Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Namima li-Ibn Abi al-Dunya

Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Namima (The Censure of Backbiting and Tale-Bearing) is a treatise on Islamic ethics and moral conduct by the Baghdadi hadith scholar and educator Ibn Abi al-Dunya (208–281 AH / 823–894 CE) Husn al-Samt fi al-Samt+1. The work gathers prophetic traditions and early reports condemning verbal misconduct—particularly backbiting, calumny, disputatiousness, and mockery—along with guidelines on preserving communal harmony and defending others' reputations Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1.

Composition and Structure

The text is recorded as having been transmitted from Ibn Abi al-Dunya in 278 AH Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…. Composed in the typical hadith compilation style of the author, it arranges reports with their chains of transmission (asānīd) across several thematic chapters:

• Censure of Disputation and Affected Speech (Bāb dhamm al-mirāʾ, Bāb mā jāʾa fī dhamm al-taqaʿʿur fī al-kalām, and Bāb dhamm al-khuṣūmāt): Opens with warnings against argumentation, rhetorical pedantry, and contentious quarreling Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+2.
• Prohibition and Definition of Backbiting (Bāb al-ghība wa-dhammihā and Tafsīr al-ghība): Details the severity of backbiting (ghība), defining it as mentioning an absent person in a manner they would dislike, and contrasting it with outright slander (buhtān) Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1. This section also records exceptions transmitted from early authorities regarding those who manifest blatant wrongdoing, tyrannical rulers, and innovators Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1.
• Defending Fellow Believers (Bāb dhabb al-Muslim ʿan ʿirḍ akhīh): Highlights the virtue and religious obligation of shielding a Muslim’s honor when they are disparaged in absentia Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1.
• Censure of Tale-Bearing and Duplicity (Bāb mā jāʾa fī dhamm al-namīma and Bāb dhamm dhī al-lisānayn): Treats the sin of calumny (namīma), reporting traditions against the nammām (tale-bearer) and the qattāt, and censures being two-faced or speaking with two tongues Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1.
• Prohibition of Ridicule and Expiation (Bāb mā nuhiya ʿanhu al-ʿibād min an yaskhara baʿḍuhum min baʿḍ and Bāb kaffārat al-ightiyāb): Concludes with reports forbidding sarcasm, mockery, and reproach, and sets forth early views on the expiation (kaffāra) required for backbiting, such as seeking forgiveness for the wronged person and making amends Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+1.

Method and Sources

Ibn Abi al-Dunya relies primarily on narrated traditions, citing prophetic hadiths alongside statements of Companions such as ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, as well as prominent Successors including al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī Dhamm al-Ghiba wa al-Nami…+2. His transmission chains link directly through his direct teachers and leading traditionists of his era, such as Aḥmad ibn Manīʿ, Abū Khaythama Zuhayr ibn Ḥarb, ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak Husn al-Samt fi al-Samt+2.

Modern Editions

The work has been published in multiple critical editions:

• Edited by Najm ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Khalaf (Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1390 AH) Husn al-Samt fi al-Samt.
• Edited by Bashīr Muḥammad ʿUyūn (Maktabat Dār al-Bayān, Damascus) Mawsuat Mahasin al-Islam ….
• Edited by Muṣṭafā ʿAṭā within a collection of Ibn Abi al-Dunya's treatises (Majmūʿ Rasāʾil Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, Muʾassasat al-Kutub al-Thaqāfiyya, Beirut, 1413 AH) al-Maqasid al-Hasana fi B….