VERIFY THE NEWS

BEFORE YOU BELIEVE ITISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Al Hujuraat, 49:6

O ye who believe! if a wicked person comes to you with any news ascertain the truth lest ye harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done. 7-And know that among you is Allah's Apostle: were he in many matters to follow your (wishes) ye would certainly fall into misfortune: but Allah has endeared the Faith to you and has made it beautiful in your hearts and He has made hateful to you unbelief wickedness and rebellion: such indeed are those who walk in righteousness 8-A grace and favor from Allah; and Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.

Verify the news-when brought by fasiq

Historical Background of this ayah After the battle of Banu Mustaliq, leader of

that tribe Harith Ibn Dirar came to the Prophet (SAW)

He invited him to Islam and he became Muslim

He said to the Prophet (SAW) that he will go to his tribe and invite them to Islam and to pay the Zakah

He requested that on certain date, an envoy be sent to his tribe to collect the Zakah

Historical Background

When on that date, Prophet’s envoy did not come, Harith thought perhaps the Prophet (SAW) got angry

Prophet (SAW) sent Walid Ibn Uqbah Ibn Mu’eet to collect the Zakah from them.

On the way, Walid thought these people are his old enemy and feared they may kill him. With this fear he returned to Madina

He told the Prophet (SAW) they refused to pay Zakah and wanted to kill him

Historical Background

On hearing this Prophet (SAW) became angry and sent a force of fighters under the command of Khalid Ibn Walid

Harith Ibn Abi Darar with his tribesmen was on his way to meet the Prophet

Two groups met near Madina. When Harith learned from Khalid Ibn

Walid the purpose of his expedition, he swore that he never saw or met Walid Ibn Uqbah.

This verse was revealed at that occasion

Injunctions and rulings related to this verse- (Ahkamul Quran- Jassas)

It is not lawful to accept important news reported by a sinful person and act upon it

It must be investigated and confirmed by other sources

Testimony of a sinful person also will not be accepted

Jurists agree that this rule of law does not apply in ordinary day to day matters

Rule is governed by effective cause ( lest you harm a people out of ignorance)

A Science of Hadith evolved from this principle Ilm Jarah wa Ta’deel- This branch of Hadith

sciences was evolved based upon the rule derived from this ayah

Life history, conduct and character of the people who reported Ahadith are studied and recorded with great scrutiny.

No report of hadith is accepted from someone in whom there is evidence of weak character or lying

A sinful person’s report is not accepted from which a command of Sharia is established

Only the most significant news (Naba) is to be substantiated Jurists agree that this ayah talks about

ascertaining “NABA” or very important news Such news when believed and acted upon

could bring dire consequences or war Example- If you visit someone’s house and

someone says you have permission to come in. Then you do not need to confirm such news

Jurists also agree that the “Fisq” based upon lying and sinful character makes a person unreliable.

Fisq based upon false creed does not make one unreliable.

Walid Ibn Uqba (RA) was not fasiq This verse was revealed in his incidence It does not mean word fasiq is used for himBefore this incident, he had done nothing

to consider him fasiq He conveyed an incorrect report about that tribe

which acting in good faith, he thought was correct

His news was not accepted because of external context and evidence

This verse establishes a general rule that a news conveyed by a fasiq is not accepted.

Truthfulness of companions“Ruhul Maani” Allama Aloosi

According to majority of scholars, blessed companions are not infallible

Companions may commit sin but never persist upon it

There is no companion of the Prophet (SAW) who has not repented and purified himself if a sin was committed

Quran announces in reference to companions,

Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him..(98:8)

High status of companions

Companions of the Prophet (SAW) are all truthful and reliable

Reported in Abu Dawud and Tirmizi by Saeed Ibn Zaid:

Seriousness of gossiping and spreading a false rumor

Surah An-Nur Ayah 15

When you passed on with your tongues and uttered with your mouths that about which you had no knowledge. You took it lightly while it was a very serious offence in the sight of Allah.

A blatant lie is… a rumor circulating among the people.

Ibn Masûd(RA) relates that the Prophet (SAW) said: "Should I tell you what is a blatant lie? It is a rumor circulating among the people."

[Sahîh Muslim (2606)]

Here the Prophet (SAW) is telling us how evil it is to spread rumors.

The Arabic word for rumor here is namîmah. It is a kind of rumor that is meant to foster animosity between people

Ahadith about spreading hearsay

Abu Hurayrah (RA) said that the Prophet (SAW) said: “It is enough sin for a man to speak of everything that he hears.” (Muslim,18:1547)

Hafs ibn ‘Asim said: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “It is enough lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.”

Narrated by Muslim in al-Muqaddimah, Saheeh al-Jaami, 4482. 

