2-90 Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutevakil - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar quoted Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Imran , on the authority of Abu Abdullah al-Razi, on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn al-Nue’man, on the authority of Asbat ibn Muhammad who linked it up through a chain of narrators to the Prophet (MGB),

“Gossiping is worse than committing adultery.” The Prophet (MGB) was asked, “O Prophet of God! How could that be so?” The Prophet (MGB) replied, “One who has committed adultery can repent and God would accept his repentance, but if one who has gossiped repents, God would not accept his repentance until the one he gossiped about forgives him.”