Advice to those who speak ill of scholars and rulers
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Your Eminence! In some gatherings, some people speak ill of many students of knowledge and scholars, criticizing and judging them! We seek advice for these people so that they may occupy themselves with what benefits them?
It is well known that backbiting is one of the major sins,And backbiting is: Backbiting is mentioning your brother in a way he would dislike; this is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defined it. Allah has warned against it in His Book with the most emphatic warning, saying (Exalted and Majestic is He): [Surah al-Hujurat: 12] Who would be offered the flesh of his dead brother and eat it? No one would eat it; everyone detests it. This is an analogy from which the utmost warning against backbiting is derived. If the backbiting is of the rulers, whether scholars or princes, it is even more severe; for backbiting scholars leads to their disparagement, and when people disparage their scholars, they derive no benefit from their knowledge, and the Shari'ah is lost. If people do not benefit from the scholars' knowledge, what do they benefit from? The ignorance of the ignorant? Or the misguidance of the misguided? For this reason, we consider the one who backbites scholars to have committed a transgression against the Shari'ah first, and against these scholars second. The nature of the transgression against the Shari'ah is what I mentioned: it entails not accepting what these scholars say regarding the Shari'ah of Allah, because their status has been diminished and they have fallen from the eyes of the people, so it is not possible to benefit from their knowledge. As for it being backbiting of the individual, that is clear.
As for the princes, backbiting them is also more severe than backbiting others; because it includes personal backbiting, which is one of the major sins, and it includes rebellion against the princes and rulers; because if people dislike a person, they do not respond to his guidance or his orders, but rather they oppose him and conspire against him. This results in great evil; because if the hearts of the subjects are filled with hatred and enmity toward the rulers, the reins are loosened, and fear prevails instead of security. This is something observed and experienced.
For this reason, we see that it is obligatory for the general people, and especially for the students of knowledge, if they hear about a scholar something they do not see as true, to first verify the authenticity of its attribution to this scholar. How many people have attributed to scholars things they did not say! Then, if it is established for him that he said it, it is obligatory upon him, in the context of advice to Allah the Exalted and His Book, and His Messenger, and the leaders of the Muslims, to contact this scholar and say: I have heard that you said such and such, is this true? Either he denies it, and in that case we demand from the one who transmitted this statement from him the evidence, or he admits it. If he admits it, I explain to him my perspective,I say: saying that this statement you made is not correct. Either he convinces me, or I convince him, or each of us has a perspective in what he said, in which case he is excused by his ijtihad and I am excused by my ijtihad. It is not for me to speak about his honor; because if I permitted myself to speak about his honor, I would have permitted him to speak about my honor as well, and in that case, discord, enmity, and hatred would result.
As for the princes, they are the second matter as well. Speaking about the princes is common, and you know that.Let me give you a simple example: If the ruler orders that a person be disciplined with a disciplinary punishment that he deserves according to the Shari'ah, will this disciplined person, with the weakness of faith in our time, accept this discipline and see it as right? Or will he see it as injustice and that this prince is encroaching upon him?The second: This is the reality.Meaning: We are not in an era like the era of the Companions, where a man would come and say: O Messenger of Allah! I committed zina, purify me.
So if the ruler orders that this man be disciplined, he spreads the news—just as some scholars said about a person who spread a specific case about him in the past,He said: saying, "You are a person who spreads the complaint and conceals the case"—and people complain that he is oppressed and that this—Meaning: the ruler—is unjust, and the like of that.
Therefore: Backbiting the rulers entails two prohibitions: The first prohibition is that it is backbiting a Muslim man.
And the second thing to be wary of: It entails filling the hearts with hatred toward the princes and their rulers, and disliking and hating them, and not obeying their orders; and in that case, the reins of security are loosened. For this reason, we see the publications that are circulated cursing the rulers or the government, and we see that this is forbidden and that it is not permissible for a person to publish them; because if he publishes them, it means it is backbiting of a person from which we do not benefit regarding him in any way. We do not benefit except that the hearts hate and dislike them. But will this improve the situation if the situation is bad? Absolutely not.
It only increases the severity of the matter. We see that publishing such publications makes a person sinful for it; because it is backbiting without doubt, and it causes the subjects to hate and dislike their leaders, and this results in great harm.
