The Permissibility of Speaking about People Calling to Misguidance
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله الذي خلق كل شيء فقدره تقديرا
والصلاة والسلام على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه
أما بعد
After praising Allah and sending prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, I will begin.
One of the many issues racking the minds of many Muslim youth throughout social media is the issue of public criticism. This can be seen in the comment sections of multiple videos in which one of the many brothers from Ahlus-Sunnah has to admonish one these many callers to misguidance on a public forum. You will see people in the comment section saying things like, “Couldn’t you have just contacted him privately,” or “It is better for you two to sit down and discuss the issue in private.” There are various comments that bear similar meanings. That being said, let’s take a look at the issue:
“Is It Permissible to Speak about Public Callers to Misguidance without Advising Them in Private First?”
When a person makes a video or gives a public lecture in a Masjid or in a conference that clearly calls to misguidance, the message of misguidance has been sent. The damage is done. I think what these commenters fail to understand is that whatever misguidance that caller is relaying to the people has already reached the people in large numbers. Our duty now becomes to protect the people against the misguidance that person called them to. The people should not see the public advice given as a frontal assault on the person, but they should see it as advice to the Muslims to protect them from accepting that misguidance that was relayed to them.
Similar to how you would protect your family from any physical or mental harm, the People of the Sunnah want to protect the Muslims from the harm of misguidance that many false callers to Islam are propagating. If that involves admonishing certain individuals in public within the guidelines of the Quran and the Sunnah, so be it. However, we need to be very clear about what those guidelines are, and that is the purpose of this article.
Before we get into the subject of public criticism, we want a clear understanding of what backbiting is. Most people conflate public criticism with backbiting, and that is easy to do if a person has not been raised up with knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. Once we look at the evidences from the Quran and the Sunnah regarding the two, they should be clearly distinguishable for those that Allah gives the ability to see. May Allah increase us all in beneficial knowledge!
What Is Backbiting?
Backbiting is saying about your brother that which he does not like being said about him. This meaning of backbiting came in the following Hadith:
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: “أتدرون ما الغيبة؟” قالوا: الله ورسوله أعلم قال: "ذكرك أخاك بما يكره" قيل: أفرأيت إن كان في أخي ما أقول؟ قال: "إن كان فيه ما تقول، فقد اغتبته، وإن لم يكن فيه ما تقول فقد بهته”. ((رواه مسلم)).
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do you know what backbiting is?" The Companions said: "Allah and His Messenger know better." Thereupon he said, "Backbiting is mentioning about your (Muslim) brother something which he dislikes to be mentioned about him." It was said to him: "What if my (Muslim) brother is as I say." He said, "If he is actually as you say, that is backbiting; but if he is not as you have stated, you have slandered him.” [Muslim]
The things that can be mentioned about him could be his physical appearance, his level of intelligence, his looks, his body shape, his fashion, his social status, etc. However, that is only if these things are mentioned without a purpose. This is something that we have to be clear on right now: It is not permissible for any person to just sit around and talk about another Muslim for no reason. Whether he is talking about the previously mentioned topics or separate issues about the person; if there is no benefit for speaking about the person, you should refrain from saying anything about him. This can be understood from the general statement of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the following Hadith:
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر، فليقل خيرًا، أو ليصمت" ((متفق عليه)).
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Imam An-Nawawi said the following about this Hadith:
وهذا صريح أنه ينبغي أن لا يتكلم إلا إذا كان الكلام خيرًا، وهو الذي ظهرت مصلحته، ومتى شك في ظهور المصلحة، فلا يتكلم.
This is a clear-cut statement to show that a person should not talk except if his speech is going to be righteous speech. Righteous speech is the type of speech in which the benefit is apparent. Whenever a person doubts the appearance of benefit in his speech, he does not speak.
What is the benefit that Imam An-Nawawi mentioned in his statement? The benefits of speech that would appear to be backbiting are mentioned by Imam An-Nawawi himself. That is what we are going to look at now. However, before I move to the next topic, let us be very clear that backbiting is saying something about your brother that he does not want to have mentioned about him with no benefit. You will see the evidence for the last part of that previous definition of backbiting in the next section, insha’Allah.
When Does It Become Permissible to Publicly Speak about a Muslim’s Mistakes?
To keep this article brief, I am going to translate what Imam An-Nawawi said. If anybody wishes to see what the Imam said for himself in Arabic, you can find it in Riyadh As-Saaliheen after Hadith 1,530.
