The Ruling on Backbiting and Talebearing, and an Explanation of the Meaning of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Statement: “They Will Not Be Punished for a Major Sin”

Question:
He asks: Is backbiting among the major sins? And if it is among the major sins, how do we respond to those who cite the hadith of Ibn Abbas and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “And they will not be punished for a major sin”?

Answer:
The scholars have differed on this, and there are two narrations in the madhhab of Ahmad: is backbiting and talebearing a major sin or a minor one? There are two narrations from Imam Ahmad. According to the view that they are major sins, the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) statement “They will not be punished for a major sin” means a major sin whose prevention is difficult, whose prevention is not easy for them, and whose avoidance is not easy. Therefore, he said: “As for it being a major sin, yes, but they will not be punished for a major sin,” meaning a difficult matter. Then he said: “As for it being a major sin,” meaning it is among the major sins. Yes. So it is among the major sins, but it is not a major sin in terms of the difficulty of its prevention and avoidance. Yes.