Gossiping is disliked by Allah (SWT)

It was narrated that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said: The Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah has forbidden you to

disobey your mothers, to bury your daughters alive, to not pay the rights of others and to beg from others. And He dislikes gossip for you, asking too many

questions, and wasting money.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2231. 

Three points of view as to the meaning of this hadith. (ibn Hajar, Tabari)

1 – That it indicates that it is makrooh (disliked) to speak too much, because it leads to mistakes. 

2 –The prohibition on this is either a rebuke for doing too much of it or it refers to a particular type of talk, which the person spoken of dislikes to have mentioned.  

3 – That it refers to narrating differences of opinion concerning religious matters, such as saying, “This one said such and such and that one said such and such.”

The reason why this is disliked is that speaking of

such matters may lead to mistakes. This applies  especially to those who transmit such

views without verifying them, merely imitating those whom they hear without exercising any caution

To report by saying, "They say” without verifying is not acceptable

‘Abd-Allah said to Abu Masood: What did you hear the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said about saying “they say…”? 

He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “How bad it is for a man to keep saying, ‘They say…’. ” al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 866. 

The worst habit of a man is to use the phrase ‘they say’ to serve his purposes.

He tells of something, merely repeating what others have said without verifying it, and thus he may transmit lies … (al-Manaawi). 

Tongue must remain under control

“When man wakes up in the morning each day, all his body parts warn his tongue saying: ‘Fear Allah with regards to us, for we are under your mercy; if you are upright we will be upright and if you are crooked, we will be crooked.” (Tirmidhi)

If the tongue remains under control then the person would refrain from spreading rumors.

One also needs to avoid sitting in the company of liars from whom one hears only false rumors which are then spread by the tongue.

Saved is one who is saved from the evils of the tongue

Way to salvation by controlling tongue

Establish proof and be wary of rumors

Our righteous forebears were keen to establish proof and were wary of rumors. 

‘Umar Ibn Khattab(RA) said:

“Beware of fitnah, for a word at the time of fitnah could be as devastating as the sword.” 

Dangers of rumors- Historical review 1 – When the Sahabah migrated from

Makkah to Ethiopia, they were safe, but Then a rumor spread that the kuffaar of

Quraish in Makkah had become Muslims, Some of the Sahabah left Ethiopia and

travelled until they reached Makkah, They found that the report was not true, They met with persecution at the hands of

Quraysh. All of that happened because of rumors. 

Battle of Uhud

2 – During the Battle of Uhud, when Mosab ibn ‘Umayr was killed, there was a rumor that it was the Messenger of Allah (SAW) who had been killed,

Many in the army of Islam withdrew because of a rumor

Some of them fled to Madinah and Some stopped fighting. 

Al-Ifk or slander incidence

There was the rumor of the slander incident (al-ifk), when the pure and innocent ‘Aishah (RA) was accused of immoral conduct,

This led to the distress felt by the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and the Muslims with him.

All of that was because of false rumors by the hypocrites 

Rumor of Usman’s (RA) martyrdom at Hudaibiyah

Rumor of Usman (RA), envoy of the Prophet (SAW) being killed when the Prophet (SAW) and his companions were at Hudaibiyah

Prophet (SAW) took a special pledge (Bayah of Ridwan) from the companions to stand up for this unjust act

Latter, it became clear that it was a false rumor

A negotiated peace treaty was then signed at Hudaibiyah with the Quraish.

Proper sharia method of dealing with news

1 – Deliberation  

The Prophet (SAW) said: “Deliberation is from Allah and haste is from the Shaytan.” 

Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1795. The one who deliberates may meet

some of his needs whilst the one who is hasty may slip. 

2 – Verifying news 

Verifying is making the efforts to establish whether this can be proven or not. 

Verifying also means making certain of the truth of the report and its circumstances. 

Al-Hasan al-Basri (RA) said: “The believer reserves judgement until the matter is proven.” 

3- Do not rush to conclusion and action

Do not rush to conclusion until one is sure that it is true, even if the news is good

Even if it becomes apparent that the one who passed it on is mistaken, he will lose credibility before the people

Anyone who bears a grudge towards him will use it against him

Our attitude towards rumors and news on websites and social media Nowadays many rumors are appearing in the

guise of news. These appear on Internet web sites and chat

rooms and social media These are spread to the people to accept them as

indisputable facts coming from trustworthy source

 Media, exaggerates in their coverage of some events and

They analyze them in a subjective manner & shows a complete bias and evident absence of objectivity

They try to take revenge by adding to the news and exaggerating, and telling weird news stories

Cautions in response to media reports 1 – We must be certain about the news we accept, and

we should not accept it simply because it happens to coincide with our hopes and wishes

2- Must be taken from authentic sources; if it is not authentic then it should at least be known.

