Diminishing the honor of open sinners and disbelievers
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, it is forbidden to disparage the honor of a just Muslim. So what about disparaging the honor of open sinners, such as Muslim actresses and dancers? They are called whores, and likewise disparaging the honor of a disbeliever. Is that permissible?
The Shaykh:
A Muslim protects his tongue from cursing, insulting, and mutual oath-swearing. As for the singers, calling them whores is an intention, and may Allah protect us, for singing is forbidden without doubt and is a crime. But as for whores, meaning women who commit unlawful sexual intercourse, a person is not permitted to call them whores unless it is proven by four witnesses that they are whores. The matter is serious in this regard. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the definition of a homosexual? Is it limited to a specific category?
The Shaykh:
Speaking about an open sinner: if it is in the context of forbidding evil and warning people for a benefit, there is no harm. But if it is in the context of making light of people’s honor, that is not permissible and does not go beyond backbiting. However, if it is in the context of forbidding evil or complaining to the authority in order to take action against him for a resulting benefit, there is no harm. But if it is in the context of musing over it and occupying gatherings with people’s faults, that is forbidden and does not go beyond your permission. The open sinner is a Muslim, so his honor is protected, he is covered, and he is not exposed, because he is a Muslim.
Honorable Shaykh, it is forbidden to disparage the honor of a just Muslim. So what about disparaging the honor of open sinners, such as Muslim actresses and dancers? They are called whores, and likewise disparaging the honor of a disbeliever. Is that permissible?
The Shaykh:
A Muslim protects his tongue from cursing, insulting, and mutual oath-swearing. As for the singers, calling them whores is an intention, and may Allah protect us, for singing is forbidden without doubt and is a crime. But as for whores, meaning women who commit unlawful sexual intercourse, a person is not permitted to call them whores unless it is proven by four witnesses that they are whores. The matter is serious in this regard. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the definition of a homosexual? Is it limited to a specific category?
The Shaykh:
Speaking about an open sinner: if it is in the context of forbidding evil and warning people for a benefit, there is no harm. But if it is in the context of making light of people’s honor, that is not permissible and does not go beyond backbiting. However, if it is in the context of forbidding evil or complaining to the authority in order to take action against him for a resulting benefit, there is no harm. But if it is in the context of musing over it and occupying gatherings with people’s faults, that is forbidden and does not go beyond your permission. The open sinner is a Muslim, so his honor is protected, he is covered, and he is not exposed, because he is a Muslim.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب العارية — islamhouse.com (49:30)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.