In the name of Allah

The All Compassionate, the All-Merciful

3 Shabaan 1447 (23 January 2026)

Islamic Universal Association

20 Penzance Place, Holland Park

London, W11 4 PG

www.arafeh.co.uk

 

Imam Ali (a.s)’s advice in the Nahjal-Balagha – Part 118

 

Today I would like to discuss Imam Ali (a.s)’s Sermon 140 from the Nahjul Balagha on backbiting and fault finding, which is condemned in Islam and I quote below an extract from it:

 

“Those who do not commit sins and have been gifted with safety (from sins) should take pity on sinners and other disobedient people. Gratefulness should be mostly their indulgence and it should prevent them from finding faults with others. What about the backbiter who blames his brother and finds fault with him? Does he not remember that Allah has concealed the sins which he had committed while they were bigger than his brother’s sins pointed out by him? How can he vilify him about his sins when he has himself committed one like it? Even if he has not committed a similar sin he must have committed bigger ones. By Allah, even if he did not commit big sins but committed only small sins, his exposing the sins of people is itself a big sin.” (Sermon 140)

 

In Islamic tradition, backbiting is defined as saying something about a person in his absence that he would dislike, even if it is factually true. If it is untrue, it is considered slander

 

Key points

 

• Those who are currently ‘safe’ from committing certain sins should feel sorry for sinners and disobedient people.
• Their primary emotion should be gratitude to Allah (s.w.t) for protecting them from evil, and they should refrain from looking down on others.
• Imam Ali (a.s) reminds backbiters that Allah (s.w.t) has most likely concealed their past sins, which may be bigger than the faults they are currently exposing of their brother/s.
• The Imam highlights the hypocrisy of fault-finding. He questions how someone can vilify another for a sin they themselves have committed or which they may have committed something even worse.
• Exposing Sins of others is a ‘Big Sin’ in Islam. Even if a person has only committed small sins, the act of exposing others’ faults is classified by the Imam as a big sin in itself.
• Anyone aware of their own faults should be preoccupied with rectifying them rather than exposing the faults of others.

 

Second Sermon

Virtues of the month of Shabaan

Allah (s.w.t.) showers His favors and blessings all through the month of Shabaan and in fact He has made His multiple and generous bounties easily accessible to us through acts of worship and from abstaining from sins. Shabaan also invites us to a chain of birth anniversaries of our Imams and leaders. It is a string of opportunities to renew ourselves spiritually as commemorating the significant days, as specified below, is a means of seeking nearness to Allah (s.w.t).

 

• Imam Hussain (a.s) was born on the 3rd of Shabaan, 3 or 4 Hijri, in Medina.
• Abbas Ibne Ali (a.s.) was born in Medina on the 4th of Shabaan, 26 Hijri. He was the commander-in-chief of Imam Hussain (a.s)’s army in Karbala.
• Ali Ibne Al-Hussain (a.s) was born on the 5th of Shabaan, 38 Hijri, in Medina.
• Hazrat Ali Akbar, son of Imam Husain (a.s), was born on the 11th of Shabaan, 33 Hijri, in Medina.
• Imam Mahdi (a.j.f) was born on the 15th of Shabaan, 255 Hijri in Samara, Iraq. He will re-emerge after a period of a long occultation and fill the world with hope and justice and put an end to worldwide disorder and ignorance.

 

We are now approaching the night of the 15th of Shabaan known as Lailatul Al-Beraat, which means night of seeking refuge from hell. On that glorious night, Allah (s.w.t) showers His blessings and clemency on mankind in abundance. It has been narrated from Imam Jafar Sadeq (a.s) that he heard from his father, Imam Baqer (a.s), about its virtues: He said:

 

“The night of the 15th of Shabaan is the best night after the night of Qadr in Ramadan. During the night Allah pays special attention to His servants and grants them their wishes, other than those that are prohibited in Islam as He has pledged to accept all supplications on that special night. It is the time for seeking nearness to Him and being repentant, as Allah in His magnanimity expiates sins and forgives those who are truly repentant. It is the night of Qadr for the Ahlul Bait and the night of worship and invocations. Whoever recites 100 times Allaho-Akbar, Alhamdo-Lillah and Sobhan-Allah, Allah will forgive their sins and fulfil their hearts’ desires and He will indeed give them more than ever in this world and in the hereafter.” (Bihar Al-Anwar V:97 P: 85)