The Law of Backbiting in Islam
Definition of backbiting, knowing the laws and prohibitions of Islam
The definition of backbiting is important for Muslims to know. Gossip should be avoided by Muslims as it is one of the sins that Allah SWT hates.
Without realizing it, backbiting becomes a very easy act to do. In social life, this behavior is also called chatting or chatting.
Be careful, gossip can harm you and others. Backbiting is an unrighteous act which has been cursed by Allah SWT. Therefore, backbiting should be avoided in everyday life.
Meaning of backbiting
Backbiting is a sin which is hated by Allah SWT and should be avoided by Muslims. Etymologically, ghibah comes from Arabic (from the word ghaabaa yaghiibu ghaiban), which means invisible, absent.
Based on this etymology, backbiting can be understood to be a form of "a person's absence" in a conversation. Meanwhile, according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary, backbiting is the activity of talking about the ugliness (disgrace) or gossip of others.
Backbiting is an act of speaking of the evil or disgrace of another person. Even if what is said is consistent with reality, slander remains an unjust act.
In Islam, slander is strictly forbidden because it risks provoking slander. Please note that someone who slanders is even equated with eating his own brother's carcass. Backbiting is also an act very close to other evil deeds such as envy, envy and slander.
Law and prohibition of slander
Backbiting is unjust behavior which is cursed by Allah SWT. It is even listed in the Quran and hadiths. Allah SWT says in Surah An-Nur verse 19 :
اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ تَشِيْعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِى الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌۙ فِى الدُّنْيَا وَالْاٰخِرَةِۗ وَاللّٰهُ يَعْلَمُ وَاَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ
Meaning: "Indeed, those who want this very heinous act (false news) to be spread among believers, they will receive a painful punishment in this world and in the hereafter. And Allah knows, while you do not know."
Allah SWT describes the behavior of people who love to gossip or gossip and talk about other people in Surah Al-Hujurat verse 12 :
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوْا كَثِيْرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّۖ اِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ اِثْمٌ وَّلَا تَجَسَّسُوْا وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَّعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًاۗ اَيُحِبُّ اَحَدُكُمْ اَنْ يَّأْكُلَ لَحْمَ اَخِيْهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوْهُۗ وَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ ۗاِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيْمٌ
Meaning: "O you who believe! Stay away from a lot of prejudice, indeed some prejudice is a sin, and do not look for other people's faults, and do not among you gossip about others. Are there any of you who like eating the flesh of his dead brother? Of course you feel disgusted. And fear God, indeed God is Accepting Repentance, Most Merciful."
Rasulullah SAW also prohibited his people from backbiting. It is narrated in the hadith of Tirmidhi, Rasulullah SAW said :
"Muslims are brothers of other Muslims, do not betray each other, do not lie to each other and do not lower yourselves, each Muslim is against other Muslims, his secret is forbidden, his wealth and his blood, taqwa is there (in the heart) it is enough for someone to be called ugly if he despises his Muslim brother."
The sin of backbiting is heavy with the sin of adultery
Launching from dream.co.id, Rasulullah SAW said that the sins of those who give back are grievous because of the sin of adultery.
"Gossip is heavier than adultery. A friend asked, 'How come?' Rasulullah SAW explained: "A man who commits adultery and then repents, then Allah can immediately accept his repentance. However, the perpetrators of backbiting will not be forgiven until they are forgiven by the person they insulted" (HR At-Thabrani).
Furthermore, it is narrated that Allah SWT once said to Prophet Musa AS :
"Whoever dies in a state of repentance because of backbiting, then he is the last person to enter heaven. And whoever dies in a state of habitual backbiting, then he is the first person to go to hell."
In the Hereafter, someone who likes to gossip will be held accountable to Allah SWT by the person he has returned. His good deeds are also paid to those he has wronged, including those he has insulted. Then, after his good deeds are exhausted, the bad deeds of those he has wronged are inflicted upon him.
How to avoid gossip
There are several ways to avoid backbiting, including the following.
1. Increase your religious knowledge, by participating in studies, reading the Quran and its interpretations, and always thinking positively so as to keep yourself away from gossip about others.
2. Silent or unresponsive. One way to avoid backbiting is silence. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said :
“Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, whether he speaks well or keeps silent. (Muttafaq 'alaih: Al-Bukhari, no. 6018; Muslim, no. 47)
3. Advise the authors of backbiting to put an end to it. You can tell and remind the backbiter that what he is doing is wrong. As the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said :
"Whoever of you sees evil, change it with his hands. If he cannot, change it with his tongue. If he cannot, change it with his heart. And that is the weakest faith" (HR Muslim 70).
