What is the ruling on backbiting someone who is not accountable, such as an insane person or a child, and is mentioning their flaws in order to understand their condition considered backbiting?
Gheebah (backbiting) is mentioning a person with what they dislike concerning their faults, while those faults are present in them. If those faults are not in them, then it is Buhtan (slander). The ruling on backbiting a non-accountable person (such as an insane person or a minor) is prohibition, just like backbiting an accountable person. Backbiting is permissible for six reasons: seeking redress, seeking help to change a reprehensible act, seeking a , warning Muslims from evil, open transgression or innovation, and for identification if it is the only means. It is permissible to mention a person by their faults for the purpose of identifying them if there is a valid Shariah benefit resulting from it and identification is not possible without it, but it is forbidden to mention them with it out of disparagement.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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