Gheebah — Backbiting in Islam

Gheebah (backbiting) is one of the most common yet severely condemned sins in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) defined it precisely: "Do you know what gheebah is?" They said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "It is to mention your brother in a way he would dislike." Someone asked: "What if what I say about him is true?" He said: "If what you say is true, you have committed gheebah. If it is not true, you have committed buhtan (slander)" (Sahih Muslim). This definition establishes that backbiting is about true statements made behind someone's back. Lying about them is even worse.

The Quranic Comparison

The Quran uses a shocking image to convey the gravity of gheebah: "And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it" (Quran 49:12). This comparison of backbiting to cannibalism of one's dead sibling conveys the spiritual reality: when you backbite, you are consuming another person's honor and dignity, and they are helpless to defend themselves (just as a dead person cannot resist). The revulsion one feels at the thought of eating dead human flesh should be the same revulsion felt at the prospect of speaking ill of someone in their absence.

What Constitutes Gheebah

Gheebah is not limited to spoken words. It includes: mentioning someone's physical defect, moral failing, family background, clothing, manner of walking, or any characteristic they would dislike being discussed. It extends to gestures, imitation, and written communication. The scholars note that even hinting at someone without naming them ("a certain person we all know") constitutes gheebah if the audience can identify the person. Listening to gheebah approvingly is also sinful; the listener shares the sin unless they object, leave the gathering, or at minimum show disapproval.

Permitted Exceptions

Islamic scholars identified specific situations where mentioning someone's faults is not gheebah: seeking justice (complaining to a judge or authority about wrongdoing); seeking a fatwa (asking a scholar about a situation involving another person); warning others about harm (such as warning against a fraudulent business partner or an incompatible marriage prospect); addressing someone who sins openly (they have no right to privacy in their public behavior); identifying someone by a known attribute (like calling someone "the blind man" when that is how they are identified, not as mockery); and narrating hadith criticism (scholars evaluating narrators' reliability). In all cases, the minimum necessary information should be shared.

The Remedy

The cure for gheebah involves several steps. First, recognize that it consumes one's good deeds: on the Day of Judgment, the backbiter's good deeds are transferred to the person they wronged. Second, if you have backbitten someone, seek their forgiveness if possible, or make dua for them and speak well of them in the same gatherings where you spoke ill. Third, remember that you will be accountable for every word: "Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared" (Quran 50:18). Fourth, redirect conversations away from gossip. The Prophet advised: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent" (Sahih al-Bukhari). The discipline of guarding the tongue is one of the most important aspects of Islamic self-improvement.