Prohibition of backbiting, anger, and deceiving Muslims

① It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:

أتدرون ما الغيبة؟

“Do you know what backbiting is?”
They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said:

ذكرك أخاك بما يكره

“Mentioning your brother in a way that he dislikes.”
It was asked: Tell us, if what I say is present in my brother (is it still backbiting?) The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:

إن كان فيه ما تقول فقد اغتبته، وإن لم يكن فيه فقد بهته

“What you are saying, if it is in him, then you have backbitten him, and if it is not in him, then you have slandered him.”

② It is narrated from Ma‘bad ibn Abdullah ibn Khutbah رحمه الله that a man asked the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم: What is backbiting? The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:

أن تذكر من المرء ما يكره أن يسمع

“It is that you say something about someone that if he hears it, he would dislike it.”
He said: O Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم! Even if that is the truth? The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said:

إذا قلت باطلا فذلك البهتان

“If you said falsehood and falsehood, then it is slander.”

① It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (RA) that a man said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): Advise me, but not too much. Or he said: Give me a brief command so that I do not forget. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

لا تغضب

“Do not get angry.”

② Sayyiduna Abu Wa’il (RA) reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

إن الغضب من الشيطان، وإن الشيطان خلق من النار، وإنما تطفأ النار بالماء، فإذا غضب أحدكم فليتوضأ

“Anger is from Satan. Satan was created from fire, and fire is extinguished by water. So when any of you becomes angry, let him perform ablution (wudu).”

③ Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (RA) reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

إذا غضب أحدكم وهو قائم فليجلس، فإن ذهب عنه الغضب وإلا فليضطجع

“When any of you becomes angry and is standing, he should sit down; if the anger subsides, well and good, otherwise he should lie down.”

④ Sayyiduna Sulayman bin Surad (RA) reports that two men began to quarrel before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while we were also present with him. One of them was insulting his companion, and due to anger, his face had turned red. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

إني لأعلم كلمة لو قالها لذهب عنه ما يجد، لو قال: أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، ذهب عنه ما يجد

“I know a word, if he says it, this condition of his will end. If he says: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, then all his anger will go away.”
So a man went to him and said: Seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. He said: Do I have any illness or madness? You go away.

① Hasan Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates that Ubaidullah bin Ziyad visited Ma’qil bin Sayyar al-Muzani, may Allah be pleased with him, during his final illness. Ma’qil, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I will tell you a hadith that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say:

ما من عبد يسترعيه الله رعية يموت يوم يموت وهو غاش لرعيته إلا حرم الله عليه الجنة

“Whoever Allah appoints as a leader over a people and dies while they are displeased with him, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him.”

② It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, passed by a heap of grain in the market and put his hand into it. It was damp, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

ما هذا يا صاحب الطعام؟

“O owner of the grain! What is this?”
He replied: O Messenger of Allah, it had rained on it. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

أفلا جعلته فوق الطعام حتى يراه الناس؟ من غشنا فليس منا

“Then why did you not place it on top of the grain so that people could see it? Whoever deceives us is not one of us.”