Exegesis of Surat al-Hujurat, verse (12), and other selected verses, and what is derived from them.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the twentieth session after the hundredth of the sessions known as "The Open Door," which take place every Thursday of every week. This is the second Thursday of the month of Dhul-Qa'dah in the year 1416.
We begin this session by speaking about what Allah Mighty and Majestic has made easy regarding the exegesis of Surat al-Hujurat. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:
Prefacing the address with indicates care for it. For this reason, it was narrated from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When you hear Allah say:

O you who have believed

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا

[Al-Baqarah 2:104]

, give it your full attention, for it is either good that you are commanded to do, or evil that you are forbidden from doing" or a report by which you gain a lesson and a warning, as He the Exalted said: .
Here He Mighty and Majestic says: Suspicion: it is when a person has two possibilities, one of which is more likely than the other. Here Allah the Exalted expressed this by saying: and did not say: "Avoid all suspicion," because suspicion is divided into two categories:
The first category: suspicion of good in a person. This is required; you should suspect good of your brothers as long as they are worthy of it, namely the Muslim whose outward appearance is one of justice. In that case, good is suspected of him, and he is praised for what has become apparent of his Islam and his deeds.
The second type: suspicion of evil. This is forbidden regarding a Muslim whose outward appearance is one of justice. It is not permissible for anyone to suspect evil of him, as the scholars explicitly stated, and they said, may Allah have mercy on them: It is forbidden to suspect evil of a Muslim whose outward appearance is one of justice.
The second [type]: suspicion of evil in one regarding whom there is evidence that he is worthy of it. In this case, there is no blame on the person for suspecting evil of him. For this reason, among the famous, well-known proverbs is: "Beware of people with suspicion of evil" But this is not absolute, as is known. Rather, the meaning is: Beware of the people who are worthy of suspicion of evil, so do not trust them.
The important point is that a person must inevitably have some suspicion in his heart about one of the people due to indications that lead to it. This may be due to signs appearing on his face, such as a frown and dislike toward meeting you, or the like. Or it may be due to his circumstances that a person knows about him, or due to statements that come from him. So he suspects evil of him. And if there is evidence for its existence, there is no blame on the person for having it, meaning suspecting evil.
So if you are asked: Which is more, the forbidden suspicion or the permissible suspicion? We say: The permissible suspicion is more, because it includes a complete type of the types of suspicion, which is suspicion of good. And it includes much of suspicion of evil, because if there is no indication pointing to this evil suspicion, it is not permissible for the person to be characterized by this suspicion. For this reason, He said: and did not say: "Most of suspicion" or "All of suspicion," but rather He said: .
Then He said: This phrase may imply that most of suspicion is not a sin. This corresponds exactly to what we have explained and divided, that suspicion is of two types: suspicion of good and suspicion of evil. Then suspicion of evil is not permissible except when there is evidence for its existence. For this reason, He said: .
So what is the suspicion that is not a sin? We say: It is suspicion of good, and suspicion of evil for which there is evidence. This is not a sin, because suspicion of good is the original state, and suspicion of evil for which there is evidence is also indicated by the evidence.
Spy: seeking out the faults of others.
Meaning: that a person looks, eavesdrops, and listens, hoping to hear evil from his brother, or hoping to see evil from his brother. And what a person should do is turn away from the faults of people and not strive to know about them. For this reason, it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him: Meaning: something that necessitates suspicion of evil of him So a person should not spy, but rather take people by their outward appearance unless there is evidence indicating the opposite of that appearance. And in this phrase of the verse, there is another reading: It was said that their meanings are the same, and it was said: Rather, each of them has a meaning, and the difference is that spying: is when a person tries to find out the fault himself.
And probing: is when he seeks it from others. He says to people, for example: What do you say about so-and-so? What do you say about so-and-so? As for spying, it is when he tries to know the fault himself. And on this basis, the two readings clarify two meanings, both of which are what Allah has forbidden.
No, you, you do not say by s...
Spying: trying to find out the faults of people by oneself.
And probing: trying to find out the faults of people, what? Say, everyone? From others. He says, for example: What do you say about so-and-so, or have you heard about so-and-so, seeking thereby his faults. Because of the preoccupation of the soul with the faults of others, and the fact that a person has no concern except to find out about faults. For this reason, whoever is afflicted with this, meaning spying or probing, you will find him in reality always anxious in his life, and preoccupied with the faults of people over his own faults, and he does not care about himself. And this is found in many of some people who come to so-and-so and so-and-so: What do you say about such-and-such, what do you say about such-and-such, and you find their time wasted without benefit, rather wasted with harm, because what they have fallen into is a disobedience to Allah Mighty and Majestic. Are you an agent for Allah Mighty and Majestic, seeking the faults of His servants? The wise one is the one who probes for the faults of himself, and looks at his own faults to fix them, not that he looks at the faults of others to spread them, may Allah protect us. For this reason, Allah Mighty and Majestic said: So in any case, these are etiquettes and guidance from Allah Mighty and Majestic to noble morals, morals that are commanded and morals that are forbidden.
