Gossiping

Rasoolullah said, “A man might speak a word without thinking about its implications, but because of it, he will plunge into the Hell-Fire further than the distance between the east and west” (narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).

In Islam, we are prohibited from gossiping about someone behind their back if it is something disliked to that person.  You may ask, what if we are speaking the truth?  If one is speaking the truth about someone behind their back, then this is backbiting and it is dispicable.  If one is speaking falsehood about someone behind their back, then this is slander, something even worse. 

Kab al-Ahbar said: “Backbiting nullifies a person’s good deeds.”

Not only is backbiting considered a sin in Islam, but it is considered a major sin by the consensus of scholars considering the implications mentioned about in the Quran and Sunnah.  The Quranic verses dealing with backbiting include:

1. “O you who believe! Let not some men among you deride others who may be better than they (are), nor let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Evil is a bad name after faith.” (Surat Hujurat, 49:11)
2. “O you who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor that. And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.” (Surat Hujurat, 49:12)
3. “Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger; detractor, going about with slander.” (Surat Qalam, 68:10-11)
4. “Woe to every sneering defamer.” (Surat Humaza, 104:1)

Sneering can be considered defamation by actions (instead of words).  Sneering can include actions as small as even rolling one’s eyes.  Furthermore, Surat Humaza (The Transducer) is dedicated to answering those that gossip about others.  Therefore, as Muslims, it is a duty incumbent upon us to safeguard our mouths from saying anything we would regret later on.

Muadh ibn Jabal (ra) asked Rasoolullah (SAW) to inform him of some good work that would admit him into
Paradise and distance him from the Hell-Fire. Rasoolullah (SAW) mentioned to him the virtues of many good deeds, then said: “Shall I inform you of the foundation of all of that?”
Muadh said: “Certainly.”
Rasoolullah (SAW) took hold of his own tongue and said: “Restrain yourself from this.”
Muadh then asked: “O Rasoolullah! Are we held to task for the things that we say?”
Rasoolullah (SAW) replied: “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh! Does anything topple people headlong into the Hell-Fire save the harvests of their tongues?” (narrated by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Rasoolullah (SAW) said, “One of the greatest of the major sins is to stretch out one’s tongue without right against the honor of a Muslim” (narrated by Abu Dawud).

Aisha (ra) relates that she said to Rasoolullah (SAW), “It should tell you enough about Safiyyah that she is short.”
To this Rasoolullah (SAW) replied, “You have said a word that if it was to be mixed with the water of the sea, it would contaminate it” (narrated by Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud).  

The hadith above shows the seriousness of backbiting.  The one sentence Aisha mentioned about Safiyyah was serious enough to contaminate something as large as the ocean.  Therefore, we should consider how much we have contaminated our small ponds of good deeds versus the oceans of good deeds the Sahaba had obtained.

Two Companions once criticized a man who had been punished for committing adultery.  
Rasoolullah (SAW) was traveling and he passed by the carcass of a donkey.  
Rasoolullah (SAW) said, “Where are those two people? Get down and eat from the flesh of this donkey!”
They said, “O Rasoolullah, who would eat this?”
Rasoolullah (SAW) said: “What the two of you have recently done by defaming the honor of your brother is far worse than eating from this” (narrated by Abu Dawud).

The punishment for backbiting includes repaying those who we backbite.
Rasoolullah (SAW) asked the Sahaba, “Do you know who is bankrupt?”
They responded, “The person among us who is bankrupt is the one who possesses neither money nor provision.”
Rasoolullah (SAW) answered, “The one who is bankrupt from among my followers is he who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayer, charity, and fasting to his credit. However, he had insulted this person, struck that person, and seized the wealth of another, on account of which his good deeds will be taken from him. Then, if his good deeds are exhausted, the sins of those whom he wronged will be taken from them and foisted upon him and then he will be cast into the Fire” (narrated by Muslim).

How lightly we take it when talking poorly about our own Muslim brothers and sisters!  How many of us stay silent when someone else talks ill of our brothers and sisters in our presence?  How many of us thinking it nothing to even roll our eyes when a name is mentioned.  Saying something as simple as “may Allah guide him” with the wrong tone may be considered backbiting as it may be something that defames the honor of our Muslim brother or sister (however, it should be understood that this occurs only when a negative tone is used to make this statement).  We need to defend our brothers and sisters when they are not present to defend themselves.

The Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever can guarantee to me what is between his two lips and what is between his two legs, I can guarantee for him paradise” (narrated by Bukhari).

Therefore, let’s all aim to not talk poorly about our fellow brothers and sisters and let’s be amongst those who will meet in paradise, insha’Allah.

[Taken in part from Shaykh Muhammad Ismail al-Sayyid Ahmad]

Tawassul through the Prophet (SAW)?

Tawassul is defined as that which brings you closer to Allah (SWT). Islamically, it is used as a way to increase the chances of a dua being accepted.

“O you who believe! Do you duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach to Him, and strive hard in His Cause as much as you can. So that you may be succesful” (Translation of the Meaning of the Holy Quran, 5:35)

What are the types of tawassul confirmed by the Quran and Sunnah? They include using the Names and Attribues of Allah (SWT), by mentioning one’s state, past and present (dua of Zakariyyah), by mentioning one’s good deeds (hadith of the men trapped in a cave), and through the dua of a living person. Other types of tawassul are not found in the Quran and Sunnah and are considered innovations and can sometimes lead to shirk!

What about tawassul through the Prophet (SAW)? It is obligatory by following his Sunnah, by loving him, and by defending his honor. However, it is an innovation by asking Allah through his status, body or honor. However a number of scholars (by far still a minority as the majority of scholars were/are still opposed to such acts) have allowed making tawassul through the rights of the Prophet (SAW). Nonetheless, it should be noted that no scholars in the first two hundred years of Islam allowed such as act as it was considered an innovation. Insha’Allah, we will try to answer the evidences that are used as support for tawassul through the status of the Prophet:

1. The first evidence used is the verse in Surat al-Maida (5:35) that is mentioned above. However, it must be understood that this verse is very general and cannot be used specifically in this issue as a proof.
2. The second evidence used is the hadith of the blind man: “O Allah! I ask you by your prophet, the prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, I turn to you to (go) my Lord, so grant me my request… O Allah! Accept his intercession for me, and my intercession for him” (Narrated by Ahmed). Before we delve too much into this hadith, let’s try to understand it first. It should be understood that the blind man asked Allah not by the rights of the Prophet, rather the dua of the Prophet. The Prophet’s dua (or interecession as mentioned above) for this man was that he could have sight as the blind man had asked the Prophet to make dua for him. The intercession (dua) for the Prophet that the blind man himself mentions is that the dua of the Prophet be accepted for him. Therefore, the beginning of this hadith where the blind man asks Allah by his prophet is that of asking by the Prophet’s dua, not by the rights of the Prophet as clearly established by the end of the hadith. Therefore, it needs to be understood that tawassul is for the dua of the Prophet (not the rights of the Prophet). This can be confirmed by the fact that none of the other companions made dua through the rights of the Prophet (SAW) afterwards.
3. The third evidence is the incident of Umar (ra) with Abbaas (ra). During the reign of Umar (ra) rain was needed and Umar said that they used to allow the Prophet to intercede (make tawassul) on their behalf for them to be blessed with rain. But then (since the Prophet had passed away), they asked (made tawassul) through the Prophet’s Uncle, Abbaas who then made dua for the rain (Narrated in Bukhari). This hadith itself is proof that the Sahaba did not make tawassul through the rights of the Prophet (SAW). The Sahaba did not know of such an act (as it would have been considered an innovation). They only did tawassul through means that were lawful to them (such as tawassul through a living person). This is proof that Umar (ra) did not do tawassul through the rights of the Prophet.
4. Other hadith used as proof for tawassul through the Prophet (SAW) are either extremely weak or fabricated as the authentic hadith used as proofs have been mentioned above.
5. The fifth evidence used is the fact that people will ask the prophets to help them on the Day of Judgement. Therefore, why can we not ask them now? The answer is simple based on the fact that we are not even in the same state of life. If we were alive and the Prophet (SAW) were alive, we could him to make dua for us. However, we are not currently in the same stage of live as the Prophet (SAW). Furthermore, this proof has nothing to do specifically with asking through the status of Rasoolullah (SAW).

The final point worth mentioning is that even if someone were to make tawassul through the rights of the Prophet, how would that do the one making dua any good as it is not related to the one making dua in his own deeds or state. Therefore, even though the rank of the Prophet (SAW) is high, what right to we have invoke upon that? Instead, we should make tawassul by dua’s such as we love the Prophet (SAW) and thus such and such…