Sallamu alaykum I've been trying really hard to control my tongue, in fact I don't even speak half as much as I used to. So far it's going good al-hamdulilah. Before I was always the 'joker' of the group and was known for my sarcastic comments. I would speak to my friends (girls ofcourse) on the phone for hours, and all we would be doing is backbiting subhanallah. Al-hamdulilah I've become more practising, and this has led me to change my character (for the better) I made the conscious decision to not only stop speaking about others, but also I would no longer listen to others speaking about others. I even saw something with my own eyes, that was scandalous but kept it to myself which was a first. I was biting my tongue the whole day & itching to tell somebody but I didn't al-hamdulilah. I just focus on my own faults now, not others. Anyway my problem is the reaction I'm having from other people. In one day, nearly everybody I came in contact with wanted to tell me something about so-and-so. I can't blame them because that was our speech, that's what I used to indulge in. But I stopped every single one and said I don't wish to hear it. So far, people have just stopped talking to me. I even had a sister laugh at me and roll her eyes. Today is another day, and again people want to tell me something about so-and so. When I want to quote something from the sunnah or Quran these people think I'm trying to act righteous or that I think I'm better than them when I don't. I want to please Allah (swt) .. so I'm not going to let them speak about others to me. I just want advice on how to tell these people in a nice way I'm not interested because saying 'I'm not interested' or that's haram makes them and then they Also people are counting down the days that I go back to how I used to be. Subhanallah. They think this is a phase. The fact that I've cut off all non-mahram, and I dress more religiously is making them I spend most my days alone now, and pray to Allah that he increases my imaan because I don't wish to turn away from the truth. I just want advice on how I can deal with backbiting, because the way I'm doing it now is just getting a lot of and I'm wondering if there's a nicer way to go about it? Sorry I made the post long.