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Humility • Contentment • Generosity • Controlling Anger • Truthfulness • Hilm (forbearance) • Asceticism • Bravery • Chastity • Insaf (Equity) • Silat al-Rahim • Wara' • Islah dhat al-bayn

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Hubris • Greed • Envy • Lie • Backbiting • Namima (Talebearing) • Miserliness • Disobedience to Parents • 'Ujb (self-conceit) • Sum'a • Cutting blood relation • Spreading grave sins • Ingratitude • Hypocrisy • Tabdhir

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Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi • Ahmad al-Naraqi • Sayyid 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i • Sayyid Rida Baha' al-Dini • Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Dastghayb • Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

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Qur'an • Nahj al-balagha • Misbah al-shari'a wa miftah al-haqiqa • Makarim al-Akhlaq • Al-Mahajjat al-bayda' • Tanbih al-khawatir wa nuzhat al-nawazir • Jami' al-sa'adat • Mi'raj al-sa'ada • Al-Muraqabat

Tajassus refers to the act of searching for and acquiring information about the concealed affairs of others. In the Qur'an, particularly in the Qur'an 49:12, this practice is explicitly classified as haram (forbidden). Scholars differentiate between the terms "tahassus" and "tajassus": the former denotes the pursuit of information with a positive motive, often to ascertain truth or provide aid, while the latter refers to covertly investigating the secrets and faults of others with malicious intent, an act closely associated with moral corruption.

According to scholars of ethics, the motives behind tajassus vary. Inquisition without a justifiable cause is deemed haram, as is any investigation intended to dishonor or damage an individual's reputation. Conversely, under specific circumstances—such as preserving the Islamic governance system or averting widespread corruption—tajassus driven by rational and protective motives is considered permissible. Additionally, intelligence gathering within formal organizations and vetting processes for selecting public officials or a spouse are also considered permissible forms of this act.

According to Islamic narrations, the spiritual and social consequences of tajassus include the divine exposure of the perpetrator's own secrets, as well as the fostering of isolation, pessimism, and rancor. Rectifying this behavioral vice requires the eradication of its psychological roots, namely cynicism, envy, and arrogance.

Conceptology

Etymologically and conceptually, tajassus entails searching for[1] and acquiring information concerning matters[2] that individuals prefer to keep hidden.[3] Within the context of the Qur'an, the term specifically refers to probing into the moral slips or private faults of believers,[4] a practice categorically forbidden (haram) by the Qur'an 49:12.[5] Exegetes note that the verse's prohibition primarily safeguards individual privacy, emphasizing that one must not unjustifiably interfere in the personal lives of others or the broader society.[6]

From a broader social perspective, tajassus encompasses intelligence gathering[7] and unwarranted probing into private affairs.[8] This is formally distinguished from professions such as journalism, which, despite involving societal investigation, focuses on reporting events that occur openly and transparently in the public sphere.[9]

Difference between Tahassus and Tajassus

Lexicographers and scholars draw a distinct line between "tahassus" and "tajassus." "Tahassus" is generally defined as the pursuit of news with a benevolent motive—often to ascertain facts or alleviate concerns. Conversely, "tajassus" involves a covert, non-sensory search intended to uncover the secrets and moral failings of others, driven by negative motives that lead to corruption.[10] Additional interpretations suggest that tahassus pertains to secretly listening or eavesdropping on conversations, whereas tajassus implies an active, practical investigation into individuals' concealed faults.[11]

Types of Tajassus based on Motive

According to Islamic jurists, engaging in espionage (tajassus) on behalf of enemy factions is strictly haram. Such an individual may be legally classified as a corruptor on earth, a determination exclusively reserved for a qualified religious judge.[12] Based on underlying motives, tajassus is typically categorized into several distinct types:

  • Inquisitive Tajassus: Driven by mere curiosity rather than a rational motive, this involves obtaining private information without justifiable cause.[13] This practice is unequivocally haram,[14] as Islam vehemently condemns unwarranted intrusion.[15] Should this intrusion result in harm, the perpetrator is legally obligated to compensate for the damages incurred.[16]
  • Malicious Tajassus: Conducted with the specific intent of dishonoring individuals and ruining their reputations, aiming solely to damage their social or personal credibility. This is strictly impermissible.
  • Protective Tajassus: Initiated with necessary, overriding motives—such as preserving the Islamic system, preventing systemic corruption, or mediating peace. This form is deemed permissible under stringent conditions,[17] provided it genuinely serves the public interest.[18] It is considered justifiable, particularly when countering pervasive conspiracies or widespread societal corruption.[19]
  • Rational Tajassus: Employed by formal intelligence organizations to maintain national security or prevent criminality, this is permissible provided Islamic legal criteria are met.[20] Personal decisions requiring intensive background checks, such as vetting officials or selecting a spouse, also fall under this permitted exception.[21] Historically, this is supported by the actions of Imam al-Husayn (a), who, upon departing Medina for Mecca, entrusted his will to Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya and assigned him to act as an intelligence gatherer (spy) in Medina to monitor the situation.[22]

Consequences and Treatment of Tajassus

Based on Islamic narrations, engaging in tajassus provokes divine retribution, causing God to expose the hidden secrets of the one who illicitly probed into others' affairs.[23] Sociologically, it breeds loneliness, hatred, and pessimism, systematically alienating the perpetrator from friends and healthy communal relationships.[24] Additional narrations identify the generation of rancor and pervasive suspicion as deeply damaging outcomes of this vice.[25]

