By Bilal Ali Question: When we talk about a specific narrator being adil (upright), isn’t it backbiting to label someone a liar or a sinner? How is this justified? Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Mercy-Giving. The act of ghibah as it applies to speaking unfavorably of a person who is not present is without a doubt abhorrent, repugnant, and prohibited in the shari‘ah. Numerous verses of the Holy Qur’an as well as prophetic narrations clearly explicate the gravity of this sin, equating it even to consuming the flesh of a dead brother. Similar to other…