'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, says: "O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers." "O you who have believed, avoid much [suspicion]; indeed, some suspicion is sin. And do not spy or backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother while he is dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful." These verses and those that follow were revealed concerning the creation of the people of ignorance. This is because they were driven by the desires of their souls, and they were not guided by any command from Allah, the Exalted, nor by any prohibition. A man would ridicule, insult, and call others by nicknames, and he would have bad suspicions and speak of them, backbite, and boast, among other corrupt traits of the soul. Thus, this verse was revealed as a discipline for the Ummah of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Some people have mentioned reasons for these verses. It has been said that this verse, "Let not a people ridicule [another] people," was revealed because of Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl. This is because he would walk in Medina armed, and a group of people said to him: 'This is the son of Pharaoh of this Ummah.' This was difficult for him, and he complained about it to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. The strong opinion with me is that this verse was revealed to correct all of creation, and if you were to trace the reasons, there would be more than could be counted. The meaning of "ridicule" is to mock. Mockery occurs when a person is weak, either due to smallness, or due to a sudden ailment, or due to a calamity, or due to a deficiency that befalls him. Therefore, the believers are prohibited from mocking in these matters and others as a general prohibition, for the one who is mocked may be better than the mocker. The term "people" in the speech of the Arabs refers to males. It is one of the names of the plural, like "rahṭ" and the saying of the one who said: 'It is from standing or a gathering of a weak standing.' This is from the saying of the poet Zuhayr: 'And I do not know, and I will think I know, whether the family of the fortress is stronger or the women.' This verse implies the specification of the people to the males, and there may be with the males women, and they are referred to as "people" in predominance of the state of the males. Then Allah, the Exalted, prohibited women from what He prohibited men from. Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Ibn Mas'ud read: "Perhaps they may be better than them" and "Perhaps they may be better than them." The meaning of "insult" is that some of you speak ill of one another by mentioning deficiencies and the like. Insult may occur through words or gestures, and this is something understood by another. However, "backbiting" can only be done with the tongue, and it is likened to the act of poking with a stick or something that requires contact. The poet said: 'And whoever we have poked, his honor has been blessed.'

It was said to a Bedouin: Do you poke the mouse? He said: The cat pokes it. Al-Thaalabi narrated that "lamz" is what is done in the presence, and that "hamz" is what is done in absence. Al-Zahrawi narrated from Ali ibn Sulaiman the opposite of that, saying: Hamz is to criticize in presence and lamz is in absence. From this is His saying, the Most High: ﴿Woe to every slanderer and backbiter﴾ [Al-Humazah: 1]. From this is His saying, the Most High: ﴿And among them are those who slander you regarding the charities﴾ [At-Tawbah: 58]. The majority read: "talmizu" with a kasrah on the meem, while Al-A'raj and Al-Hasan read it with a dammah. Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala said: It is Arabic; our reading is with a dammah and sometimes with a kasrah. His saying, the Most High: "yourselves" means: some of you to others, as in His saying, the Most High: ﴿And do not kill yourselves﴾ [An-Nisa: 29]. It is as if the believers are like one soul since they are brothers, as the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "They are like a body; if one limb complains, the rest responds with wakefulness and fever." They are as he also said: "They are like a building; one part strengthens another."

And "tanaabuz" means: to nickname, and nabz and laqab are one, as the laqab is what a person is known by among the names that he dislikes to hear. It has been narrated that the Banu Salamah had many nicknames, so the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called a man from them and said to him: O so-and-so, and it was said to him: He is angry with this name. Then he called another likewise, and this verse was revealed about this. This is not like the saying of the narrators: Sulaiman Al-Amash, and Wasil Al-Hadab. And similar to this is what necessity calls for, and there is no intention of belittlement or harm in it. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said to Alqamah: And you say that, O one-eyed? Al-Naqqash narrated from Ata that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Prevent your children from nicknames." Ata said: Out of fear of nicknames. Ibn Zayd said: The meaning of ﴿And do not insult one another by nicknames﴾ is: Let no one belittle another by saying: O Jew after his Islam, nor O "fasiq" after his repentance, and so on. Al-Naqqash narrated that Ka'b ibn Malik and Ibn Abi Hadhrad quarreled. Ka'b said to him: O Bedouin, intending to distance him from migration. The other said to him: O Jew, for his association with the Ansar Jews in Yathrib. Then the verse was revealed.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Evil is the name of disobedience after faith﴾ has two meanings: One of them is: Evil is the name you earn through your disobedience and your belittling one another by nicknames, so you become disobedient after your faith. The second is: Evil is what a man says to his brother: O disobedient after his faith. Al-Rummani said: This verse indicates that disobedience and faith do not coexist. This is a view of the Mu'tazila. Then Allah, the Most High, emphasized the prohibition upon them by ruling against the one who does not repent and cease from these things which He has forbidden.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded the believers to avoid much suspicion, and not to act or speak according to it. This is due to what is in that and in spying from cutting off relations and enmity. He ruled that some of it is a sin; for some of it is not a sin and it is not necessary to avoid it. This is the good suspicion of people, and the good opinion of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and the presumed testimonies of witnesses, and the presumption regarding the people of evil. For that is the downfall of their justice, and other than that is the ruling of suspicion regarding them. The good suspicion of a believer is commendable, and the suspicion that is forbidden is to suspect ill of a man whose outward appearance is righteous. Rather, it is obligatory to remove suspicion and to rule in favor of good. Some people said: "Sin" means: lying, and from this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most false of speech." Some people said: The meaning of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, some suspicion is a sin﴾ is that if the one who suspects speaks, he has sinned. But if he does not speak, he is in a state of ease, for he cannot repel the thoughts that are permitted by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Determination is bad suspicion."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The scholars have always been cautious of bad suspicion and have blocked its avenues. Salman the Persian said: I count the covering of my pot as a fear of suspicion. Abu Aliah used to seal the remainder of his food for fear of bad suspicion regarding his servant. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Trustworthiness is better than a seal, and a seal is better than bad suspicion.

