Library Ethics Greater Sins Chapter 44 The Forty-first Greater Sin: Backbiting The Forty-first Greater Sin: Backbiting
The Forty-first Greater Sin: Backbiting
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Chapter 44
The Forty-first Greater Sin: Backbiting
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The foremost great sin for which Qur’an and hadith have promised chastisement is back-biting. As mentioned by Allah (S.w.T.) in Qur’an,
“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 an-NÅ«r 24: 19)
Ibn Abi Umayr narrates from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.),
“One who reports about a believer, everything he has himself seen and heard is from those about whom Allah (S.w.T.) says, “There is grievous chastisement for those who like undesirable things regarding the believers becoming public.”
(al-KÄfi Vol. 2 page 357)
According to this tradition, GhiÄ«ba (backbiting) is included in the ayat where clear punishment is mentioned. Therefore, the Qur’an states,
“…nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it…” (Surah al-HujurÄt 49: 12)
The above ayat describes the condition of the backbiter in the hereafter. He will be raised in a condition similar to the person who eats dead meat. A tradition of the Messenger of Allah (S) says,
“On the night of Miraj (ascension) I saw some people in Hell who were eating dead meat. I asked JibrÄ«l (a.s.) who those people were. He replied. ‘They used to eat human flesh in their worldly life (that is, they used to backbite about other people).”
(Mustadrak ul-Wasa’il)
It appears therefore that one who backbites about a person deserves the punishment he would have had if he had eaten the same person’s flesh.
Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) says,
“Know that! GhiÄ«ba of your believing brother, who is the Shia of Ä€li Muhammad is worst than eating dead meat, regarding which Allah (S.w.T.) says, ‘do not back-bite for each other.”
Allah (S.w.T.) says in Surah al-Humaza,
“Wael (Hell) is for every Slanderer, defamer,”
(Surah al-Humaza 104: 1)
According to Tafsīr Majmaul Bayan this Divine statement is a decree of punishment for every back-biter and slanderer who causes separation between friends. Some others have stated that, it is slander when uttered in the presence of the person and defaming when speaking in his absence.
Wael is one of the compartments of Hell. There is a well in it which is a symbol of terrible punishment. GhiÄ«ba is a sin that is promised penalty at a number of places in the Qur’an.
