Expiation for Gossip
Question

                With regard to expiation for gossip, is saying “Lord, forgive me and the believing men and women and the Muslim men and women” sufficient to ask for forgiveness for the one I gossiped about, or must I pray for him by name?
Praise be to Allah.
    Gossip is a major sin, and 
    undoubtedly all Muslims know this, and they know the punishment that Allah 
    will inflict on the one who gossips. The seriousness of this sin is due to 
    two reasons: 

    1-    It has to do with 
    people’s rights, so it is more serious because it involves wrongdoing 
    against people.  

    2-    It is an easy sin that 
    most people commit, except those on whom Allah has mercy. People usually 
    regard easy things as insignificant although they are serious before Allah. 

    With regard to expiation for 
    gossiping, it is essential to note a few important points: 

    Firstly: In a number of fatwas 
    (rulings/answers) on our site we have pointed out that expiation for gossip 
    includes praying for forgiveness for the one you gossiped about, and making 
    du’a (supplicating) for him, and praising him in his absence. We hope that 
    the reader will look at these fatwas and read the words of the scholars. See 
    the answers to questions no. 
    
    
    6308, 
    
    23328, 
    
    52807 and 
    
    65649. 

    Secondly: Stating that praying 
    for forgiveness is the expiation for gossip does not mean that it is 
    sufficient. The basic principle is that sins cannot be erased except by 
    sincere repentance which is accompanied by giving up the sin, regretting it, 
    resolving not to go back to it and being sincere at heart in one’s dealings 
    with the Creator, may He be glorified. Then there is the hope if one repents 
    in this manner, that Allah will forgive him his sins and pardon his errors. 

    With regard to people’s rights 
    and transgressions against people, they can only be expiated if the people 
    affected pardon him and forgive him. The evidence for this is in the sunnah 
    (teachings) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who 
    said: “Whoever has wronged his brother with regard to his honour or 
    something, let him ask him for forgiveness before the time when there will 
    be neither dinar nor dirham, and if he has any good deeds it will be taken 
    from him in proportion to the wrong he did, and if he does not have any 
    hasanat (good deeds), some of the other person's sayyiat (evil deeds) will 
    be taken and given to him to bear.” [al-Bukhari]

    The command is to seek 
    forgiveness for wrongdoing before scores are settled among people on the Day 
    of Reckoning, when scores will be settled with hasanat and sayyiat  and true 
    losses will be borne by those who wronged people with regard to their 
    wealth, honour and blood. 

    Thirdly: What the one who wants 
    to free himself of the sin of gossip must do is strive hard to seek 
    forgiveness from the one whom he gossiped about, and ask him to pardon him, 
    and apologize to him with kind and good words, and he should be as humble as 
    he can in this, even if he has to buy an extremely valuable gift or offer 
    financial help. The scholars have stated that all of this is permissible 
    when it comes to restoring people’s rights. 

    Because the scholars among the 
    righteous salaf (predecessors) and fuqaha (jurists) thought that seeking 
    people’s forgiveness for gossip might lead – in some cases – to greater 
    evils such as grudges or breaking of ties, and people might feel resentment 
    and grudges to an extent that is known only to Allah, most of the scholars 
    granted concessions allowing one not to seek forgiveness (from the victim), 
    and they hoped that it would be sufficient to pray for forgiveness for the 
    victim of gossip and make du’a (supplication) for him and praise him in his 
    absence. 

    Other scholars were of the view 
    that nothing could expiate for gossip but the forgiveness of the one who was 
    wronged. But the correct view is that if the one who gossiped repents 
    sincerely, he does not have to tell the one about whom he gossiped about it, 
    especially if he fears that this would cause more trouble, as is usually the 
    case. 

    Praying for forgiveness for the 
    one he gossiped about is an exceptional case and is a case of necessity 
    dictated by sharee’ah (Islamic law), where warding off harm takes precedence 
    over bringing benefits. 

    From the above it may be 
    understood that the one who regards the sin of gossip as insignificant on 
    the basis that praying for forgiveness is sufficient to expiate this sin is 
    incorrect. His thinking is wrong for three reasons:  

    1-    He forgets that the basic 
    condition for repentance is regret, giving up the sin and sincerely 
    repenting to Allah. This condition may not be truly met in the case of most 
    people.

    2-    The basic principle in 
    expiation with regard to people’s rights is striving to seek their pardon. 
    If he thinks that telling the person about the gossip will lead to a greater 
    evil, then he may resort to praying for forgiveness for him in this case, 
    otherwise the basic principle is that he should seek pardon from the one 
    whom he wronged. 

