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Feeble Efforts, Causes and Cures of Backbiting, Interrogation

Issue 462 » February 1, 2008 - Muharram 23, 1429

General

Living the Quran

Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
Chapter 22: Verse 73

Feeble Efforts
"O men! here is a parable set forth! Listen! Those on whom, besides Allah, you call, could not create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose. And if the fly would snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to get it back from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition."

Had man created himself, he could at least lay claim to chalking out his own course of life using his own mind and without the help of Revelation. But is he able to create anything at all?

Man did not create himself. He did not create his mind nor did his mind create him. The Creator of man and his mind is Allah. Revelation describes and explains things that man must know but are beyond the direct access of his mind. The human mind has certain limitations and it is futile to try to go beyond them. These are the areas where man needs help and guidance. An example of this is the question of accountability, human obligation, and other related issues. All these require legislation. Man tried to legislate on his own but strayed off course. This is where the Quran and Sunnah come in to explain, elucidate, and guide.

Man tried to find answers to some basic questions concerning his will and freedom, but became lost in the meanderings of his labyrinthean ideas, especially between the extremes of fatalism and freewill.

Source:
"Freedom and Responsibility In Quranic Perspective" - Hasan Al-'Anani, pg. 19
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Causes and Cures of Backbiting

What causes someone to backbite his Muslim brothers and sisters?

1. Satisfying Anger

This is done by backbiting the person who kindles his anger. So every time this person makes him angry, he subdues it by backbiting the person. Through this (the backbiting), he feels he is getting even with the other person.

The cure for this is the advice of the Messenger, peace be upon him, when a man came to him and said, “Advise me.”
The Messenger said, "Laa taqhdab (Do not become angry)!"

2. Wanting to Make or Keep Friends

In order to maintain friends with others, a person indulges in backbiting because he is afraid of losing their friendship. Thus he does not reprimand them when they backbite, but indulges in it with them.

To cure this, he must remember the saying of the Messenger: "Whoever seeks the pleasure of men by displeasing Allah, Allah will abandon him to the people" (Tirmidhi).

3. Conceit and Lack of Awareness of One's Faults

Such people should think about their own faults and try to correct themselves, and feel ashamed to criticize others when they have many faults themselves.

Uqbah Ibn Aamir narrates:
I said, "O RasulAllah! What is salvation?"
He, peace be uopn him, said, "Hold your tongue! Your house should suffice you! And cry over your (own) faults” (Tirmidhi)!

Source:
“Hold Your Tongue” - Muhammad Alshareef
Blindspot!

Interrogation

Some Muslims today have gotten into the habit of interrogating their brothers and sisters about matters of faith and law. They ask them questions about the particulars of the Islam creed or some details of various legal ruling, but their intention is not to learn anything. They already know the answers. What they want to do is see if the person they are asking is on the right creed or has adopted the correct position in certain matters of Islamic Law – or have the correct "Islamic" attitude about certain issues.

A classic example of this is to ask "Where is Allah." Yes, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did once ask a slave girl this question. However, the people who go around with this question on their lips, foisting it on every passer-by, forget that the Prophet (peace be upon him) in that instance had a specific reason for doing so. He was trying to ascertain what her religion was, because her owner was thinking about giving her her freedom if she proved to be a Muslim.

Interrogating people about doctrinal matters is a bad habit that Muslims should abandon. Allah has not commanded us to cross-examine each other's faith. Moreover, such behavior can bring about many bad consequences.

For instance, when a person on the street is asked a question about some Islamic issue, whether it be a tenet of faith or a point of law, it may very well be the case that the person does not know the answer. Indeed, it may be that the person has never thought about the question before. Nevertheless, people are usually shy to admit they do not know something. There is a good chance that the person being asked will simply make something up on the spot and say something that is wrong.

Is it, then, right for us to pronounce judgment on this unsuspecting person – to brand him or her as a deviant or a sinner?

Allah has not appointed us to be judges over the people. We are merely required to deal with people as they present themselves to us. What is in their hearts is between them and their Lord.

As Muslims, we are supposed to assume the best about others. We are not supposed to harbor suspicions in our hearts. We are not supposed to snoop around for people's faults.

We should never try to get our fellow Muslims to fall into some error so we can "catch them out". We should rather assume the best about them and leave their inward thought to themselves – and to Allah's judgment.

What we can and should do is to teach people – without first cross-examining what they might already believe. We should give sensible advice to people, guide them to what is right, and do the best we can to be a positive influence in their lives. We should strive to disseminate goodness, ward off evil, and be a source of right guidance. When we conduct ourselves in this manner, we do good for our own souls as well as for others.

Source:
"Cross-Examining Others about Matters of Faith" - Muhammad Ahmad Abd al-Rahmân