Expiation for Backbiting Scholars and Shaykhs
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: What is the expiation for backbiting scholars and shaykhs? And is backbiting them greater than backbiting others?
Answer:
Yes, backbiting scholars is greater than backbiting others because they carry knowledge, guide people, mediate between people, and manage the affairs of religion. So why do you backbite them and why do you disparage them?
The obligatory thing is the opposite: that you praise them, that you make du'a' for them, and that you follow their example. If something of this has occurred from you, you must hasten to repent from backbiting the people of knowledge. You must hasten to repent and leave this evil deed. If the one you backbite is a specific person, you must seek his forgiveness. But if he is not specific, and you are disparaging the people of knowledge in general and the people of good in general, then there is nothing in that except repentance to Allah, leaving this thing, making du'a' for the scholars, and seeking forgiveness for them. Yes.
The questioner asks: What is the expiation for backbiting scholars and shaykhs? And is backbiting them greater than backbiting others?
Answer:
Yes, backbiting scholars is greater than backbiting others because they carry knowledge, guide people, mediate between people, and manage the affairs of religion. So why do you backbite them and why do you disparage them?
The obligatory thing is the opposite: that you praise them, that you make du'a' for them, and that you follow their example. If something of this has occurred from you, you must hasten to repent from backbiting the people of knowledge. You must hasten to repent and leave this evil deed. If the one you backbite is a specific person, you must seek his forgiveness. But if he is not specific, and you are disparaging the people of knowledge in general and the people of good in general, then there is nothing in that except repentance to Allah, leaving this thing, making du'a' for the scholars, and seeking forgiveness for them. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-03-التوبة آداب وأحكام|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:15:03)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.