بسمالله الرحمن الحيم
MIMICKING OTHERS
We have mentioned above that slander is saying anything about a
person that he would dislike, whether aloud, in writing, by a sign,
or a gesture. Anything by which one conveys a Muslim's (or non-
Muslim's) shortcomings to another is slander, and is unlawful
(haraam).
It includes doing imitations of someone, such as by walking with a
limp, with a stoop, or similar posture, intending to mimic the person
with such a deficiency. Anything of this sort is unquestionably
haraam.
SLANDER IN PUBLISHED WORKS
Slander also includes the author of a book mentioning a specific
person in his work by saying, "So- and so says such and such,
which is haraam if he thereby intends to demean him.
But if he wants to clarify the person's mistake so that others will
not follow him, or expose the weakness of his scholarship so others
will not be deceived and accept what he says, it is not slander,
but rather advice that is obligatory, and is rewarded by Allah
for the person who intends it as such.
Nor is it slander for a writer or other person to say, "There are
those (or " a certain group") who say such and such, which is a
mistake, error, ignorance, and folly," and so forth, which is not
slander because slander entails mentioning a particular person or
a group of specific individuals.
SLANDER BY ALLUSION AND INNUENDO
When the person being spoken to understands whom one is
referring to, it is slander and haraam to say, for example, ''A
certain person did such and such,'' or '' A certain scholar,''
'' One of those who passed by us today .'' This includes the
slander of some would -be scholars and devotees, who make
slanderous innuendoes that are clearly understood as if they
were plainly stated.
When one of them is asked, for example, how So and so is, he
replies, ''May Allah improve us,'' May Allah forgive us,'' ''Praise
be to Allah who has not afflicted us with visiting oppressors,''
''May Allah forgive us for lack of modesty,'' ''May Allah relent
towards us,'' and the like, from which the listener understands the
person's shortcomings. All of this is slander and is haraam, just as
when one says, ''So and so is afflicted with what we all are,'' or
''There's no way he can manage this,'' or ''We all do it.''
The above are but examples. Otherwise, as previously mentioned,
the criterion for slander is that one gives the person being addressed
to understand another's faults.
LISTENING TO SLANDER
Just as slander is haraam for the one who says it, it is also haraam for
the person hearing it to listen and to agree to. It is obligatory whenever
one hears someone begin to slander another to tell him to stop if this
does not entail manifest harm to one. If it does, then one is obliged to
condemn it in one,s heart and to leave the company if able.
When the person who hears it is able to condemn it in words or change
the subject, then he must. It is a sin for him not to. But if the hearer
tells the slanderer to be silent while desiring him in his heart to continue,
this, as Imam Ghazali notes, is hypocrisy that does not lift the sin room
him, for one must dislike it in one's heart.
Whenever one is forced to remain at a gathering where there is slander
and one is unable to condemn it, or one's condemnation goes unheeded
and one cannot leave, it is nevertheless haraam to listen or pay attention to.
What one should do is invoke Allah (dhikr) with the tongue and heart, or
heart alone, or think about some thing else to distract one from listening to it.
When this is done, whatever one hears under such circumstances does
not harm one as long as one does not listen to or heed the
conversation. And if afterwards one is able to leave the assembly and the
people are persisting in slander and the like, then one must leave.
Allah Most High says :
"When you see those engaged in idle discussion about Our signs,
keep apart from them until they speak of other things. And if the
Devil makes you forget, then do not sit with wrong-doing people
after being reminded. (6 :68)
Ibrahim ibn Adham (Allah be pleased with him) answered an invitation to
come to a wedding feast, where some of those present mentioned that a
certain person who did not attend was ''unpleasant.'' Ibrahim said, ''I
myself have done this by coming to a place where others are slandered,''
and he left and would not eat for three days.
MIMICKING OTHERS
We have mentioned above that slander is saying anything about a
person that he would dislike, whether aloud, in writing, by a sign,
or a gesture. Anything by which one conveys a Muslim's (or non-
Muslim's) shortcomings to another is slander, and is unlawful
(haraam).
It includes doing imitations of someone, such as by walking with a
limp, with a stoop, or similar posture, intending to mimic the person
with such a deficiency. Anything of this sort is unquestionably
haraam.
SLANDER IN PUBLISHED WORKS
Slander also includes the author of a book mentioning a specific
person in his work by saying, "So- and so says such and such,
which is haraam if he thereby intends to demean him.
But if he wants to clarify the person's mistake so that others will
not follow him, or expose the weakness of his scholarship so others
will not be deceived and accept what he says, it is not slander,
but rather advice that is obligatory, and is rewarded by Allah
for the person who intends it as such.
Nor is it slander for a writer or other person to say, "There are
those (or " a certain group") who say such and such, which is a
mistake, error, ignorance, and folly," and so forth, which is not
slander because slander entails mentioning a particular person or
a group of specific individuals.
SLANDER BY ALLUSION AND INNUENDO
When the person being spoken to understands whom one is
referring to, it is slander and haraam to say, for example, ''A
certain person did such and such,'' or '' A certain scholar,''
'' One of those who passed by us today .'' This includes the
slander of some would -be scholars and devotees, who make
slanderous innuendoes that are clearly understood as if they
were plainly stated.
When one of them is asked, for example, how So and so is, he
replies, ''May Allah improve us,'' May Allah forgive us,'' ''Praise
be to Allah who has not afflicted us with visiting oppressors,''
''May Allah forgive us for lack of modesty,'' ''May Allah relent
towards us,'' and the like, from which the listener understands the
person's shortcomings. All of this is slander and is haraam, just as
when one says, ''So and so is afflicted with what we all are,'' or
''There's no way he can manage this,'' or ''We all do it.''
The above are but examples. Otherwise, as previously mentioned,
the criterion for slander is that one gives the person being addressed
to understand another's faults.
LISTENING TO SLANDER
Just as slander is haraam for the one who says it, it is also haraam for
the person hearing it to listen and to agree to. It is obligatory whenever
one hears someone begin to slander another to tell him to stop if this
does not entail manifest harm to one. If it does, then one is obliged to
condemn it in one,s heart and to leave the company if able.
When the person who hears it is able to condemn it in words or change
the subject, then he must. It is a sin for him not to. But if the hearer
tells the slanderer to be silent while desiring him in his heart to continue,
this, as Imam Ghazali notes, is hypocrisy that does not lift the sin room
him, for one must dislike it in one's heart.
Whenever one is forced to remain at a gathering where there is slander
and one is unable to condemn it, or one's condemnation goes unheeded
and one cannot leave, it is nevertheless haraam to listen or pay attention to.
What one should do is invoke Allah (dhikr) with the tongue and heart, or
heart alone, or think about some thing else to distract one from listening to it.
When this is done, whatever one hears under such circumstances does
not harm one as long as one does not listen to or heed the
conversation. And if afterwards one is able to leave the assembly and the
people are persisting in slander and the like, then one must leave.
Allah Most High says :
"When you see those engaged in idle discussion about Our signs,
keep apart from them until they speak of other things. And if the
Devil makes you forget, then do not sit with wrong-doing people
after being reminded. (6 :68)
Ibrahim ibn Adham (Allah be pleased with him) answered an invitation to
come to a wedding feast, where some of those present mentioned that a
certain person who did not attend was ''unpleasant.'' Ibrahim said, ''I
myself have done this by coming to a place where others are slandered,''
and he left and would not eat for three days.
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