It is said: to avoid evil means to distance oneself from it. Its essence is to place it on one side, and it takes two objects. Allah, the Exalted, said, "And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." Then it is said in its causative form: avoid evil, and the causative form takes an object. The one commanded to avoid it is part of suspicion, and that part is described as being numerous: do you not see His saying, "Indeed, some suspicion is sin?" If you say: clarify the distinction between "numerous," where it came as an indefinite noun, and it would have been clarified had it come as a definite noun. I say: its coming as an indefinite noun conveys the meaning of part-ness. There are suspicions that must be avoided without specifying or identifying them, so that no one becomes bold in suspicion except after reflection and consideration, and distinguishing between its truth and falsehood with a clear sign, while feeling piety and caution. If it were known, the command to avoid suspicion would be contingent upon what is more frequent rather than what is less frequent. It would be necessary that every suspicion characterized by frequency be avoided, while what is characterized by infrequency would be permitted to be suspected. What distinguishes the suspicions that must be avoided from others is that anything for which there is no valid sign or clear reason is forbidden and must be avoided. This is if the one suspected has been observed to be discreet and righteous, and one has felt safety from him outwardly. Thus, suspicion of corruption and betrayal regarding him is forbidden, unlike someone who is known among people for engaging in doubts and openly committing vile acts. From the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, Allah has forbidden the blood and honor of a Muslim, and to have a bad suspicion of him." [Narrated by Ibn Majah. From the hadith of Ibn Umar with a chain that has leniency, and its wording is: "I saw the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, circumambulating the Kaaba while saying: How pure you are and how pleasant your scent is, how great you are and how great your sanctity is. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of the believer is greater in the sight of Allah than yours: his wealth, blood, and that he should be suspected of anything but good."] And Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from the path of Mujalid from Al-Sha'bi from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, looked at the Kaaba and said: "How great you are and how great your sanctity is, and the Muslim is greater in sanctity than you. Allah has forbidden his blood, wealth, and honor, and to have a bad suspicion of him." Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Al-Shu'ab from the path of Mujahid from Ibn Abbas similarly. In it is Hafs bin Abdul Rahman. And from Al-Hasan: We were in a time when suspicion of people was forbidden, and today you are in a time to act and be silent, and suspect people as you wish. And from him: There is no sanctity for a wicked person. And from him: If a sinner reveals his sin and tears his veil, Allah tears it from him; if he conceals it, Allah does not expose him, perhaps he may repent. It has been narrated: Whoever casts off the garment of modesty has no backbiting. [Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Shu'ab in the sixty-ninth and Al-Qudai in Musnad Al-Shihab from a narration reported by Ibn Al-Jarrah from Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri from Anas, and its chain is weak. And Ibn Adi narrated from the narration of Al-Rabi' bin Badr from Aban from Anas, and its chain is weaker than the first.] And sin is the wrongdoing for which its owner deserves punishment. Hence, it is said of its punishment: the sins, a form of it: like punishment, torment, and calamity. He said: I have done this to the intention of travel, a deed... the intention before death has afflicted its punishment. [The intention: the intention of the traveler, whether near or far, is feminine, and it is used as a collective noun for intention, thus it is mentioned: I have done in this intention a wrongful deed, meaning in it, then he called upon it by saying: the intention that harmed me has afflicted its punishment, meaning the recompense for that deed. Or the recompense for the intention that it deserves. And a sin may be called a sin and a punishment, from the use of the cause for the effect, and he said before death, meaning: before his death to take revenge on it, as if he likened it to an enemy, then he called upon it.]}

