1ـ رسولُ اللهِِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): مَرَرتُ ليلةَ اُسرِيَ بي على قَومٍ يَخمِشُونَ وُجوهَهُم بأظفارِهمِ، فقلتُ: يا جَبرَئيلُ، مَن هؤلاءِ ؟ فقالَ: هؤلاءِ الذينَ يَغتابُونَ الناسَ ويَقَعُونَ في أعراضِهِم.
1– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘On the night that I was taken on my Night-Journey [to the heavens], I passed by a group of people scratching their own faces with their nails, so I asked, ‘O Gabriel, who are these people?’ so he replied, ‘These are people who backbit about other people and disparaged their reputations.’[Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 1, p. 115]
2ـ قالَ رسولُ اللّه (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): الغِيبَةُ أشَدُّ مِن الزِّنا، قيلَ: وكيفَ ؟ قالَ: الرجلُ يَزني ثُمّ يَتوبُ فَيَتُوبُ اللّهُ علَيهِ، وإنّ صاحِبَ الغِيبَةِ لايُغفَرُ لَهُ حتّى يَغفِرَ لَهُ صاحِبُهُ.
2– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Backbiting is worse than adultery’, at which he was asked, ‘How so?’ He replied, ‘A man commits adultery, then repents, and Allah pardons him for it, whereas the backbiter is not forgiven until his victim forgives him.’[al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, v. 3, p. 511, no. 24]
3ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): الغِيبَةُ جُهدُ العاجِزِ.
3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Backbiting is the attempt of one who is incapable [of doing better himself].’[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 461]
4ـ الإمامُالحسينُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ـ لِرجُلٍ اغتابَ عِندَهُ رجُلاً ـ: يا هذا، كُفَّ عنِ الغِيبَةِ؛ فإنّها إدامُ كِلابِ النارِ .
4– Imam al-Husayn (AS) said to a man who was backbiting about a man in his presence, ‘Stop backbiting, for verily it is the food of the dogs of Hell.’[Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 245]
5ـ الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): لا تَغتَبْ فتُغتَبُ، ولا تَحفِرْ لِأخِيكَ حُفرَةً فَتَقَعَ فيها ؛ فإنَّكَ كما تَدينُ تُدانُ .
5– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Do not backbite lest you become a victim of backbiting, and do not dig a hole for your brother lest you fall in it yourself, for you will be paid back whatever you put in.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 249, no. 16]
6ـ الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): قالَ رَجُلٌ لعليِّ بنِ الحسينِ ’: إنَّ فُلانا يَنسُبُكَ إلى أ نّكَ ضالٌّ مُبتدِعٌ ! فقالَ لَهُ عليُّ بنُ الحسينِ ’: مارَعَيتَ حقَّ مُجالَسَةِ الرجُلِ حيثُ نَقَلتَ إلَينا حَديثَهُ، ولا أدَّيتَ حَقِّي حيثُ أبلَغتَني عن أخي ما لَستُ أعلَمُهُ ! ... إيّاكَ والغِيبَةَ فإنّها إدامُ كِلابِ النارِ، وَاعلَمْ أنّ مَن أكثَرَ مِن ذِكرِ عُيوبِ الناسِ شَهِدَ علَيهِ الإكثارُ أ نّهُ إنّما يَطلُبُها بقَدرِ ما فيهِ.
6– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) narrated, ‘A man once came and told Ali b. al-Husayn (AS) [i.e. Imam Zayn al-Abidin], ‘Verily x has said that you are astray and that you are an innovator!’ So Ali b. al-Husayn (AS) said to him, ‘Neither have you observed the right of the man you sat with by transmitting to us what he spoke about, nor have you observed my right by informing me of something about my brother which I would not have known! … Beware of backbiting for verily it is the food of the dogs of Hell, and know that whoever frequently talks about people’s faults, the frequency of his backbiting is a witness [to the fact] that he only finds faults in others according to the extent present in himself.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 246, no. 8]
