Okikiola Qasim
It is important to find ways of checkmating the backbiting nature of some of our media practitioners. Most especially when we do it contrarily to what we stand for, we are actually eating our dead brother’s flesh.
Many may be surprised about my objectivity, or shall I say my primary concern about the Nigerian celebrities and their lifestyles in this platform.
Well, I have nothing to do with their lifestyles even though I do respect them for being professionals in what they know how to do best. I respect their privacy because Islam never approves interference into anyone’s affairs
The word celebrity by the general term means, a person who has a high degree of recognition by the general population; a famous person. Even though the term in this context is never a concern about what mode of popularity is with such person, or what type of role model could such person be branded as?
In Nigeria, anybody can be branded as a celebrity, particularly when it is obvious that such celeb cannot be a model to anybody with the kind of lifestyles they choose for themselves. Once such personality is famous, averagely rich and has a lifestyle, he/she becomes a celebrity.
It is important that the sense of judgement of their (Fans) who enjoy their performance and their personal way of life of these celebs should be respected but it should also be noted that Allah has instructed us in the Qur’an that the best role model is obedience to Allah’s instructions and the noble prophet Muhammed (SAW) who has been described by Allah as the best exemplary character.
Besides, my point here is to discourage the interference in the lifestyles and the marital issues of celebrities by some media practitioners in the name of having bogus headlines for their various media houses but overlooking the fact that they might end up destroying some people’s images and put an end to a nurtured marital bliss.
Islam is a religion of peace, love, and compassion. Lies, suspicion, backbiting, slander and gossip are totally alien to Islam. In fact, they are considered amongst the most destructive of major sins.
This is so because these sins sow enmity and discord among the Muslim Ummah and lead to its destruction. They cause hostilities between people of the same household, and between neighbors, friends, and relatives. But many scholars, preachers, and heads of Islamic organizations have gone down the lane due to some slanders and backbiting nature of some media and fans.
Islam demands that our relationship with our role models, celebs, and our bosses should be one of sincerity and responsibility. It should be one where we have respect for the honor, reputation, and privacy of others. Islam teaches us that we are not only held accountable for our own attitudes and actions but also for anything else over which we have control or influence over, in our society or the world around us.
Allah said: ‘’O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not either backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful’’. (Q 49: 12).
Prophet Muhammad said: “Do you know what backbiting is?” They said, “God and His Messenger know best.” He then said, “It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike.” Someone asked him, “But what if what I say is true?” The Messenger of God said, “If what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him.” (Muslim)
Backbiting and slander are so widespread that it has become the topic of people’s meetings and an avenue for expressing their anger, misgivings, and jealousy.
Those who indulge in backbiting are oblivious to the fact that they are only harming themselves. This is because of the fact that on the Day of Resurrection both the wrongdoer and the wronged will stand before God, Who is the Just Judge, God will then give this wronged person from the good deeds of the person who wronged him in accordance with his wrong by backbiting.
Some situations allow us to inform others of what someone has done. It is allowed for us to inform the authorities when someone does injustice to us or others. It is allowed for us to inform someone who can help a perpetrator from committing further vice. It is also permissible for us to tell whoever seeks our advice on a person for business dealings or marriage.
In this case, it is not allowed for us to hide what we know about the person so that the enquirer will not be deceived. All these types of speaking about others are lawful.
Islam teaches us that if people are being ridiculed in our presence, we should defend their honor. If we neglect this, we shall deprive ourselves of the ever needed help and mercy from God.
If a man’s Muslim brother is slandered in his presence, and he is capable of defending him and does so, God will defend him in this world and in the next. But if he fails to defend him, God will destroy him in this world and the next.
What will we do the next time we are tempted to backbite or hear slander in our presence? Right now the choice is ours!
Those who indulge in backbiting are hiding their own imperfections and harming others. They are oblivious to the fact that they are only harming themselves.
This is because the backbiter, if the wrongdoer and his victim is the wronged, on the Day of Resurrection both the wrongdoer and the wronged will stand before Allah Who is the Just Judge and the wronged, will appeal to Allah to avenge the wrong done to him, Allah will then give this wronged person from the good deeds of the person who wronged him in accordance with his wrong by backbiting his brother on a Day that no father will give his son any of his good deeds nor a friend to his friend. All will be saying, ‘Myself, and myself.’
The very good example could be in the case of our leaders conducts, politicians, and despite the position of the press in the making up the careers of many leaders and tell the world about their marital affairs, when they are facing the challenges just like every other married people, they are would be forced to spit out everything and instead if the media to assist them in the reunion of the family, some media house develop their hypocritical publications by adding salt to the already broken home, to the extent of revealing the most negative part of their anguish in the front pages of some newspapers.
This happens in many homes, relationships, businesses and people in our community. It’s bad and the end result of such act is overall doom.
I believe we should be jingoistic to the code of our professions as media practitioners and promoters not allow our selfish interest to be a means of defense to anybody’s downfall. We must maintain to be bridge builders, not breakers and in this case, marriage makers not breakers. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) also said:
“Who protects his tongue from unlawful utterances and his private parts from illegal sexual intercourse; I shall guarantee him entrance into Paradise.”
I rest my case.
