Explanation of Riyad al-Saliheen-83b
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in "the chapter on the prohibition of spying," the statement of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him): "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:Riyad as-Salihin 1571 This is an authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawud with a sound chain of narration.
And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)Riyad as-Salihin 1572 This is a good and authentic hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud with a chain meeting the conditions of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The Chapter on the Prohibition of Bad Assumptions about Muslims Without Necessity. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hujurat 49:12]
And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1988Sahih (Darussalam) Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. "
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These are among the hadiths that make it clear that a person must not spy on his Muslim brothers or pursue their faults. Rather, whatever becomes apparent of them, he should deal with the one who exposed it in a manner befitting him. And whatever does not become apparent, it is not permissible to spy or investigate, as in the hadith of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), that if a person pursues the faults of the Muslims, he will destroy them or nearly destroy them. This is because many matters occur between a person and his Lord, which no one knows except him. If no one knows about them, and the cover of Allah the Mighty and Majestic remains upon him, and he repents to his Lord and turns back, his condition will be good, and no one will look upon his fault. But if a person, may Allah protect us, pursues the faults of people, asking what so-and-so said and what he did, and when the fault of a Muslim is mentioned to him, he goes to spy, either explicitly or by hinting, saying for example, "They say that so-and-so said such-and-such or did such-and-such," and he spreads his defects among the people, may Allah protect us. In the hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We ask Allah for safety. It is a fitting recompense: just as he pursues the faults of the Muslims and exposes them, the Lord the Mighty and Majestic pursues his fault until He exposes him. We ask Allah for safety. Neither walls nor curtains will avail him.
Likewise, the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that a man was brought to him whose beard was dripping with wine, but he had drunk it in secret. However, these people spied on him until they brought him out in this state. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified that if a person exposes his fault or defect to us, we will act upon it, but if he is covered by the cover of Allah, we will not hold him accountable. This also indicates that spying is not permissible.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in "the chapter on the prohibition of spying," the statement of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him): "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
If you find faults with Muslims, you will corrupt them.
إنك إن اتبعت عورات المسلمين أفسدتهم أو كدت أن تفسدهمAnd from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)
It has been reported that a man was brought before Abdullah bin Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) because his beard was giving out smell of wine. Ibn Mas'ud said: "We have been prohibited from spying (on Muslims) and finding faults (with them). But we can take to task only and only if the sin is overt.
أنه أتي برجل فقيل له هذا فلان تقطر لحيته خمرا فقال إنا قد نهينا عن التجسس ولكن إن يظهر لنا شيء نأخذ بهThe Chapter on the Prohibition of Bad Assumptions about Muslims Without Necessity. Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin.
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اجتنبوا كثيرا من الظن إن بعض الظن إثمAnd from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Beware of Zann (suspicion), for indeed Zann is the falsest of speech.
إياكم والظن فإن الظن أكذب الحديثThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These are among the hadiths that make it clear that a person must not spy on his Muslim brothers or pursue their faults. Rather, whatever becomes apparent of them, he should deal with the one who exposed it in a manner befitting him. And whatever does not become apparent, it is not permissible to spy or investigate, as in the hadith of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), that if a person pursues the faults of the Muslims, he will destroy them or nearly destroy them. This is because many matters occur between a person and his Lord, which no one knows except him. If no one knows about them, and the cover of Allah the Mighty and Majestic remains upon him, and he repents to his Lord and turns back, his condition will be good, and no one will look upon his fault. But if a person, may Allah protect us, pursues the faults of people, asking what so-and-so said and what he did, and when the fault of a Muslim is mentioned to him, he goes to spy, either explicitly or by hinting, saying for example, "They say that so-and-so said such-and-such or did such-and-such," and he spreads his defects among the people, may Allah protect us. In the hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
O you who believe with your tongues but faith has not entered your hearts, do not harm the Muslims and do not pursue their faults. For whoever pursues the fault of his brother, Allah will pursue his fault, and whoever Allah pursues the fault of, He will expose him, even in his mother's house.
يا معشر من آمن بلسانه ولم يدخل الإيمان قلبه لا تؤذوا المسلمين ولا تتبعوا عوراتهم فإن من تتبع عورة أخيه تتبع الله عورته ومن تتبع الله عورته فضحه ولو في بيت أمهLikewise, the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that a man was brought to him whose beard was dripping with wine, but he had drunk it in secret. However, these people spied on him until they brought him out in this state. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified that if a person exposes his fault or defect to us, we will act upon it, but if he is covered by the cover of Allah, we will not hold him accountable. This also indicates that spying is not permissible.