Surah 24. An-Nur

Verily, numerous among you are those who would falsely accuse others of unchastity:¹² [but, O you who are thus wronged,] deem it not a bad thing for you: nay, it is good for you!¹³ [As for the slanderers,] unto every one of them [will be accounted] all that he has earned by [thus] sinning; and awesome suffering awaits any of them who takes it upon himself to enhance this [sin]!¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "those who brought forth the lie (al-ifk, here denoting a false accusation of unchastity) are a numerous group ('usbah) among you". The term 'usbah signifies any group of people, of indeterminate number, banded together for a particular purpose (Taj al-'Arus).-According to all the commentators, the passage comprising verses {11-20} relates to an incident which occurred on the Prophet's return from the campaign against the tribe of Mustaliq in the year 5 H. The Prophet's wife 'A'ishah, who had accompanied him on that expedition, was inadvertently left behind when the Muslims struck camp before dawn. After having spent several hours alone, she was found by one of the Prophet's Companions, who led her to the next halting-place of the army. This incident gave rise to malicious insinuations of misconduct on the part of 'A'ishah; but these rumours were short-lived, and her innocence was established beyond all doubt. - As is the case with all Qur'anic allusions to historical events, this one, too, is primarily meant to bring out an ethical proposition valid for all times and all social circumstances: and this is the reason why the grammatical construction of the above passage is such that the past-tense verbs occuring in verses {11-16} can be - and, I believe, should be - understood as denoting the present tense.

I.e., in the sight of God: for, the unhappiness caused by unjust persecution confers - as does every undeserved and patiently borne suffering - a spiritual merit on the person thus afflicted. Cf. the saying of the Prophet, quoted by Bukhari and Muslim: "Whenever a believer is stricken with any hardship, or pain, or anxiety, or sorrow, or harm, or distress - even if it be a thorn that has hurt him - God redeems thereby some of his failings."

I.e., by stressing, in a legally and morally inadmissible manner, certain "circumstantial" details or aspects of the case in order to make the slanderous, unfounded allegation more believable.

Those who concocted the slander are from a clique among you. Do not regard this incident as only an evil, for it also contains a good lesson for you. Whoever took any part in this sin, has earned his share accordingly, and the one who took on himself the leading part, shall have a terrible punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! they who spread the slander are a gang among you. Deem it not a bad thing for you; say, it is good for you. Unto every man of them (will be paid that which he hath earned of the sin; and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be an awful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Why do not the believing men and women, whenever such [a rumour] is heard,¹⁵ think the best of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"?

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "whenever you hear it" - the pronoun "you" indicating here the community as a whole.

Why did not the believing men and believing women, when they heard of this slander, think well of their own people, and say: "This is clearly a false accusation?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Why did not the believers, men and women, when ye heard it, think good of their own folk; and say: It is a manifest untruth?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Why do they not [demand of the accusers¹⁶ that they] produce four witnesses to prove their allegation?¹⁷ - for, if they do not produce such wit-nesses, it is those [accusers] who, in the sight of God, are liars indeed!

  - Mohammad Asad

This interpolation is necessary in view of the fact that the believers spoken of in the preceding verse are blamed, not for making the false accusation, but for not giving it the lie.

Lit., "in support thereof" ('alayhi).

Why did they not produce four witnesses? If they cannot produce the required witnesses, they are the liars in the sight of Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they produce not witnesses, they verily are liars in the sight of Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And were it not for God's favour upon you, [O men,] and His grace in this world and in the life to come, awesome suffering would indeed have afflicted you¹⁸ in result of all [the calumny] in which you indulge

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "yourselves and your whole society". With this and the next verse the discourse returns to, and elaborates, the idea touched upon in verse {10} and explained in note [11].

Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been severely punished for your involvement in this scandal;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you in the world and the Hereafter an awful doom had overtaken you for that whereof ye murmured.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

when you take it up with your tongues, uttering with your mouths something of which you have no knowledge, and deeming it a light matter whereas in the sight of God it is an awful thing!

  - Mohammad Asad

when you passed on with your tongues and uttered with your mouths that about which you had no knowledge. You took it lightly while it was a very serious offence in the sight of Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When ye welcomed it with your tongues, and uttered with your mouths that whereof ye had no knowledge, ye counted it a trifle. In the sight of Allah it is very great.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [once again]: Why do you not say, whenever you hear such [a rumour], "It does not behove us to speak of this, O Thou who art limitless in Thy glory: this is an awesome calumny"?¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

The interjection subhanaka ("O Thou who art limitless in Thy glory") stresses here the believer's moral duty to bethink himself of God whenever he is tempted to listen to, or to repeat, a calumny (since every such rumour must be considered a calumny unless its truth is legally proved).

Why did you not, when you heard about it, say: "It is not befitting for us to talk about it, God forbid! This is a monstrous slander?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Wherefore, when ye heard it, said ye not: It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to Thee (O Allah); This is awful calumny.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God admonishes you [hereby] lest you ever revert to the like of this Isinl. if you are [truly] believers;

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah admonishes you never to repeat a mistake like this, if you are true believers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah admonisheth you that ye repeat not the like thereof ever, if ye are (in truth) believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for God makes [His] messages clear unto you-and God is all knowing, wise!

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah has made His revelations clear to you, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And He expoundeth unto you His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily, as for those who like [to hear] foul slander²⁰ spreadagainst [any of] those who have attained to faith-grievous suffering awaits them in this world ²¹ and in the life to come: for God knows [the full truth], whereas you know [it] not.²²

  - Mohammad Asad

The term fahishah signifies anything that is morally reprehensible or abominable: hence, "immoral conduct" in the widest sense of this expression. In the above context it refers to unfounded or unproven allegations of immoral conduct, in other words, "foul slander".

I.e., the legal punishment as stipulated in verse {4} of this surah.

This Qur~anic warning against slander and, by obvious implication, against any attempt at seeking out other people’s faults finds a clear echo in several well-authenticated sayings of the Prophet: "Beware of all guesswork [about one another], for, behold, all [such] guesswork is most deceptive (akdhab al-hadith); and do not spy upon one another, and do not try to bare [other people’s] failings" (Muwatta’; almost identical versions of this Tradition have been quoted by Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Da’ud); "Do not hurt those who have surrendered themselves to God (al-muslimin), and do not impute evil to them, and do not try to uncover their nakedness [i.e., their faults]: for, behold, if anyone tries to uncover his brother’s nakedness, God will uncover his own nakedness [on the Day of Judgment]" (Tirmidhi); and, "Never does a believer draw a veil over the nakedness of another believer without God’s drawing a veil over his own nakedness on Resurrection Day" (Bukhari). All these injunctions have received their seal, as it were, in the Qur~anic exhortation: "Avoid most guesswork [about one another] - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin" ( 49:12 ).

Those who love to broadcast such slanders among the believers will have a painful punishment in this life and in the Hereafter. Allah knows and you do not know.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, and that God is compasionate, a dispenser of grace...!²³

  - Mohammad Asad

See verse {10} of this surah and the corresponding note [11].

Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, this scandal would have produced very bad results for you. Allah is indeed very Kind, most Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you, and that Allah is Clement, Merciful, (ye had been undone).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O YOU who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan's footsteps: for he who follows Satan's footsteps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason.²⁴ And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

  - Mohammad Asad

In this context, the term al-munkar has apparently the same meaning as in 16:90 (explained in the corresponding note [109]) since, as the sequence shows, it clearly relates to the unreasonable self-righteousness of so many people who "follow Satan’s footsteps" by imputing moral failings to others and forgetting that it is only due to God’s grace that man, in his inborn weakness, can ever remain pure.