According to ethics researchers, curing the tendency toward tajassus requires uprooting foundational psychological vices such as cynicism,[26] envy,[27] rancor, and arrogance.[28] Furthermore, harboring unwarranted suspicions about the actions of others frequently serves as a gateway to both tajassus and backbiting.[29]

In the ethical treatise Mi'raj al-sa'ada, a poignant narrative recounts the Prophet (s) walking at night with his wife Safiyya when a man from the Ansar encountered them. To preempt any baseless assumptions, the Prophet (s) proactively identified Safiyya, explaining that Satan can easily whisper into human hearts and precipitate their ruin. al-Naraqi derives two essential ethical principles from this account: first, believers must actively resist cultivating bad assumptions about others; second, individuals—even those as immaculate as the Prophet (s)—should consciously avoid placing themselves in situations that invite unfounded accusation or suspicion.[30]

Notes

  1. ↑ Dihkhudā, Lughat-nāma, under the word "tajassus".
  2. ↑ Mu'īn, Lughat-nāma, 1386 Sh, under the word "tajassus".
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, Islamic Publications Office, vol. 18, p. 484.
  4. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majma' al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 9, p. 205.
  5. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 18, pp. 324 and 325.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 22, pp. 187 and 188.
  7. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftā'āt, 1427 AH, vol. 3, p. 589.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, Islamic Publications Office, vol. 18, p. 484.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftā'āt, 1427 AH, vol. 3, p. 589.
  10. ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, al-Nihāya fī gharīb al-ḥadīth, 1399 AH, vol. 1, p. 272.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 2, p. 348.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftā'āt, 1427 AH, vol. 2, p. 500.
  13. ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmū'a-yi āthār, 1390 Sh, vol. 26, p. 437.
  14. ↑ Khāmina'ī, Ajwibat al-istiftā'āt, section on tajassus and revealing secrets, issues 1390 and 1392; Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftā'āt, 1427 AH, vol. 3, p. 147, question 443 and vol. 2, p. 364, question 1077.
  15. ↑ Muṭahharī, Jihād-i islāmī wa āzādī-yi 'aqīda, p. 102.
  16. ↑ Khāmina'ī, Ajwibat al-istiftā'āt, section on tajassus and revealing secrets, issue 1392.
  17. ↑ Narāqī, Mi'rāj al-sa'āda, 1377 Sh, p. 8.
  18. ↑ Kharāzī, "Kāwushī dar ḥukm-i fiqhī-yi tajassus", p. 57.
  19. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftā'āt, 1427 AH, vol. 3, p. 147.
  20. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 355.
  21. ↑ Ilhāmīniyā, Fiqh-i mudīriyyat, Ahl al-Bayt (a) Research and Publishing Institute, p. 105; Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 357.
  22. ↑ Sha'rānī, Abu l-Ḥasan, Dam' al-sujūm, 1374 AH, p. 33.
  23. ↑ Āmidī al-Tamīmī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, 1410 AH, p. 638.
  24. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 78, p. 253.
  25. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 351.
  26. ↑ Ilhāmīniyā, Fiqh-i mudīriyyat, Ahl al-Bayt (a) Research and Publishing Institute, p. 104.
  27. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 358.
  28. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 351.
  29. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, 1377 Sh, vol. 3, p. 323.
  30. ↑ Narāqī, Mi'rāj al-sa'āda, Hijrat Publications Institute, p. 234.

References

  • Ibn al-Athīr, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad, al-Nihāya fī gharīb al-ḥadīth, ed. Ṭāhir Aḥmad al-Zāwī - Maḥmūd Muḥammad al-Ṭanāḥī, Beirut, Maktabat al-'Ilmiyya Publication, 1399 AH.
  • Ilhāmīniyā, 'Alī Aṣghar, Fiqh-i mudīriyyat, Tehran, Ahl al-Bayt (a) Research and Publishing Institute, first edition, n.d.
  • Khāmina'ī, Sayyid 'Alī, Ajwibat al-istiftā'āt, Tehran, Dār al-Naba', first edition, 1415 AH.
  • Kharāzī, Sayyid Muḥsin, "Kāwushī dar ḥukm-i fiqhī-yi tajassus", Fiqh-i Ahl-i Bayt (a) magazine, no. 26, 1380 Sh.
  • Dihkhudā, 'Alī Akbar et al., Lughat-nāma, Tehran, Tehran University Publications, second edition, 1377 Sh.
  • Sayyid Raḍī, Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn, Nahj al-balāgha, trans. Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Qom, Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) School, first edition, 1384 Sh.
  • Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, Beirut, Al-A'lami Institute, second edition, 1390 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan, Majma' al-bayān, ed. Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Beirut, Dar al-Ma'rifa, second edition, 1408 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir, Biḥār al-anwār, Beirut, Al-Wafa Institute, second edition, 1403 AH.
  • Muṭahharī, Murtuḍā, Majmū'a-yi āthār, Tehran, Sadra Publication, 1390 Sh.
  • Mu'īn, Muḥammad, Lughat-nāma, Tehran, Adena, fourth edition, 1386 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Akhlāq dar Qur'ān, Qom, Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) School, first edition, 1377 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Istiftā'āt, Qom, Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) School, second edition, 1427 AH.
  • Narāqī, Mullā Aḥmad, Mi'rāj al-sa'āda, Qom, Hijrat Publications, fifth edition, 1377 Sh.
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