Calling someone a fornicator and a thief without proof

Question

Question: Zayd is an eminent scholar (‘alim) and learned man; he runs dozens of institutions, thousands of people are his disciples; he does not attend gatherings where reprehensible things are done, does not accept anyone’s invitation, and lives on lawful earnings. Now some people, without any proof, call him a fornicator, a debauchee and a thief. What is the punishment in the Shari‘a for those who say this?

Answer

To call anyone a fornicator without proof recognized by the Shari‘a is a grave crime, the punishment for which is the hadd of qadhf (eighty lashes). Making other false accusations is also a major sin (kabira). However, the conditions for carrying out the hadd of qadhf are not present here, so it is not carried out.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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