Surah 24. An-Nur, Ayah 11
| إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ ۚ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَكُمْ ۖ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ ۚ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ ۚ وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | 'inna 'alladhena jaa'o bi- al- 'ifk cus.bah min -kum laa tah.sabo -hu sharr(an) la- -kum bal huwa khayr la- -kum li- kull imri' min -hum maa iktasaba min al- 'ithm wa- 'alladhe tawallaa kibr -hu min -hum la- -hu cadhaab caz.em |
| Pickthall | : | 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. |
| Asad | : | 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 |
| Malik | : | 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. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not to be an evil to you: on the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned and to him who took on himself the lead among them will be a Penalty grievous. 2962 2963 2964 |
Note - 12Lit., "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.
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Note - 13I.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."
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Note - 14I.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.
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Note - 2962The particular incident here referred to occurred on the
return from the expedition to the Banui Mustaliq, A.H.
5-6. When the march was ordered, Hadhrat 'Aisha was not
in her tent, having gone to search for a valuable
necklace she had dropped. As her litter was veiled, it
was not noticed that she was not in it, until the army
reached the next halt. Meanwhile, finding the camp had
gone, she sat down to rest, hoping that some one would
come back to fetch her when her absence was noticed. It
was night, and she fell asleep. Next morning she was
found by Safwan, a Muhajir, who had been left behind the
camp expressly to pick up anything inadvertently left
behind. He put her on his camel and brought her, leading
the camel on foot. This gave occasion to enemies to raise
a malicious scandal. The ringleader among them was the
chief of Madinah Hypocrites, 'Abudllah ibn Ubai, who is
referred to in the last clause of this verse. He had
other sins and enormities to his debit, and he was left
to the punishment of an unrepentant sinner, for he died
in that state. The minor tools were given the legal
punishment of the law, and after penitence mended their
lives. They made good.
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Note - 2963It is worse for a scandal to be whispered about with
bated breath, than that it should be brought into the
light of day and disproved.
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Note - 2964The ringleader: see n. 2962 above.
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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. |
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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." |
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The particular incident here referred to occurred on the return from the expedition to the Banui Mustaliq, A.H. 5-6. When the march was ordered, Hadhrat 'Aisha was not in her tent, having gone to search for a valuable necklace she had dropped. As her litter was veiled, it was not noticed that she was not in it, until the army reached the next halt. Meanwhile, finding the camp had gone, she sat down to rest, hoping that some one would come back to fetch her when her absence was noticed. It was night, and she fell asleep. Next morning she was found by Safwan, a Muhajir, who had been left behind the camp expressly to pick up anything inadvertently left behind. He put her on his camel and brought her, leading the camel on foot. This gave occasion to enemies to raise a malicious scandal. The ringleader among them was the chief of Madinah Hypocrites, 'Abudllah ibn Ubai, who is referred to in the last clause of this verse. He had other sins and enormities to his debit, and he was left to the punishment of an unrepentant sinner, for he died in that state. The minor tools were given the legal punishment of the law, and after penitence mended their lives. They made good. |
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It is worse for a scandal to be whispered about with bated breath, than that it should be brought into the light of day and disproved. |
