Explanation of the Chapter on the Talebearer, under which is the hadith of Hammam: "We were with Hudhayfah when it was said to him that a man was raising the matter to Uthman. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said..."

The Shaykh : The chapter that follows is the Chapter on the Talebearer. Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Hammam, who said: "We were with Hudhayfah when it was said to him that a man was raising the matter to Uthman. Hudhayfah said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ."
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman was one of the prominent Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He had a distinction that no one else shared with him: he was the keeper of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) secret. This was because he knew the names of the hypocrites, which no human being knew except the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and then Hudhayfah, the keeper of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) secret. So he knew the names of these hypocrites. Therefore, 'Umar, despite his virtue, and despite what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about him: , 'Umar would come to Hudhayfah and ask him earnestly, "Am I mentioned among the names of those hypocrites?" and he would reassure him that he was not. This is Hudhayfah. It was said to him that a man was raising the matter to Uthman. This phrase is an Arabic sentence, but a technical term in the science of hadith has been applied to it. From the Arabic perspective, "raising the matter to Uthman" means he is talebearing. I think no one is ignorant of the meaning of talebearing, but the *qattat* mentioned in the hadith is explained with a slightly more precise definition than the *nammam* (talebearer).
We say: "raising the matter" means talebearing. The meaning of talebearing is that one hears a conversation between people; he is sitting and hears one person insulting another or criticizing him, whether rightly or wrongly. The only thing the talebearer does is convey this speech to the one who was criticized, with the intention of causing discord between the critic and the criticized. So this man was "raising the matter to Uthman," meaning he would sit with people and listen to what people were saying about Uthman. ... And in the time of Uthman, there were many trials, and the result of that, unfortunately, was that a group of people rose up against him and killed him in his house while he was reciting the Book of Allah! So there is no doubt that when a trial becomes great, the preliminaries precede it, as it is said: "And the greatest fire is from the smallest spark". So in this atmosphere, in the time of Uthman ibn 'Affan, there was a man who would sit in a gathering and listen to what so-and-so was saying against Uthman, and he would hasten to tell Uthman, "So-and-so is saying this and that about you." He wanted to incite Uthman against this person who spoke about him. This is talebearing. When it was said to Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that there was a man "raising the matter," meaning conveying the matter to Uthman in the way of corruption and talebearing—this is the linguistic meaning—but the technical meaning of "raising the matter" is an abbreviation. He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said." So there is a difference between the linguistic meaning and the technical meaning. "Raising the matter" means talebearing to Uthman; "raising the matter" means raising it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So if such an expression, "raising the matter," comes and there is no context or preceding text that makes us feel there is talebearing, then the meaning of "raising the matter" is conveying it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But here it is very clear that the intended meaning of "raising the matter to Uthman" is conveying the speech he heard from the critic of Uthman to Uthman, with the intention of inciting Uthman against him and causing corruption between them. So Hudhayfah's answer was that he said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: .
It is well known that the *qattat* is interpreted as the talebearer, and this means the talebearer will not enter Paradise. But some scholars mentioned a detail regarding talebearing and applied that detail to one aspect of the term *qattat*:
If a man sits openly in a gathering among people and hears so-and-so saying something about so-and-so, and then conveys it, that is the talebearer (*nammam*). As for the one who does not sit with people, but rather eavesdrops from behind screens... like a spy, and people do not know that someone is spying on them, and he hears a word containing criticism of a person, he quickly conveys it to that criticized person with the intention of corruption. This is the meaning of *qattat*. So the *qattat* is a talebearer, without doubt, but not every talebearer is a *qattat*. That is to say, from the perspective of the principles of jurisprudence, there is generality and specificity, and likewise in language: every *qattat* is a talebearer, but not every talebearer is a *qattat*. Because the *qattat* is the one who hears the conversation from behind walls and conveys the conversation to the criticized person with the intention of corruption. So he meets the *nammam* at this point, who is in a gathering and conveys the speech with the intention of corruption. But the difference between the *qattat* and the *nammam* is that the *nammam* is sitting and not spying, whereas the *qattat* spies and conveys the speech. We can summarize that the *qattat* combines two misfortunes or two sins: the sin of spying, and Allah the Exalted said: , and there are many hadiths regarding that. In addition to that, he conveys the speech he heard from some of the people sitting in the gathering to the criticized person with the intention of corruption between them. This is the meaning of *qattat*. So every *qattat* is a talebearer, and not every talebearer is a *qattat*. How is that? Every human is an animal, but not every animal is a human. This is known in language and terminology. Every human is an animal because "animal" is a generic name that includes the speaking human and the silent animal, and by this the human is distinguished from the animal. So if you say "the human is an animal," you have spoken the truth, but you cannot say "every animal is a human." Likewise, if you say "the *qattat* is a talebearer," because he conveys speech like the talebearer, but not every talebearer is a *qattat*, because the *qattat* conveys speech from behind screens.
Finally, there remains an important point in the hadith, but I think pointing to it is sufficient, given how much commentary has passed on similar matters: . Does this mean that the *qattat*, or the *nammam*, or the *dayyuth* (one who does not guard his wife), or any person about whom it is said in the hadiths: ? Does that mean the one who commits talebearing is a disbeliever and it is forbidden for him to enter Paradise? This is what the hadith says: . But it is necessary not to understand the hadith in isolation, but rather combined with all the texts from the Book and the Sunnah that help us understand the hadith correctly.
If we understood the hadith on its apparent meaning: , meaning Paradise is forbidden to him like it is to a disbeliever, this understanding conflicts with the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. The most famous and strongest in indication is the saying of the Exalted: . So how can a *qattat* not enter Paradise when our Lord says He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills? For this verse and many texts, as I mentioned, the scholars interpreted such a text with several interpretations:
First: "The *qattat* will not enter Paradise" means that absolutely no one who considers talebearing permissible will enter Paradise. This person considers it permissible in his heart, because considering a sin permissible in the heart is disbelief... And in that case, the hadith remains on its apparent meaning: he will not enter Paradise at all, because by considering this sin permissible in his heart, he has become a disbeliever... This is the first meaning.
The second meaning: "The *qattat* will not enter Paradise with the first to enter," meaning he will not enter Paradise without being reckoned with and punished. The implication of this is that he enters Paradise, but after a time.
And finally, the third aspect: "The *qattat* will not enter Paradise except after he takes his share of punishment for his sin," whether it was talebearing, or fornication, or being a *dayyuth*, or anything about which the text has informed. "The *dayyuth* will not enter Paradise" came in some hadiths. So whoever is described with such a statement, this third aspect of interpreting the hadith is applied to him: he will not enter Paradise except after he takes his share of punishment, unless Allah forgives him, due to the previous verse.