Question:
Assalaamu Alaykum wrwb,
How should one behave when their own family member is gossiping with someone else in your presence? Should you tell the person gossiping to stop the gossip? Or should you remain silent? I’ve been in a situation where we told that person to stop the gossip and that person became extremely angry with us, saying that he does not need to be corrected and we should not interfere and saying hurtful things to us that broke my heart..Do we get sin also when we listen to gossip? Please clarify
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
Listening to gossip is a sin. Walk away from the persons who are gossiping and if they are abusing you find a more subtle way to help them change their behavior.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘Whoever of you sees something wrong should change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart, and that is the weakest form of belief.'” [Muslim].
Staff
