Types of Permissible Backbiting, Part One: "The One Who Has Been Wronged"
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The Shaykh :"Criticizing is not backbiting in six cases"
The first is the one who has been wronged. "The one who has been wronged" means one who has been oppressed and complains of his oppression to people so that they may give him his rights and deliver him from his oppressor. It is permissible for this wronged person to say, "So-and-so has wronged me." If we apply the previous hadith to the statement "So-and-so has wronged me":Sunan Abi Dawud 4874 There is no doubt that a person dislikes the statement "So-and-so has wronged me." Is this, my saying "So-and-so has wronged me," from the forbidden backbiting that was prohibited in the Book and the Sunnah? Or is it this permissible backbiting? The answer is: It is permissible backbiting, and it may even become obligatory at times if the only way to reach the truth is through backbiting the oppressor. Of course, the scholars did not say this based merely on their own opinion; rather, there are incidents in the Sunnah that attest to the permissibility of describing the oppressor with his oppression by the wronged person so that he may reach his suppressed right. Among these is what the author of our book, Imam al-Bukhari, narrated in *Al-Adab al-Mufrad* and others from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): أن رجلاً جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : يا رسول الله جاري ظلمني، قال عليه الصلاة والسلام : اجعل متاعك على قارعة الطريق، ففعل الرجل ، فشيء ... الناس بطبيعة الحال، فكلما مرّ بعضهم قالوا: مالك يا فلان؟ يقول: جاري ظلمني، مالك يا فلان ؟ جاري ظلمني فما كان منهم إلا أن ينالوا منه وأن يسبوه ويشتموه ، بل يقولون لعنه الله كيف مسلم يظلم أخاه المسلم ؟ قاتله الله لعنه الله والجار يسمع هذه السباب وهذه الشتائم بأذنه ، فكان هذا كافياً لتأديبه وردعه ونهيه عن ظلمه فجاء إلى الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام فقال : يا رسول الله مُر جاري بأن يعيد متاعه إلى داره .
فقول الرجل أولاً للرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم : هذا الرجل ظلمني هذه غيبة ، لأنه يصفه بما يكره بطبيعة الحال ، ولكن لما كان هذا المظلوم لا يصف جاره بالظلم هكذا من باب التشفّي، ومن باب إرواء غليل غيره ، وإنما ليعرّف الرسول عليه السلام بحاله حتى يعالج له أمره، وهذا االذي وقع فعلا فوصّاه الرسول عليه السلام بطريقة عملية وينهيه من ظلمه جاره الظالم ، وتقيل الظالم في الوقت نفسه وذلك أنه عليه السلام أمره بأن يلقي بمتاع البيت في الطريق فكان الناس كما سمعتم إذا رأينا ذلك سألوه عن السبب فيقول : جاري ظلمني، فتنهال عليه تلك السّبائب والشتائم فكان ذلك سبباً لردعه عن ظلمه.
بمثل هذا الحديث أخذ العلماء جواز غيبة الظالم من المظلوم ، وهذا ما صرّح به القرآن الكريم حيث قال عز وجل : لا يحبّ الله الجهر بالسوء من القول إلا من ظُلم هذه الآية صريحة أن الإنسان لا يتكلم بكلام سيء إلا من المظلوم، فيجوز أن يتكّلم بكلام ضد ظالمه حتى يتوصل به إلى حقه المهضوم، ومن هنا يأتي الحديث الذي يذكره الفقهاء في كتاب الحقوق والبيوع، قال عليه السلام : لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه وعقوبته لي الواجد : الّلَي يعني المماطلة، والواجد : هو الغني المستقرض مالا من غيره يجد في ماله وفاءً له ثم يماطله ولا يوافيه حقّه ، كما قال عليه السلام في حديث آخر : مطل الغني ظلم لكن في حديثنا الأول يقول: لي الواجد يُحلّ عرضه وعقوبته لي: المماطلة، الواجد: يعني الغني، يحل عرضه يعني يحل لصاحب الحق الذي يطالبه بالوفاء أن ينال منه، أن يقول فلان مقترض مني من سنة من سنتين وعنده مال ... هذه غيبة لكنها غيبة جائزة ، لما ذكرنا آنفاً من قصة ذلك الرجل الذي ظلمه جاره لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه وعقوبته يحل عرضه : من الدائن الذي لا يفيه ، وعقوبته من الحاكم فهو يستطيع أن يطوله وأن يناله بأذى ، بحبس أو بجلد جلدات من باب التأديب لماذا تمنع أخاك المسلم حقّه.