Backbiting: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it by saying: And this is an explanation from the Messenger, may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him, who is the most knowledgeable of people about the intent of Allah Blessed and Exalted in His speech Whether that is in his creation, or in his character, or his circumstances, or his intellect, or his intelligence, or otherwise. The important thing is that you mention him with what he dislikes, whether in his creation, such as saying: So-and-so is ugly in appearance, hideous, he has such-and-such, he has such-and-such, intending his physical faults.
Or in his character, by saying: So-and-so is a fool, quick-tempered, bad in behavior, and the like.
Or in his inner creation, such as saying: So-and-so is dull, so-and-so does not understand, so-and-so has bad memory, and the like. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) defined it with a clear, distinct limit: Meaning: you combined slander and backbiting.
And on this basis, it is obligatory to refrain from mentioning people with what they dislike, whether that is in them or not in them. It is obligatory to refrain from this.
And know that if you spread the faults of your brother, Allah will send upon you one who will spread your faults, as a just recompense. Do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. Rather, He will send upon him one who will treat him as he treats people.
But if the backbiting is for a benefit, then there is nothing wrong with it and no blame in it. For this reason, when Fatimah bint Qays came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to consult him about men who had proposed to her, he mentioned the faults of those he saw had a fault. Three men had proposed to her: Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Jahm ibn al-Harith, and Usamah ibn Zayd. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned a fault in these two men for the sake of advice and clarifying the truth. And this is not considered backbiting without a doubt. For this reason, if a person comes to consult you about dealing with a man, saying: So-and-so wants to deal with me in a sale or purchase or lease, or in marrying one who proposed to his daughter, or the like, and you know that he has a fault, then it is obligatory that you clarify that to him. It is obligatory upon you to clarify, and this is not as the common people say: "one who cuts off livelihood," but rather it is from clarifying the truth. So if you know that this man who this person wants to deal with in a sale is a procrastinator, a liar, a swindler, then say to him: My brother! Say: Do not sell to him, he is a procrastinator, he is a swindler, he is a liar. Perhaps he will claim that there is a fault in the goods when there is no fault, and perhaps he will claim loss when he is not losing, and the like. So you will fall into conflict and dispute with him.
A man comes to consult you about a man who has proposed to marry his daughter. The man appears to be just, upright, and of good character, but you know of a defect in him. You must point this out. You must point it out. For example, you know that this man lies, or that he smokes but denies it and does not reveal it to people. You must point it out and say, “By Allah, this man appears to be upright, of good character, and kind, but he has such-and-such a defect.” Even if the man is inclined to marry him, point out the defect to him. Then it is up to him, because he will enter the marriage with full knowledge.
In any case: what is excluded from backbiting—and backbiting is mentioning a man with what he dislikes—is what? A brother?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Unless it is by way of advice. We mentioned the evidence for that from the Sunnah. Is there evidence from the practice of the scholars? Yes, there is evidence. Go back to the books of men (biographical dictionaries), for example, and you will find one saying, “So-and-so ibn so-and-so has a poor memory,” or “So-and-so ibn so-and-so is a liar,” or “So-and-so ibn so-and-so has such-and-such a trait.” They mention what is disliked of his characteristics as advice for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. So if the purpose of mentioning your brother with what he dislikes is advice, there is no harm in it.
Likewise, if the purpose of that is complaining and seeking redress, then there is no harm in it. For example, if a man wrongs you, and you go to someone who can remove this injustice, and you say, “So-and-so took my money,” or “So-and-so denied my right,” or the like, there is no harm in it. Hind bint 'Utbah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to complain about her husband, Abu Sufyan. She said: She described something that Abu Sufyan certainly disliked, but this was in the category of what? Answer.
The student: Complaining.

The Shaykh : It is in the category of complaining and seeking redress. And Allah the Exalted said in His Book: Meaning: he has the right to speak openly of the evil to remove his injustice. But is this permissible if a person’s intention is to lighten the burden of sadness and pain in his heart by recounting the situation that happened to a friend, where the friend cannot remove this injustice but can relieve him? Or is it not permissible? It appears that it is permissible, due to the generality of Allah’s saying: This happens often. Often a person is harmed and wronged by the denial of his money or the taking of his money or the like. So the man goes to his friend and says, “So-and-so said such-and-such, said such-and-such,” intending to cool the pain and regret in his heart. Or he speaks about it with his children, or his family, or his wife, or the like. This is permissible, because the wrongdoer has no sanctity in the eyes of whom? In the eyes of the one who was wronged.
We will limit our speech on this noble verse to this extent so that we can devote ourselves to the questions, and until we meet again, if Allah wills.