His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And do not spy," means: do not search for the hidden matters of people, and repel with that which is best, and stick to the good outward appearances. Al-Hasan, Abu Rujai, Ibn Sirin, and the Hudhaliyyun read: "And do not inquire" with a non-dotted ح. Some people said: Spying is with ج in evil, and inquiring is with ح in good. Thus, it has come in the Qur'an, but they may overlap in usage. Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala said: Spying is what is from behind, and inquiring is entering and seeking information. It has been authentically reported from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "And do not inquire, and do not spy, and do not envy one another, and be servants of Allah as brothers." Al-Thalabi mentioned the hadith of the guarding of Umar ibn Al-Khattab with Ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with them both, and their presence in the drinking of Rabee'ah ibn Umayyah ibn Khalaf. He also mentioned his hadith regarding this with Abu Mihjan Al-Thaqafi. Zayd ibn Wahb said: It was said to Ibn Mas'ud: Do you have anything regarding Al-Walid ibn 'Uqbah whose beard drips with wine? He said: We have been forbidden from spying, so if something appears to us, we will take it.

'And do not backbite' means: do not mention anything about your brother that he would dislike hearing. It has been narrated that 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said about a woman: 'I have not seen anyone more beautiful than her except that she is short.' The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to her: 'You have backbitten her; you looked at the worst in her and mentioned it.' The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, also said: 'If you mention what is in your brother, then you have backbitten him. If you mention what is not in him, then you have slandered him.' In another hadith: 'Backbiting is to mention the believer with what he dislikes.' It was said: 'Even if it is true?' He said: 'If you say something false, then that is slander.' Muawiya ibn Qurra and Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i said: 'If a man with a disability passes by you and you say: 'That is the disabled one,' then that is backbiting.' Al-Zahrawi narrated from Jabir that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Backbiting is worse than adultery, for the adulterer repents and Allah accepts his repentance, while the one who backbites repents but is not forgiven until he seeks the permission of the one he has wronged.' (p-21) Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: One may die who has been backbitten, or he may refuse. It is narrated that a man said to Ibn Sirin: 'I have backbitten you, so grant me forgiveness.' He said: 'I do not grant forgiveness for what Allah has made unlawful.' Backbiting is derived from 'ghaba yaghību,' which means speaking about someone who is absent. It is used in the context of what is disliked, and nothing is permissible in this regard except what necessity calls for, such as discrediting witnesses, and in advising someone who seeks counsel in speech and similar matters, as the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'As for Muawiya, he is a lowly person with no wealth.' And what is said about the sinful ones and the rulers of oppression is also meant for warning against them. Among them is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Do you regard the wicked with reverence? Mention the wicked with what is in him so that people may recognize him if you do not mention him.' Among them is his saying: 'Wretched is the son of the tribe.' Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, likened backbiting to eating the flesh of a dead son of Adam. The Arabs liken backbiting to eating flesh, hence the saying of Suwayd ibn Abi Kahl: 'So if I meet him, he honors me, and when he is alone, he indulges in my flesh.' (p-22) And the saying of another: 'When they ate my flesh, I fled from their flesh, and if they destroyed my honor, I built for them an honor.' So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, admonished them with His saying: 'Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?' The answer to this is: No, and they are in the ruling of one who says it. So they were addressed as they said: No, and they were told: 'So you disliked it.' After this, there is an implied meaning: So likewise, dislike the backbiting that is similar to that. And upon this implied meaning, His saying: 'And fear Allah,' is based. Abu Ali al-Farisi said this, and al-Rummani said: The dislike of this flesh is driven by nature, while the dislike of backbiting is driven by reason, which is more deserving of a response because it is insightful and knowledgeable, while nature is blind and ignorant. The majority read: 'dead' with a light vowel on the 'ya,' while Nafi' and Ibn al-Qaqa' and Shaybah and Mujahid read it with a broken 'ya' and a heavy vowel. Abu Haywah read: 'So you disliked it' with a damma on the 'kaf' and a shadda on the 'ra.'

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated it from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Then Allah, the Most High, informed them that He is the Accepting of Repentance, the Most Merciful, as a continuation from Him, the Most High, and as a delay and enabling for repentance.