Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Allah (swt) has created us among different societies and nations on earth. He has created humanity as social beings who need each other. Individuals must uphold moral principles and values in their relationships within the society they live in. Prophet Muhammad (saw) emphasised the importance of good morals by saying, “I was sent only to perfect good morals.” In social relationships where good morals are absent, chaos and disorder exist. Societies and nations decay from within. Due to the problems caused by immorality, they begin to lose their strength and power, leading to collapse. Therefore, societies that adopt morality as their principle attain both worldly and spiritual success.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

One of the most important moral qualities that a believer in Allah, His Messenger and the Day of Judgment should possess is to avoid curiosity about others’ private matters. The concept of “tajassus” refers to secretly investigating someone’s private situation without their knowledge and consent. Just as our religion, Islam, does not approve of disclosing what should remain private, it similarly does not approve of investigating others’ privacy and has forbidden it. 

Allah (swt) states in the Holy Qur’an regarding this issue: “O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.” 

Dear Jama’ah!

Regardless of who it is, we should refrain from investigating people’s private matters and be respectful of their privacy. Every person has privacy, which is undoubtedly sacred. According to Abu Barza al-Aslami, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “O you who have believed with your tongues but not yet with your hearts! Do not backbite the Muslims or seek out their faults, for whoever seeks out their faults, Allah will seek out his faults. And if Allah seeks out someone’s faults, He will expose him even in his own house.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
We should avoid looking for people’s faults and speaking ill of them behind their backs. Especially with the advent of technology, it has unfortunately become common to investigate people’s flaws and spread them on social media, and this is absolutely wrong. Instead of searching for someone’s mistakes, we should strive to cover their faults and errors. Our Prophet (saw) has given us glad tidings by saying, “Whoever covers the fault of a Muslim in this world, Allah will cover his fault on the Day of Judgment.”  Let us not forget that one of Allah’s beautiful names is “As-Sattar,” meaning “the One who conceals sins and faults.” If we conceal and cover people’s mistakes and faults, Allah will treat us with His name “As-Sattar” and conceal our mistakes.

May Allah make us among those who do not persist in sin and who seek purification through repentance. Ameen!

¹ Muvatta, Husnü’l Halk, 8; Müsned, 2/381

² Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:12

³ Ebû Dâvûd, Edeb, 35

⁴ Müslim, Birr, 72

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