Backbiting: A Graver Sin than you can Imagine!
Ever since we were kids, we have been constantly reprimanded by our parents for engaging in idle gossip or backbiting (Gheebah) because of its sinful nature. What we did not realize back then was the gravity of that sin – perhaps, we still don’t. As Muslims, we tend to have our own categories of major sins and minor sins, and for most people, more often than not, backbiting tends to fall in the latter of the lists. What we fail to realize is that backbiting tops the major sin list in Islam; it is one of the most detested sins in the sight of Allah (SWT). What would you say if I told you backbiting is, in more ways than one, worse than adultery? Why? That is because Allah (SWT) promises His servants the forgiveness of all sins if they choose to repent sincerely, but when one engages in backbiting, one is carrying out an offense against another human being, and Allah (SWT) does not forgive unless the person being gossiped about forgives the backbiter himself/herself first. Imagi...