Such people can never make a gain in the hereafter.

Such people can never make a gain in the hereafter.[^9] The Messenger of Allah (S) says, “Ghiība affects the religion of a person faster than leprosy spreads in human body.”[^10] Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says, “Ghiība is Harām for all Muslims and there is no doubt that Ghiība destroys good deeds like fire destroys wood.” ^11 The Shaykh says, “ Ghiība eats good deeds”, means that Ghiība invalidates all the good actions that one has performed or that the sin of Ghiība exceeds the rewards he has accumulated from the past good deeds, or that the deeds of back-biter are transferred to the scroll of deeds of the one about whom he has back-bited.

These points are mentioned in a number of traditions. The Messenger of Allah (S) is reported saying that a person will be brought for accounting in Qiyāma and handed his scroll of deeds. When he sees the good deeds performed by him missing from his record he would say, ‘O Allah!

This is not my record because I cannot find the good deeds performed by me in it.’ He will be told, ‘Your Lord does not err or forget, your good deeds have disappeared due to backbiting about the people.’ Then another person will be brought and given his record of deeds. When he finds therein good deeds that he had never performed he shall say, ‘O Allah! This is not my scroll of deeds. Because I find recorded therein such good deeds as I had never performed’.

So he shall be informed, “These are the good deeds of that certain person who back-bited about you and as a recompense his good deeds have been given to you.” The Shaykh concludes that Ghiība is indeed a greater sin, and in fact it is more serious than some greater sins like Adultery and Usury.

Moreover, Khayanat discussed in the earlier chapters is confirmed to be a greater sin, and Ghiība can be considered a form of Khayanat; which Khayanat can surpass the action of betraying the confidential things of a believing brother? One proceeds to gobble the flesh of ones brother in faith while the latter is completely unaware. Please take note, that Ghiība is Harām only in the case of believers.

That is, the believers in all the tenets of faith the foremost of which is the belief in the Imamat of the twelve Imams (a.s.). Therefore, Ghiība of those who opposes this belief is not Harām . However by way of precaution, we must not backbite any person belonging to any of the sects of Islam. Especially those who are not the enemies of truth and are just deficient in knowledge.