Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): (… and what a bad man so-and-so is, and what a bad man so-and-so is).

The Shaykh : It is mentioned at the end of the hadith that just as he praised Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and the other Companions mentioned in this context by saying: , it is mentioned at the end of the hadith that he said: , counting up to seven. In this hadith, just as praise is permissible with the aforementioned condition, which is what? That we guarantee not harming the one being praised, so too is it permissible to criticize some people if they are deserving of such criticism. It may be said that criticism is an attack, meaning that so-and-so’s criticism of so-and-so is an attack on him. It is permissible—just as praise is permissible—to criticize some people and attack them, provided that first, the attack is justified, and second, it serves an Islamic social interest. Otherwise, attacking people is backbiting, and we all know the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . However, backbiting is permissible and allowed at times if an Islamic social interest follows from it.