O believers! Do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan: because anyone who follows the footsteps of Shaitan is seduced by him to commit acts of indecency and wickedness. If there had not been the grace and mercy of Allah upon you, none of you would have ever been purified from that sin, for it is Allah Alone Who purifies whom He pleases, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O ye who believe! Follow not the footsteps of the devil. Unto whomsoever followeth the footsteps of the devil, lo! he commandeth filthiness and wrong. Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you, not one of you would ever have grown pure. But Allah causeth whom He will to grow. And Allah is Hearer, Knower.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, [even if they have been wronged by slander,] let not those of you who have been graced with [God's] favour and ease of life ever become remiss in helping²⁵ [the erring ones among] their near of kin, and the needy, and those who have forsaken the domain of evil for the sake of God,²⁶ but let them pardon and forbear. [For,] do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins, seeing that God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace?²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "Swear that [henceforth] they would not help [lit., "give to"] .. .", etc. Both these meanings - "he swore [that]" and "he became remiss [in]" - are attributable to the verb ala, which appears in the above sentence in the form ya’tal. My rendering is based on the interpretation given to this verb by the great philologist Abu Ubayd al-Qasim al-Harawi (cf. Lane I, 84).

For an explanation of this rendering of the designation al-muhajirun (or, in other places, alladhina hajaru). see surah {2}, note [203].

It is generally assumed that this verse refers to Abu Bakr, who swore that he would never again help his poor relative, the muhajir Mistah (whom he used to support until then) after the latter had taken part in slandering Abu Bakr's daughter, 'A'ishah (see note [12] above). There is no doubt that this assumption of the commentators is well-founded, but there is also no doubt that the ethical purport of the above verse is timeless and, therefore, independent of the fact or facts with which it appears to be historically linked. (This view finds additional support in the use of the plural form throughout the above passage.) The call to "pardon and forbear" is fully consonant with the Qur'anic principle of countering evil with good (see 13:22 and the corresponding note [44]).

Let not those among you who are endowed with grace and amplitude of means swear to withhold their help from their relatives, the indigent and those who left their homes for the cause of Allah - rather let them forgive and overlook - do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear not to give to the near of kin and to the needy, and to fugitives for the cause of Allah. Let them forgive and show indulgence. Yearn ye not that Allah may forgive you? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[But,] verily, those who [falsely, and without repentance,²⁸ ] accuse chaste women who may have been unthinkingly careless but have remained true to their faith,²⁹ shall be rejected [from God's grace] in this world as well as in the life to come: and awesome suffering awaits them

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Razi, the absence of repentance is incontrovertibly implied in the condemnation expressed in the sequence, since the Qur'an makes it clear in many places that God always accepts a sinner's sincere repentance.

Lit., "chaste, unmindful [or "careless"] believing women", i.e., virtuous women who thoughtlessly expose themselves to situations on which a slanderous construction may be put.

Those who accuse chaste but careless believing women are cursed in this life, and in the Hereafter they shall have a grievous punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! as for those who traduce virtuous, believing women (who are) careless, cursed are they in the world and the Hereafter. Theirs will be an awful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

on the Day when their own tongues and hands and feet will bear witness against them by [recalling] all that they did!

  - Mohammad Asad

Such people should not forget that Day when their own tongues, their own hands and their own feet will testify against their misdeeds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On the day when their tongues and their hands and their feet testify against them as to what they used to do,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On that day will God pay them in full their just due, and they will come to know that God alone is the Ultimate Truth, manifest, and manifesting [the true nature of all that has ever been done].³⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the double meaning ("manifest" and "manifesting") inherent in the adjective mubin, see note [2] on 12:1 ; for my rendering of God's attribute al-haqq as "the Ultimate Truth", see note [99] on 20:114 . In this particular instance, the active form of mubin ("manifesting") apparently relates to God's revelation, on Judgement Day, of the true nature of man's actions and, thus, of the enormity of the sin to which this passage refers.

On that Day, Allah will give them the full reward they deserve, then they will realize that Allah is the One Who manifests the Truth.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that day Allah will pay them their just due, and they will know that Allah, He is the Manifest Truth.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall