It is part of the Prophet’s guidance, peace be upon him, not to criticize other Muslims in public by naming them and embarrassing them, thus damaging his reputation.
\nThe reputation or honour of another Muslim is sacred and cannot be transgressed without a very serious justification.
\nIf a Muslim makes a mistake in public, it is better to criticize the wrong action or idea in private or in another forum without naming the person or humiliating him.
\nWe should not attack the identity of the person who made a mistake, but mention the wrong action.
\nAfter all, the goal should be to correct their behavior, not to hurt them.
\nAisha conveyed that if the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he would hear something bad about a man, he would not name them by saying, “What about this person who says this?”
\nBut he said: <\/p>\n
What about some people who say this?
\n(Sunan Ab\u012b D\u0101w\u016bd 4788, grade: Sahih) <\/p><\/blockquote>\nOn one occasion, some of the Prophet’s companions, peace be upon him, openly declared some wrong religious vows without reason to do so.
\nThey said they would not marry, eat meat, or sleep in a bed.
\nThe Prophet did not rebuke these companions by name, but declared to the rest of the community that the Sunnah was different from such extreme asceticism.
\nAnas ibn Malik reported that some of the companions said: “I will not marry women.”
\nAnd some said, “I will not eat meat.”
\nAnd some said, “I’ll never sleep in a bed.”
\nThe Prophet, peace and peace.
\nBlessings be upon him, Allah praised and glorified, and said: <\/p>\nWhat about some people who say this?
\nI pray and sleep, fast and break the fast, and marry women.
\nThe one who walks away from my practice is not related to me.
\n(\u1e62a\u1e25\u012b\u1e25 Muslim 1401, degree: Sahih) <\/p><\/blockquote>\nAl-Nawawi comments on this tradition, saying: It is in accordance with his way of expressing, peace and blessings be upon him, to be like this.
\nWhen he disapproved of something, he would approach it and mention his disapproval without specifying who had done it.
\nThis is part of his immense character.
\nIn fact, the purpose is for that person and everyone present, as well as those not present, to listen to that disapproval but without scolding the person in the assembly.
\n(Shar\u1e25 al-Nawaw\u012b ‘Allah \u1e62a\u1e25\u012b\u1e25 Muslim 1401) <\/em> A Muslim’s reputation is part of his sacred property, which cannot be violated except in the most extreme circumstances.
\nAbu Hurayrah conveyed that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: <\/p>\nThe whole Muslim is sacred to another Muslim: his life, his wealth and his reputation.
\n(Sa\u1e25\u012b\u1e25 Muslim 2564, grade: Sahih) <\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn general, Muslims should inform each other about their public mistakes in a private setting to respect the sanctity of their reputation.
\nThose who frequently reprimand, scold, and despise other Muslims in public, mentioning and embarrassing them without much justification, are actually committing an egregious offense against them.
\nAl-Muthanni narrated that Al-Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, said: <\/p>\nWhoever admonishes his brother in private has been sincere with him and has protected his reputation.
\nWhoever admonishes him in public has humiliated and betrayed him.
\n(\u1e24ilyat al-Awliy\u0101 ‘13854) <\/p><\/blockquote>\nHowever, simply refraining from naming directly to censor does not mean that we should humiliate Muslims indirectly by insinuation, by using offensive nicknames that are known to be associated with them.
\nAllah says: <\/p>\nYou who believe!
\nAbandon many of the assumptions.
\nIt is true that some of them are crimes.
\nAnd do not spy on one another or speak ill of others when they are not present.
\n(Private Apartments, 49:11) <\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn our times, Muslims attack other Muslims using all kinds of harmful labels (“celebrities”, “scholars for money”, etc.) and these statements are harmful regardless of whether the audience connects them with the desired target or not.
\nIf the audience implicitly understands that a specific person is being attacked, then it is simply a mockery with nicknames forbidden by insinuation.
\nIf the audience does not know who the specific target is, then the suspicion is spread over the entire community that perhaps this or that target was being discussed.
\nBetter than this, in Islam we should limit our criticism to erroneous beliefs and concrete erroneous actions, without attacking people’s particular identity.
\nIn doing so, we focus on what is most worthy of criticism (concrete actions and erroneous beliefs) while respecting the sanctity of the public reputation of Muslims. <\/p>\n
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