The Social Harms of Ghibah:

This greatly heinous vice and highly fatal sin, which is a destroyer of faith and morality, of the outward and the inward, which brings man disgrace and ignominy in the world and the Hereafter as alluded to in the preceding section, has also social evils and in this respect its ugliness and evil are greater than those of many other sins.

One of the great objectives of the teachings of the great prophets, may God's peace be upon them, apart from being an independent goal in itself and a means for forwarding great goals, as well as being completely essential for the formation of a perfect society (al-madinat al fadilah) is unity of belief and creed and solidarity in regard to all important matters, and resistance to the unjust aggressions of oppressors, which cause the corruption of humanity and ruin the foundations of wholesome society. This great objective, on which the reform of individual and society depends, cannot be achieved except in the shadow of unity, solidarity, mutual love and brotherhood amongst the individuals of society and the sincerity of their hearts and their inner and outward purity, so that the human race and its members come to constitute a single person and personality with individuals as its parts and members. All their efforts and endeavours have revolved around this ogle great divine objective and this momentous rational goal, wherein lies the good of individual and society. Should such love and brotherhood be born in a race or tribe, it would dominate all other tribes and nations that do not possess this quality. The truth of this matter comes to light if we study history, especially that of the battles and great victories of Islam. At the advent of this divine faith, since there was a measure of this unity and solidarity amongst Muslims and their efforts were accompanied by sincerity of intention, they could achieve great victories in a short period. In a brief span of time they overwhelmed the great empires of that age, namely Iran and Rome. Smaller in number, they could defeat heavily armed armies with an endless number of soldiers. The Prophet of Islam established the covenant of brotherhood amongst early Muslims and the relationship of brotherhood came to prevail between all Muslims on the basis of the Qur'anic text:

Indeed, the believers are brethren. (49: 10)

The following traditions are recorded in the noble al-Kafi:

Al Aqarqufi says: "I heard Abu 'Abd Allah (A) say to his companions: 'Fear God and be righteous brethren, loving one another for the sake of God, mutually interlinked and merciful into one another. Visit one another, meet one another, remind one another about our affair (i.e. Imamate) and keep it alive.' "

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.' 

Al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) also said: "Cultivate mutual relations, be kind and merciful to one another and be such true brethren as God, the Almighty and the Glorious, has commanded you to be." 

It is evident that that which strengthens this mutual love and brotherhood is desirable, and that which severs this tie of mutual connection and brotherhood and creates disunity is regarded as detestable by the Lawgiver and is opposite to His great objectives. It is quite clear that if this great fatal sin were to become prevalent in a society, would cause enmity, envy, hatred and hostility amongst its people and the roots of corruption will spread through it. Then the tree of hypocrisy and two facedness will take roots in it, which shall grow(prospere) and shatter the unity and solidarity of society, weakening the foundations of piety, which in turn will increase its corruption and repulsive character.

Hence it is obligatory upon every pious and honourable Muslim, in order to safeguard his own person against corruption, to protect his coreligionists from hypocrisy, to preserve the Islamic society, to safeguard its unity, and to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood, to protect himself from this vice and forbid others from this repulsive act. And if, God forbid, he has been guilty of this ugly act, he must repent and - in case it is possible and there is no chance of vicious consequences - seek the propitiation of the victim and his forgiveness; otherwise, he must implore God's mercy for him. He must get rid of this vice and water the roots of sincerity, unity and solidarity in his heart, so as to be amongst one of the sound members of society and one of the vital spokes of the wheel of Islam. And God is the guide of all towards the path of righteousness.

On the Cure of this Malady:

You should know that the remedy of this great vice, like that of other vices, is possible by means of beneficial knowledge and action. As to the knowledge, it lies in this that man should reflect over the benefits resulting from this deed and compare them with its evil consequences and ugly fruits. He must weigh them in the balance of reason and seek a judgement therefrom. Of course, man is no enemy of himself. All his sins arise from ignorance, unawareness and negligence of their basic nature and consequences.

As to the imagined benefit of this vice, it amounts to a few minutes of satisfaction of one's carnal desire arising from the mention of people's defects and divulging of their secrets, or an hour spent in convivial company amid pleasantries and sly gossip inspired(pushed) by bestial or satanic nature and aimed to satisfy the thirst of vengeful hearts.

