Malik related to me from al-Walid ibn Abdullah ibn Sayyad that
al-Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Hantab al-Makhzumi informed him that a
man asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, "What is backbiting?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "It is to mention about a man what he
does not want to hear." He said, "Messenger of Allah! Even if it is
true?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "If you utter something false, then it is slander."
Muwatta Malik Book 56, Hadith 10