6 hadiths on speech
and backbiting
Distinguish backbiting from slander, choose useful words and protect others without remaining silent about injustice.
A remark about an absent colleague, something shared in confidence repeated within the family, a message forwarded without checking: words can cause harm long after a conversation ends.
Is it backbiting when what we say is true? Should we remain silent when someone suffers injustice? How can we make amends for a false accusation? These six authentic hadiths, reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, help distinguish these situations.
Article contents
Will what I am about to say help or hurt?
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports a teaching of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that brings together three forms of conduct: not harming one’s neighbour, honouring one’s guest and watching one’s words. Here is the last of these instructions:“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.”
Read the Arabic text
وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ
Understanding this hadith
The Prophet ﷺ first recommends speaking good. Silence is the other choice when what we are about to say brings no good.
Before a sharp reply, take a moment to ask what your words will achieve. Will they explain a disagreement, make a request or help? Or are they mainly intended to hurt the person? Replacing “you never do anything right” with a specific request allows you to address the problem without reducing the other person to a fault.
This restraint does not mean giving up on a difficult conversation. Firm words may be necessary to set a boundary or bring harm to an end.
If you are looking for what to say when anger rises, read the supplication taught during an argument.
A true statement can be backbiting
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah recounts that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asks his companions whether they know what backbiting is. They reply that Allah and His Messenger know best. He defines it as mentioning one’s brother in a way he dislikes. He is then asked what happens if the fault mentioned is actually present in that brother. He replies:“If what you say is present in him, you have backbitten him; if it is not present in him, you have slandered him.”
Read the Arabic text
إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ
Understanding this hadith
Backbiting, called ghība in Arabic, is therefore not defined by lying. Saying “but it is true” is not enough to justify a conversation about the faults of someone who is absent. Slander adds a false accusation: attributing to someone something that is not true of them.
Before sharing a fact, ask two questions: is it true, and what purpose does telling it serve? An accurate detail can be used to mock someone. Forwarding a screenshot for a laugh at their expense also exposes what they wanted kept private.
When a conversation drifts, a simple response may be enough: “We do not need to recount this to resolve the situation.” You can also change the subject without repeating or expanding on what has already been said. If a wrong needs reporting, speak to someone who can intervene, rather than to a whole group.
Make truthfulness a habit, and avoid getting used to lying
The context of the narration
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud reports words of the Prophet ﷺ describing two paths: truthfulness leads to righteousness and then to Paradise; lying leads to wickedness and then to the Fire. The text also speaks of repetition: by repeatedly telling the truth, a person becomes truthful; by repeatedly lying, a person is recorded with Allah as a liar.“Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise.”
Read the Arabic text
إِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ، وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ
Understanding this hadith
The hadith invites us to consider a habit beyond an isolated sentence. Exaggerating to win an argument, turning an impression into certainty or repeating an accusation without knowing its origin damages trust.
You can explicitly distinguish what you saw from what someone told you. “I do not know”, “I was mistaken” and “I have not checked” are useful answers. They avoid giving an assumption the authority of a fact. Before forwarding a message that accuses someone, tracing its source may lead you to decide against sharing it.
Yet true information can still be backbiting, as the previous hadith explains. Checking a fact is therefore not enough: we must also ask why we are telling it.
Also read: making a habit of telling the truth.
A good word is already charity
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ teaches that charity is due each day for every joint. He names several deeds: judging fairly between two people, helping someone with their mount, walking to prayer and removing something harmful from the path. Among these forms of good, he also mentions speech:“A good word is charity.”
Read the Arabic text
وَالْكَلِمَةُ الطَّيِّبَةُ صَدَقَةٌ
Understanding this hadith
The Prophet ﷺ counts a good word among acts of charity, alongside services such as helping someone with their mount. We can therefore give without spending money.
Thanking someone for a service or encouraging a child who has made an effort are examples of good words. To someone going through hardship, you might offer: “I can go with you to that appointment if you would like.”
A good word remains sincere. It does not need excessive flattery or a promise we will not keep.
Helping your brother may mean stopping his injustice
The context of the narration
Anas ibn Malik reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ calls for helping one’s brother, whether he is committing injustice or suffering it. Those present understand helping the victim, but ask how to help the person committing injustice. The Prophet replies:“By preventing him from committing injustice.”
Read the Arabic text
تَأْخُذُ فَوْقَ يَدَيْهِ
Understanding this hadith
Brotherly help does not mean approving everything someone close to us does. Preventing their injustice is also a way of helping them.
Do not turn the advice to “speak good or remain silent” into a means of silencing someone who has been hurt. They may need to describe events to be heard, protected or supported. Listen to what they report and help them find someone who can assist. Do not circulate their story among people who do not need to know it.
If someone close to you humiliates another person in your presence, you can ask them to stop and support the person targeted. When intervening directly risks making things worse, another step is to find someone able to act.
Take harm to someone’s reputation seriously
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports a warning from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to anyone who has wronged someone in their honour or in another matter. The Prophet calls for seeking forgiveness during this life. He then explains that on the Day of Judgement, good deeds may be taken as compensation for the wrong; if there are none, the sins of the person wronged will be placed upon the wrongdoer.“Whoever has wronged someone in their honour or in any other matter should seek their pardon today, before there is neither dinar nor dirham.”
Read the Arabic text
مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ مَظْلَمَةٌ لأَحَدٍ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ أَوْ شَىْءٍ فَلْيَتَحَلَّلْهُ مِنْهُ الْيَوْمَ، قَبْلَ أَنْ لاَ يَكُونَ دِينَارٌ وَلاَ دِرْهَمٌ
Understanding this hadith
If you repeated a false accusation, stop spreading it and tell those who received it that it was false. Silent regret does not correct what they still believe because of your message.
When the person knows about the words that hurt them, a clear apology can acknowledge your responsibility without asking them to minimise their pain: “What I said was unjust. I regret it and I will correct it.” Their forgiveness cannot be commanded, and an apology does not entitle you to demand their immediate trust.
If they do not know what was said, how to make amends requires care: repeating every detail to them could cause further hurt. For this situation, seek competent religious advice suited to the circumstances. You can already bring the harm to an end and correct false statements you have spread.
Bukhari 2449 is also explained in the guide on repentance and the rights of the person wronged.
In practice
- A conversation goes off trackAvoid adding a detail about someone who is absent and suggest returning to the problem that needs resolving.Reread the definition of backbiting
- You hesitate before sendingBefore passing on an accusation, check where it comes from. Distinguish what you have seen from what someone has told you.Reread the hadith on truth
- Someone is being wrongedListen and help them find appropriate support, without turning their situation into a topic of conversation.Read the hadith on helping
- You have hurt someoneStop spreading what was said, acknowledge the harm and take appropriate steps to make amends.Read the reminder on making amends
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 6018Speak good or remain silent
- Sahih Muslim · 2589Backbiting or slander?
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 6094Cultivate truthfulness
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2989A good word
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2444Speak up against injustice
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2449Make amends for hurtful words