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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2208 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 30, 2026

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Indeed, the longest section of the book (almost a third, though the book itself is relatively short at 166 pages) is dedicated to backbiting and gossip, particularly about others' faults or what they would not want said about them. Muhammad apparently described backbiting as the metaphorical equivalent of devouring the flesh of your brother.

The corrupt may conceivably be truthful in his report, but it is not allowable for you to believe him.

And one of them said, "If what a gossiper conveys to you is true, it means that he is bold enough to vilify you to your face, in which case the one from whom he conveyed it is more deserving of your clemency, because he did not vilify you to your face."

Among the consequences of having wicked suppositions about people is spying. This is because the heart is not satisfied with just supposition—it seeks verification and so is occupied with spying, and this is also forbidden, as God says: And do not spy [Q. 49:12]

As often is the case, there is an attempt to delineate the terms which resembles legal reasoning, and a focus on harms and benefits. I found this definition rather striking:

Slander amounts to gossip unless it is conveyed to someone who is feared, then it is called "slander." The Prophet said, "The one who slanders one people to another people is like someone without guidance..."

I'm sure that the choice of the word "slander" may be subject to the nuances of translation. Nevertheless I believe the meaning behind this is found in the following:

Hammad b. Salama said, A man sold a slave and said to the buyer, "He has no defects except gossiping." The man said, "I accept him." So he bought the slave and after a few days with him the slave said to the man's wife, "Your husband does not love you. He plans to take a concubine. If you take a razor and while he is asleep cut some hair from the top of his head, I can use it in magic that will return his love to you." Following that, he spoke to the husband and said, "Your wife has taken a lover and wants to kill you. Pretend to her that you are sleeping so that you can find out for yourself." So he pretended to be asleep and his wife approached him with a razor to cut some hair, but he thought she wanted to kill him, so he jumped up and killed her instead. After this, the wife’s family came and killed the husband, and a feud arose between the two tribes that went on for years.

In other words, the basic intent behind all of this is the avoidance of such terrible harms up to and including war.

That's not gossiping, though? Gossiping is the careless sharing of (usually slanderous) rumours, with little concern to their accuracy. What the slave is doing here is conscious, malicious trickery.

As often is the case, there is an attempt to delineate the terms which resembles legal reasoning, and a focus on harms and benefits.

Islam is certainly a religion of law to a much greater degree than Christianity. A common Islamic criticism of Christianity is that it is a regression; it has not transcended the need for law and replaced with grace, but rather by abandoning law it has removed the possibility of grace.

One consequence is that you find that legal reasoning occupies a much higher place in Islam, and abstract theology a much lower place. There is theology in Islam, but it's fair to say that fiqh occupies a higher place; much the same way that canon lawyers exist in Christianity, but are more peripheral. If you think about the major schisms in Christianity, they are mostly about what is permissible to believe, whereas the divides in Islam tend to be more legal or even political in nature.

This is a tendency and not absolute. There are theological differences in Islam - for instance, a noticeable difference between Sunni and Shia is over the question of whether God should be wholly identified with his attributes. Some Islamic thinkers have argued (e.g. here) that the Qur'an simply does not have a theology, but rather has an 'ergatology', a doctrine of works. I think that's going a bit too far myself, and the Qur'an does have a theology, but it is true that the Qur'an is primarily concerned about how to live well.

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