No text indicates that women are inherent backbiters

15-4-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum Shaikh. Are there any religious texts that indicate that women are inherent backbiters?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We are not aware of any Islamic text that suggests the meaning which you mentioned. There are many women who are righteous and who protect their tongues from all diseases. However, if women are far from the religion, then such diseases, such as backbiting, slandering, mocking and cursing, may be abundant in them.

Muhammad Anwar Shah Ad-Daynawari, in Faydh Al-Baari, when talking about the reason why most of those who enter Hellfire are women, said:

“The reason is due to abundant backbiting and cursing; the women at that time were new Muslims who used to abundantly curse and backbite in the Jaahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic Era of Ignorance), so he (the Prophet) saw that they were the majority of the people of Hellfire. Hence, it does not necessarily mean that they are the most inhabitants of Hellfire after Islam disciplined them with its etiquette, as they became soft-hearted and quickly affected. Just as they were the most cursing in the Jaahiliyyah, they became the farthest from it in Islam.”

It should be noted that knowing whether backbiting is inherent in women or not may not be very useful. So, instead, you should direct your effort to learning how to get rid of backbiting and other diseases and look for the means of protecting one’s tongue and being safe from backbiting.

Mu‘aath ibn Jabal narrated that the Prophet said, “...Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces – or upon their noses – except the harvests of their tongues?” [At-Tirmithi]

Also, Imaam Maalik reported in his Muwatta’ that ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab entered upon Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq and found him pulling his tongue. ‘Umar said to him, “Stop doing that; may Allah forgive you!” Abu Bakr, said, “This (his tongue) has caused me to be in difficult (or dangerous) situations.”

Allah knows best.