    3-    This shows you that if 
    the person who was gossiped about has heard about what another man has said 
    about him, then – in this case – it is essential to seek forgiveness from 
    him directly, so that the harm suffered by the victim will be undone and his 
    resentment may be dispelled. If he does not pardon or forgive, then there is 
    no option after that but to pray for forgiveness for him and make du’a 
    (supplication) for him. 

    Fourthly: 

    Then after all this, does the 
    questioner think that praying for forgiveness in general terms – “O Allah, 
    forgive the believing men and women” – is sufficient to expiate for the sin 
    of gossiping? 

    We say that when we hope that 
    Allah will accept our du’a and prayers for forgiveness as an expiation for 
    bad deeds, it is essential to be sincere towards Allah in this du’a, to seek 
    out means of drawing close to Allah, and to repeat it in times and places 
    where du’as are answered, and pray for all goodness and blessings in this 
    world and in the Hereafter. Undoubtedly such a du’a requires us to specify 
    the person for whom we are praying, either mentioning him by name or 
    describing him, by saying: O Allah, forgive me and the one whom I have 
    gossiped about and wronged; O Allah, pardon us and him, and whatever else 
    you can say in your du’a. 

    As for praying in general 
    terms, it does not seem to be sufficient to achieve what you are hoping for 
    from Allah. Just as you gossiped about him by mentioning his name or 
    describing him, and you singled him out for harm, so too you should pray 
    specifically for him and ask for forgiveness for him, so that the bad deeds 
    will be replaced by good. 

    Fifthly: 

    It should be noted that the 
    purpose behind praying for forgiveness and making du’a is to ward off bad 
    deeds with good, and to compensate for misdeeds. Hence it is not limited to 
    prayers for forgiveness in exclusion to other good deeds. Rather you can do 
    a good deed and dedicate its reward to the one about whom you gossiped, such 
    as giving charity on his behalf or offering him some help, or supporting him 
    at times of hardship, and trying to compensate him for the wrong you did as 
    much as you can. 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah 
    (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fatawa: 

    As for the rights of the one 
    who was wronged, they are not waived just because one repents. This is a 
    right and there is no difference between a killer and other wrongdoers. If a 
    person repents from wrongdoing, the rights of the one whom he wronged are 
    not waived because of his repentance, rather it is part of his repentance to 
    compensate him to a level commensurate with his wrongdoing. If he does not 
    compensate him in this world then he will inevitably compensate him in the 
    Hereafter. So the wrongdoer who has repented should do a lot of good deeds, 
    so that when those who have been wronged claim their rights, he will not end 
    up bankrupt. And if Allah wants to compensate the one who was wronged then 
    no one can prevent His bounty, such as if He wants to forgive sins less than 
    shirk for whomever He wills. 

    Hence in the hadeeth 
    (narration) about qasas (prescribed punishments), for which Jabir ibn 
    ‘Abd-Allah rode for a month to ‘Abd-Allah ibn Unays to hear it from his lips 
    – which was narrated by Imam Ahmad and others, and which al-Bukhari quoted 
    as evidence in his Saheeh (authentic compilation) – it says: “When the Day 
    of Resurrection comes, Allah will gather all creatures in a single plain so 
    that the announcer will be able to make them all hear his voice and the 
    watcher will be able to see all of them, then He will call them in a voice 
    that will be heard from afar just as it is heard from nearby: ‘I am the 
    Sovereign, I am the Judge. None of the people of Hell shall enter Hell if 
    they have any right due from any of the people of Paradise, until the score 
    is settled, and none of the people of Paradise shall enter Paradise if they 
    have any right due from any of the people of Hell, until the score is 
    settled.’” 

    And in Saheeh Muslim it is 
    narrated from Abu Sa’eed: “When the people of Paradise cross al-sirat (a 
    bridge) and stand on a bridge between Paradise and Hell, they will settle 
    their scores with one another, and when they are cleansed and purified, 
    permission will be given to them to enter Paradise.” 

    When Allah, may He be glorified 
    and exalted, said (interpretation of the meaning): “neither backbite one 
    another” – as gossip is a transgression against people’s honour – He then 
    said: “Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would 
    hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who 
    forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.”

    [49:12]

    So He told them to repent from 
    gossip, because it is a kind of wrongdoing. This applies if the one who was 
    wronged found out about the gossip. But if he gossiped about him or 
    slandered him and he did not know about it, it was said that one of the 
    conditions of repentance is telling him, and it was said that this is not 
    essential, which is the view of the majority. Both views were narrated from 
    Ahmad. But he should still do good things for the one who was wronged, such 
    as making du’a for him, praying for forgiveness for him, and doing good 
    deeds and giving him the reward for that, so as to make up for gossiping 
    about him and slandering him. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: The expiation for 
    gossip is praying for forgiveness for the one about whom you gossiped. End 
    quote. 

    And Allah knows best.