As to its ugly effects, some of them were mentioned in the earlier sections. Now listen to some more of them, place them in the balance of judgement and draw lesson from it, for, of course, this comparison and reflection shall yield fair results. As to the effects of ghibah in this world, one of these is that it lowers a man in the people's estimation and deprives him of their confidence. The people by nature are endowed with a love of perfection, virtue and goodness and a hatred of defectiveness, baseness and ugliness. Accordingly, they make a distinction between persons who avoid divulging hidden defects and refrain from tearing the veils that guard their honour and safeguard their secrets and others who are not such. Even the backbiter himself, by virtue of his reason and innate moral nature, considers one who avoids such vices as superior to himself. Moreover, should he trespass the bounds in perpetration of this vice and tear the veils that guard people's honour, God will disgrace him in this world itself, as mentioned in the narration of Ishaq ibn `Ammar cited earlier. And man must fear a humiliation brought about by God Almighty, for it will be irreparable. I take refuge in God from the wrath of the Forebearing Lord.

Moreover, it is very possible that the slandering of the reputation of believers and the divulging of their concealed defects' will result in a wretched hereafter for man. For when this act becomes a part of man's conduct it leaves certain effects on the soul, one of which is production of enmity and hatred towards the victim, which increase little by little. At the time of death, when some realities become revealed to man and he observes certain suprasensible realms, the veils of malakut having been lifted, this hatred and enmity may cause him on beholding the station of his victims and the honour and blessings granted them by God Almighty, to hate God Almighty. For it is natural for man to regard his enemy's friend as his own enemy and to rail one who loves one he hates. Thus he will leave this world with enmity of God and His angels and depart to everlasting ignominy and wretchedness.

My dear, be friendly to the servants of God who enjoy His mercy and bounty and who have been adorned with the robes of Islam and iman, and cultivate a heart-felt affection for them. Beware lest you feel enmity towards the beloved of God, for God Almighty is the enemy of the enemies(foes) of His beloved one and He will throw you out of the gardens of His mercy. The elect of God are hidden amongst His servants and who knows if this enmity on your part and your violation of the honour of this man of faith (mu'min) and your divulging of his defects will not be considered an offence against Divine honour?

The mu'minun are the awliya' (friends) of God. Their friendship is the friendship of God; their enmity is the enmity of God. Beware of the wrath of God and the enmity of the intercessors on the Day of Judgement:

Woe to him whose intercessors [i.e. those who were supposed to intercede in his favour] are his enemies.

Meditate for a while about the fruits of this sin in this world and the Hereafter. Reflect for a while about the fearsome, frightful forms that will beset you in the grave, in the Barzakh, and on the Day of Resurrection. Refer to the authentic works of Shi'i scholars, may God's good pleasure be with them, and the traditions narrated from the Immaculate Imams, may God's peace be upon them; for what they have to say in this regard is truly overwhelming. Then compare and weigh a quarter of an hour's pleasantries, idle gossip and satisfaction of the imaginative lust with thousands upon thousands of years of adversity (that, too, when you are amongst those who deserve salvation and depart from this world in a state of faith) or eternal damnation in hell and everlasting painful chastisement (and we seek refuge in God from it).

Furthermore, even if you have enmity with a person whose ghibah you commit, that enmity requires that you should not commit his ghibah if you have faith in the ahadith; for it is stated in the hadith that the good deeds of the backbiter are transferred to the book of deeds of the victim of his ghibah and his sins are transferred to the book of the backbiter. Therefore, your enmity of him boils down to an enmity of yourself. Hence you should know that you cannot fight with God. God has power to make that person endearing and respectable in the eyes of people by the very means of your ghibah of him and humiliate you in their eyes through the same means. He can deal with you in the same manner in the presence of the archangels. He can fill your book of deeds with vices and humiliate you. He can fill the book of deeds of your victim with fair deeds and grant him favour and honour.

Hence understand well the extent of the power of the Omnipotent with Whom you are at war and beware of His enmity!

As to the action, it lies in this that one should for a period muster all one's power and rid his soul of this sin at all cost. He must bring his tongue under control and be fully watchful of himself and make a covenant with himself to abstain from this sin for a certain time, being vigilant and watchful over himself and calling himself to account. God willing, it is hoped that after some time he will find himself reformed and free of its traces. Gradually the task will become easy for him and after some time he will feel that he has a natural disposition to dislike(detest) and detest it. Thereat, he will come to possess spiritual peace and delight in achieving freedom from this vice.

The Priority of Abstinence from Permissible Ghibah:

Let it be known to you that the 'ulama' and 'fuqaha', may God's good pleasure be with them, have excepted certain cases from the prohibition of ghibah, which, according to the statements of some of them, number more than ten. Here we do not intend to enumerate them, for this is not a place for legal discussions. That which is essential to be mentioned here is that man should never consider himself secure from the ruses of his carnal self. He should conduct himself with total carefulness and caution and should not be after fabricating excuses in order to plunge into pleasantries and faultfinding by taking resort in one of the permissible exceptions.

The ruses of the self are most subtle. It may seduce man by fooling him through the Shari'ah and lead him into mortal perils. For instance, it is permissible to do the ghibah of one who does not conceal his violations of Divine commands (mutajahir bi al-fisq), or rather it is even obligatory in some cases when it can help in restraining him and is considered one of the stages of al-'amr bi al-ma`ruf wa al-nahy 'an almunkar. But one must examine whether his own personal motive by this ghibah is a godly and shari one, or if it is prompted by a satanic and selfish motive. If the motive is a godly one, his act would be reckoned among 'ibadat. Rather, the ghibah of the mutajahir and the sinner with the motive of his reform is one of the most evident cases of expression of kindness and munificence toward him, although he himself may not understand it to be so. But if it is tainted with evil and carnal desire, then one must turn to the purification of his intent and refrain from meddling with people's honour without wholesome intention and purpose. Moreover, to habituate the self to cases of permissible ghibah is also harmful for it, for the self is inclined toward mischief and indecency. It is possible that the absence of restraint in the permissible cases may gradually lead it to another stage belonging to the prohibited cases. This is similar to entry into shubuhat (cases where doubt exists as to an act's permissibility), which is permissible but not desirable for its proximity to that which has been prohibited (maharramat). For it is possible that man may be led into maharramat through entry into them. Man must restrain his self as far as possible from these matters and refrain from everything when there is a possibility of its becoming unruly.

True, one must certainly act in cases where ghibah is obligatory, as in the aforementioned case and some other cases pointed out by the `ulama'; but one must also purge one's intention of the desire of the carnal self and the promptings of Satan. However, in cases of permissibility, it is better and preferable to abstain from it. Man must not commit everything that is permissible, especially in such matters as these where the seductions of the self and Satan are very effective.

It is narrated that Jesus, may God's peace be upon him, in the company of his disciples once passed by the carcass of a dog. The disciples said, "How badly does this carcass smell!" Jesus, upon whom be peace, declared, "What white teeth it has!" Of course, a teacher of the human species must possess such a purified self. He did not like that one of God Almighty's creations should be mentioned in a disparaging fashion. They saw its defect, and that Hadrat pointed out to them one of its excellences. I have heard that it is narrated in hadith that Jesus, upon whom be peace, said: "Don't be like a fly that sits upon filth. Don't be such that you notice only the defects of people."

It is narrated that the Noble Messenger, may God's peace be upon him and his Progeny, said:

Blessed is the man who has been detained by his own defects from noticing the defects of other people.

It would be good if one were as inquisitive about one's own defects as he is about the defects of people. How ugly it is of a man with thousands of defects to neglect his own and attend to those of others adding them to the heap(mound) of his own defects! Should man explore his own states, conduct and acts and devote himself to their correction, his affairs would be reformed. But should he regard himself as free of defect, that is the height of his ignorance. For no defect is worse than this that man should be unaware and negligent of his own defects yet be attentive to the defects of others, while he himself is a mass of defects and shortcomings.

On the Prohibition on Listening to Ghibah:

In the same manner as ghibah is prohibited, so also listening to it, being its companion, is .also prohibited; rather, as some traditions show, the listener is like the backbiter in all the evil respects, even in regard to his act being a major sin and the obligation to propitiate the victim.

The Prophet (S) said: "The listener is one of the two backbiters." 

'Ali (A) said: "The listener is one of the two who engage in backbiting." 

Hence one who listens to ghibah is also a backbiter. Sami' here means mustami'. Therefore, as many traditions indicate, it is obligatory to refute ghibah.

In a tradition reported by al-Saduq with his isnad from al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A), the Noble Messenger, may God's peace and benedictions be upon him and his Progeny, is once said to have forbidden ghibah and listening to it as well. Then he (S) said: "Lo, whoever does a favour to his brother by refuting his ghibah on hearing it in a gathering, God shall save(salvage) him from a thousand kinds of evils in this world and the Hereafter. And if he doesn't do so in spite of his ability to refute it on him shall be the burden of one who commits his ghibah seventy times. 

In a tradition reported by al-Saduq with his isnad from al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A), the Prophet (S) is reported to have said to Amir al-Mu'minin (A) in the course of a counsel that he gave him: "O 'Ali! When someone hears the ghibah of his Muslim brother and it is committed in his presence, yet he does not rally to his assistance despite being capable of doing so, God shall humiliate him in the world and the Hereafter. 

