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from the tribe of Banu Salamah said: "O Messenger of Allah! the embellishment of his cloak and an appreciation of
his sides have allured him, and he was thus detained.'' Mu`adh bin Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Woe be upon you! You have passed indecent remarks. O Messenger of Allah! by Allah, we know nothing about
him but good.'' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) remained silent.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary:
This Hadith has already been mentioned in detail in the Chapter on Repentance. Here it is repeated to
show how important it is to defend a Muslim when someone accuses him in his absence. In the presence of the
Prophet (PBUH) a person expressed misgivings about Ka`b bin Malik that his obsession (
for fine dress
) had
prevented him from coming to the battlefield. Mu`adh immediately defended him saying that there was no
justification for such misgivings. The Prophet's silence endorsed the stand taken by Mu`adh (May Allah be pleased
with him). This goes to prove that if a Muslim brother or sister is disgraced in his or her absence in a gathering, then
it is incumbent on others to defend his or her honour.
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