Prohibition of Publicizing Faults and Explanation of Its Danger

It is not permissible, under any circumstances, to publicize someone’s faults, especially if he is a scholar or a ruler. For if you publicize the error of a scholar, you have in reality wronged him personally, just as you wrong others, but you have added to this wrong a wrong against the knowledge he carries and the Shari'ah he speaks about. If scholars fall from the eyes of people, their words will have no measure, and people will not trust their words. At that point, a part of the Shari'ah will be lost through the hand of this scholar who erred once, and since no one is free from error, many benefits will be lost by publicizing his faults. This is a great crime, not only against the person himself, but against the person and the Shari'ah of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that he carries, as is well known. If this is done with a ruler and you publicize his faults, you have wronged him personally, just as you wrong others, and you have wronged security once again. This is because the guardians of security are the rulers and those given the authority of punishment and execution. If you publicize their faults, their awe in the hearts of people will diminish, and they will become like the common people, with no one caring about them, their commands, or their prohibitions. At that point, security will be disrupted and rebellion will occur. Thus, publicizing the faults of scholars necessitates rebellion against the Shari'ah that this scholar carries and speaks about, and publicizing the faults of rulers necessitates rebellion against them and the collapse of the structure upon which society is built, namely security, and the loss of control. This is a great and major crime.For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: [al-Nisa:59] .
Who are those in authority?Those in authority are two groups of people: The scholars are those in authority regarding the Shari'ah of Allah and its clarification to creation, and the rulers are those in authority regarding the implementation of the Shari'ah and the preservation of security. Allah has made obedience to these people obligatory for the sake of preserving the Shari'ah, preserving security, and the order of people. For if people rebelled against them and made the command of the ruler or the command of the scholar like the command of Zayd or 'Abd, they would have no authority over hearts or souls, and they would become like the common people. If they speak, the person is at his option: if he wishes, he accepts what they say, and if he wishes, he rejects it. If they command, the person is at his option: if he wishes, he obeys, and if he wishes, he disobeys. Otherwise, he is at his option: if he wishes, he stops, and if he wishes, he acts. This is one of the major issues.For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: [al-Nisa:59] It did not say: "And let some of you obey others,"He said: [al-Nisa:59] but it specified those in authority.