rumours الاشاعات
محمد مرسى
1434/05/01 - 2013/03/13 13:22PM
لا شك أنه في وقت الفتن تنشط الدعاية وتكثر الإِثارة وهنا يأتي دور الإِشاعة .
ومن المعلوم أن التثبت مطلب شرعي لقوله تعالى : ( يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن جاءكم فاسق بنبأ فتبينوا أن تصيبوا قوما بجهالة فتصبحوا على ما فعلتم نادمين ) . وفي قراءة أخرى ( فتثبتوا )
وقد حذر الشارع أشد التحذير من نقل الشخص لكل ما يسمعه فعن حفص بن عاصم قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( كفى بالمرء كذبا أن يحدث بكل ما سمع ) رواه مسلم في المقدمة 6 صحيح الجامع 4482 .
وعن أبي هريرة أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : ( كفى بالمرء إثما أن يحدث بكل ما سمع ) السلسلة الصحيحة 2025.
"قَالَ النَّوَوِيّ : فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَع فِي الْعَادَة الصِّدْق وَالْكَذِب فَإِذَا حَدَّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ فَقَدْ كَذَبَ لإِخْبَارِهِ بِمَا لَمْ يَكُنْ , وَالْكَذِب الإِخْبَار عَنْ الشَّيْء بِخِلَافِ مَا هُوَ وَلا يُشْتَرَط فِيهِ التَّعَمُّد " .
وعن المغيرة بن شعبة قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( إن الله حرم عليكم عقوق الأمهات ووأد البنات ومنع وهات وكره لكم قيل وقال وكثرة السؤال وإضاعة المال ) رواه البخاري 2231.
قال الحافظ ابن حجر :
(قَوْله : ( وَكَرِهَ لَكُمْ قِيلَ وَقَالَ ) . . . قَالَ الْمُحِبّ الطَّبَرِيُّ : . . . وفي معني الحديث ثلاثة أوجه :
أولها : الإِشَارَة إِلَى كَرَاهَة كَثْرَة الْكَلام لأَنَّهَا تُؤَوِّل إِلَى الْخَطَأ . . .
ثَانِيهَا : إِرَادَة حِكَايَة أَقَاوِيل النَّاس وَالْبَحْث عَنْهَا لِيُخْبِر عَنْهَا فَيَقُول : قَالَ فُلان كَذَا وَقِيلَ كَذَا , وَالنَّهْي عَنْهُ إِمَّا لِلزَّجْرِ عَنْ الاسْتِكْثَار مِنْهُ , وَإِمَّا لِشَيْءٍ مَخْصُوص مِنْهُ وَهُوَ مَا يَكْرَههُ الْمَحْكِيّ عَنْهُ .
ثَالِثهَا : أَنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي حِكَايَة الاخْتِلاف فِي أُمُور الدِّين كَقَوْلِهِ : قَالَ فُلان كَذَا وَقَالَ فُلان كَذَا , وَمَحَلّ كَرَاهَة ذَلِكَ أَنْ يُكْثِر مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِحَيْثُ لا يُؤْمَن مَعَ الإِكْثَار مِنْ الزَّلَل , وَهُوَ مَخْصُوص بِمَنْ يَنْقُل ذَلِكَ مِنْ غَيْر تَثَبُّت , وَلَكِنْ يُقَلِّد مَنْ سَمِعَهُ وَلا يَحْتَاط لَهُ . قُلْت : وَيُؤَيِّد ذَلِكَ الْحَدِيث الصَّحِيح (كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ إِثْمًا أَنْ يُحَدِّث بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ ) أَخْرَجَهُ مُسْلِم ) اهـ بتصرف يسير .
وعن أبي قلابة قال : قال أبو مسعود لأبي عبد الله أو قال أبو عبد الله لأبي مسعود : ما سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول في زعموا ؟
قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : " بئس مطية الرجل زعموا " السلسلة الصحيحة 866 .
قال العظيم آبادي : " ( بِئْسَ مَطِيَّة الرَّجُل ) : الْمَطِيَّة بِمَعْنَى الْمَرْكُوب (زَعَمُوا) : الزَّعْم قَرِيب مِنْ الظَّنّ أَيْ أَسْوَأ عَادَة لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذ لَفْظ زَعَمُوا مَرْكَبًا إِلَى مَقَاصِده فَيُخْبِر عَنْ أَمْر تَقْلِيدًا مِنْ غَيْر تَثَبُّت فَيُخْطِئ وَيُجَرَّب عَلَيْهِ الْكَذِب قَالَهُ الْمَنَاوِيُّ .
