The Verse of Ghiba (Arabic: آيَة الغِيبَة) or Verse of Backbiting explains the prohibition of backbiting and the reason for it. In this verse, backbiting is likened to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother, and just as a person hates eating the meat of his dead brother, he should also hate backbiting.
This verse was revealed about two companions of the Prophet (s) who had backbitten about Salman al-Farsi and Usama b. Zayd.
The mention of “brother” in this verse is because, according to the verse of Ukhuwwah, believers are addressed as brothers to each other. From the viewpoint of some jurists, based on the phrase “the flesh of his dead brother”, only backbiting Muslims is forbidden, and backbiting disbelievers and even transgressors is considered permissible. On the other hand, based on the generality of the prohibition of backbiting in this verse, some jurists have also considered backbiting non-believers to be forbidden. According to Makarim Shirazi, according to the mentioned verse, bad suspicion leads to spying, spying causes the disclosure of people’s hidden faults, and awareness of people’s faults causes backbiting. For this reason, these three actions are forbidden in Islam.
Text and Translation
The twelfth verse of Qur’an 49 is called the verse of Ghiba:
| “ | يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اجتَنِبوا كَثيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعضَ الظَّنِّ إِثمٌ ۖ وَلا تَجَسَّسوا وَلا يَغتَب بَعضُكُم بَعضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُم أَن يَأكُلَ لَحمَ أَخيهِ مَيتًا فَكَرِهتُموهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوّابٌ رَحيمٌ | ” |
| “ | O you who have faith! Avoid much suspicion. Indeed, some suspicions are sins. And do not spy on or backbite one another. Will any of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And be wary of Allah; indeed Allah is all-clement, all-merciful | ” |
| — Quran 49:12 | ||
Occasion of Revelation
Regarding the verse of Ghiba, which was revealed in Medina, two occasions of revelation have been narrated:
- According to al-Tabrisi (d. 548/1153-4) in Majma’ al-bayan, this verse was revealed about two of the companions of the Prophet (s) who had backbitten Salman al-Farsi. They had sent Salman to the Prophet (s) to bring food for them. The Prophet (s) sent Salman to Usama b. Zayd, who was a storekeeper. Usama told Salman that the food was over, and Salman returned empty-handed. Those two companions called Usama a miser and said about Salman that if they sent him to the well of Samiha (the name of a well full of water), it would dry up. Then, they went to Usama themselves to spy on the issue. The Prophet (s) said to them: “How come I see the traces of meat on your mouths?” They said: “O Prophet of God (s), we did not eat meat today.” The Prophet (s) said: “You are eating the meat of Salman and Usama!” Then, the verse of Ghiba was revealed.
- It was narrated that “and do not backbite one another” was revealed about one of the servants of the Prophet (s) who asked the Companions for food when they went to visit the Prophet (s) and then prevented them from seeing him. Therefore, they called him a smooth-tongued miser, and the verse was revealed about him.
Exegetical Notes
Regarding the interpretation of this verse, Ibn Abbas said that just as God forbade eating the meat of the dead, He also forbade backbiting. According to this verse, just as a person hates eating the meat of the dead, he should also hate backbiting of a living person. The first is against human nature, and the second is against reason and religious law. According to ‘Allama Tabataba’i, “you would hate it” [in the verse] refers to the fact that hating eating the flesh of one’s brother who has died is a certain fact, and without a doubt, no one would do so. So, backbiting a believing brother should also be hated because it is like eating the flesh of a dead brother. Imam Khomeini said in the book Sharh-i chihil hadith that eating the flesh of a dead brother is the spiritual reality of backbiting, and in the hereafter, backbiting will appear so.
It has been said about the analogy of backbiting to eating the meat of the dead, just as if someone eats the meat of the dead, the deceased person does not feel anything; in backbiting, if bad things are said behind someone’s back, he does not feel it. According to ‘Allama Tabataba’i, the mention of “brother” in the verse is because, in the previous two verses (Qur’an 49:10), the believers are called brothers of each other. The mention of “the dead” is also because the backbitten person is unaware that people are backbiting him.
In his Tafsir-i Nimuna, Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi, based on this verse, considered bad suspicion as the cause of spying, spying as the cause of disclosing hidden faults, and knowledge of faults as the cause of backbiting, and Islam has prohibited all three of these actions.
Jurisprudential Applications
Based on the verse of Ghiba, the jurists have mentioned some rulings for backbiting as follows:
- Jurists refer to this verse to prohibit backbiting Different definitions have been given for backbiting. According to ‘Allama Tabataba’i, the common point in all of them is that something is said in someone’s absence that would upset them if they heard it.
- Backbiting has been considered a major sin due to being disapproved in the mentioned verse and its likening to eating the meat of the dead.
- It has been said that the prohibition of backbiting in the verse includes only the backbiting of Muslims because the phrase “the flesh of his dead brother” does not include a disbeliever.[17] Also, the expression “some of you” in the verse has been considered proof of the permissibility of backbiting a disbeliever.
- Some jurists, based on the generality of the prohibition of backbiting in this verse, also consider backbiting non-believers to be forbidden ; but according to some, the verse only implies the prohibition of backbiting believers.
- Backbiting a transgressor is excluded from the general implication of the verse, and backbiting such a person is considered permissible.
