'Ghibbat': Part VII
Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, today I continue my series of sermons on the subject of “Ghibbat” (backbiting, palavers, etc.). And like I told you, I come now with Hadiths on the subject.
Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, today I continue my series of sermons on the subject of “Ghibbat” (backbiting, palavers, etc.). And like I told you, I come now with Hadiths on the subject.
Understanding Hadith reports: The need for Caution
We
should know, even in the case of reporting Hadiths,
that we should be very careful lest we do not report the words of the
Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) in the right way. For
example : Hazrat
Abu Huraira (ra) narrated that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said that the
worst people are those with two-mouths.
That is to say, he comes here and say something and then he goes elsewhere and reports another thing [i.e. not the original wordings]. In other words, he is a great hypocrite and a circulator [of news… i.e. gossip-monger/ tale-teller]. The translator is him who is hypocrite and a tale-teller as he is the one circulating the news on that person and telling it in a twisted manner. He uses such wordings which has not been originally spoken. He puts it in the way that he has understood it, even if the wordings may resemble and mean the same thing. But we should be very careful when doing translations; first of all we should say the exact translation and then we can state that it means such and such things. [i.e. give the exact translation/ meaning of the original sayings, and then you explain what has been stated in the original saying].
That is to say, he comes here and say something and then he goes elsewhere and reports another thing [i.e. not the original wordings]. In other words, he is a great hypocrite and a circulator [of news… i.e. gossip-monger/ tale-teller]. The translator is him who is hypocrite and a tale-teller as he is the one circulating the news on that person and telling it in a twisted manner. He uses such wordings which has not been originally spoken. He puts it in the way that he has understood it, even if the wordings may resemble and mean the same thing. But we should be very careful when doing translations; first of all we should say the exact translation and then we can state that it means such and such things. [i.e. give the exact translation/ meaning of the original sayings, and then you explain what has been stated in the original saying].
'Two-Faced' Persons spread false stories to ruin relations
That is why when we cross-check this Hadith, we find that those are not the exact wordings of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) – i.e. his Hadith. When we look at it closely, we find that these are indeed not the words he used. The Hadith is in fact like this:- Abu Huraira reported: 'The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,“Verily, among the worst of people is one with two faces, he who comes with one face to these and another to those" (Bukhari, Muslim).
As
for the conclusion we draw from this Hadith,
despite the fact that the first choice of words used means nearly the
same thing, i.e. double-face and two tongues, two mouths, but the
exact wordings which have been used is: two
faces.
Likewise,
out of the context of the Hadiths,
when a circulator readies himself (or herself) to spread some news
(on someone), he either add to it or remove some words from the
original talk of someone, and thus he change the actual meaning of
the saying/ talk.
When
we now analyse the Hadith
where Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has mentioned that the worst kinds of
people are those with two faces, this is because the curse of being
double-faced remains linked with betrayal (betraying someone) and it
becomes an integral part of it.
When
we look at the circulation of news and gossip and tell-tales in a
global way, we will find that much disorder is created because of
those hearsays. Sometimes, it enters the fold of close family circle
and sometimes it reaches till a point that family ties are broken, in
such a way that it becomes difficult to connect them again.