And some dress up backbiting in various guises. Sometimes they present it as piety and righteousness, saying: “It is not my habit to speak of anyone except favourably. I dislike backbiting and lying; I am merely telling you about his circumstances.” Or they say: “By Allah, he is a poor fellow—or a good man—but he has such-and-such faults.” They may also say: “Let us leave him alone. May Allah forgive us and him,” when their sole intention is to belittle him and diminish his standing. They dress up backbiting as righteousness and piety, seeking thereby to deceive Allah as they would deceive a created being. We have seen many forms of this and similar behaviour among them.

Some ostentatiously elevate others, thereby elevating themselves. One says: “Had I prayed for so-and-so in my prayer last night, I would not have heard such-and-such about him,” intending to elevate himself and lower the other man in the eyes of those who hold him in esteem. Or he says: “So-and-so is dull-witted and understands little,” intending to praise himself, establish his own knowledge, and show that he is superior to him.

Some are driven by envy to backbite, thus combining two reprehensible things: backbiting and envy. When someone is praised, they do whatever they can to strip him of that praise by disparaging him, whether under the guise of religious devotion and righteousness or through envy, wickedness, and slander, seeking to deprive him of that esteem. Some present backbiting as mockery and joking to make others laugh