3- We must refuse to transmit rumors by believing it and propagating it

4- Fabricators justify making up these rumors by saying lying in war is permissible. They ignore the fact that the only kind of lying acceptable in conflict is what misleads the enemy, not that which creates illusions and deceives the Muslims. 

5-Whoever is known to have lied or to have transmitted lies will no longer be in a position to be considered trustworthy.

Cautions in response to media reports 6-Fabricating rumors and believing them readily is

a form of escapism in the face of a reality which one dislikes and with which one does not feel comfortable. 

7-Delaying recognition of realities and veiling reality with illusions, the greatest form of which is believing and disseminating rumors, will only multiply the amount of losses, and the greatest loss will be the loss of values. The highest and most precious of those values is truthfulness

8- Recognizing the truth is the first step towards dealing with crises and overcoming them, but not admitting them and concealing them are among the greatest means of reinforcing them, renewing them and repeating them.

Cautions in response to media reports

9- Truthfulness brings peace of mind and lies bring suspicion.

10- Sayyid Qutub (RA) said: “The reality of a thing defeats the outward appearance of another thing, even if it is the reality of kufr.” 

What is Namîmah ?

Al-Râghib al-Isfahânî defines the Namîmah  [al-Nihâyah (5/120)]:

It is to relate to people what others say about them

This is done in order to bring about problems in relations

It is said that this rumor-mongering also includes divulging secrets and exposing about people what they wish to keep concealed.

It is a serious sin to go back and forth between people with rumors of what they are saying about each other and what they are scheming to do

Al-Ghazâlî on Namimah[al-Ihyâ' (3/156)]:

Those who circulate rumors (do namîmah) say things like:

"So-and-so said this about you" or "So-and-so did this against you." Someone is plotting against you Someone is encouraging your

enemies Someone is working to worsen your

circumstances.

Prohibition of Nameemah 

Tيم WمYنWب مشاء Tماز Yه

A slanderer, going about with calumnies,

cيدWتYع cيبWق Yر WهkيYدYل Wال إ Tلkو Yق مWن sظ WفkلYي ا Yم

 "Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it.) (50:18) 

Tة Yز Yمzل Tة Yز Yم sه ل}كsل} cلkي Yو

"Woe to every slanderer and backbiter." (104:1)

The slanderer are the Nammaam and Nammamah

"And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, they bear the crime of slander and plain sin." (33:58)

"...and his wife too, who carries wood." (111:4)

In reference to this Surah, it was said that she was a Nammaamah who used to carry tales to spread mischief among people.

The tales were called wood because she used to spread enmity and hatred among the people just like wood spreads fire.

Nameemah is a harm that affects the believers and spoils relationships

amongst them

Ahadith about Nameemah or slander

Hudhaifah reported that the Prophet (SAW) said:  "A Nammaam will never enter Paradise.“ (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)  The Prophet (SAW) is also reported to have said: 

"Shall I tell you about the most evil ones from amongst you?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Those who go around with Nameemah. They make enmity between friends and they seek problems for the innocent." (Ahmad and Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) 

Punishment in grave for Namimah

Motives for Slandering 

1. Some are ignorant of the prohibition of Nameemah or the fact that it is a major sin that leads to a great evil, as well as causing enmity, separation amongst friends, destruction of houses, spreads malice and causes fights amongst Muslims. 

2. To get things off one's chest, such as hatred and malice. A Nammaam does this by spreading Nameemah among friends. He criticizes the person that others like. 

3. Joining by agreeing with a group of friends. A person tries to get closer to the group by bringing news to them and telling them about new things about others. 

Motives for Slandering

4. The intention of hurting the person being discussed; such as talking to a person in authority or power with the intention of harming the person by any means. 

5. To show love and loyalty to the person he tells things. He acts in a way that he did not like what was said about his friend, so he tells his friend what the people say about him. 

6. Joking or "fooling around". There are many gatherings that are held for only joking, laughing, "fooling around" and talking about others. 

7. Pretending knowledge of people and their secrets and status. The person talks about someone and discloses secrets of another. 

9 Characteristics of the Slanderer 

Allah(SWT) has said: 

"And obey you not everyone Hallaaf Maheen. A slanderer going about with calumnies, Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, Cruel, and moreover base born." (68:10-13)

Tين Wمه Tالف Yح كsل kعWطsت YالYمشاء (10)و Tماز Yه Tيم WمYنW(11)ب

TيمWثY أ TدYتkع sم Wرkي Yخkل}ل Tناع Y(12)م YكWلYذ YدkعYب عsتsل� TيمWن Y(13)ز

9 Characteristics of slanderer 1. He is Hallaaf: one who swears (vows and attests) much. The

person who swears too much is often an untruthful person. He suspects that people don't believe him and don't trust him, so he swears to cover his lying and to convince the people. 

