Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Backbiting |
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| ZIL |
| 07/13/01 at 08:18:30 |
| Assalaamu alaikum, This subject has been puzzling me for the last week or so. One of the ayat in Quran that talks about the severity of backbiting is ayah 12 from Surah Hujurat. "Nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it." My question is...Does this include backbiting the non-Muslims? Does the term "brother" mean brother in Islam or brother in humanity? I would guess brother in Islam because one of the previous ayat talks about the believer being a brotherhood. Also, the ayah begins with "O you who believe". Why do I ask? Well, I just got my first full time job this summer and experience daily the talk that goes on about others on the job. Although there are only two employees other than me, backbiting exists constantly. I know the boss well but don't really know the other employee. They both tell me about each other and all the problems they have with each other. I don't even know why they work together! Surrounded in this environment, I just say OK and sort of nod my head. But it is very easy to just go with the flow and do exactly what the others are doing. If backbiting exists in such small companies, I wonder what it's like in places where there are many employees. This brought about another question. So many times we say stuff about famous people. For example, my friend and I might be talking about basketball and somehow we get into a pointless conversation about some player (e.g. Kobe Bryant). My friend will say something to praise him and I'll reply with "Kobe sucks. He is an arrogant fool. What an idiot!" Should this also be considered backbiting? I would think so, but I'm not sure. If basketball is not your thing, try to modify this conversation to fit what ever you talk about. Looking forward to some good responses. JazakumAllahu Khair Wassalaamu alaikum, Zahir. |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| morning_mist |
| 07/13/01 at 10:11:20 |
| assalaamu alaikum, i encounter similar things where i work. this very topic was discussed in a halaqa that i attended a while back where i was told that backbiting only applied to muslims and not non-muslims... which surprised me. however, even if it is not considered backbiting, i would still be cautious about talking about others behind their backs for a couple of reasons: 1- it may fall into idle talk which we are suppose to avoid anyway, so its still may not be right to do it. 2- one of our major responsibilities with non-muslims is for dawa' and that is hard to do, if we become occupied with saying bad things about them. 3- we should set an example. it would be great if one day your co-workers noticed that you never say any bad things about people and try to give people the benefit of the doubt. they will realize that it is a good quality of muslims. hope thats helpful. |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| Anik |
| 07/13/01 at 11:18:58 |
| A.A. why treat muslims one way and non-muslims the other way? Alright, even if it's a good idea not to backbite ANYONE, why are the non-muslims left as fair targets of this? Because it can, in a way, instead of representing us well and showing how muslims have good qualities, only make it seem like we are a club where good treament only is members-only. of course, I ask this because I want someone to clear it up. asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,. |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| Anik |
| 07/13/01 at 16:39:01 |
[quote]There is a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari that states, the Nabi, SAWS, said: ...Treat the kafr harshly and fight them.... [/quote] How is this explained? can we see the whole quote please? asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,. |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| bhaloo |
| 07/13/01 at 17:04:15 |
| slm Hmmm, as far as backbiting is concerned I was told that we shouldn't backbite non-Muslims either. I'll go check my sources and post what was said insha'Allah this weekend. With regards to fighting the kafirs, we have to becareful about just picking up hadiths without knowing in what context they were used in or what the scholars said. Dr. Siddiqi (ISNA's president) was asked about taking non-Muslims as friends, and he made mention of the ayah: Quran 60:8 Allah forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| morning_mist |
| 07/14/01 at 08:11:37 |
| assalaamu alaikum, [quote] There is a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari that states, the Nabi, SAWS, said: ...Treat the kafr harshly and fight them.... [/quote] from what i know, this hadith was refering to those people who fight intentionally and specifically against islam. those disbelievers that were out to harm the prophet (saw) and muslims in general. Allah knows best, i don't think that this hadith applies to the subject at hand which is backbiting. to answer your question why this ayah may be aimed only at muslim... from my understanding it is to highlight the concept of brother/sisterhood in islam and how we MUST treat each other as fellow muslims and how severe a crime it is to say bad things about our brothers and sisters in faith. it is not to encourage or tell us to say bad things about non-muslims. there are many good reasons not to do this. |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| Arsalan |
| 07/19/01 at 00:48:05 |
| [slm] [quote]From Ibn 'Umar, radiya'llahu 'anhuma, there is that the Messenger of Allah, salla'llahu'alaihi wa sallam, said, "I have been commanded to fight people until they witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and they establish the prayer and pay the Zakat. Then if they do that they are safe from me with respect to their blood and their property except for the right of Islam, and their reckoning is up to Allah Ta'ala." Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated it[/quote] Brother Qamar, how does this hadith relate to the issue of backbiting that is being discussed in this thread? |
| Re: Backbiting |
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| jannah |
| 07/19/01 at 02:26:21 |
| [quote]In light of this hadith, and in relevance to Sour Times, I can respect that this board is trying to cater to the audience of many and that toes can get sore when really breaking down the consequences of given actions for non-Muslims, but the reality is......would the companions or those directly following have flinched to stone and adulterer, whip a lewd person, execute someone who had proclaimed to be Muslim and then turned on their heels?[/quote] Off topic... but let me explain something.. this board is not CATERING to anyone. It has a purpose and we are trying to follow the Quran and Sunnah. Quran and Sunnah TEACHES us to be wise and use judgement when calling others to Islam, answering people's questions or our interactions in general. No one said to bend the teachings of Islam for anyone.. in fact that is a major sin. |
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