Fatwa ID: 03379

Answered by: Maulana Tahsin Alam​

Question

Dear Mufti Tosir Miah. We are writing to inform you about the problem we are facing. One Muslim has slandered another and tells everybody something which is not the truth about that Muslim brother. 

We would like to know what the Sharia ruling on this problem is. How should the man who is slandered behave? What should he do? We need your answers and understanding. We would be thankful if your answers were evidential.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Answer

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once asked: "Do you know what backbiting is?" His companions, may Allah be pleased with them, replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He then said: "It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike." Someone asked: "But what if what is said is true?" The Messenger of Allah replied: "If what you say about him is true, then you have backbitten him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him."[1]

Slandering is a major sin in Islam, it is not permissible to slander any Muslim in any given circumstance. The man who is being slandered should first observe sabr (patience) and ask Allāh SWT for reward for this injustice he is facing; he should then approach (or ask a third party) to approach this brother who is slandering others and gently remind him about the grave sins of this major sin and to stop committing this sin. If he continues to persist, then it will be permissible to announce his sin of slandering to the public, in order to warn others from him.[2]

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Tahsin Alam

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham