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Fatwa CenterDoubting whether what one listened to was backbiting
Question
Assalaamu alaykum, Scholar. Today, a Muslim friend of our family came to repair some lights in our home. This Muslim brother is our friend, and he is unemployed. After he went back home, my mother and my father had a conversation in front of me, and my father said something like, "Perhaps I should have paid him." (We do not pay him because he is our friend.) Then my mother answered, "Yes, off course you should have paid him for the time that he spent and because he is unemployed." Here is the problem, what my mother said, "he is unemployed" looks like backbiting to me since it is a deficiency in our brother. However I do not know whether he would care about that or not. What do you think, Scholar, was this speech backbiting? Do I have to repent for having listened to backbiting? May Allaah bless you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
There is no backbiting in what your mother said, as she only explained that her sympathy for that man due to his being unemployed. There is nothing wrong in it, and you are not sinful for listening to this.
You must avoid Waswaas (obsessive doubts) and not get carried away with every whisper that the devil whispers to you. Rather, you should repel it, as that is the best treatment for the whispers of the devil after seeking the help of Allah and mentioning Him as much as possible.
Allah knows best.
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