Allah, ta^ala, said in the Qur’an, Ayah 8 of Surat Qaf, what means: “Whatever one says, be it good or evil, two angels Raqib and ^Atid write it.”
The wise person should be keen to protect his tongue from everything that is evil.
Among what is evil is: gossip, fabrication, and tale-bearing. These three matters are among the sins of the tongue and are bad habits.
At-Tabaraniyy confirmed that one of the Companions addressed his tongue by saying what means: “O tongue, say what is good and you will gain, and keep silent about what is bad before you regret it. I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘Most of the human’s sins are from his tongue.’”
Gossip means to mention a matter related to a Muslim in his absence in a way that he hates. If a Muslim person was short, and hated for that to be said about him, and someone else said in his absence, “so and so is short,” then this is considered among the unlawful gossip that the Prophet prohibited.
Allah, ta^ala, said in the Qur’an, Ayah 12 of Suratul-Hujurat, what means: “Do not make gossip against one another.”
Fabrication is mentioning untrue matters that a Muslim hates to be mentioned about him. It is more sinful than gossip.
In a Hadith related by Muslim, the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, addressed the Companions, saying what means: “Do you know what gossip is?”
They said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He said: “Mentioning your Muslim brother with what he hates.”
It was said: “What if what I said was true?”
The Prophet said: “If it was true, then you have committed gossip about him. However, if it was untrue, then you have committed buhtan—that is, fabrication—against him.”
The one who listens to the prohibited gossip has committed one of the sins of the ear. One must forbid people to gossip.
Tale-bearing is relating the words of one person to another with the intent of making trouble between them.
An example of this is relating inciting words to two people who like each other, with the intent of breaking them up or making them hate each other.
Allah, ta^ala, dispraised the person who slanders the person who slanders others and spreads tale-bearing in the Qur’an, Ayah 11 of Suratul-Qalam.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said: “La yadkhulul-Jannata qattat.”
Qattat is a term for the one who practices tale-bearing. This Hadith means that he will not be among the first people to enter Paradise; rather, the qattat will enter it after receiving the punishment that he deserves in Hellfire