GRIEVOUS CHASTISEMENT FOR SCANDAL MONGERS

One of the dangerous habits and bad deeds is spreading of shamelessness or indecency in which, sometimes, some people and sometimes even our pious people get involved.

In this connection, the Holy Quran says: Surely as for those who love that scandal should circulate respecting those who believe, they shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter; and Allah knows, while you do not know.

An open offence is greater than a secret sin. Look at this word of Imam Ali bin Moosa Reza in this connection: One who gives circulation to a sin is banished and forsaken and the one who covers a sin will be forgiven by God.

As a matter of fact, A sin is like fire. When there is a fire at one point in the society we should try to cool it down or to contain it. But if we fan the fire and thus carry it from one point to another point it will engulf everything and then nobody will be able to control it.

Apart from this, the greatness of severity of a sin in the eyes of the common man and the apparent protection of the society from pollution, in itself, is a big dam against the flood of corruption. The circulation of scandal and shamelessness and spread of the sin openly breaches this dam, makes the sin light in public eye and makes pollution easy.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) has said: a man approached him and said: may I be sacrificed for you; people have narrated a deed allegedly done by a brother-in-faith hearing which I became displeased. When I asked that person, he denied while all reliable persons have narrated this thing from that person himself. The Imam said: Refute your own eye and ear against your believing brother so much so that even if fifty persons say that he had done something but he says he did not then believe him and disbelieve them. Never circulate in society a thing which may defame him and bring his personality down, otherwise you will be the one about whom God has said: those who love that scandal should circulate respecting those who believe, they shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter.

And Amirul Momineen (a.s.) said: Always think good about a deed of your brother-in-faith until its opposite become clear and do not imagine badly about him as long as you can consider him correct.

In conclusion we must know that one day each and every organ of our body will be asked to account for the deeds done and that it will be a hard questioning.

The Holy Quran says: And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge; surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be questioned.

Finally Muslims must keep in mind that the hypocrites, some times, through rumour mongering and circulation of allegations, defame and drive away great personalities from the field and they assassinate the character of people so severely that they introduce even the most honest man as the most dishonest. For example, during the last hundred years, just look what they had done with great men like Ayatollah Sheikh Fazlullah Noori and Ayatollah Kaashaani and Shaheed Behishti and others