'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (o ye who believe) in muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an! (shun much suspicion) this was revealed about two companions of the prophet (pbuh) who backbit salman al-farisi and also thought ill of usamah, the servant of allah's messenger (pbuh). they spied on him to see whether usamah did really have what the prophet (pbuh) asked him to give to them. allah therefore forbade them from having a bad opinion about others, as well as from suspicion and spying; and so he said: o you who believe in muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an, shun much suspicion about your brother's ins and outs (for lo! some suspicion is a crime) for some ill thoughts and what you hide are sins; this is what the two men thought of usamah. (and spy not) and do not scrutinise the faults of your brother, nor reveal that which allah has concealed about him; and this is exactly what the two men did, (neither backbite one another) the two backbit salman. (would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother) unlawfully without any necessity? (ye abhor that (so abhor the other)) you deem eating the flesh of a carrion unlawful unless it is out of necessity, consider backbiting your brother likewise! (and keep your duty (to allah)) fear allah regarding backbiting anyone. (lo! allah is relenting) allah forgives whoever repents of backbiting, (merciful) towards whoever die repentant.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : o you who believe, shun much suspicion. indeed some suspicions are sins, that is to say, it causes one to fall into sin. this [suspicion] may have many forms, such as thinking ill of the good folk from among the believers — and such [good folk] are many — in contrast to the immoral individuals among them in whose case there is no sin, so long as it [the suspicion] is in accordance with their outward behaviour. and do not spy (tajassasū: one of the two tā’ letters [of tatajassasū] has been omitted): do not pursue the imperfections and faults of muslims by searching them out; nor backbite one another, do not speak of him by [mentioning] something which he is averse to [having mentioned of himself], even if it be true. would any of you love to eat the flesh of his brother dead? (read maytan or mayyitan). that is to say, it would not be right for him [to do so]. you would abhor it. thus to backbite him in life would be like eating his flesh when he is dead. this latter [form of behaviour] has been suggested to you and you were averse to it, so be averse to the former too. and fear god, that is, his punishment for backbiting, by repenting of it; assuredly god is relenting, accepting of the penitence of those who repent, merciful, to them.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : …shun much suspicion…he said:that is, ‘do not discredit anyone [by holding] a bad opinion (sūʾ al-ẓann) about them without [knowing] the truth (ḥaqīqa) [of the matter].’ indeed the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> said: ‘the most untruthful of reports is that of opinion (ẓann).’ then sahl said:bad opinion comes from ignorance and pertains to the natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ). the most ignorant person is the one who estranges his heart [from god] without being aware of it. indeed, god, exalted is he, has said: and that suspicion of yours which you held about your lord has ruined you, so you have become among the losers. [41:23] certainly, the servant is deprived of blessed provision and prayer at night because of bad opinion.one night a man, one of [god’s] servants, slept through [and missed] his customary rite (wird) and felt regret over it. [he] was asked: ‘do you feel regret about [missing] that which you are wont to perform?’ he replied, ‘i do not feel regret because of that, but rather because of the sin through which i became deprived of that good [deed].’sahl was asked, ‘what is the meaning of the prophet’s words <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22">: “be on your guard with people, [by holding a] bad opinion (sūʾ al-ẓann).”’ he replied:the meaning of this is [that protection from people] is [gained by holding a] bad opinion of yourself, not of other people. in other words, accuse your own self for not treating them fairly in your dealings with them. his words:
…and do not spy…he said:that is, ‘do not search out the faults that god has covered for his servants, for you may well be afflicted by that [fault].it was related of jesus <img border="0" src="images/alyhialsalam.jpg" width="34" height="19"> that he used to say, ‘do not speak too much other than in remembranceof god, mighty and majestic is he, for your hearts will be hardened, and the heart that is hard is far from god. do not regard the faults of people as if you were their masters, but look at your own works as if they were your slaves. know that people are either afflicted (mubtalā) or preserved (muʿāfā), so show mercy to those who are afflicted and ask god for preservation.’his words:
…or backbite one another…he said:whoever wants to be safe from backbiting must bar the door to [ill] assumptions (ẓunūn) in himself, for whoever is safe from making ill assumptions, is safe from backbiting (ghayba), and whoever is safe from backbiting, is safe from calumny (zūr), and whoever is safe from calumny, is safe from slander (buhtān).he said:and ibn ʿabbās y said, ‘the hypocrite (munāfiq) is guilty of backbiting, but the wicked (fāsiq) are not guilty of backbiting. this is because the hypocrites keep silent about their hypocrisy, whereas the wicked openly take pride in their wickedness.’he said:he [ibn ʿabbās] intended by this the sins (maʿāṣī) that they commit openly, whereas the sins which are kept a secret are a form of backbiting (ghayba). his words:
