Imam Ali (AS) Extra-Religious View on Backbiting
Sermons 140 and 141 revolve around ethical issues. Imam Ali (AS)’s view while confronting this issue is both different and significant.
In Sermon 140, he advises people to not get involved in backbiting and finding faults in others. What is important here is the manner in which he discusses the topic.
Instead of explaining the punishment of such sins in the Hereafter, Imam Ali (AS) creates an air of dialogue and stresses two points.
Firstly, he points to logical issues of the person who tries to find faults in others. Here, Imam Ali (AS) tries to convince others that backbiting is not good.
Secondly, he starts a conversation on the bad virtue of backbiting as something beyond religious teachings. He notes that according to ethical principles, backbiting is bad even for non-Muslims and those who do not follow any religion.
According to this sermon, some issues are important in the view of religion but there are also some issues that are part of ethical principles. These issues include trustworthiness, fairness, honesty, etc.
Likewise, backbiting is not acceptable under any ethical school; so you do not need to be Muslim to refrain from this, rather, the fact that you are human is enough to avoid this.
Another point in the sermon is the way we should treat those who are engaging in backbiting.
The sermon starts with this sentence: “Those who do not commit sins and have been gifted with safety (from sins) should take pity on sinners and other disobedient people.”
The fact that Imam Ali (AS) says people should treat sinners with mercy is interesting because the feeling of mercy and pity emerges when somebody has faced a problem and we are thinking of helping them.
Here, he notes that showing compassion to sinners is necessary and this is how people should view those who commit sins.
Therefore, if we are equipped with this view, we will not engage in backbiting and will always try to revise sinners.
There is also another delicate point in this sermon as Imam Ali (AS) addresses those who commit sins by backbiting.
Imam Ali (AS) says if you have committed sins and witnessed someone else’s sin, you have to treat this situation in three ways: the first condition is that I have carried out a bigger sin. So as God has concealed my sin, I should act accordingly and not talk about the sin of others.
The second condition is that one should think I have committed this sin but nobody found out, so it is not fair to tell others about the sin of my brother which I have committed myself.
The third condition is that the sin that I commit is not smaller than those committed by others because backbiting means that I am committing a bigger sin.
And the final point is that the path to repentance is always open and God Almighty may forgive those who commit sins.
