Is a person considered a slanderer if they state, 'So-and-so informed me that you committed adultery'?

Primary text

A person is not considered a slanderer when relaying information that someone else accused another of adultery (zinā), regardless of whether the accused denies the accusation or confirms it. This position is held by Al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, and the proponents of the School of Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y). The justification is that the speaker is merely reporting a past action of slander (reporting what someone else said), which is not an original act of slander themselves, analogous to bearing witness that someone else has already slandered another.