Ethics of Islam

ackbiting. If it is possible to stop the backbiter or to leave, he
should do one or the other. Using sign language, e.g., his head or
hand or eyes is not enough. It is necessary to tell him that he
should stop backbiting.
The atonement (kaffârat) for backbiting is the feeling of
sadness, making tawba, and apologizing to the person
backbitten. An apology without feeling sorry is no more than
hypocrisy, which is another sin. [It is written in Ibn-i Âbidîn’s
book Radd-ul-Muhtâr, 5th volume, page 263 that it is forbidden
to backbite a dead person as well as a non-Muslim citizen
(zimmî).]
40– NOT MAKING TAWBA
Tawba is the sorry feeling after committing a forbidden
action and then having the fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ and having a
strong resolution not to do it again. Repentance for fear of a
worldly loss that you may incur is not tawba. While one is
committing several different sins, one’s tawba for some of the
sins would be valid (sahîh) while one insists committing the
other sins. After tawba, one’s repeating the same sin again and
then repenting again would be valid. Repeating this chain of
repenting, committing the sin again, repenting again several
times would be valid. Forgiveness of a grave sin certainly
requires tawba. Five daily “salât” prayers, Friday “salât” prayer,
fasting during the month of Ramadân, going for pilgrimage
(hajj), making tawba, avoiding grave sins and all similar acts of
worship will cause forgiveness of venial sins. Tawba for disbelief
and other types of sins, when done in observance of their
conditions, will certainly be accepted. A pilgrimage performed
with sincerity and by observing all its conditions is called “hajj almabrûr”.
“Hajj al-mabrûr” causes all types of sins to be forgiven
except the sins incurred by omitting those acts of worship which
are farz and sins wherein violation of others’ rights is involved.
In order for these two types of sins to be forgiven, one has to
carry out those omitted obligatory duties and one has to
compensate the right owners for their violated rights. “Hajj almabrûr”
does not cause forgiveness of the sins incurred by
omitting the obligatory (fard) duties, yet it causes forgiveness of
the sins incurred by not doing the obligatory duties within their
prescribed times. After the pilgrimage, if one does not
immediately start to perform the omitted obligatory duties, the
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