Backbiting the one who abandons prayer is not permissible

Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Is it permissible to backbite the one who abandons prayer?

Answer:
It is not permissible to backbite him; because there is no benefit in it, except if this is in the context of consultation, or of warning people away from his company, if a greater benefit results from this. For example, if someone consults you about marrying him, or about partnering with him, you clarify what defects he has, and there is no doubt that abandoning prayer is the greatest and most dangerous of defects. Or if someone consults you about dealing with him in any type of transaction that is based on trust and honesty, you clarify to him the state of this man. That is not backbiting. As for backbiting without a stronger benefit resulting from it, it is forbidden and remains on the original ruling, which is the prohibition of backbiting. Allah the Exalted said: Likewise, if you see a man who is in the company of someone and inclines toward him, you warn him about him and clarify to him that he is a bad man and that he does not pray, because this is in the context of advice, not in the context of backbiting. It is the context of advising your brother, not the context of backbiting.