Abu Bakr and Umar Backbit a Servant

Abu Bakr and Umar Backbit a Servant — The Prophet ﷺ Refused to Seek Forgiveness for Them

Backbiting is not a small sin in Islam. The Qur’an compares it to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother.

Allah says:

Arabic:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ

English:

“O you who believe, avoid much suspicion; indeed, some suspicion is sin. And do not spy, nor backbite one another. Would any of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance, Merciful.”

Reference:

Qur’an, Surah al-Hujurat 49:12

Short comment:

This verse directly compares backbiting to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother. This is the exact image the Prophet ﷺ used in the narration below.

Allah also says:

Arabic:

وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ

English:

“Woe to every slanderer and backbiter.”

Reference:

Qur’an, Surah al-Humazah 104:1

Short comment:

Islam does not treat mocking, insulting, and backbiting as light matters. The tongue can destroy a person’s deeds.

Now read this Sunni narration carefully.

Arabic:

قال أنس بن مالك:

كانت العرب تخدم بعضها بعضا في الأسفار، وكان مع أبي بكر وعمر رجل يخدمهما، فناما فاستيقظا ولم يهيئ لهما طعاما، فقال أحدهما لصاحبه: إن هذا ليوائم نوم نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم، فأيقظاه، فقالا: ائت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقل له: إن أبا بكر وعمر يقرئانك السلام وهما يستأدمانك.

فقال: أقرئهما السلام وأخبرهما أنهما قد ائتدما.

ففزعا فجاءا إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالا: يا رسول الله، بعثنا إليك نستأدمك فقلت: قد ائتدما، فبأي شيء ائتدمنا؟

قال: بلحم أخيكما، والذي نفسي بيده إني لأرى لحمه بين أنيابكما.

قالا: فاستغفر لنا.

قال: هو فليستغفر لكما.

English:

Anas ibn Malik said:

“The Arabs used to serve one another during journeys. Abu Bakr and Umar had a man with them who served them. They slept, then woke up, and he had not prepared food for them.

One of them said to the other: ‘This one’s sleep matches the sleep of your Prophet ﷺ.’

So they woke him and said: ‘Go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and say to him: Abu Bakr and Umar send you greetings of peace, and they are asking you for something to eat with their bread.’

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Convey greetings of peace to them and inform them that they have already eaten something with their bread.’

They became frightened and came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we sent to you asking for something to eat with our bread, and you said that we had already eaten. With what have we eaten?’

He said: ‘With the flesh of your brother. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I can see his flesh between your teeth.’

They said: ‘Seek forgiveness for us.’

He said: ‘He should seek forgiveness for you.’”

References:

Al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi, al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, hadith 1697.

Al-Khara’iti, Masawi’ al-Akhlaq, no. 180, with slightly different wording.

Al-Albani, al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, no. 2608.

Grading:

Al-Albani graded the chain authentic:

إسناده صحيح

“Its chain is authentic.”

Short comment:

This narration is not from a Shia book. It is preserved in Sunni sources and authenticated by al-Albani.

The meaning is very clear:

Abu Bakr and Umar spoke badly about their servant because he had not prepared food for them.

The Prophet ﷺ treated their words as backbiting.

He told them they had eaten the flesh of their brother.

When they asked the Prophet ﷺ to seek forgiveness for them, he did not say, “You are senior companions, no problem.”

He said:

هو فليستغفر لكما

“He should seek forgiveness for you.”

Meaning: the one whom they backbit should seek forgiveness for them.

Important honesty note:

In this narration, the servant is not named. Some tafsir reports mention Salman al-Farsi being backbitten by two unnamed men, while this narration names Abu Bakr and Umar but does not name the servant.