Gheebat - backbiting

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

Backbiting is considered a big sin in Islam. According to one ruling it is akin to eating the flesh of your own brother.

However, at one point I had read that criticizing someone behind their backs is permitted only in three conditions… the first one, I remember is

  1. To complain about a ruthless ruler

Does anyone know what are the other exceptions to back-biting?

Thanks

2

heh i'm no scholar but i'll give it a shot in the dark, giving the description of another? maybe i dunno, i shouldn't say more so i'll shh

3

Brother you should read this.

http://www.troid.org/articles/manhaj/sunnah/thesunnahandmattersrelatedtoit/backbiting.pdf

Allahu aalim

4

wow jazakallah kulla khayr brother that was REALLY useful :k:

Faisal bhai this article has everything in it :k:

5

good post..sometimes we just dont realize how big of a sin this really is

6

Unfortunately in my computer this PDF file is not opening up. So I can't comment on it.

The intention of this thread is not merely to reinforce the gravity of the sin of gheebat, but also I am trying to figure out what were the exceptions to the general rule against gheebat (Back-biting). I had read them a long time ago and need to explain the concept to someone.

In trying to jog my memory, I believe I had read three exceptions.

  1. To complain against a cruel and ruthless ruler, you are allowed to criticize him without him being present.
  2. In matters of marriage, when your advice is sought about a person's character. You are encouraged to be truthful and honest, because other lives can be ruined if you withhold the truth.
  3. Where you provide information to someone with the intention that they will help whatever vice the other person has. In which case you can explain the vices.

Anyone who has other information, please feel free to share. Thanks.

I am sure you all know that gheebat (back-biting) is only for matters which are true. If what you are saying is not even true, then it is not gheebat, but rather is called "buhtaan" which is an even bigger sin.

7

:) i knew about point 1 and point 3 but point 2 is the first time i heard ... interesting though makes sense... Wallah-O-Alam

one more thing that i learned during past ramadaan that there is also a classic definition of Gheeba besides the one discussed here and holds the same intensity and consequences in hereafter which says that Gheeba does not have to be behind the back BUT if someone is saying a true thing (of course otherwise it would be Bohtaan) about someone else while that person is also present but does not want the information to be spread, is also considered Gheeba and the exceptions apply!

8

Faisal, if you have a copy of al-Nawawi's Riyadh al-Salihin (a popular two-volume hadith compilation available in English) he has a short section in there where he lists some exceptions to the prohibition of backbiting along with supporting hadith. You'll find it towards the beginning of Book 17: The Book of the Prohibited Actions (Chapter 256).

The permissibility, when asked, of giving out details regarding someone's prospective marriage partner is established from a hadith in Sahih Muslim (#1480) in which Fatima bint Qays asked the Prophet (s) for advice on two suitors who had proposed to her.

The Qur'an equates backbiting to eating the flesh of one's dead brother (49:12). One of the parallels drawn here is that just as a dead person is unable to defend himself against bodily mutilation, likewise a person who is spoken about whilst absent is also unable to defend himself or stop others from speaking about him. And Allah knows best.

Wassalam
Iqbal

9

absolutely riveting stuff. fascinating thread.

my love affair with GS is rekindled. go forth and celebrate people.

10

Backbiting & Slander - an Islamic perspective](http://www.muslimresource.com/backbiting01.htm) Excerpt

Islam is a religion of peace, love and compassion. Lies, suspicion, back biting, slander and gossip are totally alien to Islam. In fact they are considered amongst the most destructive of major sins. This is so because these sins sow enmity and discord among the Muslim Ummah and lead to its destruction. They cause hostilities between people of the same household, and between neighbors, friends and relatives.

Islam demands that our relationship with mankind should be one of sincerity and responsibility. It should be one where we have respect for the honor, reputation and privacy of others. Islam teaches us that we are not only held accountable for our own attitudes and actions but also for anything else over which we have control or influence over, in our society or the world around us.

O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds 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 God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (49: 12)

11

this thread is really a constructive step in itself

I'm in a hurry ...but i think gadha made a point there ....n i think i read the same thing few months back

anyway i'll come later :)

12

jus talking about someone not present is considered backbiting? its so hard not too talk about someone..i dont mean all bad but good too, and events that happened, and well if u want advice, or give example, etc...well its everywhere..

13

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by yari-EH!: *
jus talking about someone not present is considered backbiting?
[/QUOTE]
No. I think back-biting is when you are criticising someone when they are not present. You can praise anyone behind their backs as much as you want. :)