ولذلك حرص سلفنا الصالح على التثبت والحذر من الإشاعات :
قال عمر رضي الله عنه : ( إياكم والفتن فإن وقع اللسان فيها مثل وقع السيف ).
ولقد سطَّر التاريخ خطر الإِشاعة إذا دبت في الأمة وإليك أمثلة من ذلك :
1- لما هاجر الصحابة من مكة إلى الحبشة وكانوا في أمان ، أُشيع أن كفار قريش في مكة أسلموا فخرج بعض الصحابة من الحبشة وتكبدوا عناء الطريق حتى وصلوا إلى مكة ووجدوا الخبر غير صحيح ولاقوا من صناديد قريش التعذيب . وكل ذلك بسبب الإِشاعة .
2- في غزوة أحد لما قتل مصعب بن عمير أُشيع أنه الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقيل : قُتل رسول الله فانكفأ جيش الإِسلام بسبب الإِشاعة ، فبعضهم هرب إلى المدينة وبعضهم ترك القتال .
3- إشاعة حادثة الإِفك التي اتهمت فيها عائشة البريئة الطاهرة بالفاحشة وما حصل لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والمسلمين معه من البلاء، وكل ذلك بسبب الإِشاعة .
إذاً ما هو المنهج الشرعي في التعامل مع الأخبار ؟
هناك ملامح في التعامل مع الأخبار نسوقها باختصار :
1) التأني والتروي :
يقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : (التأني من الله و العجلة من الشيطان) السلسلة الصحيحة 1795.
قد يدرك المتأني بعض حاجته وقد يكون مع المستعجل الزلل
2) التثبت في الأخبار :
قال الله تعالى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْماً بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِين َ) وفي قراءة (فتثبتوا)
سبب نزول الآية :
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعث الوليد بن عقبة بن أبي معيط إلى بني المصطلق ليأخذ منهم الصدقات، وأنه لما أتاهم الخبر فرحوا ، وخرجوا ليتلقوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأنه لما حدث الوليد أنهم خرجوا يتلقونه رجع إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فقال : يا رسول الله : إن بني المصطلق قد منعوا الصدقة .
فغضب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من ذلك غضباً شديداً، فبينما هو يحدث نفسه أن يغزوهم إذ أتاه الوفد ، فقالوا : يا رسول الله : إنا حُدثنا أن رسولك رجع من نصف الطريق ، وإنا خشينا أن يكون إنما رده كتاب جاءه منك لغضب غضبته علينا ، وإنا نعوذ بالله من غضب الله وغضب رسوله !
وأن رسول الله استعتبهم ، وهمّ بهم ، فأنزل الله عز وجل عذرهم في الكتاب : { يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِين } الحجرات/6 .
أنظر السلسلة الصحيحة (3085) .
معنى التثبت : تفريغ الوسع والجهد لمعرفة حقيقة الحال ليعرف أيثبت هذا الأمر أم لا .
والتبين : التأكد من حقيقة الخبر وظروفه وملاباساته .
يقول الحسن البصري : "المؤمن وقاف حتى يتبين" .
وختاماً : نوصي الجميع بالتثبت وعدم التسرع في نقل الأخبار حتى يتأكد من صحتها ، حتى لو كان الخبر ساراً ، لأنه إذا تبين خطأ الناقل فستسقط عدالته عند الناس ...
ويكون عرضة للاستخفاف ممن له هوى في نفسه ... وفق الله الجميع لما يحب ويرضى ..
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly at times of tribulation there is a lot of propaganda and excitement, hence the role of rumours.
It is well known that verifying news is required according to sharee’ah, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
The Lawgiver issued a stern warning against passing on all that one hears. It was narrated that Hafs ibn ‘Aasim said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is enough lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears." Narrated by Muslim in al-Muqaddimah, 6; Saheeh al-Jaami, 4482.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is enough sin for a man to speak of everything that he hears." Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2025.
Al-Nawawi said: Usually a person hears truth and lies, so if he speaks of everything that he hears, he is lying by telling of things that did not happen, and lying by speaking of something other than the way it happened; and he does not have to do that deliberately (in order to be regarded as telling lies).
It was narrated that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has forbidden you to disobey your mothers, to bury your daughters alive, to not pay the rights of others and to beg from others. And He dislikes gossip for you, asking too many questions, and wasting money." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2231.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said:
With regard to the words ‘and He dislikes gossip [qeela wa qaala – lit. it was said and he said] for you’ al-Muhibb al-Tabari said, there are three points of view as to the meaning of this hadeeth:
1 – That it indicates that it is makrooh (disliked) to speak too much, because it leads to mistakes.
2 – That it refers to wanting to pass on what people say and looking for that in order to tell others of it, so that one can say, “So and so said such and such, and Such and such was said…" The prohibition on this is either a rebuke for doing too much of it or it refers to a particular type of talk, which the person spoken of dislikes to have mentioned.
3 – That it refers to narrating differences of opinion concerning religious matters, such as saying, “This one said such and such and that one said such and such." The reason why this is disliked is that speaking of such matters may lead to mistakes. This applies especially to those who transmit such views without verifying them, merely imitating those whom they hear without exercising any caution. I say: this is supported by the saheeh hadeeth, “It is enough sin for a man to speak of everything that he hears." (narrated by Muslim).
It was narrated that Abu Qalaabah said: Abu Mas’ood said to Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, or Abu ‘Abd-Allaah said to Abu Mas’ood: What did you hear the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say about saying “they say…"?
He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “How bad it is for a man to keep saying, ‘They say…’. " al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 866.
Al-‘Azeemabaadi said: This means, it is a bad way to reach one’s objective, by saying, ‘they say…’. Saying ‘they say…’ is akin to conjecture, i.e., the worst habit of a man is to use the phrase ‘they say’ to serve his purposes, so he tells of something, merely repeating what others have said without verifying it, and thus he transmits lies … this was the view of al-Manaawi.
Hence our righteous forebears were keen to establish proof and were wary of rumours.
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Beware of fitnah, for a word at the time of fitnah could be as devastating as the sword."
History shows us the danger of rumours when they spread among the ummah. There follow some examples of that:
1 – When the Sahaabah migrated from Makkah to Ethiopia, they were safe, but then a rumour spread that the kuffaar of Quraysh in Makkah had become Muslims, so some of the Sahaabah left Ethiopia and travelled until they reached Makkah, where they found that the report was not true, and they met with persecution at the hands of Quraysh. All of that happened because of rumours.
2 – During the Battle of Uhud, when Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr was killed, there was a rumour that it was the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who had been killed, so the army of Islam withdrew because of a rumour, and some of them fled to Madeenah and some stopped fighting.
3 – There was the rumour of the slander incident (al-ifk), when the pure and innocent ‘Aa’ishah was accused of immoral conduct, which led to the distress felt by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Muslims with him. All of that was because of rumours.
So what is the proper shar’i method of dealing with news?
There are ways of dealing with news which we will look at in brief:
1 – Deliberation
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allaah and haste is from the Shaytaan." Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1795.
The one who deliberates may meet some of his needs whilst the one who is hasty may slip.
2 – Verifying news
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
The reason why this verse was revealed:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent al-Waleed ibn ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’eet to Banu al-Mustaliq, to collect the zakaah from them. When news of that reached them they rejoiced, and they came out to meet the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When al-Waleed heard that they had come out to meet him, he went back to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, Banu al-Mustaliq have withheld the zakaah."
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) became very angry at that, and whilst he was thinking of launching a campaign against them, the delegation came to him and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, we were told that your envoy returned after coming only half way, and we were afraid that he came back because he received a message from you saying that you were angry with us. We seek refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and the anger of His Messenger."
Then Allaah excused them in His Book and revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
See: al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3085.
What is meant by verifying is making the effort to find out the truth of the matter, so as to establish whether this can be proven or not.
Verifying means making certain of the truth of the report and its circumstances.
Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “The believer reserves judgement until the matter is proven."
Finally: we advise everyone to verify matters and not to rush to pass on news until they are sure that it is true, even if the news is good news, because if it becomes apparent that the one who passed it on is mistaken, he will lose credibility before the people… and anyone who bears a grudge towards him will use it against him. May Allaah help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allaah knows best.
