Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

salaam,
sir i wanna confess one thing that talk alot due to which i back bite alot,sometimes lie but at night when i recite quran i ask my ALLAH forgiveness,this usually happens  twice or thrice a week,i know HE is most compassinate and merciful but i really really want to get rid of these bad habbits ,plz kindly tell me what to do?

JAZAQALLAH

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Backbiting

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujuraat verse 12: O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay ye would abhor it...but fear Allah: for Allah is Oft-Returning Most Merciful.

Allah Subhanah has enjoined and commanded the believers in the above aayah to abstain from back-biting and compared it to the heinous crime of eating the flesh of one’s own brother. Just as one would hate to eat the flesh of one’s own brother, one should hate the act of speaking ill of someone behind his back, even though it be the truth! If one back-bites by inventing lies and falsehood, he will be guilty of a much more serious sin; ‘bohtaan’ or slander.

Beloved brother, from your letter it seems that you are ashamed of this bad habit, and constantly seek forgiveness from the Merciful Lord for your short-comings. You will Insha Allah, find your Lord Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The only thing that will rid this evil habit, is the fear of Allah Subhanah and His Accounting on an Inevitable Day! Thus, what one needs to do is make a solemn covenant with the Merciful that he will never ever repeat his mistake again, and then try his level best to fulfill his covenant. Instead of waiting till the night to seek Allah’s Forgiveness, whenever you realize that you have spoken ill of someone behind his back, immediately turn to Allah and beseech Him to forgive you; for no-one knows if his life will accompany him till the night!

And whenever you are about to begin back-biting, remember the promise you have made to Allah Subhanah; seek refuge in Allah Subhanah from the accursed enemy of man, The Shaitaan, who constantly tries to whisper into the hearts of men to be disobedient to the Lord; and constantly recite the 113^th (Surah Falaq) and the 114^th Surahs (Surah An-Naas) of the Glorious Quran. It is expected that Allah Subhanah will help you and guide you to the path that is Straight and deserving of His Mercy.

The only thing that will stop all evil habits is the constant remembrance of Allah Subhanah, and the fear of standing alone in His Majestic Court to give a full accounting of our deeds on an Inevitable Day; where every single deed done by man will be presented to the All Knowing, All Wise, Lord of the Worlds! Only when that consciousness and fear (Taqwa) is developed, one will hate doing deeds that bring forth Allah Subhanah’s Anger and Wrath, and love doing deeds that will bring forth Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness.

May Allah Subhanah have Mercy on you and us, help us, guide us, forgive us our short-comings, and save all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan