—of the believers—whether by open mockery, sneering at them, or bandying insulting nicknames among them—counts among the gravest of sins. “And whoever does not repent, such people are the wrongdoers” (49:11); that is, whoever persists in this conduct and does not repent to Allah is indeed an oppressor.

The author then cites another verse: “Woe to every backbiter, slanderer” (104:1). The word wayl (“woe”) appears many times in the Quran as a declaration of threat; in every instance it conveys a stern warning and menace for the one who commits the deed in question. “To every backbiter, slanderer” refers to a person who disparages others—sometimes by hamz and sometimes by lamz. Lamz is done with the tongue, while hamz is carried out by bodily gestures. Such a backbiter-slanderer is threatened with this “woe”; we seek refuge in Allah.

The author then quotes several hadiths, which will be discussed, God willing:

1574 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “It is enough evil for a person to belittle his Muslim brother.” Narrated by Muslim; its full wording was presented recently.

1575 – Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No one will enter Paradise who has even a mustard seed’s weight of arrogance in his heart.” A man asked, “A person likes his clothes to be fine and his sandals to be fine—(is that arrogance)?” He replied, “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is rejecting the truth and despising people.” Narrated by Muslim.

‘Rejecting the truth’ means spurning it, and ‘despising people’ means looking down on them. A clearer explanation of this has already been given in the chapter on arrogance.