Malik related to me from Zurayq ibn Hakim al-Ayli that a mancalled Misbah asked his son for help and he thought him unnecessarilyslow. When the son came, his father said to him, "O fornicator."Zurayq said, "So the son asked me to help him against the father. WhenI wanted to flog him, his son said, 'By Allah, if you flog him, I willacknowledge that I have committed fornication.' When he said that, thesituation was confused for me, so I wrote about it to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz who was the governor at that time, and I mentioned it to him.Umar wrote me to permit his pardon."Zurayq said, "I wrote toUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz also, 'What do you think about a man who isslandered or his parents are slandered and both or only one of themare dead?' He said, Umar wrote to me, 'If he forgives, his pardon ispermitted for himself. If his parents are slandered and one or both ofthem are dead, take the judgement of the Book of Allah for it unlesshe wants to veil it.' "Yahya said, "I heard Malik say, 'Thatis because the slandered man might fear that if that is unveiled abouthim, a clear proof might be established. If it is according to what wehave described, his pardon is permitted."
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 41, Hadith 18
Arabic reference: Book 41, Hadith 1520