Genuine Gems (GRATITUDE)

8) IMPORTANCE OF HALAAL

HOW ABOUT CONSUMING LIFELESS HUMAN FLESH?

The mere idea of consuming human flesh stimulates a nauseous feeling in the middle of the gut and a repulsive sensation in the entire body.

Well, the amazing fact is many of us consume it day in and day out without fail... without resolution... but much satisfaction!

Have we ever given it a thought? On a daily basis how much do we backbite?

Not only that, we savour every bit of our conversation which is entirely backbiting or slandering.

THE DEFINITION OF BACKBITING & SLANDERING IN THE LIGHT OF THE HADEETH.

prophet Muhammad sallal lahu alaihi wasallam said:"Do you know what backbiting is?" They said, "God and His Messenger know best." He then said, "it is to say something about your brother that he would dislike. " someone asked him, "But what if what I say is true? " The Messenger of God sallal lahu alaihi wasallam said, "if what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him." (Muslim)

IN THE LIGHT OF THE QUR'AAN-

o you who believe! Avoid much suspicion. Indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting ). And fear God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (49: 12)

Just as one finds it rather repulsive and loathes the idea of eating the flesh of a dead human, one should also loathe the idea of backbiting. Just like one is forbidden so is the other.

Backbiting has been labeled as a destructive sin.
Hasan al-Basri said: "I swear by Allah, backbiting is swifter in consuming the religion of a Muslim than a gangrenous infection is in consuming the human body."

Today this disease is so widespread that it is seen in every house. What we need to is take this disease out of us. This can be best achieved by following this rules: "when there are two people avoid talking about a third person." Hence mentioning anything about a person in his/her absence which he/she would dislike is defined as backbiting. The magnitude of this sin the gravity of this malady could be gauged from the following hadeeth:

Rasullah sallal lahu alaihi wasallam is reported to have said,

"Backbiting is more severe than adultery."

In another hadith it is reported that there are seventy stages of consuming interest the the lowest of which is equivalent to cohabiting with one's mother. To consume one dirham of interest is worse than committing adultery thirty-five times. However a sin more severe than interest is dishonoring the Muslim. Dear readers, that is exactly what we do when we backbite. We destroy the sancitity of a Muslim which according to the hadith is more than the baitullah! (k'aba)

It is reported in a hadith that on the day of qiyaamah (judgement) the person who was backbiting would claim retribution from the one who spoke I'll of him. Allah will compensate the victim by handing over the good deeds to his credit. Then the victim's sins would be transferred to the one who had backbitten him.

GUARD THE TONGUE FROM SINS AND USE YOUR LIMBS IN ACTS OF OBEDIENCE prophet Muhammad sallal lahu alaihi wasallam said: " who protects his tongue from unlawful utterance and his private parts from illegal sexual intercourse, I shall guarantee him entrance into paradise." (Bukhari and Muslim)

------------------

Do not treat the issue of Backbiting & slandering with indifference because it is a great sin.

Behold, you received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things which you had no knowledge; and you thought it to be light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God (24: 15)

Many of us back bite and gossip without thinking. We think it is minor matter, however Allah Ta'alah, reminds us to be careful and even though we think of backbiting as a minor thing, it is in fact a major sin in Allah's court.