Backbitting(Gheebah)

Backbiting (Gheebah) and lying are big sins, and forbidden in the Quran and as mentioned in various ahadith.
Allah The Almighty says in Quran:

“And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.”
[Surah Al-Hujurat 49:12]

It was reported that Anas [may Allah be pleased with him] said: the Messenger of Allah [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said:
“When I was taken up into the heavens (the Mi’raaj), I passed by some people who had nails of copper with which they were scratching their faces and chests. I said, ‘Who are these people, O Jibreel?’ He said, ‘These are the ones who used to eat the flesh of the people and slander their honour.’”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6095; Abu Dawood, 4253]

Recall your day’s memory and try to think that how much sins and bad things you have done in the whole day. Try to check that have you backbitten for someone? , have you hurt someone, and how much have you talked aimlessly.
With the advent of technology, our conversations have evolved such that we ‘speak’ to people via email conversation, Skype, teleconferences, mobile, video messaging, Facebook, Twitter etc. The speed of it all makes us sometimes hit the send button before we evaluate what we have to say.

Quick tips to avoid this:

1. For e-mails, save the message as a draft and read after one hour before you send it.
2. For instant messaging, switch to something else (a small 2 minute task for example) then switch back and see if you still want to hit the send button. Always check before you send!
“Every gulp of air that goes out in a cause other than the cause of Allah (glorified and exalted be He) will turn to sorrow and regret on the Day of Judgment.”

Don’t let your speech be the source of regret in the Hereafter and as the hadith says:
“Make your tongue moist with remembrance of Allah (glorified and exalted be He)” [Bukhari].
As the tongue is the most powerful weapon to affectionate someone or hurt someone, so try to control your tongue . as Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“Do you know the thing which most commonly brings people into Paradise? It is fear of Allah (glorified and exalted be He) and good character. Do you know what most commonly brings people into Hell? It is the two hollow things: the mouth and the private parts” [Bukhari].