Chai ChatGossip, Rumor and Slander: The Character and The Community April 11, 2012

Gossip, Rumor and Slander: The Character and The Community

Overview and Map

How concepts are connected Intention, sincerity, action and how thoughts affect actions; how thoughts and actions affect the self Ghibah Community: made up of individuals and how individual action affects a community

Note: Most quotes in this talk can be found here: http://www.al-islam.org/fortyhadith/ - part 20, 21 or 31

The Prophet (s) said: "No fire is faster in consuming dry wood than ghibah [gossip, backbiting] consuming a devotee's virtues."

The interconnectedness of concepts

As a preface: we should reflect on how the self relates to the Divine and the grand scheme of things Sometimes we look at transgression/sin in a vacuum. Oh I messed up, Ill repent and be cool. o Perhaps due to the atomization of knowledge & worldview o But when we talk about a concept related to Islam, we should consider it in a holistic manner: A things relationship to God > hereafter > others/society > self/soul/thing | so when considering a sin it isnt just God-You-Repentance | it could have social repercussions, moral repercussions o However, transgressions can have an effect on the soul/self/thing and, as mentioned in the hadith above, can affect ones virtue and character. | this may be understood as the nullification of ones good acts and/or,

perhaps, the darkening of the spirit, character, and dignity of a person

Root/kernel: 67:1-2Blessed is He in whose hands is all sovereignty, and He has power over all things. | He, who created death and life that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct. And He is the All-mighty, the All-forgiving.

Character and Intention

Our actions reflect an inner state | thoughtfulness or heedlessness o Mulk (physical realm | lower) & Malakut (spiritual realm | higher) *Imam Jafar al-Sadiq], who, explaining the utterance of God Almighty, "that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct." (67:2) said: "It does not mean one of you whose deeds are more numerous but

one who is more rightful in his conduct, and this rightness is nothing but the fear of God and sincerity of

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intention (niyyah) and fear." Then he (A) added: "To persevere in an action until it becomes sincere is more difficult than (performing) the action itself, and sincerity of action lies in this that you should not desire anyone to praise you for it except God Almighty, and intention supersedes action. Lo, verily, intention is action itself." Then he recited the Qur'anic verse, "Say, Everyone acts according to his character. (shakilatihi)" (17:84) adding, "That (shakilah) means niyyah."
o Our Character is built up or torn down by our thoughts/intentions/actions It is all connected To elaborate, as mentioned in the course of the exposition of earlier traditions, every act, good or evil, has an effect upon the soul. Now if the act is of the category of acts of devotion and worship, its effect is that of making the physical faculties subservient to the intellectual faculties, making the malakuti aspect of the selfdominant over its mulki aspect. | intellect over emotional reaction | intellect over bodily desire | higher over the lower Thus, when we transgress against others, we also transgress our own spiritual state/character we tear ourselves down o This is not just a spiritual thing that is immaterial and something that wont effect you (until the Day) | material, social repercussions (well see this in the ahadith about ghibah) To guard against this we can consider our intentions o The honourable `arif' and the wise wayfarer, Khwajah `Abd Allah al-'Ansari said: Ikhlas [sincerity] means purging

action of all impurities.

Its tough to have a sincere, pure intention when we decide to rip someone apart. And it is obvious that self-seeking and God-seeking cannot go together. Rather, if God is sought for the sake of the self, the ultimate end and goal is the self and the ego.

Ghibah and its Relatives

What is it? A few definitions | Im spending time on this because I know that I tend to try to justify my act with grey-area o Al-Jawhari (famous lexicographer, author of al-Sihah) said:The noun is al-ghibah, and it means saying such things about an absent person as will distress him[/her] if he[/she] hears them. If it is true it is called ghibah and if false, buhtan (slander). o (The Prophet) asked his companions:) "Do you know what ghibah is?" They said, "God and His Messenger know best." He said: "It is to mention about your brother[/sister] that which he[/she] detests." o ...In (the tradition about) the counsel that the Messenger of Allah (s) gave to Abu Dharr (r), Abu Dharr is narrated to have said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is ghibah?' He replied: '(It is) to mention of your brother[/sister] that which he[/she] detests.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what if that which is mentioned of him[/her] should actually be in him[/her]?' He replied, 'Know that when you mention that which is in him[/her], you have committed his[/her] ghibah, and when you mention that which is not in him[/her], then you have slandered him[/her].' "

