Defamation

Ibn 'Abbas said, "Two men defamed one another in the time of theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. One of themreviled the other who remained silent. The Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, remained seated. Then the other man answered him backand the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up. He wasasked, "You got up?" He said, "The angels left, so I left with them. Whilethis man was silent, the angels were answering the one who cursed him.When he answered, the angels left."

Umm ad-Darda' reported that a man came up to her and said, "A manhas said bad things about you in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Malik.' She said,"We are suspected of something which we did not do. How often we have beenpraised for what we did not do!"

'Abdullah said, "When a man says to his companion, 'You are myenemy,' then one of them has left Islam or he is innocent of what his companionsaid.'"

Ibn 'Abbas said, "There are 360 joints and each of them owes sadaqaevery single day. Every good word is sadaqa. A man's helping his brotheris sadaqa. A drink of water which he gives is sadaqa. Removing somethingharmful from the road is sadaqa."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "When two people revile each other, the responsibilityfor what they say rests on the first to speak as long as the one who wrongeddoes not become excessive."

As 423, but from Anas.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do you know what calumny is?" They said, "No, Allah and His Messenger know best." He said, "Telling people what other people have said in order to create dissension between them."

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "AllahAlmighty revealed to me that you should be humble and that you should notwrong one another."

'Iyad ibn Himar said, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, there is someonewho reviles me.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, 'Those who revile one another are two shaytans who accuse one anotherand deny one another.'"

'Iyad ibn Himar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah has revealed to me that youshould be humble so that none of you will oppress anyone else and noneof you will disdain another.' I said, 'Messenger of Allah, what do youthink I should do when a man reviles me in a low assembly and then I answerhim back? Do I incur any wrong action in doing that?' He replied, 'Twomen who revile one another are two shaytans who accuse one another anddeny one another.'"'Iyad said, "I was at war with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I gave him a she-camel before I became Muslim. He said, "I dislike the froth of the idolaters."

Sa'id ibn Malik reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "Reviling a Muslim is deviant behaviour."

Anas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, was neither coarse nor a curser nor a reviler, He used to saywhen he wanted to censure someone, 'What is wrong with him? May his browbe dusty!'"

'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "Reviling a Muslim is deviant behaviour and killing himis disbelief."

Abu Dharr is reported as saying that he heard the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, say, "If a man accuses another manof deviance or accuses him of disbelief, that accusation will come backon him if his companion is not as he said."

Abu Dharr states that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, say, "A person who knowingly claims a father otherthan his own has disbelieved. A person who claims to be from a people whenhe is not one of them will take his place in the Fire. A person who callsa man an unbeliever or says, 'Enemy of Allah,' when that is not the casewill have that come back on him."

Sulayman ibn Surad, one of the Companions of the Prophet, said,"Two men reviled one another in the presence of the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, and one of them became angry. He becameso angry that his face puffed out and changed colour. The Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'I know some words which willmake what he feels depart if he says them.' The man came to him and toldhim what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said,He said, 'Seek refuge with Allah from the Accursed Shaytan.' He said, 'Doyou think that there is something wrong with me? Am I mad? Leave!'"

'Abdullah said, "There is a veil from Allah Almighty between everytwo Muslims. When one of them says ugly words to his companion, he hasrent the veil of Allah. When one of them tells the other, 'You are an unbeliever,'then one of them has disbelieved."

'A'isha said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,did something and thereby created a dispensation for doing it. Some peoplestill refrained from doing. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, heard about that and he gave a speech and praised Allah. Thenhe said, 'What is wrong with people who restrain themselves from doingsomething which I do? By Allah, I know Allah better than they do and Ifear Him more than they do!'"

Anas said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,rarely told a man something to his face which he disliked. One day a mancame to him with a trace of yellowish scent on him. When he stood up, hesaid to his Companions, 'If only he would change - or remove -this yellow!'"

'Ali said. "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,sent for me and az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam while we were both on horsebackand said, 'Go to such-and-such a meadow. There is a woman there who hasa letter with her from Hatib to the idolaters. Bring her to me.' We foundher rising along on one of her camels as the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, had described her. We said, '[Give us] the letteryou have with you.' 'I do not have any letter,' she replied. We searchedand her camel. My companion said, 'I do not see it.' I said, 'The Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, does not lie. By the One in whosehand my soul is, I will strip her unless she produces it!' She put herhand in the knot of her shawl - as she was wearing a black shawl -and brought it out. We went back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace. 'Umar exclaimed, 'He (i.e. Hatim) has betrayed Allah,His Messenger, and the believers! Let me strike off his head!' He asked,'What made you do it?' Hatim said, 'I believe in Allah, but I want to havesome authority with the people.' He said, ;He has spoken the truth, 'Umar.Was he not present at Badr? Perhaps Allah has looked on them and said,"Do whatever you like. The Garden is guaranteed for you."' 'Umar wept andsaid, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.''"

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man says to his brother, 'Youare an unbeliever,' it is true for one or the other of them."

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "When someone says to another, 'Unbeliever!'then one of them is an unbeliever. If the one to whom he says it is anunbeliever, he has spoke the truth. If that is not the case, then the onewho said it has brought down disbelief on himself."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, used to seek refuge from an evil end and the glaotingof enemies.