And even if we assume the truth of what is in these publications, although we do not know if it is true or if it is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (If it contains what you said, you have backbitten him, and if it does not contain what you said, you have slandered him) .
But even granting that it is true and that it is the truth, is it permissible for us to publish it while it is backbiting;Because backbiting: (mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) ? And if we knew that this publication is true and that it would solve the problem, I would be the first to publish this and the first to distribute it. But we know that it needs proof from one angle, and it needs—also—Until we look at: to determine whether its publication is in the interest or in the harm? Perhaps the harm resulting from its publication is much greater than this error itself; for this reason, it is obligatory for a person to fear Allah first and foremost, and not to publish the faults of people without verification, and not to publish the faults of people except if he sees that the interest lies in publishing them. As for if the matter is the opposite, he has added to the harm of publishing the faults of people another harm. And Allah is his accountant, and he will meet his reward with his Lord.And we are speaking here about evidence, so we say: Are the publications about the faults of people, whether princes or scholars, of the category of: (mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) or not?Answer: Yes,From the perspective of: (Mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) And if it is of this category, is this backbiting or not backbiting? It is backbiting. Who said it is backbiting? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said it, the most knowledgeable of creation, the most advising of creation, and the most truthful of creation.
So if backbiting is forbidden, does this backbiting result in reforming what is corrupted? Absolutely not, it does not result in reforming what is corrupted.
It is thus clear that publishing the publications is forbidden and distributing them is forbidden, and that the one who does so is sinful and that he will be held accountable according to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah;Because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient) And this contradicts patience, without doubt.
Someone might say: Indeed, Allah the Exalted said in His Book: [An-Nisa: 148] So we say: Yes.
But the meaning of the noble verse is: It is not permissible to be loud with evil except if you are wronged, then you are loud in your wrong in the complaint until your wrong is removed. This is the meaning of the verse.Meaning: If a person wrongs me, he is a sinner. I go to any person and say: So-and-so wronged me and encroached upon me, and there is no harm in that; [An-Nisa: 148] And it did not say: Allah does not love the loudness of evil speech except for the wrongdoer, so that we say it is general. Except for the one who is wronged, he is allowed to be loud with evil speech regarding the one who wronged him; because it is in the nature of a person that he speaks to his friend about the wrong a person has done to him; because in this is relief for him and removal of grief, and there is no harm in this.
As for publishing the faults of people in a way we know that its harm is much greater than its benefit, if there is any benefit, and we do not know if it will be established or not; then no sane person who knows the sources and origins of the Shari'ah doubts that this is forbidden. So we ask Allah the Exalted to protect us and you from the evil of trials, what is apparent of them and what is hidden, and to reform our rulers, the scholars and the princes, and to reform our general people. Indeed, He is capable of all things.
It is well known that backbiting is one of the major sins,And backbiting is: Backbiting is mentioning your brother in a way he would dislike; this is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defined it. Allah has warned against it in His Book with the most emphatic warning, saying (Exalted and Majestic is He):
or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.
وَلا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتاً فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَحِيمٌAs for the princes, backbiting them is also more severe than backbiting others; because it includes personal backbiting, which is one of the major sins, and it includes rebellion against the princes and rulers; because if people dislike a person, they do not respond to his guidance or his orders, but rather they oppose him and conspire against him. This results in great evil; because if the hearts of the subjects are filled with hatred and enmity toward the rulers, the reins are loosened, and fear prevails instead of security. This is something observed and experienced.
For this reason, we see that it is obligatory for the general people, and especially for the students of knowledge, if they hear about a scholar something they do not see as true, to first verify the authenticity of its attribution to this scholar. How many people have attributed to scholars things they did not say! Then, if it is established for him that he said it, it is obligatory upon him, in the context of advice to Allah the Exalted and His Book, and His Messenger, and the leaders of the Muslims, to contact this scholar and say: I have heard that you said such and such, is this true? Either he denies it, and in that case we demand from the one who transmitted this statement from him the evidence, or he admits it. If he admits it, I explain to him my perspective,I say: saying that this statement you made is not correct. Either he convinces me, or I convince him, or each of us has a perspective in what he said, in which case he is excused by his ijtihad and I am excused by my ijtihad. It is not for me to speak about his honor; because if I permitted myself to speak about his honor, I would have permitted him to speak about my honor as well, and in that case, discord, enmity, and hatred would result.
