The Shaykh’s remarks on the expiation for backbiting and whether it is achieved by apologizing to the one who was backbitten.

The Shaykh : The expiation for backbiting in the Shari'ah is to apologize to the one you backbitten. This has no basis in the Shari'ah. It is said that if you want to repent with sincere repentance, you must apologize to him. There is no evidence for this. It is sufficient for the one who backbitten to repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for having backbitten his brother. Either he should make du'a' for the backbitten brother in his absence, or he should make du'a' for him if he knows that apologizing to him would increase the problems. There is a hadith explicitly addressing this matter, but we mention it while clarifying its weakness, and we do not use it as a proof because its chain of narration is weak: "The expiation for the one you backbitten is to seek forgiveness for him". Even if this hadith were authentic, it would be a decisive proof in this context, but its chain is weak. Therefore, let us rely on what sound reasoning dictates: avoiding stirring up problems due to a mistake you made against your Muslim brother. If you apologize to him face to face, let the one who backbitten repent to Allah and make du'a' for the one who was backbitten, believing that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will forgive his sin with him.