"O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin" (al-Hujurat: 12). Al-Hasan's interpretation: If you harbor a good assumption about your Muslim brother, you are rewarded, and if you harbor a bad assumption about him, you are sinful. "And do not spy"—that is, a man should not pursue the private faults of his Muslim brother. Yahya narrated from al-Nadr ibn Bilal, from Aban ibn Abi Ayyash, from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went out one day and called out with a voice that was heard by the virgins in their chambers: "O people who have believed with their tongues but not with their hearts! Do not harm the believers, do not insult them, and do not pursue their private faults, for whoever pursues the private fault of his Muslim brother, Allah will pursue his private fault, and whoever Allah pursues his private fault, He will disgrace him even in his own house." His saying: "And do not backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it" (al-Hujurat: 12). Al-Kalbi said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to some people who had backbitten two men: 'Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead after he has died?' They said: 'No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we cannot eat it, nor do we like it.' The Messenger of Allah said: 'Then detest backbiting.'" Yahya narrated from Uthman, from Nu'aym ibn Abd Allah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