As for the princes, they are the second matter as well. Speaking about the princes is common, and you know that.Let me give you a simple example: If the ruler orders that a person be disciplined with a disciplinary punishment that he deserves according to the Shari'ah, will this disciplined person, with the weakness of faith in our time, accept this discipline and see it as right? Or will he see it as injustice and that this prince is encroaching upon him?The second: This is the reality.Meaning: We are not in an era like the era of the Companions, where a man would come and say: O Messenger of Allah! I committed zina, purify me.
So if the ruler orders that this man be disciplined, he spreads the news—just as some scholars said about a person who spread a specific case about him in the past,He said: saying, "You are a person who spreads the complaint and conceals the case"—and people complain that he is oppressed and that this—Meaning: the ruler—is unjust, and the like of that.
Therefore: Backbiting the rulers entails two prohibitions: The first prohibition is that it is backbiting a Muslim man.
And the second thing to be wary of: It entails filling the hearts with hatred toward the princes and their rulers, and disliking and hating them, and not obeying their orders; and in that case, the reins of security are loosened. For this reason, we see the publications that are circulated cursing the rulers or the government, and we see that this is forbidden and that it is not permissible for a person to publish them; because if he publishes them, it means it is backbiting of a person from which we do not benefit regarding him in any way. We do not benefit except that the hearts hate and dislike them. But will this improve the situation if the situation is bad? Absolutely not.
It only increases the severity of the matter. We see that publishing such publications makes a person sinful for it; because it is backbiting without doubt, and it causes the subjects to hate and dislike their leaders, and this results in great harm.
And even if we assume the truth of what is in these publications, although we do not know if it is true or if it is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (If it contains what you said, you have backbitten him, and if it does not contain what you said, you have slandered him) .
But even granting that it is true and that it is the truth, is it permissible for us to publish it while it is backbiting;Because backbiting: (mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) ? And if we knew that this publication is true and that it would solve the problem, I would be the first to publish this and the first to distribute it. But we know that it needs proof from one angle, and it needs—also—Until we look at: to determine whether its publication is in the interest or in the harm? Perhaps the harm resulting from its publication is much greater than this error itself; for this reason, it is obligatory for a person to fear Allah first and foremost, and not to publish the faults of people without verification, and not to publish the faults of people except if he sees that the interest lies in publishing them. As for if the matter is the opposite, he has added to the harm of publishing the faults of people another harm. And Allah is his accountant, and he will meet his reward with his Lord.And we are speaking here about evidence, so we say: Are the publications about the faults of people, whether princes or scholars, of the category of: (mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) or not?Answer: Yes,From the perspective of: (Mentioning your brother with what he dislikes) And if it is of this category, is this backbiting or not backbiting? It is backbiting. Who said it is backbiting? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said it, the most knowledgeable of creation, the most advising of creation, and the most truthful of creation.
So if backbiting is forbidden, does this backbiting result in reforming what is corrupted? Absolutely not, it does not result in reforming what is corrupted.
It is thus clear that publishing the publications is forbidden and distributing them is forbidden, and that the one who does so is sinful and that he will be held accountable according to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah;Because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient) And this contradicts patience, without doubt.
Someone might say: Indeed, Allah the Exalted said in His Book:
Allah does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been wronged
لا يُحِبُّ اللَّهُ الْجَهْرَ بِالسُّوءِ مِنْ الْقَوْلِ إِلَاّ مَنْ ظُلِمَBut the meaning of the noble verse is: It is not permissible to be loud with evil except if you are wronged, then you are loud in your wrong in the complaint until your wrong is removed. This is the meaning of the verse.Meaning: If a person wrongs me, he is a sinner. I go to any person and say: So-and-so wronged me and encroached upon me, and there is no harm in that;
except by one who has been wronged
إِلَاّ مَنْ ظُلِمَAs for publishing the faults of people in a way we know that its harm is much greater than its benefit, if there is any benefit, and we do not know if it will be established or not; then no sane person who knows the sources and origins of the Shari'ah doubts that this is forbidden. So we ask Allah the Exalted to protect us and you from the evil of trials, what is apparent of them and what is hidden, and to reform our rulers, the scholars and the princes, and to reform our general people. Indeed, He is capable of all things.