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The question

What is the ruling on public slander with the intention of insult, in cases where societal custom dictates the use of slanderous words for insult?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

A Muslim is commanded to guard his tongue, for every word a servant utters is recorded against him. A person may utter a word that casts him into the Hellfire, further than the distance between the East and the West. Slandering a Muslim is one of the major sins, and likewise, insulting him is forbidden, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Insulting a Muslim is فسق (disobedience), and fighting him is كفر (disbelief)." The legal difference between them is that slander (القذف) is accusing a person of adultery or denying his lineage, and its prescribed punishment is eighty lashes. As for insult (السب), it is reviling someone with words other than that, and it does not have a prescribed punishment, but rather a discretionary one (التعزير). The fact that listeners know the accuser is lying does not affect the ruling of slander, nor does common societal practice permit it. However, if the expression is ambiguous and not explicit slander, then reference is made to custom: if people consider it slander, then it is slander.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
129794
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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