Mentioning the faults of the people of a country or region and its relation to backbiting
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Welcome, may Allah keep you safe. Peace be upon you. Now, regarding the 'Asr prayer, Shaykh, some people understood that you said it is permissible to criticize a specific region, a specific house, or a specific village.
The Shaykh:
We do not call this backbiting. As for leaving off the criticism, that is better. He speaks about what people say, but it is not called backbiting. I do not know about his statement, "Do not backbite." If it is said, "The people of Algeria have such a custom," or "The people of Riyadh have a custom of such-and-such," or "The people of Makkah have a beautiful custom," this does not count as backbiting.
The questioner:
What? 'Umrah.
The Shaykh:
So if it is said, "The people of Algeria have the fitnah of fighting now, God willing, stupidity."
The questioner:
May Allah bless you.
Another questioner:
May Allah reward you for the 'Umrah.
The Shaykh:
And so in Somalia, and so in Afghanistan.
The questioner:
Some understood that you are implying that if you criticize them, for example, saying they are the people of such a place who are cowardly, or the people of such a place.
The Shaykh:
This is a matter related to governance; this is a different matter, this is a different matter.
Another questioner:
But, by Allah.
The Shaykh:
So one should avoid this thing, as it causes fitnah.
The questioner:
It is forbidden.
The Shaykh:
And also, he might say it falsely, not knowing about him, so leave it off.
Another questioner:
Or.
The Shaykh:
And if you want freedom, be respected from the evil of his tongue.
Another questioner:
It does not fall under the statement "and[Al-Hujurat 49:11]." It is about describing.
The Shaykh:
No, mockery and ridicule; as for this, seeing them as stingy or cowardly, leave this or not, but its falling under backbiting is a matter of consideration, and we do not know backbiting to be mentioning the supporter,
Another questioner:
May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
for a specific person or a specific group, so-and-so and so-and-so.
Another questioner:
Next, the proxy, Shaykh, if a person is wearing it but is not pleased.
The Shaykh:
As for this, it may fall under the statement about the one who is asked about. It may fall under His statement, Exalted and Majestic is He,[Al-Hujurat 49:11]
Welcome, may Allah keep you safe. Peace be upon you. Now, regarding the 'Asr prayer, Shaykh, some people understood that you said it is permissible to criticize a specific region, a specific house, or a specific village.
The Shaykh:
We do not call this backbiting. As for leaving off the criticism, that is better. He speaks about what people say, but it is not called backbiting. I do not know about his statement, "Do not backbite." If it is said, "The people of Algeria have such a custom," or "The people of Riyadh have a custom of such-and-such," or "The people of Makkah have a beautiful custom," this does not count as backbiting.
The questioner:
What? 'Umrah.
The Shaykh:
So if it is said, "The people of Algeria have the fitnah of fighting now, God willing, stupidity."
The questioner:
May Allah bless you.
Another questioner:
May Allah reward you for the 'Umrah.
The Shaykh:
And so in Somalia, and so in Afghanistan.
The questioner:
Some understood that you are implying that if you criticize them, for example, saying they are the people of such a place who are cowardly, or the people of such a place.
The Shaykh:
This is a matter related to governance; this is a different matter, this is a different matter.
Another questioner:
But, by Allah.
The Shaykh:
So one should avoid this thing, as it causes fitnah.
The questioner:
It is forbidden.
The Shaykh:
And also, he might say it falsely, not knowing about him, so leave it off.
Another questioner:
Or.
The Shaykh:
And if you want freedom, be respected from the evil of his tongue.
Another questioner:
It does not fall under the statement "and
let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better
لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰ أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْرًاThe Shaykh:
No, mockery and ridicule; as for this, seeing them as stingy or cowardly, leave this or not, but its falling under backbiting is a matter of consideration, and we do not know backbiting to be mentioning the supporter,
Another questioner:
May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
for a specific person or a specific group, so-and-so and so-and-so.
Another questioner:
Next, the proxy, Shaykh, if a person is wearing it but is not pleased.
The Shaykh:
As for this, it may fall under the statement about the one who is asked about. It may fall under His statement, Exalted and Majestic is He,
And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames
وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام [ ابن باز ] [ الشرح الجديد ]، كتاب الحج : باب فضله، وبيان من فُرِضَ عليه — islamhouse.com (12:36)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.