Tirmidhi

Explanation:
1:
Despite his being evil, good treatment was shown to him on account of his being a guest; this is the relevance to the chapter.

Hadith Commentary:
In all these narrations, the noble character of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is mentioned, which was not only towards Muslims but equally towards Jews as well.
He did not approve of bad conduct even with particular enemies, as is evident from the hadith of Aisha (radi Allahu anha).
This was your (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) weapon, by which the entire Arab world came under your authority.
But, alas, it is as if Muslims have completely forgotten good character, except whom Allah wills.
This is the reason that today, among Muslims themselves, there is so much mutual strife that Allah’s refuge is sought from it. If only Muslims would carefully study these pure narrations.
This person who came later became an apostate, and during the time of Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), he came as a prisoner.
In this way, the prophecy of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) regarding him was proven true.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this hadith, it is understood that if there is a risk of obscene speech and foul language from a person, one should meet him with good character, a smiling face, and an open countenance, so that one may remain safe from his indecency. And if a person is openly sinful (fasiq), then due to his open sinfulness, it is permissible to backbite him, so that people may not fall into his obscenity.

(2)
All these ahadith mention the good character of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
His noble character was not limited only to Muslims, but was the same even with Jews.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not behave badly even with his enemies.
This was the only weapon he possessed, with which he subdued all of Arabia, but today Muslims have set aside this weapon and the disease of bad character has spread among them.
May Allah, the Exalted, protect us from this, ameen.

Hadith Commentary:
This was indeed the reality that he is a bad man, but I am not bad; according to my own good character, I must deal with every person—good or bad—with good manners.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) spoke the truth.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
It was indeed a fact that he was a bad man, but the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was not like that; according to his noble habit, he would deal with every person, good or bad, with gentleness and good character. The answer to this is that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did so in order to inform people about him, so that no one else would fall into his deceitful trap. Therefore, this situation will be exempted from backbiting (ghibah).

(2)
According to our inclination, the following situations are exempted from backbiting (ghibah):
➊ A wronged person may mention the oppressor’s faults before the ruler in order to complain about the injustice, because without this, the judicial system cannot function. Similarly, when seeking a fatwa, one may relate the story of oppression before the mufti.
➋ In order to protect a believing brother from someone’s evil, one may inform him of that person’s faults. For example, if someone wishes to marry another and seeks advice, it is necessary to inform him of that person’s defects.
➌ The science of al-jarh wa al-ta‘dil (criticism and accreditation of narrators) among the hadith scholars, upon which the scrutiny of the hadith corpus depends—in this case, mentioning the faults of narrators will not be counted as forbidden backbiting (ghibah); rather, not only is it permissible, it is obligatory.
➍ To openly raise one’s voice and mention the evils of those who are spreading immorality and wickedness, or propagating innovations (bid‘ah), or causing people to fall into shamelessness and lack of honor—all these situations are not included in the backbiting (ghibah) for which there is a warning.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In another hadith, it is stated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"This is a hypocritical person.
I am showing tolerance towards him because of his hypocrisy so that he does not spread propaganda against me and corrupt others."
(Musnad al-Harith, Hadith: 800; al-Matalib al-‘Aliyah: 3/66, Hadith: 2806)
Indeed, he was just like that.
After the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), he became an apostate.
(‘Umdat al-Qari: 15/266)
(2)
What the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said regarding this person was in relation to the Muslims—that among the Muslims, such a person is not good whose obscene speech causes people to avoid him; otherwise, a disbeliever holds the worst status in the sight of Allah, the Exalted.
(3)
From this hadith, it is understood that there is no harm in backbiting a person who openly indulges in sin and immorality, so that people may refrain from dealing with him.