2. He is Maheen: worthless. People do not respect him. One of the signs of a lack of respect is evident in his need to swear all the time. Being worthless or low is actually a psychological characteristic that is attached  to a person even if he is wealthy or powerful. 

3. He is Hammaaz: a slanderer. He criticizes and insults people using words or signals in their presence as well as in their absence. 

4. He goes about with calumnies - (misrepresentations and vilifications). He spreads Nameemah to harm people and create enmity among friends. Such nasty acts are done only by one who is low and evil. 

9 Characteristics of slanderer 5. He is an obstacle for good in that he hinders it only

for himself and others. 

6. He is a transgressor as he violates the truth and justice. 

7. He is a sinner, for he does not care about committing sins and performing that which has been prohibited. 

8. He is cruel, harsh, rough and hard - a personality that people don't like or accept. 

9. He is Zaneem: a bastard. Abdullah Bin Al-Mubarak said: "An illegitimate son who doesn't hold his tongue." 

Nammam is Two-Faced 

"You will find that the worst of Allah's slaves on the Day of Resurrection is the two-faced person. He comes to some people with one face and to others with another face." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) 

Two faced person on the day of Judgment

Worst among the people

Abu Hurairah narrated that Allah's Messenger (SAW) said: 

"You find people like metals in their qualities). The best of them during the days of Jahiliyyah are the best when they enter Islam if they understand Islam. The worst people are the ones who do not accept Islam. You will find the worst among people the two-faced person. He comes to some people with one face and to the others with another face." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) 

Roots of Namîmah or slander

Kizb or lies

Nifaq or

hypocrisy

Hasad or

jealousy

The Cure for Slander 

1. Not incite the Anger of Allah and His Wrath and Punishment by talking about others. 

2. Think of the great corruption of hearts and friendship caused by Nameemah. 

3. Remember the Verses and Ahadith about Nameemah and hold his tongue. 

4. Spread love amongst Muslims. He should mention their good qualities and honor them in their absence. 

5. Know that safeguarding his tongue is one of the means for entering Paradise. 

The Cure for Slander

6. Know that anyone who looks for the faults of people, Allah will expose his faults even if he hides within his home.

7. Be with righteous companions who command the good and get together for good.

  8. Be certain that those he talks about and

dishonors today, will be his opponents on the Day of Judgment. 

9. Remember death and the short life within this world. Death is very near and the Second Life is so close. 

How to deal with those who do namîmah? ( Al Ghazali) 1. Do not believe him. This is because a rumor-monger is a

sinner. He is a malefactor whose testimony is unacceptable. Allah says: "O you who believe, if a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done." [Sûrah al-Hujurât: 6] 

2. Tell him that he should not spread rumors. It is good to advise the person who brings you a rumor that he is behaving wrongly. He should know that his conduct is unsavory. Allah tells us: "Enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong." [Sûrah Luqmân: 17] 

Steps to deal with rumor mongers 3. Detest the rumor-monger for the sake of Allah. A rumor-

monger is detestable to Allah, so one must detest the person as well. 

4. Do not allow yourself to think ill of the person who is the subjecgt of the rumor. It is wrong to think ill of someone in his absence. Allah says: "O you who believe! avoid most suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin." [Sûrah al-Hujurât: 12] 

5. Do not try to verify the rumor by spying. Do not let your suspicions cause you to spy on the person the rumor-monger told you about. Allah says: "And do not spy." [Sûrah al-Hujurât: 12] 

More steps to deal with rumor monger 6. Do not fall into rumor-spreading yourself. You should be

vigilant not to convey the rumor-monger's words to others. Hudhaifah (RA) heard about a man who was spreading rumors

and he said: "I heard Allah's Messenger say: 'A rumor-monger will not enter Paradise'." [Bukhârî (6056) and Muslim (105)]

 

The Prophet (SAW) said: "A man will continue to tell the truth until he is recorded among the truthful, or he will continue to lie until he is recorded among the liars." [Sahih Muslim (2606)] 

Caliph `Umar bin `Abdul-`Aziz handling a rumor monger A man came to him and told him something about someone

else. The Caliph said: "If you wish, we can verify your story.

If it turns out that you are lying, then you are one of those referred to by the verse of the Qurân that reads: 'If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth.'

Or if you wish, we could pardon you." 

The man replied: "I beg your pardon, O Commander of the Faithful! I will never return to such conduct again." 

Verses of classical Arabic poetry: 

Do not accept the rumors that reach your ears

And be vigilant against the one who tells them

Whoever gives to you the gift of a rumor

Will give to others, about you, an equal gift.

DUA