ومن المعلوم أن التثبت مطلب شرعي لقوله تعالى : ( يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن جاءكم فاسق بنبأ فتبينوا أن تصيبوا قوما بجهالة فتصبحوا على ما فعلتم نادمين ) . وفي قراءة أخرى ( فتثبتوا )
وقد حذر الشارع أشد التحذير من نقل الشخص لكل ما يسمعه فعن حفص بن عاصم قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( كفى بالمرء كذبا أن يحدث بكل ما سمع ) رواه مسلم في المقدمة 6 صحيح الجامع 4482 .
وعن أبي هريرة أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : ( كفى بالمرء إثما أن يحدث بكل ما سمع ) السلسلة الصحيحة 2025.
"قَالَ النَّوَوِيّ : فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَع فِي الْعَادَة الصِّدْق وَالْكَذِب فَإِذَا حَدَّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ فَقَدْ كَذَبَ لإِخْبَارِهِ بِمَا لَمْ يَكُنْ , وَالْكَذِب الإِخْبَار عَنْ الشَّيْء بِخِلَافِ مَا هُوَ وَلا يُشْتَرَط فِيهِ التَّعَمُّد " .
وعن المغيرة بن شعبة قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( إن الله حرم عليكم عقوق الأمهات ووأد البنات ومنع وهات وكره لكم قيل وقال وكثرة السؤال وإضاعة المال ) رواه البخاري 2231.
قال الحافظ ابن حجر :
(قَوْله : ( وَكَرِهَ لَكُمْ قِيلَ وَقَالَ ) . . . قَالَ الْمُحِبّ الطَّبَرِيُّ : . . . وفي معني الحديث ثلاثة أوجه :
أولها : الإِشَارَة إِلَى كَرَاهَة كَثْرَة الْكَلام لأَنَّهَا تُؤَوِّل إِلَى الْخَطَأ . . .
ثَانِيهَا : إِرَادَة حِكَايَة أَقَاوِيل النَّاس وَالْبَحْث عَنْهَا لِيُخْبِر عَنْهَا فَيَقُول : قَالَ فُلان كَذَا وَقِيلَ كَذَا , وَالنَّهْي عَنْهُ إِمَّا لِلزَّجْرِ عَنْ الاسْتِكْثَار مِنْهُ , وَإِمَّا لِشَيْءٍ مَخْصُوص مِنْهُ وَهُوَ مَا يَكْرَههُ الْمَحْكِيّ عَنْهُ .
ثَالِثهَا : أَنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي حِكَايَة الاخْتِلاف فِي أُمُور الدِّين كَقَوْلِهِ : قَالَ فُلان كَذَا وَقَالَ فُلان كَذَا , وَمَحَلّ كَرَاهَة ذَلِكَ أَنْ يُكْثِر مِنْ ذَلِكَ بِحَيْثُ لا يُؤْمَن مَعَ الإِكْثَار مِنْ الزَّلَل , وَهُوَ مَخْصُوص بِمَنْ يَنْقُل ذَلِكَ مِنْ غَيْر تَثَبُّت , وَلَكِنْ يُقَلِّد مَنْ سَمِعَهُ وَلا يَحْتَاط لَهُ . قُلْت : وَيُؤَيِّد ذَلِكَ الْحَدِيث الصَّحِيح (كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ إِثْمًا أَنْ يُحَدِّث بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ ) أَخْرَجَهُ مُسْلِم ) اهـ بتصرف يسير .
وعن أبي قلابة قال : قال أبو مسعود لأبي عبد الله أو قال أبو عبد الله لأبي مسعود : ما سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول في زعموا ؟
قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : " بئس مطية الرجل زعموا " السلسلة الصحيحة 866 .
قال العظيم آبادي : " ( بِئْسَ مَطِيَّة الرَّجُل ) : الْمَطِيَّة بِمَعْنَى الْمَرْكُوب (زَعَمُوا) : الزَّعْم قَرِيب مِنْ الظَّنّ أَيْ أَسْوَأ عَادَة لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذ لَفْظ زَعَمُوا مَرْكَبًا إِلَى مَقَاصِده فَيُخْبِر عَنْ أَمْر تَقْلِيدًا مِنْ غَيْر تَثَبُّت فَيُخْطِئ وَيُجَرَّب عَلَيْهِ الْكَذِب قَالَهُ الْمَنَاوِيُّ .
