A Qattat will not enter Paradise (Hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ)

Many believers like to gossip, knowing fully well that it is one of the least liked act from a believer. But if someone deliberately gossips, with the intention of harming someone or causing undue unrest by false information or gossip, he is among the people who will face severe consequences of their act.

For such people here is stern warning attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Book 78 Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab) كتاب الأدب / Chapter 50:  What is disliked of Namima باب مَا يُكْرَهُ مِنَ النَّمِيمَةِ) as Hadith 6056, given herein under:

Narrated by Hudhaifa:

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ هَمَّامٍ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ حُذَيْفَةَ فَقِيلَ لَهُ إِنَّ رَجُلاً يَرْفَعُ الْحَدِيثَ إِلَى عُثْمَانَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ قَتَّاتٌ ‏"‏‏.‏

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "A Qattat will not enter Paradise."

Al Qattat is an Arabic word which means "A person who conveys disagreeable, false information from one person to another with the intention of causing harm and enmity between them". This act is called as Talebearing in English and is different from the act of backbiting.

Backbiting is talking about someone. The fact that what is talked about does not interest the person one is talking to or whether what one says is true or not does not change the act of backbiting. If what is said is a lie, then it is both backbiting and slandering. If what is said is true, it is backbiting.  In talebearing, what is said interests the person that one is talking to, such as: "He said this or that about you or he did this or that against you”. It does not matter whether the person one is talking to is an ordinary person or an important person with authority.  Accordingly, informants and informers are also talebearers.

In Arabic, or to put it better, in hadiths, two different words are used for the concept talebearing: namima and qatt. A person who does it is called a nammam or qattat. Although Sufyan considers qattat to be synonymous with nammam (Tirmidhi, Birr wa Sila, 78), Hafiz al-Mundhiri says those two words have different meanings. According to him, nammam is a person who reports what he himself has seen or heard to the relevant person. Qattat is someone who reports the words that he has heard from others (Targhib wa Tarhib, trns. A.M.Büyükçınar, V, 386). [1]

Mostly women are seen engaged in acts of backbiting and talebearing and unfortunately this phenomenon is all over the world irrespective of the religion and social etiquettes. While we talk ill or bad of someone with no intention of harming, yet is a least liked. But when the intention of deceit and harming someone is added, it becomes one of the grave sins that may block our entrance to Jannah. We thus need to take heed to the above said Prophetic caution and remain from such ills.

This hadith can be correlated with another Hadith already shared as: Who will be the worst people in the sight of Allah on Day of Resurrection (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Hadith 6058)

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.  

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Please refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More