الشاهد : من الحديث قوله عليه السلام : لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه يعني النيل منه بينما هذا النّيل لا يجوز لأخ الإسلام كما سمعتنّ في هذا الحديث من قوله عليه السلام : إلا امرءً اقترض امرء ظلما فذاك الذي هلك وحرج هذا النّوع الأول مما يجوز استغابته وهو المتظلّم لظالمه. A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, my neighbor has wronged me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Put your goods on the side of the road." So the man did so. Then, naturally, people were affected by it. Whenever some of them passed by, they would say, "What is the matter with you, so-and-so?" He would say, "My neighbor has wronged me." "What is the matter with you, so-and-so?" "My neighbor has wronged me." So they did nothing but speak ill of him, curse him, and insult him. In fact, they would say, "May Allah curse him! How can a Muslim wrong his Muslim brother? May Allah fight him! May Allah curse him!" The neighbor would hear these curses and insults with his own ears. This was sufficient to discipline him, deter him, and stop him from his oppression. So he came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, order my neighbor to return his goods to his house." The man's initial statement to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), "This man has wronged me," is backbiting, because he is describing him with what he dislikes, naturally. However, since this wronged person was not describing his neighbor as an oppressor just to vent his anger or to satisfy his own grievance, but rather to inform the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of his situation so that he could address his matter—and this is what actually happened—the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) advised him with a practical method to stop his oppressive neighbor, and to punish the oppressor at the same time. That is because he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to throw his household goods onto the road. So, as you heard, when people saw that, they asked him about the reason, and he would say, "My neighbor has wronged me." Then those curses and insults would pour down on him, and that became a cause for deterring him from his oppression. The scholars took from this hadith the permissibility of backbiting the oppressor by the wronged person. This is what the Noble Quran explicitly stated, where He, the Exalted, said: "Allah does not like the public utterance of evil except by one who has been wronged." This verse is explicit that a person does not speak ill except the wronged one. It is permissible to speak against one's oppressor until one reaches his suppressed right. From here comes the hadith that jurists mention in the book of rights and sales. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "The delay of the one who has the means": "Delay" means procrastination, and "the one who has the means" is the rich person who has borrowed money from others and has the means to repay it, but he procrastinates and does not give him his right. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in another hadith: "The delay of the rich is oppression." But in our first hadith, it says: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "Delay" means procrastination, "the one who has the means" means the rich person. "Makes his honor permissible" means it is permissible for the one who has the right, who is demanding repayment, to speak ill of him, to say, "So-and-so borrowed from me a year or two ago and has money..." This is backbiting, but it is permissible backbiting, as we mentioned earlier regarding the story of that man whose neighbor wronged him. "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "Makes his honor permissible": from the creditor who does not repay him. "And his punishment": from the ruler, who can punish him and harm him, by imprisonment or by flogging with lashes as a form of discipline, for why he is preventing his Muslim brother from his right. The point from the hadith is his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor permissible," meaning speaking ill of him, while this speaking ill is not permissible for a Muslim brother, as you heard in this hadith from his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement: "Except for a man who borrowed from a man unjustly; that is the one who is ruined and in danger." This is the first type of what is permissible to backbite, namely the one who has been wronged by his oppressor.
The first is the one who has been wronged. "The one who has been wronged" means one who has been oppressed and complains of his oppression to people so that they may give him his rights and deliver him from his oppressor. It is permissible for this wronged person to say, "So-and-so has wronged me." If we apply the previous hadith to the statement "So-and-so has wronged me":
It is saying something about your brother which he would dislike
الغيبة ذكرك أخاك بما يكرهفقول الرجل أولاً للرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم : هذا الرجل ظلمني هذه غيبة ، لأنه يصفه بما يكره بطبيعة الحال ، ولكن لما كان هذا المظلوم لا يصف جاره بالظلم هكذا من باب التشفّي، ومن باب إرواء غليل غيره ، وإنما ليعرّف الرسول عليه السلام بحاله حتى يعالج له أمره، وهذا االذي وقع فعلا فوصّاه الرسول عليه السلام بطريقة عملية وينهيه من ظلمه جاره الظالم ، وتقيل الظالم في الوقت نفسه وذلك أنه عليه السلام أمره بأن يلقي بمتاع البيت في الطريق فكان الناس كما سمعتم إذا رأينا ذلك سألوه عن السبب فيقول : جاري ظلمني، فتنهال عليه تلك السّبائب والشتائم فكان ذلك سبباً لردعه عن ظلمه.
