Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen by Ibn Uthaymeen — Volume 4 (شرح رياض الصالحين) — Page 355

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَابُ تَحْرِيمِ النَّمِيمَةِ.

(from previous page) ⟵ Al-Bukhari extracted it: Book of Funerals, Chapter on the Punishment of the Grave due to Backbiting and Urine, Hadith No. (1378), and Muslim, Book of Purification, Chapter on the Evidence for the Impurity of Urine, Chapter on the Prohibition of Slander.

يَعْنِي إِذَا تَظَلَّمَ إِنْسَانٌ عِنْدَ وَلِيِّ الْأَمْرِ مِنْ شَخْصٍ ظَلَمَهُ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ حَقُّهُ وَلَنْ يَتَمَكَّنَ مِنْهُ إِلَّا بِذَلِكَ، وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى هَذَا حَدِيثُ هِنْدَ بِنْتِ عُتْبَةَ امْرَأَةِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، جَاءَتْ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَتْ لَهُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، إِنَّ أَبَا سُفْيَانَ رَجُلٌ شَحِيحٌ، يَعْنِي بَخِيلٌ، لَا يُعْطِينِي مَا يَكْفِينِي وَوَلَدِي بِالْمَعْرُوفِ، فَوَصَفَتْهُ بِأَنَّهُ شَحِيحٌ، وَهَذَا وَصْفُ ذَمٍّ يَكْرَهُهُ الْإِنْسَانُ، لَكِنَّهَا قَالَتْ ذَلِكَ تَظَلُّمًا مِنْ أَجْلِ رَفْعِ الظُّلْمِ عَنْهَا، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْوَاجِبَ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ أَنْ يُنْفِقَ عَلَى زَوْجَتِهِ وَعَلَى أَوْلَادِهِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ لَا وَكْسَ وَلَا شَطَطَ، لَا يُقَصِّرُ وَلَا يَزِيدُ كَمَا قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿ وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَامًا ﴾.

If a person complains to an authority about someone who has wronged them, there is no harm in this, as it is their right and the only way to secure it. The evidence for this is the account of Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan. She came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, Abu Sufyan is a stingy man—he does not provide enough for me and my children in a reasonable manner." She described him as stingy, a derogatory term that people dislike, but she spoke out of a need to address the injustice done to her. It is a duty for a person to provide for their spouse and children reasonably, neither falling short nor being excessive, just as Allah the Almighty says: "Those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy, but hold a medium way between those extremes."

وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ: «أَلَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ مَا الْعَضْهُ؟ هِيَ النَّمِيمَةُ؛ الْقَالَةُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ».

Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Shall I tell you what 'al-adh' is? It is tale-bearing—spreading gossip among people."

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Vocabulary · المفردات (20 verbs · 51 nouns)

• تَظَلَّمَ — to complain
• ظَلَمَ — to oppress
• تَمَكَّنَ — to be able
• بَابٌ — chapter
• تَحْرِيمٌ — prohibition
• نَمِيمَةٌ — slander