And the hamzah in it is from the waw, as if it is breaking the deeds: that is, it nullifies them. And it has been recited: 'And do not spy' with the ha, and the two meanings are close. It is said: 'He spied on the matter' if he sought it and searched for it: it is a form of jass, just as talmuss means to seek from lams, due to the seeking in lams. And it has come with the meaning of seeking in His saying: 'And indeed we touched the heaven.' And 'tahassus' means to recognize from the senses, and due to their closeness, the feelings of a person are called 'hawaas' with the ha and the jim. The intended meaning is the prohibition of pursuing the faults of Muslims and their defects and seeking what they have concealed. And from Mujahid: 'Take what is apparent and leave what Allah has concealed.' And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he delivered a sermon and raised his voice until he made the young women in their chambers hear him. He said: 'O assembly of those who have believed with their tongues but whose faith has not entered their hearts, do not pursue the faults of Muslims. For whoever pursues the faults of Muslims, Allah will pursue his faults until He exposes him, even if he is in the depths of his house.' [Narrated by Al-Tabarani, Al-Aqili, and Ibn Adi from the narration of Qudamah ibn Muhammad Al-Ashja'i from Ismail ibn Shabib Al-Taifi from Ibn Jurayj from Ata from Ibn Abbas with this, and in this regard from Ibn Umar narrated by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and its wording is: 'The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, ascended the pulpit and called out with a loud voice: 'O assembly of those who have embraced Islam with their tongues but whose faith has not entered their hearts, do not harm Muslims nor ridicule them, nor pursue their faults. For whoever pursues the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will pursue his fault, and whoever Allah pursues his fault will be exposed, even in the depths of his tent.' And from Abu Burdah at Abu Dawood, Ahmad, Al-Tabarani, and Abu Ya'la, and from Al-Bara' ibn Azib at Abu Ya'la and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Shu'ab in the sixty-ninth from the narration of Mus'ab ibn Salamah from Abu Ishaq from Al-Bara'. And from Thawban at Ahmad with the wording: 'Do not harm the servants of Allah nor ridicule them nor seek their faults, for whoever seeks the fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will pursue his fault until He exposes him in his house.' And from Buraidah at Al-Tabarani and Ibn Mardawayh, and its wording is: 'We prayed Dhuhr behind the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and when he finished, he turned to us angry and called out with a voice that made the young women in their chambers hear him, and he mentioned something similar.' And from Zayd ibn Wahb: We said to Ibn Mas'ud: 'Do you have anything regarding Al-Walid ibn 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt whose beard drips with wine?' Ibn Mas'ud said: 'We have been forbidden from spying, and if something appears to us, we will take it.' [Narrated by Abu Dawood, Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abdul Razzaq, Al-Tabarani, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Shu'ab in the fifty-second from various chains from Al-Amash from Zayd ibn Wahb, who said: 'I came to Ibn Mas'ud and it was said to him: 'This is so-and-so whose beard drips with wine.' The wording of Abu Dawood and the others is similar. Al-Hakim and Al-Bazzar narrated it from the narration of Asbat from Al-Amash, and he said in it: 'The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, forbade us from spying.' Al-Bazzar said: 'Asbat is unique in this,' and Ibn Abi Hatim said from Abu Zur'ah and Al-Tirmidhi from Al-Bukhari: 'Asbat made a mistake in this.' And the correct narration from Abu Muawiyah and others from Al-Amash is: 'Indeed Allah has forbidden us.' Ghaba and ghibah: like ghalah and ightalah. And ghibah is from ightiyab, like ghilah from ightiyal: and it is mentioning evil in ghibah. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about ghibah, and he said: 'To mention your brother with that which he dislikes. If it is in him, then you have ghibah of him, and if it is not in him, then you have slandered him.' [Agreed upon from the hadith of Abu Hurairah.] And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them: 'Ghibah is the meat of the dogs of the people.' Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother while he is dead? This illustrates the severity of what the ghibah entails and the disgraceful manner in which the ghibah of the ghibah is depicted. There are various exaggerations in it: among them is the question that implies affirmation. And among them is making what is at the utmost level of dislike connected to love. And among them is attributing the action to one of you and implying that none of the two likes that. And among them is that it does not stop at depicting ghibah as eating the flesh of a human, until it made the human a brother. And among them is that it does not stop at eating the flesh of a brother until it made him dead. And from Qatadah:

Just as you dislike to eat from a decaying carcass if you find one, so dislike the flesh of your brother while he is alive. The word 'dead' stands as a condition for the flesh. It is permissible for it to refer to the brother. And it has been read: 'dead'. When Allah, glorified and exalted is He, established that none of them loves to eat the carcass of his brother, He followed that with His saying: 'So you disliked it', meaning: you have indeed disliked it and that has settled. In it is the meaning of a condition, that is: if this is true, then you disliked it. The 'so' is a clear indication, meaning: it has been established - by the necessity of your acknowledgment and that you cannot deny it, due to the nature of humanity that prevents you from denying it - your dislike for it and your aversion to it. Therefore, it should also be established that you dislike what is similar to it, such as backbiting and slandering the honor of Muslims. And it has been read: 'you disliked it', meaning: you are inclined to dislike it. If you say: why is it not constructed with 'to' as it is in the saying: 'And He made disbelief hateful to you'? Which of the two is the norm? I say: the norm is that it is constructed by itself, because it has a single object before the heavy insertion. You say: I disliked the thing, and if it is heavy, it requires an additional object. As for its construction with 'to', it is an interpretation and a treatment of 'dislike' as being similar to 'hate', because 'hate' is derived from hating something, thus it is hated to him, like saying: 'love' to him something, thus it is beloved to him. The exaggeration in 'the Most Forgiving' indicates the multitude of those who repent to Him from His servants, or because there is no sin committed by the sinner except that it is forgiven through repentance. Or because He is generous in accepting repentance, placing its possessor in the status of one who has never sinned at all, due to His vast generosity.

And the meaning is: and fear Allah by leaving what you have been commanded to avoid and regretting what has occurred from you. For if you fear Him, Allah will accept your repentance and bestow upon you the reward of the righteous repentants. And from Ibn Abbas: Salman used to serve two men from the companions and prepare their food for them. One day he fell asleep regarding his matter, so they sent him to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, seeking for them a condiment. And Usama was with the food of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: I have nothing. So Salman informed them of that. At that point, they said: If we had sent him to the well of Samihah, its water would have dried up. When they went to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, he said to them: Why do I see the greenness of meat in your mouths? They said: We have not eaten meat. He said: You have indeed backbitten. [Thus it was mentioned by Al-Thalabi and Rabi'a without a chain or narrator. In the Targhib of Abu Al-Qasim Al-Asbahani from the route of Hamad ibn Salamah from Thabit from Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Layla similarly.]