in such a way that no one knows that I reviled so and so, such as if I
said to myself, "O so and so, O…, Why did you do such and such to me?"
Am I sinning if I do that?
Praise be to Allah.
Reviling and impugning may be either justifiable or unjustifiable.
Firstly:
If it is justifiable, such as if a Muslim is wronged inan obvious
manner, or isharmed in a way that cannot be denied, then there is
nothing wrong with warding off harm and enmity from oneself by
reviling and impugning, whether that is done secretly or openly,
without transgressing or overstepping the mark, although it is better
not to do that.
Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Allah does not like that the evil should be uttered in public except
by him who has been wronged. And Allah is Ever All‑Hearer, All‑Knower"
[4:148].
As-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Here Allah tells us that Hedoes not like evil to be uttered in public,
i.e., He hates that, dislikes it andpunishes for it. That includes all
bad words that may cause hurt and make people sad, such as reviling,
slandering, impugning and so on. Allof that comes under the heading of
forbidden things that Allah hates.
What is implied is that Allah loves good kinds ofspeech such as dhikr
(Hisremembrance) and kind and gentle words.
"except by him who has been wronged" means, it is permissible for him
to pray against the one who has wronged him, and to make a
complaintabout him. He may speakout openly against the one who uttered
evil against him publicly, without telling lies about him and without
going any further in wrongdoing than he did. And he should not
overstep the mark and revile anyone other thanthe one who wronged him.
Yet despite that, forgiving him and not responding in kind is
preferable, as Allah says: "but whoever forgives and makes
reconciliation, his reward is with Allah" [42:40]. End quote. Tayseer
al-Kareem ar-Rahmaan.
Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And indeed whosoever takes revenge after he has suffered wrong, for
such there is no way (of blame) against them.
The way (of blame) is only against those who oppress men and rebel in
the earth without justification; for such there will be a painful
torment" [42:41-42].
It was narrated from AbuHurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said:
"When two people revileone another, the sin of what they say is on the
one who started it, so long as the one who is wronged does not
overstep the mark.". [Muslim]
The best supplication that the one who is wronged may offer concerning
the wrongdoer is that whichwas narrated from the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) by Jaabir (may Allahbe pleased with
him) who said: The Messengerof Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) used to say: "O Allah, correct my hearingand my sight, and
allow me to retain them until I die. Lead me to victory over those who
have done me injustice and allow me to see vengeance." [al-Bukhaari
in al-Adab al-Mufrad]
Al-Khateeb ash-Sharbeeni (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If one person reviles another, it is permissiblefor the one who was
reviled to revile him back as much as he reviled him, because Allah,
may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning): "The
recompense for an evil isan evil like thereof" [42:40]. It is not
permissible for him to revile his father or mother. It was narrated
that when Zaynab reviled 'Aaishah, the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said to her – as narrated in Sunan Ibn Maajah and
classed as saheeh (authentic) by al-Albaani: "You should say something
to defendyourself." ['Aaishah said:] So I turned on her,until I saw
that her mouth had become dry, and she did not say anything back to
me. And I saw the Prophet with his face shining. Rather all that is
permitted is reviling which does not involve lying or slander, such as
saying, "O wrongdoer" or "O fool", because hardly anyone is free from
these descriptions. Once a person has stood up to defend himself by
reviling the one who reviled him, then the matter is settled and the
first person is in the clear, but he has the sin of initiating the
exchange and the sin of transgressing the limits set by Allah. End
quote. Mughni al-Muhtaaj.
But it is far better and closer to perfection to forgive, pardon and
overlook, in the hope that Allah will pardon us on the Day of
Resurrection, for the recompense will fit the nature of the deed.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof; but whoever
forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah. Verily,
He likes not the Zaalimoon (oppressors, polytheists, and wrongdoers)"
[42:40].
And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "O
'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir, uphold ties with those who cut you off, give to
those who withhold from you, and forgive those who wrong you." [Ahmad]
It was narrated that 'Aaishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said
that a blanket of hers was stolen, and she started to pray against the
one who had stolen it. The Prophet (blessingsand peace of Allah be
upon him) said: "Do not reduce his burden of sin by making du'aa
(supplicating) against him." [Abu Dawood]
There are also reports from the Taabi'een (successors) that point
tothe superiority of forgiving and overlooking in this world.
Al-Haytham ibn Mu'aawiyah said:
Whoever is wronged and does not retaliate inword or deed, and does not
bear resentment in his heart, that will be hislight among people. End
quote. [al-Bayhawi in Shu'ab al-Eemaan]
Secondly:
If the reviling and impugning is done unlawfully, i.e., as a result of
personal resentment or hatred based on malicious envy (hasad), or
because one dislikes a person's appearance, lineage, conduct or
anything elsethat results in people reviling and insulting others,
this is something that is clearly forbidden and comes under the
heading of slips of the tongue that consume (i.e., wipe out) good
deeds and incur punishment for bad deeds, whether it is done secretly
or openly.
It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Insulting a Muslim is an evil action and fighting him is kufr
(disbelief/denial)." [al-Bukhaari, Muslim].
It was also narrated from him (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet said: "The believer is not given to insulting, cursing a
greatdeal, obscene talk or foul speech." [ at-Tirmidhi].
Al-Mubaarakfoori (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"The believer" means: the perfect believer
"is not given to insulting" i.e., criticizing people
"or cursing a great deal"i.e., cursing excessively, because the
perfect believer can hardly be free from some shortcomings
"obscene talk" i.e., he does not commit obscene actions or utter obscene speech
"or foul speech" al-Qaari said: this refers to the one who has no
shame. End quote. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi.
Thirdly:
If the reviling or impugning occurs in one's heart or mind, such as a
thought that crosses the mind without one meaning it to or uttering it
out loud– rather it is some passing thought or whispers that may come
to mind about reviling so and so, but he does not pay attention to it
orresolve to do it – then this comes under the heading of passing
thoughts that are forgiven, in sha Allah, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah has forgiven
my ummah (followers) for what crosses their mindsso long as they do
not act upon it or speak of it." [al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
But there is the fear that if these thoughts become persistent and
settle in the heart, they may come under the heading of deeds of the
heart for which a personwill be brought to account.
Al-Qaasimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
As for the effects of anger on the heart, such as resentment,
maliciousenvy, wishing ill, rejoicing in the misfortunes of another,
begrudging his happiness, resolving to spread his secrets and
transgress his privacy, making fun of him, and other evil actions,
these are the fruits of excessive anger. [from Tahdheeb Maw'izat
al-Mu'mineen]
Al-Ghazaali (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be noted that thinking bad things is haram (impermissible),
just like saying bad things. Just as it is haramfor you to say bad
thingsabout another person, you do not have the right to think bad
thingsabout your brother and think negatively of him. What I mean is
when one forms a solid idea and decides that another person is bad and
evil. As for passing thoughts, they are forgiven. Thinking here refers
to what one focuses on and is inclined towards. End quote. Ihya'
'Uloom ad-Deen and al-Adhkaar by an-Nawawi.
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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