Is backbiting (ghībah) haram, and what exactly counts as it?

Backbiting is a major sin by explicit text: Allah says, "And do not backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it" (Qur'an 49:12). The Prophet ﷺ defined it precisely: "It is your mentioning your brother with what he dislikes." It was said, "What if what I say about him is true?" He said, "If what you say is true you have backbitten him, and if it is not, you have slandered him." So truth is no excuse — the sin is in the exposure, not the falsehood. Scholars exempt a limited number of cases of real need: seeking a fatwa or legal redress, warning a person about a prospective spouse or business partner, describing someone to identify him, and openly warning against one who flaunts his sin or spreads error — and in each case only to the extent the need requires.

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