The second is to attribute to him something that is not true of him.
If he mentions something true of him that he would dislike hearing, and does so in his absence, this is the backbiting that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden His servants, saying:
“And do not backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Ever-Accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.” [Al-Hujurāt: 12]
Nothing is required for this except remorse, seeking Allah’s forgiveness, and seeking pardon from the person who was backbitten. But if he says it to his face, intending to disparage and belittle him, this constitutes vilification. It calls for discretionary discipline, taking into account the circumstances of both the speaker and the person addressed.
Section
The second category—attributing to someone something that is not true of him—is divided into two types:
The first is to accuse him of an indecent act punishable by the prescribed penalty for unlawful intercourse, or to allege that he was conceived through an indecent act warranting that penalty, by denying that he is his father’s son.
The second is to accuse him of something whose perpetrator does not incur the prescribed penalty for unlawful intercourse, whether it warrants another prescribed penalty or something more severe.
If he accuses him of something whose perpetrator does not incur the prescribed penalty for unlawful intercourse, this has the same ruling as verbal abuse. The offender is subject to discretionary discipline, taking into account the circumstances of both the speaker and the person spoken about, whether he says it in that person’s absence or to his face.
But if he accuses him of something whose perpetrator incurs the prescribed penalty for unlawful intercourse, this is the accusation that Allah has forbidden His servants. He has cursed its perpetrator in this world and the Hereafter and threatened him with a tremendous punishment, saying:
“Indeed, those who accuse chaste, unsuspecting, believing women” [Al-Nūr: 23].
By “chaste women,” He means