Imam An-Nawawi wrote in Riyadh As-Saaliheen:
Backbiting is permissible only for valid reasons approved by Shari'ah in which there is no other means to deal with the situation other than speaking about the person. These reasons are as follows:
1. It is permissible for an oppressed person to speak before the judge or someone in a similar position of authority to help him or her establish his or her rights by telling him ‘This person wronged me and has done such and such to me' etc.
2. It is permissible to seek somebody's assistance in forbidding evil and helping someone change his or her immoral conduct. One can say to the person who can offer such assistance, 'so-and-so does such and such evil deeds. Can you exhort him?' This is permissible as long as one has only the intention to forbid evil. If, however, one intends something other than the forbidding of evil, this act becomes unlawful.
3. One who seeks a legal verdict on a certain matter (may point out the faults of another person or relate private information about a specific person). In this case, you can say to the Mufti (religious scholar who issues verdicts): "My father, brother, spouse, or any random person treated me unjustly. Is this behavior on their part correct, and how can I refrain from being oppressed by them and receive my rights? It is only permissible to display these individuals’ faults if there is an absolute requirement to do so. However, it is better to say 'What do you think of someone who did such and such?' because you reach your objective without mentioning the person. This does not mean that naming the person in question is not permissible, Hadith No. 1535 makes this point clear.
4. Warning the Muslims from evil, and advising them, and we will look at this issue from different perspectives:
First, we have the criticism of the narrators of Hadith and the people that give testimony against perpetrators of crimes. By a consensus of the scholars, it is permissible to expose the faults of these individuals, and in some situations, it can be obligatory to speak about them.
Second, we have criticism which comes in a sitting that a person’s in-laws (from a girl he is seeking marriage with) or people that he is seeking a business partnership with are seeking council about the person. This can also include people wanting to leave money in this person’s possession, people that might want to interact with him or her (on a project or in dawah), or a person that wants to live next to a him. It is an obligation upon the person whose advice or council has been sought to disclose everything he knows about the person. In this case, it is permissible for him to mention all the bad things that he knows about the person if it is for the purpose of advising the people seeking his council not to deal with that person.
Third, if you see a person of religious knowledge frequently sitting with innovators or people of low moral standing. If he is afraid that the person will become affected by sitting with these individuals, he should advise him by exposing the situation of the people that he is sitting with. However, this has to be done with the condition of giving the person advice, and this is where a lot of people make a mistake. Some people might be driven by jealousy of another person, and the shaytan deceives him into believing that he is speaking about those individuals for the purpose of advice. Be mindful of this!
Finally, if a person has a position of authority, and he is not acting justly. It could be that he is not righteous in his decisions, he could be a sinful person, or he could be extremely heedless. These points should be mentioned to a person over him in authority to take action against him even if it means removing him. A person that is fit for the position will then be placed in authority. Another scenario is that his faults can be mentioned, so people can be cognizant of the things they need to be careful of and so they deal with him in a wise way in accordance to his state, and they are not deceived by him. This way the people set out to advise him to be upright and righteous in fulfilling his duties or he will be changed for another.
5. If a person commits sins or speaks about sins he commits publicly or he is public about his innovations in the religion. This is similar to a person that drinks alcohol openly or speaks about drinking alcohol publicly, taking somebody’s possessions or property publicly, taking money from taxes publicly (taxes on Muslims are not permissible), hoarding money in an oppressive manner, such as keeping the money from Zakah from the poor people, managing affairs that are against the guidance of Islam, etc. It is not permissible to mention affairs other than these or affairs similar to these that will expose a person’s faults unless it is from one of the other previously mentioned reasons.
6. It is permissible to speak about a person for the purpose of identifying who the person is. If a person is well-known by a particular nickname, such as Al-A’maash (A Person who has very weak vision), Al-A’raaj (A person who is handicapped from his legs), Al-Asamm (A deaf person), Al-A’maa (A blind person), Al-Ah’wal (A Cross-eyed person), etc., it is permissible to identify them by that nickname. It is not permissible if you call them that nickname for the purpose of belittling them. If it is possible to identify them in another way, with something that is more acceptable, the person should do so.
Just like Imam An-Nawawi said, a person must make sure there is a benefit from what he is saying, and he should have the intention of giving advice otherwise it is not permissible to speak about the faults of another Muslim.
