Q: The Hadith of Rasulullah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam states: "He who defends the honour of his (Muslim) brother, Allah will secure his face against the Fire on the Day of Resurrection." [Jami al-Tirmidhi]
1. I have been in situations where Muslims (especially Ulama) are defamed. This sometimes happens in face to face conversations and sometimes on social media. I feel that it is my duty to defend my Muslim brother. However, a person told me that if I do not know the background to the entire situation/incident, I should keep silent and I should not defend my Muslim brother.
I wish to ascertain whether or not I should defend my Muslim brother in such situations despite my insufficient knowledge of the entire background.
2. The person who told me this explains that if I do defend my Muslim brother in such a situation without full knowledge of the background, I am indirectly defaming and doubting the person who passed on the information. Is this the correct understanding?