بمثل هذا الحديث أخذ العلماء جواز غيبة الظالم من المظلوم ، وهذا ما صرّح به القرآن الكريم حيث قال عز وجل : لا يحبّ الله الجهر بالسوء من القول إلا من ظُلم هذه الآية صريحة أن الإنسان لا يتكلم بكلام سيء إلا من المظلوم، فيجوز أن يتكّلم بكلام ضد ظالمه حتى يتوصل به إلى حقه المهضوم، ومن هنا يأتي الحديث الذي يذكره الفقهاء في كتاب الحقوق والبيوع، قال عليه السلام : لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه وعقوبته لي الواجد : الّلَي يعني المماطلة، والواجد : هو الغني المستقرض مالا من غيره يجد في ماله وفاءً له ثم يماطله ولا يوافيه حقّه ، كما قال عليه السلام في حديث آخر : مطل الغني ظلم لكن في حديثنا الأول يقول: لي الواجد يُحلّ عرضه وعقوبته لي: المماطلة، الواجد: يعني الغني، يحل عرضه يعني يحل لصاحب الحق الذي يطالبه بالوفاء أن ينال منه، أن يقول فلان مقترض مني من سنة من سنتين وعنده مال ... هذه غيبة لكنها غيبة جائزة ، لما ذكرنا آنفاً من قصة ذلك الرجل الذي ظلمه جاره لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه وعقوبته يحل عرضه : من الدائن الذي لا يفيه ، وعقوبته من الحاكم فهو يستطيع أن يطوله وأن يناله بأذى ، بحبس أو بجلد جلدات من باب التأديب لماذا تمنع أخاك المسلم حقّه.
الشاهد : من الحديث قوله عليه السلام : لَيُّ الواجد يحل عرضه يعني النيل منه بينما هذا النّيل لا يجوز لأخ الإسلام كما سمعتنّ في هذا الحديث من قوله عليه السلام : إلا امرءً اقترض امرء ظلما فذاك الذي هلك وحرج هذا النّوع الأول مما يجوز استغابته وهو المتظلّم لظالمه. A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, my neighbor has wronged me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Put your goods on the side of the road." So the man did so. Then, naturally, people were affected by it. Whenever some of them passed by, they would say, "What is the matter with you, so-and-so?" He would say, "My neighbor has wronged me." "What is the matter with you, so-and-so?" "My neighbor has wronged me." So they did nothing but speak ill of him, curse him, and insult him. In fact, they would say, "May Allah curse him! How can a Muslim wrong his Muslim brother? May Allah fight him! May Allah curse him!" The neighbor would hear these curses and insults with his own ears. This was sufficient to discipline him, deter him, and stop him from his oppression. So he came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, order my neighbor to return his goods to his house." The man's initial statement to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), "This man has wronged me," is backbiting, because he is describing him with what he dislikes, naturally. However, since this wronged person was not describing his neighbor as an oppressor just to vent his anger or to satisfy his own grievance, but rather to inform the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of his situation so that he could address his matter—and this is what actually happened—the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) advised him with a practical method to stop his oppressive neighbor, and to punish the oppressor at the same time. That is because he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to throw his household goods onto the road. So, as you heard, when people saw that, they asked him about the reason, and he would say, "My neighbor has wronged me." Then those curses and insults would pour down on him, and that became a cause for deterring him from his oppression. The scholars took from this hadith the permissibility of backbiting the oppressor by the wronged person. This is what the Noble Quran explicitly stated, where He, the Exalted, said: "Allah does not like the public utterance of evil except by one who has been wronged." This verse is explicit that a person does not speak ill except the wronged one. It is permissible to speak against one's oppressor until one reaches his suppressed right. From here comes the hadith that jurists mention in the book of rights and sales. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "The delay of the one who has the means": "Delay" means procrastination, and "the one who has the means" is the rich person who has borrowed money from others and has the means to repay it, but he procrastinates and does not give him his right. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in another hadith: "The delay of the rich is oppression." But in our first hadith, it says: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "Delay" means procrastination, "the one who has the means" means the rich person. "Makes his honor permissible" means it is permissible for the one who has the right, who is demanding repayment, to speak ill of him, to say, "So-and-so borrowed from me a year or two ago and has money..." This is backbiting, but it is permissible backbiting, as we mentioned earlier regarding the story of that man whose neighbor wronged him. "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor and punishment permissible." "Makes his honor permissible": from the creditor who does not repay him. "And his punishment": from the ruler, who can punish him and harm him, by imprisonment or by flogging with lashes as a form of discipline, for why he is preventing his Muslim brother from his right. The point from the hadith is his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement: "The delay of the one who has the means makes his honor permissible," meaning speaking ill of him, while this speaking ill is not permissible for a Muslim brother, as you heard in this hadith from his (peace and blessings be upon him) statement: "Except for a man who borrowed from a man unjustly; that is the one who is ruined and in danger." This is the first type of what is permissible to backbite, namely the one who has been wronged by his oppressor.