The old folks used to tell us, “Don’t air your dirty laundry!” (Forgive us for funkin’ up your fast with the thought of stanky garments in the wind, but dirty laundry outside on a clothesline is a strong metaphor and reminder to keep your personal business out of the streets.)
In recent years, Black Muslims reflecting on the 6th juz have written about inheritance, injustice, and strategies for confronting anti-Blackness. This juz includes parts of Surah An-Nisa and Al-Ma’idah (4:148-5:81), which discuss past prophets, the Last Supper, and invites People of the Book to Islam. This Ramadan, our focus lies on the first two ayat within Surah An-Nisa, in connection with that age-old saying.
Allah does not like negative thoughts to be voiced—except by those who have been wronged. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Whether you reveal or conceal a good or pardon an evil—surely Allah is Ever-Pardoning, Most Capable. — 4:149–4:148
Folks will tell you not to talk about certain actions, behaviors, or issues publicly. There are various ways to say it:
“Don’t gossip.”
“Don’t be a tattletale.”
“No snitching.” (Snitches get stitches!)
“Keep your business out the street.”
“Don’t talk about people behind their back.”
Or a favorite among Muslims, “Don’t backbite!”
If you sinned, don’t brag about it and make someone else a party to it. Repentance (tawba) is a private matter between you and Allah, so take your confession to Him.
Yet, often when Muslims discourage voicing issues publicly, condemning those who are “airing it out,” we only speak on the first part of the ayah: Don’t talk about evil publicly. In some instances, this is correct. If you sinned, don’t brag about it and make someone else a party to it. Repentance (tawba) is a private matter between you and Allah, so take your confession to Him. However, if a person has committed an evil or injustice, Allah allows an exception for the person who has been wronged to speak on it.
Now in the name of avoiding airing our dirty laundry, folks be quick to shut down those who’ve been harmed by injustice. But this amplifies the injustice by silencing the mistreated and forcing them to sit with the filth someone else piled up on them. In the following verse, we see a few options for a brother or sister who has experienced a transgression or been wronged.
Whether you reveal or conceal a good or pardon an evil—surely Allah is Ever-Pardoning, Most Capable. — 4:149
A person may choose to reveal an evil, and they would be within their right to do so. They may also choose to conceal what they experienced. And they may choose to pardon the wrongdoing. Pardoning the evil may be best for our own well-being and inner peace, instead of holding on to it alone, suffering in silent agony. Nevertheless, all these options are acceptable as they fall within their rights. A sister or brother living with stains and pain should not be silenced when airing their grievances about injustices. If someone is harmed and speaks out against the injustice, instead of silencing them, we should find ways to repair the harm and/or prevent it from reoccurring.
Hand-washing clothes is hard work. Often, the responsibility of doing the laundry—righting wrongs, making peace between the believers—falls on a few individuals, or it remains unaddressed altogether. Those who have been wronged, are left to contend with dirty clothes in the bedroom or closet. Instead of complaining about the airing of dirty laundry, let’s strive to keep all our clothes clean in the first place. And if someone’s wardrobe gets soiled in this life, let’s wash the laundry and seek Allah’s forgiveness. This means our communities will have to invest in counseling, harm reduction, restorative justice, and community care practices. “… adhere to justice, for that is closer to awareness of God. …” (Qur’an 5:8)
Let us be so fresh and so clean, true to each other, and pleasing to Allah, so we ain’t gotta worry about spreading the stench of injustice.
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Sundiata Al-Rashid is Amir of Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland. He is also a doctoral student in Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
Rasheed El Shabazz is a journalist, historian, and urban planner based in California. He is currently a Black Muslim Experiences Research Fellow with the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), focusing on the housing experiences of African American Muslims in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
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