What is the ruling on backbiting those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh: Backbiting of the rulers has become widespread in these times. What is the ruling on backbiting those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed?
The Shaykh : Yes, backbiting the rulers is forbidden from two aspects. The first aspect is that it is backbiting a Muslim, and Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hujurat 49:12].
The second aspect is that backbiting the rulers leads to evils and corruption that do not result from backbiting an ordinary man. For if an ordinary man is backbitten, his fault is only against himself. But if the ruler is backbitten, it leads to people’s dislike of him, their rebellion against him, and their refusal to heed his guidance and orders. This is a great harm that causes chaos, and the situation may even reach fighting among the people.
As for the one who does not judge by what Allah has revealed, it is said: The ruling by other than what Allah has revealed is to be denounced, but it is not to be denounced publicly, because there is no benefit in denouncing it publicly. Rather, it is to be denounced to the ruler himself, and a letter is written to him about it, and it is said to him, meaning as advice. If a person is able to reach
_ closer to the sun -
If a person is able to reach the ruler himself
- It is not like that, my brother, it is not like that, closer, my brother -
If he is able to reach the ruler himself, that is what is required. Otherwise, he writes the advice and sends it, giving it to someone who will deliver it to the ruler.
The Shaykh : Yes, backbiting the rulers is forbidden from two aspects. The first aspect is that it is backbiting a Muslim, and Allah the Exalted said:
or backbite each other
وَلا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاًThe second aspect is that backbiting the rulers leads to evils and corruption that do not result from backbiting an ordinary man. For if an ordinary man is backbitten, his fault is only against himself. But if the ruler is backbitten, it leads to people’s dislike of him, their rebellion against him, and their refusal to heed his guidance and orders. This is a great harm that causes chaos, and the situation may even reach fighting among the people.
As for the one who does not judge by what Allah has revealed, it is said: The ruling by other than what Allah has revealed is to be denounced, but it is not to be denounced publicly, because there is no benefit in denouncing it publicly. Rather, it is to be denounced to the ruler himself, and a letter is written to him about it, and it is said to him, meaning as advice. If a person is able to reach
_ closer to the sun -
If a person is able to reach the ruler himself
- It is not like that, my brother, it is not like that, closer, my brother -
If he is able to reach the ruler himself, that is what is required. Otherwise, he writes the advice and sends it, giving it to someone who will deliver it to the ruler.