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o Shaykh Zayn al-Din `Ali, known as al-Shahid al-Thani said: "There are two definitions for it. The first one, which is famous among the fuqaha', is: It is the mention of a person in his absence, ascribing to him[/her]something whose ascription he finds detestable and which is generally considered as harmful (to one's reputation), with the intention of impairing (his[/her]reputation) and disparaging him[/her]. The second one is: Informing about something whose ascription to one is regarded as detestable by him[/her]. Quranic Usage o 49:11-12. O you who have faith! Let not any people ridicule another people: it may be that they are better than they are; nor let women [ridicule] women: it may be that they are better than they are. And do not defame one another, nor insult one another by [calling] nicknames. How evil are profane names subsequent to faith! And whoever is not penitent such are the wrongdoers. | O you who have faith! Avoid much suspicion. Indeed some suspicions are sins. And do not spy on or backbite one another. Will any of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And be wary of Allah; indeed Allah is all-clement, all-merciful. The Gravity of al-Ghibah | we tend to think of it as no big deal, part of every day life | especially considering our family contexts where it may be the norm and our cultural context with Television and News Media obsessed with gossip and rumors o Haqq al-NasThe Right of the People | Repentance is not just a personal request to God (The Prophet[s] said:) "Ghibah is a graver sin than adultery." I said, "How is that, O Messenger of Allah?" "That is because a man commits adultery and repents to God and God accepts his repentance. But ghibah is not forgiven (by God) until it is forgiven by its victim." Then he (S) said, "The eating of his flesh is a sin visa-vis God. o An Exchange of Acts The Prophet (S) said: "A person shall be made to halt in front of the Glorious and Exalted Lord on the Day of Resurrection and handed over his book. On not seeing his good deeds therein he shall say, 'My God, this is not my book, for I don't see my virtues in it.' He shall be told, 'Verily, your Lord neither errs nor forgets. Your deeds are gone for your backbiting of the people.' Then another person shall be brought and handed over his book. He will see in it many deeds of obedience (ta'at) and he will say: 'My God, this is not my book, for I have not performed these deeds of obedience.' He shall be told: 'So and so committed your ghibah and so his good deeds have been awarded to you.' " o Dont even consider it | gathering an arsenal The Prophet (S) said: "A lower degree of kufr is for a man to hear something from his brother and to commit it to his memory intending thereby to cause him humiliation. Such persons shall have no share (in the Hereafter)"

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Ill say it to their face | They admit it, so what!? o However, an overall examination of the traditions shows that malicious intent underlies the prohibition, except when the act per se should be such that its mention and its publicity are proscribed by the Shari'ah - such as sins against God, which not even the sinner may proclaim and whose admission amounts to publication of indecency - and this does not relate to the prohibition (hurmah) on ghibah. It is not improbable that the revelation of the secrets of the faithful even in case of their willingness [meaning: that the person might allow it] should be haram, even when there is no malicious motive involved. Sarcasm as a Method of Blameless Ghibah o Shahid al-Thani said: One of the ways of ghibah is that at times he (the backbiter) will praise the person whose ghibah he wishes to commit. For instance, he will say, So and so enjoys elevated spiritual states. He does not fall short in his worships, but due to lack of endurance, which afflicts us all, he has become somewhat lethargic in his ritual duties. In this wary he himself pretends to be blameworthy while he intends to find fault with the other person. In fact his purpose is to extol himself by simulating to be one of the pious through his apparent self-criticism. This man has involved himself in three indecencies: ghibah, riya', and self-righteousness. Just listening? o The Prophet (s) said: "The listener is one of the two backbiters." o The Prophet (s) that he said: "Whoever refutes the ghibah of his brother that he hears in a gathering, God shall turn away from him a thousand kinds of evils in this world and the next. But if he fails to refute it and is even pleased thereat, his burden of sin is like that of the backbiter. A Cure? o Recognizing that we can change: It should be known that when it is said that a disposition is natural or innate it does not mean that it is essential (dhati) and unchangeable. Rather, all habits (malikat) and psychic dispositions are capable of change. As long as the soul remains in this world of change and transition, it is subject to time and renewal; and as long as it is associated with matter (hayula) and potentiality (quwwah), the human being can change all its dispositions and transform them into their opposites. This claim is affirmed, besides metaphysical proof (burhan), by experience, as well as by the summons of the prophets and the true religions to noble dispositions and their restraining people from the opposite qualities. o And Recognizing when we are about to fall into itpay attention to how your body changes o Rushing to our friends aid |The `Allamah of the latter-day `ulama', al-Shaykh al-'Ansari(r) said: It appears that by `refutation' (radd) here is meant something other than forbidding ghibah, and it implies defending and offering assistance to the absent person with something related to the ghibah. For instance, if the defect mentioned is one related to worldly affairs, he may say in his defence, "A defect is one which God

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Almighty has reckoned as such, such as sin, and the biggest of sins is that which you yourself are committing by doing ghibah of your brother by ascribing to him something which God has not considered a defect of his." And if it is one related to religion, he may explain it in such a way as not to be counted a sin on his part. And if it cannot be explained away, he must defend it by saying, for instance, "A believer is at times guilty of sin, and it is fitting that we pray to God to forgive him rather than expose his faults. Perhaps your exposing of his fault is a bigger sin before God Almighty than his."

Community
A community is made up of individuals | the bonds between those individuals create strong community o Q. 49: 10The faithful are indeed brothers. Therefore make peace between your brothers and be wary of Allah, so that you may receive [His] mercy. Abu 'Abd Allah (A) said: "It a the duty of all Muslims to strive in respect of mutual relations, cooperation, kindness and charity to the needy and mutual affection amongst themselves, until you become as God, the Almighty and the Glorious, has commanded you to be (saying): 'They are merciful unto one another.' o When those bonds are broken, community crumbles Its just a matter of trust