--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever…" description: "\"“They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever hear you backbiting and slandering? He said: I’m still not happy with myself to start with others.”\" — Ahmad ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/ahmad-musa-jibril-216677_backbiting_they-asked-a-wise-man-why-don-t-we-ever_2651726.jpg" --- # They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever hear you… ![“They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever hear you backbiting and slandering? He said: I’m still not happy with myself to start with others.” quote by Ahmad Musa Jibril](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/ahmad-musa-jibril-216677_backbiting_they-asked-a-wise-man-why-don-t-we-ever_2651726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/ahmad-musa-jibril-216677_backbiting_they-asked-a-wise-man-why-don-t-we-ever_2651726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/ahmad-musa-jibril-216677_backbiting_they-asked-a-wise-man-why-don-t-we-ever_2651726.jpg) > ““They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever hear you backbiting and slandering? He said: I’m still not happy with myself to start with others.”” Ahmad Musa Jibril ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wise man asserts that self‑contentment precedes any desire to criticize others, emphasizing personal responsibility before judgment. **In simple terms:** Be happy with yourself before judging others. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner happiness first. Themes wisdom self‑acceptance ethics personal growth humility Mood calm thoughtful inspirational Type Backbiting:0 Happy:1 Inspirational:1 Slandering:0 Tibetan buddhism:1 Wisdom:1 Wise:1 Wise man:1 Zen:1 Backbiting Slandering:0 Slandering Said:0 Hear Backbiting:0 When to use this quote - personal counseling - conflict resolution - ethical leadership - spiritual practice Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy moral psychology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What stops you from being happy alone? - How do you avoid judging others? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can linger despite contentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backbiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backbiting/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Slandering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slandering/) [Tibetan buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tibetan-buddhism/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/) [Zen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zen/) ## Related quotes > [I am being embezzled by a monstrous ring of accountants, estate planners and lawyers who are mercilessly slandering me and trying to kill my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-quaid/i-am-being-embezzled-by-a-monstrous-ring-of-accountants-estate/) [Randy Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-quaid/) > [No one from abroad can dictate to us whether Poles are allowed to defend themselves against slandering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-duda/no-one-from-abroad-can-dictate-to-us-whether-poles-are-allowed-to/) [Andrzej Duda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-duda/) > [I have no patience for those in the American Jewish community who just go around slandering people as anti-Semites without realizing that what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/i-have-no-patience-for-those-in-the-american-jewish-community-who/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Folk whose own behavior is most ridiculous are always to the fore in slandering others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/folk-whose-own-behavior-is-most-ridiculous-are-always-to-the-fore-in/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“They surrounded him day and night, eliminating every person likely to interfer; slandering, ridiculing and calumniating them in turns, they at last left him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-radziwill/they-surrounded-him-day-and-night-eliminating-every-person-likely-to/) Catherine Radziwill > [I am being embezzled from by this monstrous ring of accountants and estate planners and lawyers, who are mercilessly slandering me and trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-quaid/i-am-being-embezzled-from-by-this-monstrous-ring-of-accountants-and/) [Randy Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-quaid/) > [“A mistake does not make a shadow. The people who you hurt through the mistake and what they decide to say about it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-david-nevins/a-mistake-does-not-make-a-shadow-the-people-who-you-hurt-through-the/) Justin David Nevins > [“Don't call anyone a devil, because within you, you can experience hell and the devil, and the devil is nothing, but you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/don-t-call-anyone-a-devil-because-within-you-you-can-experience-hell/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [ “To talk \[negatively\] about someone specific is considered slander. You need to have a general understanding about things. Slandering someone is a sign of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/to-talk-negatively-about-someone-specific-is-considered-slander-you/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Does a rake deserve to possess anything of worth, since he chases everything in skirts and then imagines he can successfully hide his shame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-de-pizan/does-a-rake-deserve-to-possess-anything-of-worth-since-he-chases/) [Christine de Pizan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-de-pizan/) > [I'm tired of malicious articles slandering me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-m-tired-of-malicious-articles-slandering-me/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [“Backbiting is the attempt of one who is incapable of doing better himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-ali-ibn-abu-talib-a-s/backbiting-is-the-attempt-of-one-who-is-incapable-of-doing-better/) [Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-ali-ibn-abu-talib-a-s/) > [“There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/there-is-however-a-far-more-common-ailment-among-us-and-that-is-pride/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [... so far from entrenching human conduct within the gentle barriers of peace and love, religion has ever been, and now is, the deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/so-far-from-entrenching-human-conduct-within-the-gentle-barriers-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [“Flattery looks like friendship, just like a wolf looks like a dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice/flattery-looks-like-friendship-just-like-a-wolf-looks-like-a-dog/) [Oscar Auliq-Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-auliq-ice/) ## More Backbiting quotes > [“Flattery looks like friendship, just like a wolf looks like a dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice/flattery-looks-like-friendship-just-like-a-wolf-looks-like-a-dog/) [Oscar Auliq-Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-auliq-ice/) > [... so far from entrenching human conduct within the gentle barriers of peace and love, religion has ever been, and now is, the deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/so-far-from-entrenching-human-conduct-within-the-gentle-barriers-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [“There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/there-is-however-a-far-more-common-ailment-among-us-and-that-is-pride/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“Backbiting is the attempt of one who is incapable of doing better himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-ali-ibn-abu-talib-a-s/backbiting-is-the-attempt-of-one-who-is-incapable-of-doing-better/) [Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-ali-ibn-abu-talib-a-s/) > [Do you think... that men have always massacred each other, as they do today? Have they always been liars, cheats, traitors, brigands, weak, flighty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/do-you-think-that-men-have-always-massacred-each-other-as-they-do/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Many times, you are the single most significant and glorious thing that has ever happened in the lives of some people; they sit around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/many-times-you-are-the-single-most-significant-and-glorious-thing/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“Be warned: A person content to sit with you and criticize others will speak critically of you out of earshot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/be-warned-a-person-content-to-sit-with-you-and-criticize-others-will/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Best story of me was never told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-hoechlin/best-story-of-me-was-never-told/) [Jordan Hoechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-hoechlin/) > [“People who talk behind you, always left behind you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophieya/people-who-talk-behind-you-always-left-behind-you/) sophieya > [“Sometimes your dearest friend whom you reveal most of your secrets to becomes so deadly and unfriendly without knowing that they were not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sometimes-your-dearest-friend-whom-you-reveal-most-of-your-secrets-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Never speak ill of others. Moreover, if you find people engaged in backbiting and you can neither get away from the scene, nor prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khurram-murad/never-speak-ill-of-others-moreover-if-you-find-people-engaged-in/) [Khurram Murad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khurram-murad/) > [“The faith of a religious hypocrite can only be increased through backbiting!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/the-faith-of-a-religious-hypocrite-can-only-be-increased-through/) [Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/) > [“Fill your mind before you empty your mouth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habeeb-akande/fill-your-mind-before-you-empty-your-mouth/) [Habeeb Akande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/habeeb-akande/) > [Most of us waste our energy through chattering - endlessly chattering, gossiping, criticising, backbiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/most-of-us-waste-our-energy-through-chattering-endlessly-chattering/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Don’t be too fast to highlight the weaknesses of other people. That is the quickest way of exposing your own weaknesses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-be-too-fast-to-highlight-the-weaknesses-of-other-people-that-is/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) [Browse all 28 Backbiting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backbiting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They asked a wise man: Why don’t we ever hear you backbiting and slandering? 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