Al-Gheebah - Backbiting

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying:

Do you know what is backbiting?

They (the Companions) said: Allah and His Messenger know best.

Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Backbiting implies your talking about your brother in a manner which he does not like.

It was said to him: What is your opinion about this that if I actually find (that failing) in my brother which I made a mention of?

He said: If (that failing) is actually found (in him) what you assert, you in fact indulged in backbiting about him and if that is not in him it is a slander.

[Sahih Muslim Hadith No. 2589]

It is not permissible for a Muslim to talk about his brother in a manner which he dislikes. This is a general ruling. There are exceptions to this general ruling when it becomes permissible to indulge in backbiting which include:


First: When one has been wronged. It is permissible for the person who has been wronged to tell the Sultaan or the judge about the wrong that is being done to him. He can tell anyone other than these two if the other person has the ability to provide him justice and help against the person who wrongs him.

The one who is wronged says regarding the one who wrongs him: He stole from me. He did me wrong.

There is no doubt that these things are those which the person who does wrong will not like to hear being talked about behind his back. But it is permissible to mention them.



Second: To seek help to change that which is wrong and repel disobedience and correct it. It is permissible to say to the one whose help one needs so and so is doing such and such so stop him from doing so.



Third: When one needs to get a Fatwaa one can say to the Mufti: So and so has wronged me or has wronged my father or has wronged my brother and how can I free myself from this wrongdoing of his.


Fourth: When one has to warn the Muslims against evil [of others] as in the case of Jarh in the sciences of Hadith regarding a narrator.

Another example which falls in this category is when one sees a person buy something which has a defect or if a relative was about to get married to a person who is a fornicator then one can mention it as a means of advice and not to create mischief and cause harm.


Fifth: A person who publicly discloses his sins and fisq such as drinking alcohol. In this case it is permissible to mention those traits of the person which he himself has made public. But it is not permissible to talk about those traits of his which he has not made public unless there is another valid reason.



Sixth: When someone is known by a certain laqab [agnomen] such as the blind, then it is permissible to use that laqab for the purpose of identification but it is not permissible to mention him with that laqab with the intention of belittling him. And if one can mention him for purposes of identification by another name, then that is better.

Imaam Al-Nawawi has talked about these matters in his Sharh of Sahih Muslim.

They have been nicely codified as:

القدح ليس بغيبه في ستة *** متظلم ومعرف ومحذر
ومجاهراًفسقاً ومستفتي ومن *** طلب الاعانه في إزاله منكر

When one has indulged in al-Gheebah what is he to do?


A person who has indulged in al-Gheebah needs to make sincere repentance. He should never return to it, and he should feel remorse over what he did. He is also to make a firm resolution on not returning to the act. One should also mention the person he has done al-Gheebah of with good words in front of those in whose presence he did al-Gheebah.

One should also make duaa' for the person one did backbiting of.



Does one have to inform the person that he did backbiting of him?


Ibn Al-Qayyimg said:


Does repentance suffice a person who has indulged in backbiting or does one also have to inform the person? The correct opinion is that one is not in need of informing the person. It suffices one to simply ask for forgiveness and mention the person with the good traits he has in those places where he did al-Gheebah of him.

This is the opinion Ibn Taymiyyah and others have adopted.




Reference(s):

Permissibility of Gheebah for MaSlaha

Cases in which al-Gheebah is permissible

I indulge in backbiting and I ask forgiveness and then I return