 126 link
Whoever backbites a fellow Muslim man or woman, Allah neither accepts his prayer nor his fasting for forty days and nights, until and unless the victim of his backbiting forgives him.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 258, no. 53; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 126 link
On the Day of Resurrection, a man will be brought forth to stand before Allah, and his book of deeds will be presented to him, and he will not see any of his good deeds therein, upon which he will exclaim, 'My God, this is not my book! For verily I do not see any of my acts of obedience therein?!' So he will be told, 'Verily your Lord neither loses nor forgets [deeds], but your deeds have gone because of your backbiting people.' Then another man will be brought forth, and will be presented his book of deeds, and he will see many acts of obedience recorded therein, and will exclaim, 'My God, this is not my book! For verily I did not perform all these acts of obedience!' and he will be told, 'It is because so and so backbit you, so his deeds have been transferred to you.
Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 412, no. 1144; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 126 link
O Abu Dharr, beware of backbiting, for verily backbiting is worse than adultery ' [Abu Dharr narrates], I asked, 'O Prophet of Allah, and what is backbiting?' to which he replied, 'Your mentioning something about your fellow brother that he would not like.' I asked, 'O Prophet of Allah, and what if the thing mentioned about him was actually true about him?' so he replied, 'Know that if you say something about him that is true then you have indeed backbit about him, and if you what you have said is not true, then you have indeed slandered him
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, p. 89, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 126 link
It is bad enough to talk about your brother regarding what is true [let alone what is false]!
al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, v. 3, p. 506, no. 13; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 127 link
He who talks about someone behind his back, mentioning what is true about him, and what people already know, then he has not backbit about him, whereas he who talks about someone behind his back about something that is true but that people do not know about, then he has backbit about him.
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 358, no. 6; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 127 link
Four types of people are such that talking about them behind their backs is not considered backbiting: the immoral person who makes a public display of his immorality; the dishonest leader who, even if you were to be good to would not appreciate you and if you were to be bad to would not forgive you; those who joke about their [and others'] mothers; and one who is a dissenter, who defames my community, and draws his sword against it.
Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 261, no. 64; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 127 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
The one who listens to backbiting is as [bad as] the backbiter.
Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 1171; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 128 link
Imam Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali [a] said
O my son, steer your hearing clear of such a person, for verily he took the most repulsive thing from his mind and poured it into yours!
al-Ikhtisas, p. 225; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 128 link
The right of the ears is to keep them pure from listening to backbiting, and from that which is unlawful to listen to.
al-Khisal, p. 566, no. 1; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 128 link
Whoever does a good service to his fellow brother by deterring people from talking behind his back in a gathering where he hears them backbiting him, Allah will repel from him a thousand types of evil in this world as well as in the Hereafter.
Amali al-Saduq, p. 350; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 128 link
He in whose presence a fellow Muslim brother is talked about behind his back, and who does not defend him despite having the ability to do so, Allah disgraces him in this world as well as in the Hereafter.
al-Faqih, v. 4, p. 372; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 129 link
Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustaf? (s.a.w.w.) was asked about the penance for backbiting, to which he replied, 'You must seek Allah's forgiveness on behalf of the one you have talked about every time you remember him.'
al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 357, no. 4; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 129 link
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