وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: «أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْغِيبَةُ؟» قَالُوا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: «ذِكْرُكَ أَخَاكَ بِمَا يَكْرَهُ». قِيلَ: أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ فِي أَخِي مَا أَقُولُ؟ قَالَ: «إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ». (Reported by Muslim)
Translation: Abu Hurayrah reports that the Prophet ﷺ asked, “Do you know what backbiting is?” The Companions replied that Allah and His Messenger knew best. He explained, “Mentioning your brother in a way he dislikes.” When asked whether the statement was actually true, he replied: if it is true, you have backbitten him; if it is untrue, you have slandered him.
The dialogue corrects a common error: truthfulness alone does not make every negative statement about an absent person permissible.