The most diseased form of Gheeba

Ibn Jawzi (رحمه الله) said,

“The most diseased form of backbiting is when people induce others to stay away from some people, while having others look towards them. They combine the acts of dispraising the one mentioned, earning praise for themselves. Due to their ignorance they are oblivious to the fact that they are falling into two sins: backbiting and showing-off. 

For example a person is mentioned within their circle and they say: “Praise be to Allaah we have no concern to visit the Sultan and strive for the vanities of this world,” or they say about him, “We seek refuge in Allaah from deficient modesty, We ask Allaah to save us from being immodest.” 

Through these kinds of words they instruct people to see the shortcomings of someone else (whilst trying to establish that they are free from that shortcoming in order that people follow them and not the person they backbit).”

{Minhajul Qasideen:: vol. 2 pg. 680}