What to do with Hearsay?

http://www.al-miftah.com/2014/08/04/what-to-do-with-hearsay/
The other side of the story
A woman once brouht a claim aainst another woman before !adi "hurayh #rahimahullah$. After
some time% she bean to cry bitterly. Those who were present were con&inced that the woman was
wroned. !adi "hurayh replied: '(ndeed e&en the brothers of )usuf #*alaihis salam$ cried by their
father.+
i.e% ,espite their sobbin% they were still uilty. #-itabul Adh.iya% p./0$
1oral
Therefore% no matter how con&incin one side of the story seems% one is still duty bound to hear the
other side before drawin a conclusion. The act of passin 2udement on mere assumption is 3uite
common and certainly &ery destructi&e. The conse3uences are also far reachin% lon lastin and in
some cases: reretful. This is the messae in the &erse:
'4 you who belie&e5 (f a sinful person brins a report to you% then &erify its authenticity before you
harm a people un.nowinly and then become remorseful o&er what you did+
4ne is often face with these .ind of situations where one is made to hear one side of the story only. ,ue
to the fatal conse3uences of this% the "hari6ah cautions us to remain calm% and to &erify that piece of
information. 7aste enerally leads to bitterness and remorse. 8arefully read the words of the abo&e
&erse aain:
9then &erify its authenticity before you harm a people un.nowinly and then become remorseful o&er
what you did
There are se&eral .inds of such situations% li.e hearin one side of the story reardin one6s spouse%
business partner or colleaue. (t could e&en be a eneral piece of information which has no direct lin.
to any particular indi&idual. 1any of the emails% sms6% broadcast messaes and social media posts that
are freely shared fall under this cateory. 1any of these messaes sometimes contain false information
or baseless claims about (slam. "uch misinformation causes unnecessary confusion.
The correct procedure in all of the abo&e is to a&oid what does not concern us and to a&oid implicatin
somebody on mere hearsay5 :ailin in this will result in bac.-bitin% ossip% unnecessary ill feelins
and spitefulness etc. (nnocent people become &ictims of *information oppression.6
4ne should a&oid bein an instiator% or e&en succumbin to instiation. 1ost importantly% if it doesn6t
concern you% inore it.
;asulullah #sallallahu6alayhi wasallam$ said:
'"hunnin what doesn6t concern a person is a sin of the beauty of his faith.+
#"unan Tirmidhi% hadith: 201<-2018$

Thin. before you9
=efore sharin such hearsay% one should thin. to himself: what would6&e been my response if that
misinformation was concernin me or my close family>
?onder o&er the drastic effect of the touch of a button% where hundreds of people may be misinformed.
7ow will we ma.e up for this>
4ne will be the cause for all of those with whom he shared that *wron/un&erified information6 ettin
in&ol&ed in ossip% bac.bitin and many other sins9 @&en if that alleation was true% it could lead to
bac.bitin and carryin of tales% both of which are haram.

Ahat to do>
:a3ih Abul Bayth "amar3andi #rahimahullah$ has offered the followin beautiful suestions: '(f
anyone brins a bad report to you concernin somebody else% do the followin / thins:
,on6t belie&e him% for those who carry tales are usually liars.
"top him from relayin such alleations. )ou are duty bound to stop the wron. #Cahy *anil mun.ar$
,etest this act from the depth of your heart.
,on6t entertain e&il thouhts about the third person #the one aainst whom the alleations were made$
,on6t probe in the matter.
,on6t share that information with others.
#Tambihul Dhafilin% p.101$
A&oidin the abo&e (slamic uidelines on hearsay% has led to too many unsa&oury endins9
1ay Allah Ta6ala uide us all. Ameen.