Short answer
Accusing a chaste person of zina without four witnesses is qadhf, one of the seven destructive sins. Under Islamic law a court gives the accuser eighty lashes and rejects his testimony. In the Hanafi school his testimony is never accepted again, even after he repents; the other schools accept it after repentance. In the Hereafter such people are cursed.
Qadhf of a muhsan (an adult, sane, free Muslim known to be chaste) is a major sin with a hadd of eighty lashes, carried out only by a lawful court when the accused person demands it. In the Hanafi school the accuser's testimony is rejected for life as part of the punishment; repentance removes the sin but not this bar.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The slanderer's testimony is accepted again after he repents.
- Maliki
- The slanderer's testimony is accepted again after he repents.
- Hanbali
- The slanderer's testimony is accepted again after he repents.
Explanation
Islam guards a person's honour as it guards life and property. The Quran says that those who accuse chaste women and do not bring four witnesses are to be lashed eighty times, their testimony is never accepted, and they are the defiantly disobedient. It also says that those who accuse chaste, unaware, believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter. The Prophet ﷺ listed slandering chaste believing women among the seven sins that destroy.
These verses came down after the slander against Aishah, when hypocrites spread a false story and some believers repeated it. Allah declared her innocent and taught the believers that they should have said at once: this is an obvious lie.
In practice:
- Rumours count. Saying a woman "has a past", sharing screenshots or hinting about her in a group chat is the same sin in kind, even when no court is involved.
- The punishment belongs to the state. Families and individuals may never carry out a hadd themselves.
- Men are protected too. The ruling covers accusing a chaste man.
- Spouses have their own process, li'an, when a husband accuses his wife.
If you have said such a thing, repent, take it back with the people you told, and ask the person you wronged to forgive you if that will not cause more harm. If you are the one slandered, Allah knows the truth. See what is backbiting.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:4
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا۟ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَآءَ فَٱجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَٰنِينَ جَلْدَةًۭ وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا۟ لَهُمْ شَهَٰدَةً أَبَدًۭا ۚ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْفَٰسِقُونَ ﴿٤﴾
And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient,
Sets the punishment of eighty lashes and rejected testimony.
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:23
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتِ ٱلْغَٰفِلَٰتِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ لُعِنُوا۟ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ ﴿٢٣﴾
Indeed, those who [falsely] accuse chaste, unaware and believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter; and they will have a great punishment
Slanderers of chaste women are cursed in this world and the next.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2766
Sahih... وقذف المحصنات المؤمنات الغافلات ...
"And slandering chaste, unaware believing women."
Qadhf is one of the seven destructive sins.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hudud, chapter on the hadd of qadhf. Eighty lashes for qadhf of a muhsan; his testimony is not accepted even after repentance.
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Hudud, the conditions of qadhf. Defines who counts as muhsan for qadhf.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Hudud, the hadd of qadhf. The slanderer's testimony is accepted after repentance.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.