Q:

Asalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatu

A friend of mine asked me about a person who was my senior in college and proposed her for marriage..i didn’t know much about him..but my another friend knew about him and i asked her about it and informed her the same…is this considered gheebat..?

Also my family follows some dais, they said that socks aren’t necessary for women’s prayers to be valid..i said them the correct view but my family wasn’t accepting so i said that there are some shortcomings of the dais and also said what that shortcoming was(that they aren’t Scholars but are just students of knowledge) so that they do not follow them blindly..is this also gheebat?

I frequently feel uneasy about what i heard and spoke in the day..and the entire day i ponder if this is gheebat and feel sad..what should I do about this? Jazakallah khair

A:

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

If you are asked about a person proposing to marry someone, you should inform the parties what you know. That is not backbiting.

Likewise, if you know of a person who is not a scholar pretending to be a scholar and projecting his personal views as Islamic, you should expose him and warn the people against him or her. That is not backbiting.

 However, you are not allowed to rush to accuse people without verifying the facts. Allah warns us against conjecture and speculation.

If you are not sure you should stay quiet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak something good; otherwise, keep quiet.”  (Al-Bukhari)

So, I would advise you to restrain yourself from getting carried away in using your tongue. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised Mu`adh: “Hold off your tongue.” And he said, “Most of the people find themselves flung to the Hellfire because of the harvests of their tongues!” (At-Tirmidhi)

I pray to Allah to bless us all to guard our tongues.

 Allah Almighty knows best.