Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sālih al-Uthaymīn (rahimahullāh):

A person must defend themselves if accused of something they did not do. They should not say: “Let those who accuse me be; let Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic, hold them accountable” — no. It is mentioned in the narration: “May Allāh have mercy on a person who prevents backbiting against themselves.”

Arabic Audio:

The Shaykh mentioned elsewhere:

This narration, “may Allāh have mercy on a person who prevents backbiting against themselves”, is inauthentic in both its chain of transmission and its wording. Nonetheless, the meaning is correct: a person should prevent backbiting against themselves. They should avoid doing anything that would cause people to speak ill of them. One should not say: “By Allāh, people think well of me, and they won’t accuse me of anything,” because Shayṭān might cast thoughts into people’s hearts about that person, even if they assume people think well of them.

Pay attention, everyone. Once, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was with his wife, Safiyyah bint Huyayy (radiyallāhu ‘anhā), walking her back to her house after she had visited him while he was in i’tikāf. Two men from the Ansār passed by and quickly began to walk away. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said to them: “Slow down, she is Safiyyah bint Huyayy.” He told them, “She is Safiyyah bint Huyayy,” to which they replied: “O Messenger of Allāh, glory be to Allāh!” The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ then said: “Shayṭān flows through the son of Ādam like blood, and I feared he might cast something evil—or he said, something—into your hearts.” This proves that a person should prevent backbiting against themselves as much as possible.

If someone sees you walking with a woman, and you are a person with no suspicion or doubt around you, but you fear they might think badly of you, you should clarify and say: “This is my sister,” or “This is my wife,” or something similar. Why? So that you do not place yourself in a position of suspicion or become the subject of people’s backbiting.

Arabic Audio:

Shaykh Mustafa Mabram (hafidhahullāh) said:

A Muslim should not allow suspicion to cling to them. Those with weak souls and the people of tribulation, who stir up problems among others, when told: “Retract your words or write or say something to clear yourself of this accusation,” they respond: “No, don’t worry about them; it doesn’t concern me” — this is not the correct approach in the religion.

This was also the case even in the greatest tribulations of the Ummah. When ‘Uthmān (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) was besieged, what did he do? He reminded them of his early contributions to Islam, his companionship with the Prophet, that he equipped the army of al-‘Usrah, that he dug the well of Rūmah, and so on—may Allāh be pleased with him. He defended himself, emphasizing that he had never walked towards anything evil. This is what a Muslim must do.

Prophet Yūsuf (‘alayhi as-salam) said: “Ask him about the case of the women who cut their hands. Surely, my Lord is Well-Aware of their plot.” He also said: “She is the one who tried to seduce me”. This is strength in defending oneself.

But today, someone may make a huge fuss about themselves, and when cornered with evidence and facts, when they are placed in a position to clarify what they are involved in and what they are calling to, they respond: “It doesn’t matter what others think.” I even saw one of them write: “Thanks to my enemies!” No, you are despicable; you do not understand the language of the religion or the sharī’ah. How can you say: “Thanks to my enemies”? They say: “They are talking, and I remain silent.” If they are speaking truthfully, you must refute it and clear the suspicion.

Source: The Shaykh’s official Telegram account, posted on January 9th, 2022 (with some abridgement and rearrangement).

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