Tasawwuf

Backbiting

Someone asked a saint,

"Why is it that the stench of backbiting was smelt during the time of Sayyidina Rasoolullah صلي الله عليه وسلم, but is not evident today?"

He replied, "Backbiting has become so common nowadays that it's stench has disappeared. The example is like how a toilet cleaner and a tanner become so accustomed to the stench of faeces and raw leather, that they eat comfortably in their (filthy) environments whereas others will find it difficult to even stand there for a moment. This is how backbiting has become rampant today."

REFLECTION: This disease is causing such catastrophes with regard to our acts of virtue. Many of us are involved in great amounts of ibaadat but we literally annihilate our acts of devotion by the calamity of backbiting.

A simple cure; before we say anything, just stop and ask ourselves? Are the words that are coming out of my mouth that of goodness or evil? A Shaykh رحمه الله has said that we accustom ourselves to this discipline for a few days; our habits will soon be rectified. May Allah Ta'ala grant us the taufeeq of reflection & contemplation with regards to our speech and actions.

آمين يارب العالمين