in one of the two views, because his confirmation relates back to what the other said, as evidenced by the case where if one says: 'You owe me a thousand,' and the other says: 'You have spoken the truth,' it is an admission of it. If he says: 'Give me this garment of mine,' and the other says: 'You have spoken the truth,' it is an admission. There is another view [in the school] that he is not a slanderer, and this is the position of Zufar; because it is possible that he intended to confirm him in a matter other than slander. If he said: 'So-and-so informed me that you committed zina,' he is not a slanderer, regardless of whether the one being informed about denies or confirms him. Al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y) held this view. Abu al-Khattab said: There is another view that he is a slanderer if the other person denies him. 'Ata' and Malik held this view, and something similar is narrated from al-Zuhri, because he conveyed an accusation of zina. Our evidence is that he merely informed [the person] that he had been slandered, so it does not constitute slander, just as if he bore witness against a man that he had slandered a person.

Section: If a man says to another, 'You are more adulterous (azna) than so-and-so,' or 'the most adulterous of people,' he is a slanderer of him. Is he also a slanderer of the second person? There are two views regarding this. One is that he is a slanderer of him. The Qadi chose this view because he attributed zina to both of them and made one of them more emphatic in it than the other; for the form 'af'al' (the comparative/superlative) is for differentiation, and it necessitates that the two mentioned parties share in the basic action while one is favored over the other in it, like saying: 'More generous than Hatim.' The second [view] is that he is a slanderer of the addressee only, because the word 'af'al' may be used for one who is alone in an action, as God the Almighty said: 'Is he who guides to the truth more worthy (ahaqq) to be followed, or he who cannot guide unless he is guided?' And He, the Almighty, said: 'Which of the two parties is more worthy (ahaqq) of security?' And Lot said: 'These daughters of mine are purer (athar) for you,' meaning from the rear of men, and there is no purity in them. Al-Shafi'i and the People of Opinion said: It is not slander for the first nor for the second, unless he intends it as slander. Our evidence is that the literal usage of the word dictates what we have mentioned, so it is interpreted accordingly, just as if he had said: 'You are an adulterer.'