Of course, in our situation, we mainly deal with the fifth point that Imam An-Nawawi mentioned. We are constantly in the position to point out some misguidance that a person is calling to. That is not because we view ourselves as the “Saved People,” and we view everybody else as misguided. However, it is because Allah blessed us to go and study His religion with the scholars of the Sunnah for many years, and the majority of the people calling to misguidance did not do that. The majority of them, if not all of them, have not studied the religion at all. They go on social media speaking about issues of the religion without knowledge, and it becomes our duty to point that misguidance out to the people. It has never been nor will it ever be a condition that we advise or admonish them in private once they make their misguidance public.
Before I end this article, I will list the Hadiths that show the permissibility of speaking publicly about a person to protect the Muslims.
The first Hadith:
عن عائشة رَضِيَ اللهُ عنها : أنَّ رجلاً اسْتَأذَنَ عَلَى النبي فَقَالَ : « ائْذَنُوا لَهُ ، بِئسَ أخُو العَشِيرَةِ ؟ » . متفق عَلَيْهِ .احتَجَّ بِهِ البخاري في جوازِ غيبَة أهلِ الفسادِ وأهلِ الرِّيبِ . قيل : إنَّ الرجل : عيينة بن حصن ، وقيل : مخرمة بن نوفل.
'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: A man sought permission for audience with the Prophet (ﷺ). He said, "Give him permission but he is a wretched member of his tribe."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Al-Bukhari used this Hadith as evidence to show the permissibility of speaking publicly about corrupt individuals and people of doubt (callers to misguidance).
We can clearly see the statement that the Prophet (ﷺ) said about this man before he entered his house, and the statement in Arabic is much stronger than it appears in English. The scholars will give different reasons as to why the Messenger (ﷺ) said what he said, but the only conclusive thing we have is that he informed A’ishah of this man, so she could inform the people that have to deal with him after his (ﷺ) death. The person was not an upright person, but the Prophet (ﷺ) still gave him his rights as a guest in his house.
We can see another Hadith similar to this from Sahih Al-Bukhari:
عن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "ما أظن فلانًا وفلانًا يعرفان من ديننا شيئًا." رواه البخاري. قال الليث بن سعد أحد رواة هذا الحديث: هذان الرجلان كانا من المنافقين.
A’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I do not think that so-and-so understand anything of our Religion."
[Al-Bukhari]
Al-Bukhari said: Al- Laith bin Sa'd, who is one of the narrators of this Hadith, said: The two men mentioned by the Prophet (ﷺ) in this Hadith were hypocrites (i.e., they revealed Faith and concealed disbelief).
Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajar disagreed with the statement of Al-Laith ibn Sa’d’s saying that the two individuals were from the hypocrites. There is no evidence of their names or whether or not they were from the hypocrites. Allah knows best. However, we can understand from this Hadith the statement the Prophet (ﷺ) made about these two individuals. The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke publicly about the ignorance of the religion these two individuals have, so the people would not be deceived by them or people like them and take knowledge from a person that does not possess it. Again, this was done in public, and it was done for a purpose.
One of the scenarios that Imam An-Nawawi mentioned was the situation of marriage. If a man is attempting to marry a woman, but you know that he has some issues about him that might cause the sister problems, you have to speak up. If he is known for beating women, you need to let the person in charge of the girl know. If he is known for abandoning his family or getting married just for fun and then divorcing, you should inform the Wali of the girl. This information should not be hidden because it can cause a lot of problems that can be avoided. We can see this clearly in the following Hadith:
عَنْ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ قَيْسٍ، أَنَّ أَبَا عَمْرِو بْنَ حَفْصٍ، طَلَّقَهَا الْبَتَّةَ وَهُوَ غَائِبٌ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهَا وَكِيلُهُ بِشَعِيرٍ فَسَخِطَتْهُ فَقَالَ وَاللَّهِ مَا لَكِ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ شَىْءٍ . فَجَاءَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرَتْ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَقَالَ " لَيْسَ لَكِ عَلَيْهِ نَفَقَةٌ " . فَأَمَرَهَا أَنْ تَعْتَدَّ فِي بَيْتِ أُمِّ شَرِيكٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ " تِلْكَ امْرَأَةٌ يَغْشَاهَا أَصْحَابِي اعْتَدِّي عِنْدَ ابْنِ أُمِّ مَكْتُومٍ فَإِنَّهُ رَجُلٌ أَعْمَى تَضَعِينَ ثِيَابَكِ فَإِذَا حَلَلْتِ فَآذِنِينِي " . قَالَتْ فَلَمَّا حَلَلْتُ ذَكَرْتُ لَهُ أَنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنَ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ وَأَبَا جَهْمٍ خَطَبَانِي . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَمَّا أَبُو جَهْمٍ فَلاَ يَضَعُ عَصَاهُ عَنْ عَاتَقِهِ وَأَمَّا مُعَاوِيَةُ فَصُعْلُوكٌ لاَ مَالَ لَهُ انْكِحِي أُسَامَةَ بْنَ زَيْدٍ " . فَكَرِهْتُهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ " انْكِحِي أُسَامَةَ " . فَنَكَحْتُهُ فَجَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا وَاغْتَبَطْتُ بِهِ .
