Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Woe to every slanderer and backbiter)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Woe to every slanderer and backbiter)]
In this surah, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) begins with the word (Woe), which is a word of warning,Meaning: indicating that a warning is established for whoever is characterized by these traits: (slanderer and backbiter) and so on.
And it was said: (Woe) is the name of a valley in Hellfire, but the first opinion is more correct.
Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Humazah: 1] (Every) is a form of generality,The slanderer and the backbiter: and (slanderer) and (backbiter) are two descriptions for one described person. Do they have the same meaning? Or do they differ in meaning?Some scholars said: They are two words for one meaning,Meaning: that the slanderer is the backbiter.
And some of them said: Rather, each of them has a meaning different from the other.
And there is a rule I would like to point out in exegesis and outside of exegesis, which is: when the matter revolves around whether a word has the same meaning as the other word, or whether each word has its own meaning, we follow the second option,Meaning: we assign a meaning to each one; because if we made the two words have the same meaning, there would be a repetition in this with no need for it, but if we gave each one a meaning, this would be an establishment and a distinction between the two words,And the correct opinion regarding this verse: (to every slanderer and backbiter) there is a difference between them: the slander is by action and the backbiting is by the tongue,As Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Tawbah: 58] Slander by action means: that he mocks people by his action, either by twisting his face, or frowning with his face, or something similar to that,Or by pointing, he points to a person saying: look at him to criticize him, or something similar to that.
So the slander is by action, and the backbiting is by the tongue, and some people -may Allah protect us from that- are obsessed with the faults of people, either by their action, which is the slanderer, or by their speech, which is the backbiter,And this is like His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Qalam: 10-11] .
In this surah, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) begins with the word (Woe), which is a word of warning,Meaning: indicating that a warning is established for whoever is characterized by these traits: (slanderer and backbiter) and so on.
And it was said: (Woe) is the name of a valley in Hellfire, but the first opinion is more correct.
Allah the Exalted said:
to every scorner and mocker
لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍAnd some of them said: Rather, each of them has a meaning different from the other.
And there is a rule I would like to point out in exegesis and outside of exegesis, which is: when the matter revolves around whether a word has the same meaning as the other word, or whether each word has its own meaning, we follow the second option,Meaning: we assign a meaning to each one; because if we made the two words have the same meaning, there would be a repetition in this with no need for it, but if we gave each one a meaning, this would be an establishment and a distinction between the two words,And the correct opinion regarding this verse: (to every slanderer and backbiter) there is a difference between them: the slander is by action and the backbiting is by the tongue,As Allah the Exalted said:
And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَSo the slander is by action, and the backbiting is by the tongue, and some people -may Allah protect us from that- are obsessed with the faults of people, either by their action, which is the slanderer, or by their speech, which is the backbiter,And this is like His saying, the Exalted: