Is It Considered Backbiting to Discuss Athletes and Celebrities?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it considered backbiting to discuss athletes and celebrities for the entertainment they produce?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) was asked, “What is backbiting?” He replied, “To mention your brother with something they would dislike (i.e. if they were to come to know of it)…” [Abu Dawud]

Exceptions to the Impermissibility of Backbiting

Scholars have delineated certain exceptions to the ruling of backbiting. One of the them applies to the one who flaunts their sins. Another is to get help for a person by telling someone able to help of their situation.

[Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The Difference Between Backbiting and Critiquing

In matters of sport or entertainment critiquing is not the same as backbiting as long as the critique is done appropriately and in a dignified manner with the intention of a critique.

One should not delude themselves into backbiting in the name of critiquing. All actions are based on intentions.

Also critiquing is aimed at the performance whereas backbiting is usually aimed at the person or their motives.

Idol Speech

However discussing athletes and celebrities, in general, especially if significant time is wasted doing so, is frowned upon as it is seen as a waste of time.

We were created to worship Allah and to bring our heart to a state of focus on preparing for the next life. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “From the beauty of a person’s Islam is their abandoning that which has no meaning to them.” [Tirmidhi]

One should strive to lessen their concern for such things and use their time and limbs in the pursuit of that which has meaning in this life and the next.

See the following links for more clarity:

When is backbiting permissible?

Should I write letters of excuse to public figures for having slandered them?

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.