"Believers, stay away from conjecture; acting upon some conjecture may lead to sin. (49:12)"
One must not spy and inspect the talebearers' news:
"Do not spy on one another or backbite. (49:12)"
One must avoid bearing the tales of the talebearers, lest he becomes talebearer and backbiter in the same time.
It is related that, once, a man bore some tales about another before Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) who said to him: "We will inspect that which you have born to us. If it is true, we will hate you. If it is not, we will punish you. If you like, now, we may overlook the matter." The man asked Amir ul-Mu'minin (a) to overlook it. 282
Mohammed ibn al-Fudhayl narrated that he asked Imam al-Kadhim (a) what he should do if trustworthy people inform him against a man, but that man would deny when he is faced. The Imam (a) instructed: "You should belie even your hearing and sight if they tell you something wrong about your believing brother. Moreover, if fifty swearing witnesses testify before you against your believing brother, but he would deny their testimonies, you should believe him and disapprove the fifty witnesses. Never inform against your believing brother anything that he dislikes to divulge or anything that defames his personality, lest you are one of those about whom Allah says: "Those who like to publicize indecency among the believers will face painful torment in this world and in the life to come. Allah knows what you do not know. (24:19)" 283
As a completion of talebearing, we provide calumny, which implies informing against people for the purpose of destroying them. On that account, calumny is regarded as the most hideous form of talebearing. In most cases, the victims of calumny are the celebrities and the high-ranking whom are envied for their virtues. As the envious