A person’s dignity and respect are the same as his physical flesh.

It is possible that in order to explain the fourth point, Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) referred to the person who back-bites and speaks ill of others behind their back as being lowly and weak (since they are attacking a person who does not have the ability to defend himself) when he said: أَلْغِيْبَةُ جَهْدُ الْعٌاجِزِ “Backbiting another person is (equivalent) to fighting a person who cannot defend himself.” [^1] The Motives that Lead to Backbiting One of the reasons and motives of a person backbiting is jealousy and envy that one has which makes him speak ill of another person.

In his speech to Mufaddhal ibn `Umar, Imam Ja`far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) has referred to this motive as follows: مَنْ رَوَى عَلى مُؤْمِنٍ رِوٌايَةً يُرِيدُ بِهٌا شَيْنَهُ وَ هَدْمَ مُرُوؤَتَهُ لِيُسْقِطَهُ مِنْ أَعْيُنِ النٌّاسِ أَخْرَجَهُ اللٌّهُ مِنْ وِلاٌيَتِهِ إِلـى وِلاٌيِةِ الشَّيْطٌانِ “A person who talks about a believer’s conduct hoping that through this act, he is able to lower the other person’s value and worth in the eyes of others will be taken out of the guardianship of Allah and will be placed in the guardianship of the Shaitan.” [^2] In this hadith, Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) has mentioned one of the motives behind backbiting which is the jealousy, envy and the status that a person may feel for another person within the society.