How a tale-bearer should repent

Question

If someone repents from tale-bearing (namima), will his repentance be accepted or not — or must he obtain forgiveness from those people about whom he has carried tales? And if the people about whom he carried tales have died, what is the way to salvation?

Answer

He should repent to God and ask those people for forgiveness. If he said some false things about them to someone, he should also tell that person: “I said such-and-such about so-and-so; it was false and a lie, and I repent of it.” If those people have died, he should pray for their forgiveness and make isal al-thawab (dedicating the reward of good deeds)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.