In Iqab al-'a'mal, al-Saduq reports with his isnad from 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 gratified thereat, his burden of sin is like that of the backbiter. [27]

The `Allamah of the latter-day `ulama', the great researcher and embodiment of the merits of knowledge and deed, al-Shaykh al-'Ansari, may God's good pleasure be with him, says:

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 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."

At times the listener, besides abstaining from absolving the absent person from the ghibah, induces the backbiter to commit ghibah, or he may encourage the backbiter by going along willingly with him by such oft-repeated interjections as "Strange!" Or if he is one of the pious ones, by uttering some sacred formula such as `Astagh firullah' or something else, acts which are in fact the Devil's artifices. It is probable that the noble tradition which mentions the burden of the listener as being seventy times that of the backbiter refers to such persons as these. And we take refuge in God from it!

Conclusion: al-Shahid al-Thani's Discourse:

The honourable shaykh, the precious researcher and the blessed martyr (al-Shahid al-Thani), may God's goad pleasure be with him, has a discourse in this regard and with this noble discourse we conclude this section. He says:

Of the filthiest kind of ghibah is that which is committed by some hypocritical persons in the garb of men of knowledge and understanding, for they carry out their (evil) intentions in the garb of righteousness and piety. They commit ghibah and yet pretend to abstain from it. Due to their ignorance and neglect, they don't know that they are guilty of two indecencies at once: riya' and ghibah. Similar to it is the case of the person who when somebody is mentioned before him says: "Al-humdulillah, that we are not afflicted with the love of office," or "...that we are not afflicted with the love of the world" or that "we do not possess such and such a quality." Or, for instance, he will say, "Na'udhubillah, from lack of shame," or "...from incapability," or he will say, "May God safeguard us" from such and such an act.

Sometimes the praise of God is by itself ghibah if the fault of someone is understandable from it. However, it is a ghibah expressed in a pious and self-righteous form. This kind of person wanted to mention the fault of someone through an utterance that all at once carries ghibah, riya' and the claim to be free from defect, although he has these defects which are greater than the one he ascribes to another.

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. He imagines himself to be one of the righteous and one who refrains from ghibah. This is how Satan plays games with the ignorant and the unaware who are outwardly involved in the pursuit of knowledge and righteous action without having attained firmness on the path. Hence Satan pursues them and brings their good deeds to nothing and laughs at them.

And to this category belongs the one who. when someone's ghibah is done in a gathering and some of those present have not heard, says "Subhan Allah, what an amazing(surprising) thing!" In order to call their attention to the ghibah. This person makes the remembrance (dhikr) of God a means to realize his corrupt vain purpose. Nevertheless, he imagines having done a service to God Almighty by this dhikr, and this is nothing but ignorance and vanity.

Also to this category belongs the one who says that such and such a thing happened to so and so, or rather, such and such a thing happened to "our friend" or "our companion" and then adds, "May God forgive him and us." This person makes a pretence of sympathy and friendliness and perpetrates ghibah under the cover of prayer. But God knows the wickedness of his heart and the viciousness of his intention. He does not know that God is more wrathful toward him than the ignorant man who commits ghibah openly.

Among the concealed kinds of ghibah is listening to it with amazement, for such a person expresses his amazement in order to make the backbiter more lively in his descriptions and his amazement encourages the latter in his act of ghibah. For instance, be will say, "This really makes me amazed(shocked)!" or "I didn't know that!" or "I didn't know he would do such a thing!" These expressions are meant to affirm the backbiter's statements and to encourage him subtley to add something more, whereas to affirm ghibah is also ghibah ; or rather to listen to it or even to keep silent(soundless) on hearing it is also ghibah. (End of his discourse, may God elevate his station).

At times other vices are also added to ghibah, adding to its perversity, ugliness and punishment, like the backbiting person who expresses friendship and intimacy in front of the victim of his ghibah and praises and extols him. This is a kind of hypocrisy (nifaq) double-facedness and double-tonguedness that have been condemned in unambiguous terms in the traditions:

In the noble al-Kafi, al-Kulayni reports with his isnad from al-'Imam al-Sadiq (A) that he said: "Whoever encounters Muslims with two faces and two tongues, he will come on the Day of Resurrection with two tongues of fire." 

Such is the form of this ugly act and the result of such a hypocrisy in the Hereafter. I seek refuge in God Almighty from the evil of the tongue and the carnal self. And all praise is God's, at the beginning and the end.