Namīma refers, for the most part, to what is done by a person who mixes and adds everything said on a subject when conveying another's words. It is like when you say that someone has said such and such about you.
However, namīma is not limited to this. Its definition also includes the disclosure of things whose revelation is disliked. In this regard, it makes no difference whether the one who originally spoke or the one to whom the words are conveyed dislikes it. Even a third party may dislike it. There is no distinction whether this disclosure is made through speech, writing, ishāra (gesture or sign), or allusion. Likewise, it makes no difference whether the conveyed matter is an action or a word. Nor is there any distinction whether the matter disclosed is a fault, a deficiency, or something that does not exist (all of these fall under namīma). The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of namīma is the tearing away of the veil from a secret or from a situation whose disclosure would be disliked. If a person observes any unpleasant state in others, what befits him is to remain silent about it unless speaking of it would benefit a Muslim or remove a sin. (Iḥyā’, III, 192-193)