So he offered him a large sum, and ‘Umar realized that he was unfit for office. The same applies in business dealings, and to testing boys and slaves known or reported to engage in sexual misconduct when a man wishes to purchase one of them. For an effeminate man is like a prostitute, and his repentance is like hers. People’s character may be ascertained through others’ testimony, through adverse or favorable assessments, or through testing and examination.

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Just as Allah has emphasized the gravity of sexual immorality, He has emphasized the gravity of falsely accusing someone of it—that is, slanderous accusations of illicit intercourse. He then said:

“And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses—lash them with eighty lashes.”

He then mentioned a man’s accusation against his wife and the mutual oaths of imprecation He prescribed in that case. He then related the account of those responsible for the slander, explaining the good this holds for the person falsely accused and lied about, and the sin incurred by the accuser. He also explained that, upon hearing such things, believers must think well of their fellow believers and say, “This is an obvious falsehood,” for the evidence offered for it is manifestly false. He then stated that it was an allegation without proof, saying:

“Why did they not produce four witnesses to it? Since they have not produced the witnesses, it is they who are the liars in Allah’s sight.”

He then stated that, were it not for His favor and mercy toward them, He would have punished them for what they had said.