been consulted; for the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said in an authentic hadith:

“Religion is sincere counsel; religion is sincere counsel,” repeating it three times.

They asked, “For whom, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “For Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and their common people.” (1)

The same applies when scholars identify someone who has erred in transmitting a report from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—or has deliberately lied about him or about someone from whom knowledge is transmitted. It likewise applies when they identify someone who has adopted a mistaken opinion concerning a religious matter, whether theoretical or practical. If a person speaks about him with knowledge and fairness, intending sincere counsel, Allah Most High will reward him for doing so. This is especially true when the person being discussed calls others to an innovation, for his condition must then be made known to the people. Indeed, protecting them from his harm is more important than protecting them from the harm of a highway robber.

A person who speaks on the basis of his considered judgment in matters of knowledge and religion is subject to the same ruling as others who exercise such judgment. He may be mistaken in his judgment or he may be correct. Each of two men who are in conflict, whether verbally or physically, may be exercising his considered judgment and believe that he is in the right. Both may even be mistaken yet forgiven, as we previously mentioned regarding similar disputes that arose among the Companions.

For this reason, one should refrain from discussing the disputes that arose among such people, whether they were Companions or those who came after them (2). If two Muslims quarrel over a matter that then passes, while other people have no connection to it and do not know what truly happened, their discussion of it is speech (3) devoid of knowledge and fairness and entails wrongfully harming both men (4). Even if they knew that the two men had sinned or erred, mentioning that would be