What is the ruling on women gathering during fasting to discuss their husbands, describing their actions, whether good or bad, and is this considered divulging marital secrets or backbiting, taking into account the Hadith in Bukhari narrated by Aisha concerning eleven women gathering to discuss their husbands?
If evil and unpleasantness are attributed to someone, the ruling depends on knowing the person in question:
First Case: If the person is known to the listeners, mentioning what they dislike without a legitimate Shar'i reason is considered forbidden backbiting (ghibah muharramah), whether the person is alive or dead, especially if they are a spouse or a relative. It is obligatory upon those speaking to fear Allah and not speak ill except to a trusted advisor, a judge, or a mufti.
Second Case: If the person mentioned with evil is unknown or not specifically identified by the listeners, then mentioning them with evil is not forbidden and is not considered forbidden backbiting. The evidence for this is the Hadith of Umm Zar', where women mentioned the faults of their husbands, and this was not considered backbiting because these husbands were not known by their specific identities and names.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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