Page 18 - Quick Grasp of Faith 2

8. What is the place of gossip in the Qur'an?
In the Qur'an, Allah forbids believers backbiting, and re-
fers to it as an indecency:

... and do not backbite one another. Would any of you
like to eat his brother's dead flesh? No, you would
hate it. Heed Allah. Allah is Ever-Returning, Most
Merciful. (Surat al-Hujurat: 12)
As commanded by this verse, people who live by Islamic
morals and are like brothers and sisters to each other strictly
avoid this behaviour. On the contrary, believers remember
only each other's good intentions and always try to highlight
their good attributes. They do not try to find defects or faults
in believers—people who are submissive to the will of Allah.
Gossip, which indeed causes great distress to people in soci-
eties remote from Islamic morals, is a corruption that never ex-
ists among believers who maintain the limits set by Allah.
When believers notice an imperfection or other defect in an-
other, they do not backbite, but instead advise the person di-
rectly so that he will amend his unacceptable behaviour.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
also said to the believers:
If he/she is as you've said (and you've spoken about it behind
his/her back), then you have committed the gross sin of backbit-
ing, and if what you have said is not found in him, then you have
slandered him/her. (Muslim)

9. Why is despair not an approved state?

Despair is unthinkable for a person who is aware of the
fact that Allah is the creator of every being and every event,
and who measures the power of Allah by its true measure.

18 QUICK GRASP OF FAITH – 2 –