Hungry?…How about a piece of the flesh of your dead brother.
Allow me to remind you brothers and sisters about backbiting….
Firstly, what is backbiting?
In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from al-‘Alaa’ ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan from his father from Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Do you know what gheebah is?” They said, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “That you say something about your brother that he dislikes.” He was asked, “What if what I say about my brother is true?” He said, “If what you say is true then you have gossiped about him, and if it is not true then you have slandered him.”
Gheebah (backbiting, gossip) means that a person mentions the faults of his Muslim brother in his absence, which he would not like if he heard about it, [If it’s true then its backbiting, if it’s a lie then it’s slander].-(IslamQ&A)
On the authority of Abu Huraryrah:“Beware of backbiting, for backbiting is more serious than adultery. A man may commit adultery, and drink [wine], and then repent, and Allah will forgive him. But, the backbiter will not be forgiven by Allah until his [backbitten] companion forgives him.”[Suyuti, Al-Jami` as-Saghir, 1/174, #2919, from Ibn Abid-Dunya, and Abush-Shaykh, Al-Tawbikh.]-(Sunnipath)
“… neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful” [al-Hujuraat 49:12]
Causes of ghibah[backbiting]
1. Thirst for revenge. Backbiting one’s brother and obtaining gratification from his anger.
2. Peer pressure. Desire to fit in with and be accepted by one’s companions.
3. Desire to exalt one’s self by degrading another. In the same way, one may become jealous when another is praised, and therefore seek to disparage him.
4. Jest and play. A desire to make others laugh. Some people even make a living out of this.
Cure for ghibah[backbiting]
Realize that it exposes you to the displeasure of Allah, the Exalted. Remind yourself that you’re good deeds will go to the person whom you are backbiting, and his sins will be borne by you. Ponder over your own faults, and occupy yourself with correcting them. Feel ashamed to discuss the faults of others when you yourself have so many faults. If you are really free from fault, then occupy yourself with thanking Allah for His favor. Just as you would dislike someone else backbiting you, put yourself in the place of the one whom you are inclined to backbite.
“Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Heaven. And, a man [continues to] tell the truth, until he is recorded before Allah as a truthful one. And, indeed, lying leads to evil, and evil leads to Hell. And, a man [continues to] lie until he is recorded before Allah as a liar. [Bukhari, Muslim]
“Insulting a Muslim is impiety, and killing him is [a form of] unbelief.” [Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, Tabarani, Daraqutni.](Taken from Sunnipath)
-A final tip from Muslim1, to himself first, and then his Muslim brothers & sisters, When you mention someone’s name or reference to them, that’s a big sign that your about to backbite. So bite your tongue.
