by Salman Azhar
Two verses serve as the foundation. Sura 17:36: "And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing, or of feeling in the heart, will be enquired into on the Day of Reckoning." Sura 49:12: "O you 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 back. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother?"
Salman Azhar, posting to soc.religion.islam in May 1991, used those two verses to map out a causal chain: idle curiosity feeds unsubstantiated suspicion, suspicion leads to spying, spying enables backbiting. Each step is treated as a structural failure of social trust, not merely a personal failing. Each has its own taxonomy, its permitted exceptions, and its remedy. The essay is careful, systematic, and not preachy — and it closes with a prayer that is the inverse of the structure it has just laid out.
Islamic principles are sometimes classified into three categories: Belief, Worship, and Behavior. I often resist the tendency to divide Islam into categories and classes, since the spirit of Islam is to provide a complete, integrated code of life. But today, in a different spirit, I shall attempt to study a few characteristics of behavior as recommended in the Holy Quran.
The main verses under study are the following:
"And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing, or of feeling in the heart, will be enquired into on the Day of Reckoning." — Sura 17 (The Children of Israel), v. 36
"O you 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 back. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it — but fear Allah: for Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful." — Sura 49 (The Inner Apartments), v. 12
These verses explicitly counsel against four things: (A) idle curiosity, (B) unsubstantiated suspicion, (C) spying, (D) backbiting.
A. Idle Curiosity
Idle curiosity can often lead us to interpret facts with the objective of justifying our own preconceived perspectives. It appears to be the root of the other three evils. In correspondence with Islamic philosophy toward evil, we must attempt to nip it in the bud.
Verse 17:36 reminds us that we will be held accountable for the faculties entrusted to us by God. It follows that we should refrain from wasting these faculties on things we do not know well — on unsubstantiated conjecture.
B. Unsubstantiated Suspicion
Almost any unwarranted suspicion can lead to cruel injustice toward innocent men and women. We should not form an opinion or take action based on conjecture or speculation without examining the basis of that conjecture. Conjectures can be classified into four categories:
(1) Commendable: A conjecture about good qualities in Allah or His creatures. Ascribing the best motive to actions, unless there is cause to believe otherwise.
(2) Inevitable: Verdicts based on incomplete knowledge or evidence, but judged to be fair by the adjudicator.
(3) Permissible (to a certain extent): Suspicions based on observed conduct. One should avoid taking aggressive action based on these suspicions.
(4) Sinful: Suspicions without supporting evidence. It is a sin to take strong action based on such suspicions.
C. Spying
Spying and prying into another's affairs can lead to undue harassment and hardship for innocent people. Such behavior corrupts society and corrupts the soul of the one who does it.
There are, however, circumstances under which such investigation can be justified from the Islamic point of view. Two cases are noteworthy.
(1) Business: If one desires to enter into a business relationship, one has the right to investigate the conduct of the prospective partner. Such an investigation must not be motivated by idle curiosity but by practical considerations. Similarly, if someone asks about a person they are investigating for business purposes, one is obligated to provide accurate and honest information.
(2) Marriage: All the considerations of investigating a prospective business partner apply, and more. Since marriage involves a deeper commitment — and dissolution involves intangible as well as tangible damages — the investigation is more thorough. Hadith mentions cases where covert means were used to investigate a prospective marriage partner in good faith. In the mobile, dispersed society of today, where neighbors and community consultation alone may be insufficient, this principle applies with particular force.
D. Backbiting
Backbiting is the conclusion of this causal chain. Often it is a result of pure speculation about another's actions or motives. It may also follow from unsubstantiated suspicion or unwarranted spying. At any rate, it can cause two kinds of injustice that are most obvious.
(1) If the backbiting is false, lies about someone are released into the community. These lies cause undeserved damage to a person and their reputation. The reason backbiting is compared to eating the flesh of a dead brother is this: just as a dead person cannot prevent you from eating his flesh, an absent person cannot defend himself against your allegations, nor can he contest their accuracy.
(2) Stories propagated through word of mouth easily become false rumors and distorted gossip. It is consistent with Islamic philosophy to eliminate the cause before it becomes an effect.
Once a man asked the Messenger about backbiting. The Prophet replied that it is speaking ill of someone when that person is not present. The man's follow-up question: what if it is true? The Prophet clarified: if what you say is true, it is backbiting; if false, it is slander.
Backbiting is permissible in six cases, according to Mawdudi:
(i) The complaint of the oppressed about his oppressor, to someone with the means to help.
(ii) Mentioning another's faults before someone who can be expected to help remedy them.
(iii) Stating the facts of a case before a legal expert in order to seek a religious or legal ruling.
(iv) It is obligatory to mention the weaknesses of persons in positions of influence when required — reporters who may mislead their audience, witnesses susceptible to perjury, writers susceptible to distortion. This must be done with the intention of warning people so that they can take precautions, not out of malice.
(v) Raising one's voice against those who spread sin or immorality openly.
(vi) Using a well-known nickname for a person simply for identification, without any intent to demean.
May Allah give us the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, the courage to change the things we can, the strength to accept the things we cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Posted to soc.religion.islam on May 29, 1991. Author: Salman Azhar, Duke University Computer Science Department, Durham, NC. Written with assistance from A. Alam and encouragement from J. Mubarak and Y. Paydarfar. Message-ID: <[email protected]>.
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