Credibility Shields

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Credibility Shields: Depart Immediately Whenever Private Smear Campaigns Against Good People—Especially Well-Known, Upright Students of Knowledge (Elders or Youth), in the East or the West—Begin in Your Presence, and Verify Whatever Has Entered Your Heart About the Person Who Was Targeted, Regardless of Who the Ring Leader Is, For This Is How Audio Tapes Were Cut And Pasted, Until It Led to False Tabdee 

Yahya Ibn Mu’adh, may Allah have mercy upon him, would oftentimes seek solitude and be secluded from the people. Then, one day, his brother came to him and said, “O my brother! How long will you abandon the people?! If you are one of the people, then you must associate with people.” Yahya looked at him and then said, “If you are one of the people, then you must turn to Allah.” Then Yahya recited (the line of poetry): 

“For the sake of Allah, leave me and do not blame me,
for you do not understand my situation.
Leave me alone and depart from me,
O men of Qeel and Qaal. O how I long for a person,
inclining towards the Most Merciful, Someone who keeps his brother’s secrets and helps him in doing good. 

Explanation:

He (i.e. the author Ibn Al-Bannah) said: Yahya—that is, Yahya ibn Mu‘adh ar-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him—would oftentimes seek solitude and be secluded from the people: Meaning, he preferred being alone and avoiding intermingling with the people.

“Then one day, his brother came to him”—meaning, to reproach him for doing so. His brother said to him, “My brother, how long will you abandon the people?!”—meaning, you neither intermingle with them, sit with them, nor keep them company.

“If you are one of the people, then you must associate with people.” Meaning, so long as you are one of them, you must intermingle with them and sit with them.

“Yahya looked at him and then said… ‘If you are one of the people, then you must turn to Allah'”. Meaning: you must worship Him, submit to Him, and turn to Him for refuge. Then Yahya began to recite, making known the reason for the situation he was in, justifying the solitude he preferred and being secluded from the people, saying:

“By Allah, leave me alone”—meaning, do not blame me. “For you do not understand my situation.” Meaning: Do not blame me for what I am upon and the situation I am in, because indeed, you will not understand my situation, nor will you understand the reason that led me to that.

“Leave me alone and depart from me, O men of Qeel and Qaal”—meaning: He found that the state of their intermingling was as such—Qeel and Qaal; for example, backbiting, tale-bearing, mockery, and things of that nature.

“O how I long for a person, inclining towards the Most Merciful”: Meaning: Indeed, I would not have refrained from intermingling had I found an individual who would aid me in obedience and worship, strengthen and support me, and keep me upright. I long to find someone who is like this. “Someone who keeps his brother’s secrets and helps him in doing good.” [1] [Footnote a]

Be Warned Against Tale-Carrying 

Atā ibn al-Sā’ib, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: I travelled from Makkah, so ash-Shaʿbi, may Allah have mercy upon him, met me and said: “O Abu Zayd! Present to us from that which you have heard in Makkah”. I said: “I have heard Abd al-Rahman ibn Sābiṭin saying: ‘Neither one who sheds blood resides in Makkah nor one who consumes Riba, nor one who carries tales” . I was boggled when he mentioned tale-carrying alongside bloodshed and usury. So, ash-Shabi said: “What boggles you regarding this? Is it not the case that bloodshed and heinous crimes are committed except due to tale-carrying”. [2]  

Yahyah Ibn Abi kathir, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Sulayman Ibn Dawud, peace be upon him and his father, said to his son: ‘O my son! Beware of tale-carrying, for indeed it is more severe (in causing harm) than a sword”. [3] 

One of the companions of Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I entered the presence of Ja’far and Musa was in his presence, while he was advising him. And from that which I committed to memory was his statement: ‘O my son! Accept my advice and memorise my speech: beware of tale-carrying because it sows enmity in the hearts of men, and beware of seeking after the faults of the people, because seeking after the faults of the people is tantamount to making oneself a target'”. [4]

