Difference between condemnation of sin and backbiting

[Medina83]

Hi Salam to everyone, inshaAllah I hope you can help me

I kind of find myself regularly in the position of seeing people (non muslims usually) doing sinful acts and sometimes in my mind i am saying to myself 'that is awful' and i suppose i am to some degree judgemental of the person.

At the same time i feel guilty for feeling this thing, because I'm thinking am I backbiting against them?

I know the definition of backbiting in Islam and the warning against it

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 Allah, verily, Allah is The One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful" (Qur'an 49: 12)

Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"Do you know what backbiting is?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He then said, “It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike.” Someone asked him, “But what if what I say is true?” The Messenger of Allah said, “If what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him."

My question is, am I committing this sin by looking at what they are doing and condemning it in my own mind and to some extent condemning them also?
Sometimes I mention these actions that i have seen to other muslims (but I avoid giving names of the people who did them, if i know their names) but sometimes it might be obvious to the person who I am talking about.

Hmmm,
I don't know whether I am sinning here or not...and apart from backbiting , I don't want to become self-righteous either for Allah knows I am a real sinner myself...

Please help and advise if you can what I can do or what I should avoid doing practically and may Allah reward you.

If this thread is in the wrong forum then please move it Mods, I just didn't know where else to post it.

Thanks and Allah bless you all

['Abd al-Baari]

:sl:

Thats an interesting question but i think i should leave the answering to someone else, Alhamdulillah there are some very knowlegable bros and sisters on the forums
Alternatively you could try www.askimam.com or www.islamqa.com

Allah knows best