As the poet said:
I can never escape a slanderer’s tongue,
even were I ensconced in a cave atop a rugged peak;
And who among mankind emerges unscathed,
even if he vanished from them between an eagle’s wings?

Since this is the reality, it suffices me to keep my reply within the limits of the Sacred Law: I shall not meet the aggressor with aggression, nor the fabricator with fabrication. I will simply portray him as he truly is, so that people may beware of him—lest they be misled by his misguidance or swerve with his deviation from the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is all the more necessary for those who are newly acquainted with him, who may be impressed by his outward appearance yet know nothing of his real condition, just as the poet warned:

Never let a “friend” beguile you
with mere appearances until you have tried him.
How many a companion kept me blind—
for a time his looks deceived me!
He would greet me with a radiant face
and scatter words like shining pearls;
But when I examined what lay out of sight,
I found no trace of the love he claimed.
So count none as a brother save the one
whose hidden affection equals what he displays;
And if you are blessed to find such a man,
store him away as a treasure to cherish.