Explanation of the fourth characteristic that permits backbiting, which is openly committing open sinfulness, and mentioning the evidence for it.

The Shaykh : Then he said: "And one who is open in his open sinfulness," meaning the one who declares his open sinfulness, his lewdness, and his disobedience to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), and does not care about it at all. This is a difference between the one who disobeys Allah and conceals his disobedience; for it is not permissible to backbite him. He falls under the general principle: . As for the one who declares his open sinfulness and lewdness, and may even boast about it, not caring about people in any way; for him, there is no backbiting. This is as he (peace be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: . They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: , meaning our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) grants safety to those afflicted by sins who conceal them in a way He does not grant to those who are open about them; especially if the openness is accompanied by boasting and bragging. This has a much stronger effect; meaning, being open about the sin has a stronger effect than the sin that is concealed, and boasting about the sin has a stronger effect and causes more harm to others than the one who is merely open about it without boasting. So, the one who commits open sinfulness and departs from the obedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) openly, not fearing Allah and not being ashamed of the servants of Allah; for him, there is no backbiting.
And I do not cite as evidence for this what is famous in some books of spiritual admonition and Sufism, which is attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) but is not authentic; such as their saying: "There is no backbiting for an open sinner," and their saying: "Do you hold back?" They say about the Messenger (peace be upon him): "Do you hold back from mentioning the sinner with what is in him?! Mention the sinner with what is in him so that people will be wary of him."
This hadith and that one are among the many examples that make the scholars of hadith say: It is not permissible to look at a hadith for its authenticity from the angle of its meaning. If its meaning is correct, does that mean the hadith is authentic? Meaning, did the Messenger (peace be upon him) say it? The answer is: No, the correctness of the meaning does not necessitate the correctness of the structure, the correctness of the sentence composition, and that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said it exactly like that. There is absolutely no necessary connection between the two. Otherwise, there would be no wise men, there would be no scholars who speak with good words and wisdoms; even though this exists naturally. The wisdoms that come from scholars are undoubtedly derived from the Book and the Sunnah, but their words and sentence compositions did not come from the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). Therefore, it is not permissible to attribute every beautiful or correct statement in itself to the Messenger (peace be upon him); because we know for certain that people are still speaking wisdom, and we know that the Messenger (peace be upon him), even though he is the master of wisdom, did not speak everything in the same sentences that have come to us.
I want to say: "There is no backbiting for an open sinner" is correct; meaning: its meaning, but it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Likewise, in the second hadith, which is more eloquent in expression, he said: "Do you hold back - do you refrain - from mentioning the sinner with what is in him?!" The truth is, my current intention is to warn people from falling into this kind of cold refraining. A man who has committed corruption, open sinfulness, and lewdness openly and publicly; is it still scrupulousness to say: No, do not backbite him?! No, this meaning is correct, but the structure - meaning: the sentence - is not correctly attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They said: "Do you hold back from mentioning the sinner with what is in him?!" This is a rhetorical question of reproach: Do not refrain with this cold refraining. "Mention the sinner with what is in him so that people will be wary of him," correct; the purpose of mentioning the sinner who is open in his open sinfulness and lewdness is to warn people against him.
I say: I do not cite as evidence for this fourth type - which is being open in open sinfulness -; I do not cite as evidence for its exception from forbidden backbiting the hadith: "There is no backbiting for an open sinner," and the other hadith: "Do you hold back from mentioning the sinner with what is in him?! Mention the sinner with what is in him so that people will be wary." Rather, as I always say and forever, what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) suffices the knowledgeable jurist from what is not authentic from him. There is in "Sahih al-Bukhari" and others, from the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that a man asked permission to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he (peace be upon him) said: .
The point here is: This is backbiting; because he described him with the worst description, . When the man entered, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled at him and was cheerful, and he sat for as long as he sat, and conversed for as long as he conversed, then the man left. The Lady Aisha, the truthful one, daughter of al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with them both), was observing the matter. The words of the Messenger (peace be upon him) regarding the first one when the man asked permission caught her attention: , and when he sat with him, he was smiling and being cheerful with him; so she said: O Messenger of Allah. As if she wanted to elicit from the Messenger (peace be upon him) something that was hidden from her: How did you say: and then you smiled at him and were cheerful? He answered her with his saying (peace be upon him): . The commentators of the hadith said: This man was the chief of a tribe...
... a righteous young man. So, it is also... for some people to speak to this righteous young man that so-and-so has so-and-so, or he himself has no objection at all; he himself speaks directly with the man and says: I have so-and-so, if you want, I will offer her to you as a wife. There is absolutely no objection to this; whether from the man or the woman. But there is nothing that permits the woman to go to the man himself and speak with him about this matter, for this is a sensitive matter, and no one had this status except our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) permitted him whatever He willed of women; therefore, the woman would come to him and offer herself to him, then he would not accept her for some reason, so some people would stand and say: O Messenger of Allah, marry me to her, and this is what happened, and this became... in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So he said to him: It is a long, well-known story.
The conclusion: What we previously mentioned regarding the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him) to that woman and his indication to her of Usamah is merely an indication that so-and-so is a righteous man... the rest is upon her.
Other than that?