1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

18 Questions

Is backbiting only disallowed when it is about Muslims or is it so regardless of who one is talking about? And what constitutes backbiting?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

Backbiting is defined by a Hadeeth narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) as : Mentioning your brother by a matter which he dislikes to be mentioned. A person asked the Prophet: Even if I mention a real matter in him? The Prophet replied: If you mention a real matter which does not like to be mentioned, yoy have committed backbiting him, and if you mention a matter which does not exist in him, you have put allegation on him.

Allegation is obviously more dangerous major sin. 

Backbiting is a bad habit in any way. Backbiting a believer is a major sin. Backbiting any one is a bad act unless you want to warn people from a possible harm from a person.

Wassalam.
If someone does something wrong to you are you permitted to talk with friends about what they did or is this seen as backbiting?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

It is not good to talk to people about someone who did wrong to you, unless you have no other way to stop the wrong but seeking help from people by telling them.
If your telling people will not change the situation, it can be also a type of back-biting unless this person who wronged you is doing it openly and is insisting on doing the wrong to you. Allah SWT says : Allah does not like the wrong should be uttered in public but by him who has been wronged)(Sura 4, Verse 148). If the
person who did the wrong insisted on doing the wrong on you and there
is no way to stop his wrong acts against you but to talk to others who
might help, then it will be allowed.

Wassalaam.
Why is it often stated that the Khawarij were apostates and wrongdoers? Does this not constitute backbiting?
Abbas Di Palma

as salam alaikum

if a person is openly a sinner, unjust or oppress other people, he is considered a wrongdoer (zalim).

If a person consciously, willingly and openly fights the truth, while knowing that it is the truth, it is disbelief (kufr) or apostasy (irtidad).

If a person reveals what a Muslim person hide from his sins, it is called backbiting (ghibah). 

So the basic difference is that declaration of zulm, kufr and apostasy are related to open attitudes and behaviors while backbiting is related to something that a Muslim person wish to conceal about himself.

As far as the Khawarij, their enmity against Ali, peace be upon him, has been seen as an aversion for the truth even if it is not improbable that among their ranks were also unaware people misled by their leaders.

With prayers for your success.
Is it true that if a person does Gheebat (backbiting) about another person, then the backbiter gets the bad deeds of the victim and the backbiter's good deeds also get credited to the victim? If so, what is the evidence to back this up?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi

There are many narrations both in Shia and Sunni books stating that the person who back bites a Momin will lose part of his good deeds to the victim, and in case that his good deeds are less, part of the bad deeds of the victim will be transferred to him.

Wassalam.