Fatima bint Qais (May Allah be pleased with her) reported that Abu 'Amr b. Hafs divorced her for good when he was away from home, and he sent an entrusted person to her with some barley. She was displeased with him and when he said: I swear by Allah that you have no claim on us. she went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He said: There is no provisions due to you from him, and he commanded her to spend the 'Idda in the house of Umm Sharik, but then said: That is a woman whom my companions visit. So better spend this period in the house of Ibn Umm Maktum, for he is a blind man and you can take off your garments (uncover your face, not your entire body). And when the 'Idda is over, inform me. She said: When my period of 'Idda was over, I mentioned to him that Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan and Abu Jahm had sent proposals of marriage to me, whereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: As for Abu Jahm, he does not take his staff off his shoulder, and as for Mu'awiya, he is a poor man having no property; marry Usama ibn Zaid. I objected to him, but he again said: Marry Usama; so, I married him. Allah blessed me there in and I was envied (by others) because of my marriage to him.
As far as the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) about Abu Jahm that he does not take his staff off of his shoulder, some of the scholars say it means that he beats women a lot. Others say that he travels a lot. However, if you look at the other narrations of this Hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan Ibn Majah, you will see that it means he beats women a lot, and that is why his staff is always on his shoulder. Allah knows best.
Again, we see that the Prophet (ﷺ) spoke about these two Companions for a benefit, and to protect the sister from marrying somebody that might cause her problems. She took the advice of the Prophet (ﷺ), and she became happy with her marriage.
These issues about marriage and business that Imam An-Nawawi mentioned before should only be spoken about with the proper authority. For example, if you know that a man is known for cheating people that he goes into business with, or he is known for embezzling money from businesses he works for, you must inform the person that he wants to do business with. You do not go out to the community and inform everybody. However, when a person is known for lying about Allah’s religion to the people or spreading erroneous beliefs that have no basis in the Quran and the Sunnah, we have to speak about this person publicly. It is nothing personal. Some of the individuals we spoke about we might have liked on a personal level. He might have been a cool person to be around, but when it comes to this religion, all the personal issues go to the side.
We, as students of knowledge in the West, have a duty in this society to protect our Muslim brothers and sisters from misguidance to the best of our capabilities. We will continue to warn against people that call to guidance outside of the Quran and the Sunnah, and we will continue to warn against people that lie about Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ).
This religion was preserved by the Salaf warning against people that tried to spread innovations and misguidance in this religion. We have books that could fill up an entire library dealing with the narrators of Hadiths, and these books mention the good, the bad and the ugly to protect the Muslims from accepting a Hadith from a person that Hadith should not be accepted from. Allah protected this religion, and He will continue to protect this religion. The people He uses to protect this religion are the scholars of Hadith that have love for Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and they do not tolerate people saying anything about this religion that is not from the Quran and the Sunnah. This is Islam. What a beautiful religion! I will leave you with this following statement from Muhammad Ibn Sereen (May Allah have mercy on him) about the importance of taking knowledge from the scholars of the Sunnah, not ignorant YouTubers:
حَدَّثَنَا حَسَنُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، وَهِشَامٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَحَدَّثَنَا فُضَيْلٌ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ، قَالَ وَحَدَّثَنَا مَخْلَدُ بْنُ حُسَيْنٍ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ .
Hasan bin ur-Rabī’ narrated to us, Hammād bin Zayd narrated to us, on authority of Ayyūb and Hishām [bin Hassān], on authority of Muhammad [bin Sīrīn] ; and Fuḍayl [bin Īyāḍ] narrated to us on authority of Hishām [bin Hassān]; he said Mukhlad bin Husayn narrated to us, on authority of Hishām [bin Hassān], on authority of Muhammad bin Sīrīn , that he said: ‘Indeed this knowledge is faith, so carefully consider from whom you take your faith’.
[Introduction of Sahih Muslim]
Muhammad Ibn James Sutton
13th of Sha’ban 1444
Jacksonville, Florida