Explaining the manner of harming believers, both men and women.

The Shaykh : Among the ways of harming believers is making them hear things that affect them, such as cursing, reviling, disparaging, or the like. Indeed, among the ways of harming believers is stepping over their necks during the times of prayer, whether on Friday or on other days. For this reason, Also, among the ways of harming believers is coming to the gathering of Muslims with a foul smell that offends people, such as eating onions, garlic, or other things with foul odors. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) made it clear that there is harm in this, and there is no doubt that there is harm in it. For many people, if someone who has eaten any of these harmful things stands next to them, they are unable to perform the prayer in the required manner, and thus there is harm. Is the harm caused by the believer’s own action, or without his action?
The student: Without his action.

The Shaykh : Without his action; the one who is harmed has not done anything that deserves to be harmed for. The important point is that harming believers is undoubtedly forbidden. For this reason, when the Companions saw someone eating onions or garlic in the mosque, they would take him out of the mosque and drive him to al-Baqi' to keep him away from harming people. Among the ways of harming Muslims is placing things in their paths that harm them, such as orange peels, banana peels, pieces of glass, old clothes, stones, nails, water, or the like. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He made it a harm. The types of harm are many. Among the great harms is attributing to a person what he did not say, especially if one attributes to him a legal statement, saying, "So-and-so the scholar said such and such," when he did not say it. This is a great fabrication of lies, because it is not only a lie against the scholar, but it is a lie against the Shari'ah that this scholar carries. Therefore, we say that lying against the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is not like lying against any of us; whoever lies against him deliberately should take his place in the Fire. Lying against scholars is not like lying against the common people. If you say, "The common man said such and such" regarding a legal issue, and if you are lying, you bear the sin of lying, but it is not like saying, "So-and-so the scholar said such and such," because people will act upon what you attributed to the scholar, taking it as the statement of a scholar to be followed. But the common man does not matter whether you attribute the statement to him or not. Therefore, we must be careful not to attribute to scholars anything reported from them unless we are certain of it, so that we do not encroach upon their status and so that we do not mislead people because of this transmission. Because if you say, "So-and-so the scholar said," and they trust him, they accept your statement and make it a proof, and this danger is great. Among the ways of harming believers is sowing discord between believers, stirring up enmity between them, either through talebearing or other causes of division. For this reason, we see that what some people transmit or say about one another is a great trial and a great affliction, and it is a cause for killing this blessed awakening that was, praise be to Allah, in our present time. For if discord is sown between scholars and the statements of some are struck against the statements of others, the status of all is diminished; the status of this one and that one is diminished, and no one trusts the statement of any of them. This is a great danger. I mean, if people do not trust their scholars and do not submit to the commands of their rulers, what will the situation be? I ask you? If they do not trust the statements of their scholars and do not submit to the commands of their rulers, the whole world becomes chaos in religion and order. They do not accept the religion from scholars whose statements contradict each other, or who revile or curse each other, and they do not submit to the commands of the rulers. Thus, people become chaotic, and this danger is great. For this reason, we find that the jurists of this Ummah, who are the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), were extremely careful to avoid disagreement and difference. So much so that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), whose period of caliphate was about twelve years, would lead the people in Hajj as was the custom previously, that the Caliphs were the leaders of the pilgrims. He would lead the people in Hajj, and in the beginning of his caliphate, he would pray two rak'ahs in Mina. He remained with that for about six or eight years, praying two rak'ahs as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and 'Umar used to pray two rak'ahs in Mina. Then he began to pray four. At first he shortened the prayer, and at the end he completed it. He mentioned this to 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we return" He saw that 'Uthman’s (may Allah be pleased with him) deviation from what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and 'Umar were doing was a calamity that deserved for a person to seek refuge in Allah. And yet, he would pray behind 'Uthman and pray four, while he considered it a calamity. It was said to him, "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, how is that? He said: 'Disagreement is evil.'" Disagreement is evil. How did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) agree to something they considered wrong in their opinion, but for the sake of avoiding disagreement? Whereas now there are people, we ask Allah for safety, who claim to be of the good and who ignite the fire of fitnah between scholars, students of knowledge, and callers to Allah, and even the common people. This is one of the greatest crimes and harms to the believers. So whoever is afflicted with this matter must repent to Allah and return to his Lord, and reflect on the great bad consequences that follow from this. And we do not say that no one makes a mistake. No person is without a mistake.