The Obligation to Forbid Backbiting in Gatherings or to Boycott Those Who Engage in It
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In some gatherings, a person attends and there are some relatives present, and perhaps they speak in backbiting, or they speak in a way that you do not know whether it is backbiting or not. So the person is in a struggle in these gatherings, not knowing if it is backbiting. Perhaps he forbids the backbiting, and there are some relatives present. Should he boycott these gatherings? Also, if he hears backbiting, should he get up from this gathering?
If a person attends a gathering in which there is backbiting, whether from relatives or from strangers, it is obligatory for him to forbid this and to warn these people about backbiting. If they stop, that is what is required. If they do not stop, it is obligatory for him to get up, and he should not sit in a gathering in which there is backbiting.By the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): [Surat al-Nisa: 140] So Allah made those who sat there like those who participated.
The questioner: If the father is present and he gets angry if you get up from the gathering, what is the ruling?The Shaykh: And it is backbiting that is confirmed?The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Which is more preferable, to prioritize the pleasure of Allah or the pleasure of the father?The questioner: The pleasure of Allah.
The Shaykh: So get up, whether the father is pleased or not.
If a person attends a gathering in which there is backbiting, whether from relatives or from strangers, it is obligatory for him to forbid this and to warn these people about backbiting. If they stop, that is what is required. If they do not stop, it is obligatory for him to get up, and he should not sit in a gathering in which there is backbiting.By the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):
And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً مِثْلُهُمْThe questioner: If the father is present and he gets angry if you get up from the gathering, what is the ruling?The Shaykh: And it is backbiting that is confirmed?The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Which is more preferable, to prioritize the pleasure of Allah or the pleasure of the father?The questioner: The pleasure of Allah.
The Shaykh: So get up, whether the father is pleased or not.