Nameemah

This article will look at nameemah and its consequences

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• The word nameemah means to say things about people so that others will hate them. The following example will help describe the word nameemah better: There are three boys – Bilaal, Hasan and Daawood. Bilaal tells Hasan that Daawood said something bad about Hasan.
  Bilaal then goes to Dawood and tells him that Hasan insulted Daawood. As a result, Hasan is angry with Daawood and Daawood is angry with Hasan.
  This example shows how Bilaal has done nameemah between two people.
  He is called a nammaam and a woman doing nameemah is called a nammaamah. Nameemah can be saying something which is the truth or spreading lies.
  It can involve two people or more.
  It can be done by speaking, writing, imitating or in any other way that can cause people to hate each other. Nameemah is going around with the intention of causing people to hate each other by revealing secrets. If what is said is a lie, then it is worse than the nameemah which contains the truth.
• The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told the Companions that the nammaam and nammaamah will be punished in Hell: Hudhayfah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said
  
  “A nammaam will not enter Paradise.” (Al-Bukhaari and Muslim)

لا يدخل الجنة نمام

• This hadeeth means that a Muslim person who commits nameemah will be punished in Hell first before being allowed to enter Paradise.
  To further emphasize the sin of nameemah, the Prophet ﷺ described how the person who spreads nameemah will be punished in the grave. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Abbaas narrated the following hadeeth:
  Once the Prophet ﷺ , while passing through one of the graveyards of Al-Madeenah or Makkah, heard the voices of two people who were being punished in their graves.
  
  The Prophet ﷺ said, “These two persons are being punished not for a major sin (to avoid).” The Prophet ﷺ then added, “Yes! (they are being punished for a major sin). Indeed, one of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine while the other used to do nameemah.” (Reported in Al-Bukhaari)

عن ابن عباس قَالَ : ” مَرَّ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بحائط من حيطان المدينةِ أَوْ مَكَةَ فَسَمِعَ صَوْتَ إنسانين يُعَذِّبَانِ في قبورهما، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يُعَذِّبَانِ ومَا يُعَذِّبَانِ فِي كَبِيرَ ثُم قَالَ بَلَى كانَ أَحَدُهُمَا لَا يَسْتَتِرُ مِنْ بَولِهِ وَكَانَ الآخَرُ يمشي بالنميمة .. (رواه البخاری)

• Nameemah is something that is haraam in Islam as it causes the Muslims to become disunited. The people who do it should think about what they are doing and why. They should fear the punishment of Allah and this can be done by remembering the many aayaat and ahaadeeth that refer to the punishment of nameemah. They should also think of the negative effects that nameemah has on the community.

What we learn from the lesson:

1. Nameemah means to spread things about people in order to make them hate each other.
2. Nameemah is haraam.
3. Allah has described the punishment of those who spread nameemah.
4. A nammaam/nammaamah will be punished in the grave.