ولذلك حرص سلفنا الصالح على التثبت والحذر من الإشاعات :
قال عمر رضي الله عنه : ( إياكم والفتن فإن وقع اللسان فيها مثل وقع السيف ).
ولقد سطَّر التاريخ خطر الإِشاعة إذا دبت في الأمة وإليك أمثلة من ذلك :
1- لما هاجر الصحابة من مكة إلى الحبشة وكانوا في أمان ، أُشيع أن كفار قريش في مكة أسلموا فخرج بعض الصحابة من الحبشة وتكبدوا عناء الطريق حتى وصلوا إلى مكة ووجدوا الخبر غير صحيح ولاقوا من صناديد قريش التعذيب . وكل ذلك بسبب الإِشاعة .
2- في غزوة أحد لما قتل مصعب بن عمير أُشيع أنه الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقيل : قُتل رسول الله فانكفأ جيش الإِسلام بسبب الإِشاعة ، فبعضهم هرب إلى المدينة وبعضهم ترك القتال .
3- إشاعة حادثة الإِفك التي اتهمت فيها عائشة البريئة الطاهرة بالفاحشة وما حصل لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والمسلمين معه من البلاء، وكل ذلك بسبب الإِشاعة .
إذاً ما هو المنهج الشرعي في التعامل مع الأخبار ؟
هناك ملامح في التعامل مع الأخبار نسوقها باختصار :
1) التأني والتروي :
يقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : (التأني من الله و العجلة من الشيطان) السلسلة الصحيحة 1795.
قد يدرك المتأني بعض حاجته وقد يكون مع المستعجل الزلل
2) التثبت في الأخبار :
قال الله تعالى : ( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْماً بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِين َ) وفي قراءة (فتثبتوا)
سبب نزول الآية :
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعث الوليد بن عقبة بن أبي معيط إلى بني المصطلق ليأخذ منهم الصدقات، وأنه لما أتاهم الخبر فرحوا ، وخرجوا ليتلقوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأنه لما حدث الوليد أنهم خرجوا يتلقونه رجع إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فقال : يا رسول الله : إن بني المصطلق قد منعوا الصدقة .
فغضب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من ذلك غضباً شديداً، فبينما هو يحدث نفسه أن يغزوهم إذ أتاه الوفد ، فقالوا : يا رسول الله : إنا حُدثنا أن رسولك رجع من نصف الطريق ، وإنا خشينا أن يكون إنما رده كتاب جاءه منك لغضب غضبته علينا ، وإنا نعوذ بالله من غضب الله وغضب رسوله !
وأن رسول الله استعتبهم ، وهمّ بهم ، فأنزل الله عز وجل عذرهم في الكتاب : { يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَأ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِين } الحجرات/6 .
أنظر السلسلة الصحيحة (3085) .
معنى التثبت : تفريغ الوسع والجهد لمعرفة حقيقة الحال ليعرف أيثبت هذا الأمر أم لا .
والتبين : التأكد من حقيقة الخبر وظروفه وملاباساته .
يقول الحسن البصري : "المؤمن وقاف حتى يتبين" .
وختاماً : نوصي الجميع بالتثبت وعدم التسرع في نقل الأخبار حتى يتأكد من صحتها ، حتى لو كان الخبر ساراً ، لأنه إذا تبين خطأ الناقل فستسقط عدالته عند الناس ...
ويكون عرضة للاستخفاف ممن له هوى في نفسه ... وفق الله الجميع لما يحب ويرضى ..
Praise be to Allaah.
Undoubtedly at times of tribulation there is a lot of propaganda and excitement, hence the role of rumours.
It is well known that verifying news is required according to sharee’ah, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
The Lawgiver issued a stern warning against passing on all that one hears. It was narrated that Hafs ibn ‘Aasim said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is enough lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears." Narrated by Muslim in al-Muqaddimah, 6; Saheeh al-Jaami, 4482.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is enough sin for a man to speak of everything that he hears." Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2025.
Al-Nawawi said: Usually a person hears truth and lies, so if he speaks of everything that he hears, he is lying by telling of things that did not happen, and lying by speaking of something other than the way it happened; and he does not have to do that deliberately (in order to be regarded as telling lies).
