And do not backbite one another

First Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, who created mankind and commanded them to guard their tongues. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. And we bear witness that our prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger to all of humanity. May Allah’s peace, blessings, and grace be upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them. To proceed: I advise you, O servants of Allah and myself to have taqwa of Allah. Allah, Exalted is He, says: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ﴾. And fear Allah in whom you believe. O Believers, Our khutbah today is about a disgraceful trait, a grave sin, one that corrupts hearts, sows resentment in the chests, and extinguishes the light of love between people. It is backbiting “ghibah”. A dangerous social disease that has spread among people in their gatherings and across their means of communication. Hardly anyone is safe from it, and few tongues remain pure from its stain. Yes, it is backbiting, one of the major sins and among the most shameful of faults. Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “No one has ever taken a worse bite than speaking ill of a fellow believer.” [Al-Adab al-Mufrad] And how could it not be so? For it is a blatant violation of one of the most sacred possessions a person holds their dignity, reputation, and honour. Indeed, backbiting is a destructive affliction that opens the door to a chain of devastating evils: It leads to slander and tale-bearing, it paves the way for hatred and enmity, and it becomes the source of false rumours and lies. So, what is backbiting?  Backbiting, as defined by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, is:  «ذِكْرُكَ أَخَاكَ بِمَا يَكْرَهُ» “Mentioning about your brother something he dislikes.” He was asked: “What if what I say about my brother is true?”  The Prophet ﷺ replied: «إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ» “If what you say about him is true, then you have backbitten him; and if it is not true, then you have slandered him” That is to say: if it’s false, you have accused him with lies... “So, fear Allah, O you of sound minds.”.” ﴿فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ﴾ You are far nobler than to fall into that which your Lord warned you against when He said: ﴿وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ﴾ “And do not backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would surely detest it.”  We seek refuge in Allah! How vile this act is, and how repulsive this crime that a person would devour the flesh of his own brother by backbiting him and speaking ill of him behind his back. O servants of Allah, How grave is the danger of backbiting on individuals, families, and entire communities! How many homes have been ruined, and how many families have been torn apart because of a single word a husband said about his wife in her absence, or because of a wife backbiting her husband in front of her family! How many ties of kinship have been severed, and how many relationships broken, due to backbiting among siblings and relatives! How many workplaces have collapsed, their foundations shaken and bonds destroyed, because of hurtful words whispered in private gatherings by employees about their colleagues or supervisors until backbiting becomes a preferred pastime, a deeply rooted habit, and a destructive plague. Then, hostility replaces cooperation, the spirit of teamwork crumbles, and the work environment falls into disarray. O Allah, purify our tongues from backbiting, and our hearts from rancour, and grant us success in obeying You and those You have commanded us to obey, in Your saying: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ﴾. “O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you” I say this, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you. So, seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Second Khutbah All praise is due to Allah with the praise He truly deserves. And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, companions, and those who follow his guidance after him. To proceed: O believers! how to guard yourselves against the sin of backbiting? Be ever mindful of Allah, your Lord, and keep in your hearts His saying: ﴿مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ﴾ Not a single word is uttered by anyone except that there is a watchful, ready observer beside them. A single word of blame spoken in someone’s absence one that a person may consider trivial can have consequences that bring ruin and loss. Did you not hear what the Prophet ﷺ said to one of his wives, when she merely gestured about another woman’s short stature? He said: «لَقَدْ قُلْتِ كَلِمَةً لَوْ مُزِجَتْ بِمَاءِ الْبَحْرِ لَمَزَجَتْهُ». “You have said a word which, if it were mixed with the water of the sea, it would taint it.” indicating the immense gravity of seemingly small words when they contain mockery or defamation behind someone’s back. May Allah protect our tongues, refine our manners, and write us among the righteous. So, O believer, reflect on the impact of backbiting when it reaches the ears of the one you spoke about. How deeply it wounds his heart, how much it pains his soul, and how it affects his life! Then let the one who engages in backbiting ask himself: Would he like to be in the place of the one he is speaking about? If the answer is no, then why would he accept for his brother what he would never take for himself? Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them ) said: اذْكُرْ ‌أَخَاكَ ‌إِذَا ‌غَابَ عَنْكَ بِمَا تُحِبُّ أَنْ يَذْكُرَكَ بِهِ، وَدَعْ مِنْهُ مَا تُحِبُّ أَنْ يَدَعَ مِنْكَ. “Mention your brother in his absence only with what you would love him to mention about you. And leave of him that you would love him to leave of you.” And if you find yourself in a gathering where backbiting is taking place, do not join in the words of the backbiter. The poet Abu Tamam said: إِذَا جَارَيْتَ فِي خُلُقٍ دَنِيئًا ** فَأَنْتَ وَمَنْ تُجَارِيهِ سَوَاءُ If you match the vile in their lowly way, Then you and they are both the same that day. So, protect your brother’s honour, for the Prophet ﷺ said: «مَنْ رَدَّ عَنْ عِرْضِ أَخِيهِ رَدَّ اللَّهُ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ النَّارَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ» “Whoever defends the honour of his brother, Allah will turn the Fire away from his face on the Day of Resurrection.” And if you have fallen into backbiting your brother, and the words have reached him through someone else, then seek his forgiveness and ask him to pardon you. If that is not possible, then ask Allah for forgiveness for both yourself and him and mention him in good terms as much as you had spoken ill of him. So let us make a sincere pledge to Allah, starting now, to abandon this blameworthy trait, to seek forgiveness from our Lord, and to firmly resolve to guard our tongues.  Let us also teach this principle to our families and children for in it lies the pleasure of our Lord and the protection of our society. O Allah, send Your peace, blessings, and grace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment. O Allah, Be pleased, with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and with all the noble companions. O Allah, make us among those who truly believe in You, who worship You sincerely, who turn to You in repentance, who avoid backbiting, and who are dutiful and kind to our parents. Have mercy on them as they raised us when we were small, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, continue to bless the United Arab Emirates with stability, progress, and prosperity. Grant us lasting well-being, bless our provisions, our spouses, and our children.  O Allah, grant success to the President of the State, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, his deputies, the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trusted Crown Prince, and guide them all to that which pleases You. O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and all the founding leaders. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your Gardens. Have mercy on the martyrs of the nation. O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, those who are alive and those who have passed away. O Allah, send us rain and do not make us among the despairing. O Allah, send us rain, O Allah, send us rain...  . ﴿‌رَبَّنَا ‌آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ﴾. “Our Lord, grant us in this world goodness and in the Hereafter goodness, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” O servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Most Great and Glorious, He will remember you. Give thanks to Him for His blessings, He will increase you. And establish the prayer.