سورة النور

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever says about a believer what his eyes have seen and his ears have heard, he is among those about whom Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِیعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِی الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [Indeed, those who love that indecency should spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Whoever says about a believer something he has seen with his eye or heard with his ear by which he finds fault with him and damages his personal standing — such a person is among those about whom Allah has said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِیعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِی الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [Indeed, those who love that indecency should spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl said: I said to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "May I be your ransom! Reports reach me about one of my brothers which are bad concerning him, and I ask him about it and he denies it, even though trustworthy people have informed me." He said: "O Muhammad! Consider your ear and your eye to be lying about your brother, and even if fifty upright men bear witness before you and he himself says something else, count him as truthful and count them all as liars. And do not disclose anything that would disgrace him and destroy his honour, for if you disclose it you will be among those about whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic says in His Book: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِیعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِی الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [Indeed, those who love that indecency should spread among the believers, for them is a painful punishment]."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): If someone makes an indecency public, he is like the one who initiated it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever sees a fault in his believing brother and one day tarnishes him with that fault, is an instance of this verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِیعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِی الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمٌ [Indeed, those who love that indecency should spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment].

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): In the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) counsel to Ali (peace be upon him), he said to his companions: "Shall I not inform you of the worst among you?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" He said: "The tale-bearers, who separate friends from one another and seek out faults in the pure."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever says something about his believing brother, knowing it of him, intending by it to diminish his honour and manliness, is among those of whom Allah has said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِیعَ الْفاحِشَةُ فِی الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذابٌ أَلِیمٌ فِی الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةِ [Indeed, those who love that indecency should spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ibn Abi Ya'fur said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever slanders a believing man or believing woman with what is not in them, Allah will raise him up in tinat khabal (the clay of corruption) until he withdraws from what he has said." I said: "What is tinat khabal?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It is the pus that flows from the private parts of prostitutes."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): A believer must conceal seventy major sins of his believing brother.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Among the instances of ghiba (backbiting) is that you say about your brother something which Allah has kept concealed regarding him; and buhtan (slander) is that you say about your brother something which is not in him.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): By Allah, besides whom there is no god, no believer has ever been granted the good of this world and the Hereafter except through having a good opinion of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and refraining from backbiting a believer; and by Allah, besides whom there is no god, Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not punish a believer with any punishment after repentance and seeking forgiveness, except due to his having a bad opinion of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and his backbiting the believers.