Informing Someone About a Conspiracy Against Them
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on informing someone about a conspiracy being plotted against them?
❖ Answer:
A believer is the well-wisher of another believer. The requirement of this goodwill is that if a conspiracy is being plotted against him, he should be informed so that he can safeguard himself from it. This does not fall under the category of tale-bearing (chughal khori) or backbiting (ghibah). The general meaning of many Ahadith also supports this.
Evidence from Hadith
❀ Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (RA) narrates:
قسم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قسما، فقال رجل : إن هذه لقسمة ما أريد بها وجه الله، فأتيت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبرته، فغضب حتى رأيت الغضب فى وجهه، ثم قال : يرحم الله موسى ، قد أوذي بأكثر من هذا فصبر
“(Once) the Prophet ﷺ distributed wealth. A man said: ‘This is a division in which the pleasure of Allah has not been intended (We seek refuge with Allah!).’ I (Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud RA) came to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him about it. The Prophet ﷺ became angry, and I saw the signs of anger on his blessed face. Then he said: ‘May Allah have mercy on Musa (AS); he was hurt more than this, yet he remained patient.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3405, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1062)
Scholarly Explanation
❀ Under this Hadith, Imam Ibn al-Mulaqqin (رحمه الله, 804H) said:
فيه من الفقه : أنه يجوز للرجل أن يخبر أهل الفضل والستر من إخوانه بما يقال فيهم مما لا يليق؛ ليعرفهم بذلك من يؤذيه من الناس وينقصه، ولا حرج عليه فى مقالته بذلك وتبليغه له ، وليس ذلك من باب النميمة .
“In this Hadith is a juristic ruling: It is permissible for a man to inform his honorable and respectable brother about the inappropriate things that are being said regarding him, so that he may know who is causing him harm and belittling him. There is no harm in saying this and conveying it to him, and it does not fall under the category of tale-bearing (namīmah).”
(al-Tawḍīḥ: 28/396)
Conclusion:It is permissible and even recommended to inform someone of a conspiracy or harmful words being spread against them, as this is considered sincere goodwill and not backbiting or tale-bearing.