It was narrated that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has forbidden you to disobey your mothers, to bury your daughters alive, to not pay the rights of others and to beg from others. And He dislikes gossip for you, asking too many questions, and wasting money." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2231.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said:
With regard to the words ‘and He dislikes gossip [qeela wa qaala – lit. it was said and he said] for you’ al-Muhibb al-Tabari said, there are three points of view as to the meaning of this hadeeth:
1 – That it indicates that it is makrooh (disliked) to speak too much, because it leads to mistakes.
2 – That it refers to wanting to pass on what people say and looking for that in order to tell others of it, so that one can say, “So and so said such and such, and Such and such was said…" The prohibition on this is either a rebuke for doing too much of it or it refers to a particular type of talk, which the person spoken of dislikes to have mentioned.
3 – That it refers to narrating differences of opinion concerning religious matters, such as saying, “This one said such and such and that one said such and such." The reason why this is disliked is that speaking of such matters may lead to mistakes. This applies especially to those who transmit such views without verifying them, merely imitating those whom they hear without exercising any caution. I say: this is supported by the saheeh hadeeth, “It is enough sin for a man to speak of everything that he hears." (narrated by Muslim).
It was narrated that Abu Qalaabah said: Abu Mas’ood said to Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, or Abu ‘Abd-Allaah said to Abu Mas’ood: What did you hear the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say about saying “they say…"?
He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “How bad it is for a man to keep saying, ‘They say…’. " al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 866.
Al-‘Azeemabaadi said: This means, it is a bad way to reach one’s objective, by saying, ‘they say…’. Saying ‘they say…’ is akin to conjecture, i.e., the worst habit of a man is to use the phrase ‘they say’ to serve his purposes, so he tells of something, merely repeating what others have said without verifying it, and thus he transmits lies … this was the view of al-Manaawi.
Hence our righteous forebears were keen to establish proof and were wary of rumours.
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Beware of fitnah, for a word at the time of fitnah could be as devastating as the sword."
History shows us the danger of rumours when they spread among the ummah. There follow some examples of that:
1 – When the Sahaabah migrated from Makkah to Ethiopia, they were safe, but then a rumour spread that the kuffaar of Quraysh in Makkah had become Muslims, so some of the Sahaabah left Ethiopia and travelled until they reached Makkah, where they found that the report was not true, and they met with persecution at the hands of Quraysh. All of that happened because of rumours.
2 – During the Battle of Uhud, when Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr was killed, there was a rumour that it was the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who had been killed, so the army of Islam withdrew because of a rumour, and some of them fled to Madeenah and some stopped fighting.
3 – There was the rumour of the slander incident (al-ifk), when the pure and innocent ‘Aa’ishah was accused of immoral conduct, which led to the distress felt by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Muslims with him. All of that was because of rumours.
So what is the proper shar’i method of dealing with news?
There are ways of dealing with news which we will look at in brief:
1 – Deliberation
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allaah and haste is from the Shaytaan." Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1795.
The one who deliberates may meet some of his needs whilst the one who is hasty may slip.
2 – Verifying news
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
The reason why this verse was revealed:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent al-Waleed ibn ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’eet to Banu al-Mustaliq, to collect the zakaah from them. When news of that reached them they rejoiced, and they came out to meet the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When al-Waleed heard that they had come out to meet him, he went back to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, Banu al-Mustaliq have withheld the zakaah."
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) became very angry at that, and whilst he was thinking of launching a campaign against them, the delegation came to him and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, we were told that your envoy returned after coming only half way, and we were afraid that he came back because he received a message from you saying that you were angry with us. We seek refuge with Allaah from the anger of Allaah and the anger of His Messenger."
Then Allaah excused them in His Book and revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! If a Faasiq (liar — evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done"
[al-Hujuraat 49:6]
See: al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3085.
What is meant by verifying is making the effort to find out the truth of the matter, so as to establish whether this can be proven or not.
Verifying means making certain of the truth of the report and its circumstances.
Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “The believer reserves judgement until the matter is proven."
Finally: we advise everyone to verify matters and not to rush to pass on news until they are sure that it is true, even if the news is good news, because if it becomes apparent that the one who passed it on is mistaken, he will lose credibility before the people… and anyone who bears a grudge towards him will use it against him. May Allaah help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allaah knows best.