وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُّبِينًا (58)
(33:58) Those who cause hurt to believing men and to believing women have invited upon themselves a calumny *109 and a manifest sin.
*109) This verse determines the definition of slander. It is to ascribe a fault to a person which he does not have, or an error which he has not committed. The Holy Prophet also has explained it. According to Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi, when he was asked as to what is ghibat (backbiting), he replied: 'It is to make mention of your brother in a manner derogatory to him. " The questioner said, "And if the fault is there in my brother?" . The Holy Prophet replied: `If the fault that you mentioned is there in him, you backbite him; if it is not there, you slandered him." Such an act is not only a moral sin, which will entail punishment in the Hereafter, but this verse also requires that in the law of an Islamic State also false allegation should be held as a culpable offence.