Yahyah Ibn Abi Kathir, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Indeed, the tale-carrier corrupts the relationships of the people in a single day more than what a magician cannot do in a month”. [5] 

Tahir ibn Al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy upon him, wrote a letter to his son Abdullah after he was appointed by Al-Ma’mun Ibn Harun Al-Rashid as the governor of Raqqa, Egypt, and the lands between them: “Restrain your tongue from lies and false speech, and hate its perpetrators; cut off the tale-carriers, for indeed the first corruption of your affairs, both at the beginning and the end, would be due to closeness to a compulsive liar and boldness in uttering lies. This is because lying is the main source of all sins, and false speech and tale-carrying are its final outcomes, for indeed neither can a tale-carrier find safety nor can the utterer find a genuine friend, nor will the affairs of the one who pursues it remain upright. [6]

Imam Muhammad Ibn Salih Al-Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The greatest (type) of tale-carrying is when a person spreads tales between scholars- the scholars of the Shariah- by transmitting speech from this scholar to that scholar to ruin their relationship. Especially if it is lies, it is a combination of both tale-carrying and lies. He goes to a scholar and says: “So and so among the people of knowledge says this and that about you”. This is one of the major sins, therein is great corruption and sows enmity between the scholars, thus leads to disassociation within the society as a result of disassociation among the scholars. [7] 

The Imam, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: You find these two men who are friends, then when this man, the tale-carrier – and Allah’s refuge is sought – comes along, he – whether truthful or lying – says: “This man reviles you, how can you be his companion while he says this and that about you”. After this (previous) affection (between the two men), enmity occurs between them. This causes a split, similar to sorcery- a type of sorcery, a type of magic. In what way does it resemble sorcery? The student said: “Through causing disassociation”. The Shaikh said: “Through splitting (between people).

فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيْنَ ٱلْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِۦ

They learned that by which they cause separation between man and his wife. [2:102]

Tale-carrying resembles sorcery with regards to splitting the people. [8]

Al-Allamah Salih Al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him, stated:

‏Namīmah: it is to transmit speech among the people in way to cause corruption between them. Allah, Glorified be He, free from all imperfections, the Most High, said:

‏وَلا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلافٍ مَّهِينٍ، هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ‏

And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, a slanderer, going about with calumnies. [Al-Qalam 10-11] 

The most severe regarding all of this is the one who spreads (tales) among the students of knowledge and the callers to the path of Allah in order to corrupt (their relationships), split the Jama’ah of the Muslims, and in order that some harbour enmity towards others. The one who does this is a tale-carrier and indeed Allah has forbidden believing or obeying such a person, even if he makes an oath, as He (Allah) said:

‏وَلا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلاّفٍ مَّهِينٍ، هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ‏

And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, a slanderer, going about with calumnies. [Al-Qalam 10-11] [9]

Footnote a: https://salafidawahmanchester.com/2026/01/30/restrain-your-tongue-stay-indoors-and-weep/ 

[1] Sharh Ar-Risaalah Al-Mugniyah Fis Sukut Wa Luzoom Al-Buyut Pages 85-86 By Shaikh Abdur Razzaq al-Badr-hafidhahullah

[2] Az-Zuhd’ (446) by Al-Wakee

[3] Az-Zuhd 467 by Imam Ahmad

[4] Hilyah al-Awliya 3/195

[5] Shu’ab al-Iman 13/448 by Imam Al-Bayhaqi

[6] Tārīkh ar-Rusul wa al-Mulūk 8/585 by Imam at-Tasbari

[7]https://alathar.net/home/esound/index.php?op=codevi&coid=56024 paraphrased

[8]https://alathar.net/home/esound/index.php?op=codevi&coid=126760 paraphrased

[9] An Excerpt from: “Wujūb at-tathabbuti min al-akhbār wa iḥtirām al-‘ulamā’ wa bayān makānatihim fī al-ummah”. page 21-22