In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

This sūrah has a unique opening that is not repeated anywhere else in the Qur’ān.

What is special is the use of the clause ‘We have ordained’. We take this to imply an emphatic assertion that people must take everything that the sūrah includes in the same way. Social manners and morality are ordained in the same way as mandatory punishments. We need to remember here that such manners and morality are deeply rooted in human nature, but people tend to overlook them because of deviant social pressures and easy temptations. Hence, the divine revelations God has bestowed from on high place them back before people’s eyes, explaining the clear logic of undistorted human nature.

This emphatic and clear opening is immediately followed with an explanation of the mandatory punishment for adultery, a ghastly crime that severs the ties between its perpetrator and the Muslim community.

As for the adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not compassion for them keep you from [carrying out] this law of God, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let a number of believers witness their punishment. The adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress or an idolatress; and with the adulteress couples none other than an adulterer or an idolater.

This is forbidden to the believers. (Verses 2-3)

In the early days of Islam, the punishment prescribed for adulterers was that outlined in Sūrah 4, Women, which says: “As for those of your women who are guilty of gross immoral conduct, call upon four from among you to bear witness against them. If they so testify, then confine the guilty women to their houses until death takes them or God opens another way for them.” (4: 15) Thus the punishment for the guilty adulteress was confinement at home and verbal reprimand, while the adulterer was punished by verbal reprimand only. Sometime later, God revealed the new mandatory punishment specified in this sūrah. This is then the ‘way’ opened by God to which Sūrah 4 alluded.

Flogging is the punishment of male and female adulterers who have not been empowered through marriage. This punishment is enforced on any Muslim who is sane, of age and a free person whose guilt is established. As for a person who has had sexual relations within a proper marriage and then commits adultery even though he is sane, of age and free, his punishment is stoning.16

Such stoning is confirmed in the Sunnah, while flogging is established clearly in the Qur’ān. Since the Qur’ānic statement is phrased in general terms, and the Prophet inflicted stoning on a married man and a married woman who committed adultery, it is clear that the punishment of flogging applies only to adulterers who are unmarried.

There are several juristic differences in this area. For example, combining the two punishments of flogging and stoning for a married adulterer. Most scholars, however, agree that no such combination applies. Other points of difference include sending unmarried adulterers into exile in addition to the flogging, and the punishment for a slave adulterer. These juristic differences are very detailed, but we do not propose to speak about these here. Readers who are interested may refer to books on Fiqh. We instead will confine ourselves here to a discussion of the wisdom of this piece of legislation.

The first point to note is the difference in the punishment incurred by adulterers, depending on their marital status. A Muslim who is of age, free and sane and who has already experienced sex within marriage is fully aware of the clean and proper way to satisfy sexual desires. To abandon this and resort to adultery betrays a deviant and corrupt nature. Hence, punishment is increased in this case. A virgin on the other hand may feel the temptation so strongly when he is inexperienced. There is also a difference in the nature of the act itself. A married person is able to enjoy sex in a much better and more refined way than a virgin. Hence, he deserves increased punishment.

As has already been mentioned, the sūrah speaks here of the mandatory punishment for the unmarried adulterer only. It emphasizes the requirement to put it into effect, with no compassion shown to the perpetrator: “As for the adulteress and the adulterer, flog each of them with a hundred stripes, and let not compassion for them keep you from [carrying out] this law of God, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let a number of believers witness their punishment.” (Verse 2) The Muslim community is required to implement this punishment showing no sympathy for the offenders. The punishment should be administered in public with a number of believers present.

This makes it harder for the offenders and increases the deterrent effect for the beholders.

The crime is shown to be increasingly heinous. Hence, all ties between the perpetrators and the Muslim community are cut off: “The adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress or an idolatress; and with the adulteress couples none other than an adulterer or an idolater. This is forbidden to the believers.” (Verse 3)

This means that those who commit adultery do not do so while they are believers.

They only commit it when they are in a state that is far removed from faith and the feelings it generates in people’s hearts. A believer is not comfortable to enter into marital relations with someone who has abandoned faith through such a terrible offence. Indeed Imām Aĥmad is of the view that marriage is forbidden between an adulterer and a chaste woman, or between a chaste man and an adulteress. A prerequisite for such a marriage to be valid is for such offenders to genuinely repent.

At any rate, the Qur’ānic verse makes it clear that by nature believing men and women feel that to be married to someone who commits adultery is strongly repugnant. Thus, it is very unlikely to happen, and this improbability is described here as a prohibition. Thus, ties between the Muslim community and individuals who commit adultery are non-existent.

A report giving the reason for the revelation of the second of these two verses mentions that Marthad, a man from the Anşār, used to go to Makkah to free those who were imprisoned because of their belief in Islam. He would take those whom he managed to free to Madīnah. Before becoming a Muslim, he used to have a friend in Makkah called `Anāq who was a prostitute. On one of his visits, he arranged to smuggle out a prisoner held in Makkah. He said: “I stopped by the outside wall of a garden on a clear night with moonlight. `Anāq soon came and noticed a black shade against the wall. When she drew near, she recognized me and mentioned my name. I confirmed that it was I. She welcomed me and invited me to her place to stay the night. I said: ‘`Anāq! God has forbidden adultery.’ She gave me away, shouting to the people that I was smuggling their prisoners out. As I tried to disappear, eight of them followed me. I went into the garden and walked until I entered a cave. They followed me in and stood by my head, while I remained motionless. Some of them urinated over my head, but God helped me and they did not notice me. When they left, 1 returned to my man and helped him. He was very heavy, but I carried him for a distance, and then I untied him. I carried him on, but he helped me until we safely reached Madīnah. I then went to the Prophet and asked him if it was all right for me to marry `Anāq. I repeated my question twice, but he did not reply until this verse was revealed stating:

‘The adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress or an idolatress; and with the adulteress couples none other than an adulterer or an idolater. This is forbidden to the believers.’ The Prophet said to me: ‘Marthad! An adulterer couples with none other than an adulteress or an idolatress. Do not marry her.’” [Related by Abū Dāwūd, al- Nasā’ī and al-Tirmidhī] This verse, then, implies that a believer is forbidden to marry an adulteress unless she genuinely repents. The same applies to a female believer and an adulterer. This is the view Imām Aĥmad took, but other scholars had a different view. As a point of difference, it may be studied in Fiqh books. At any rate, this type of action alienates the perpetrator from the Muslim community, which in itself is a severe social punishment that is no less painful than flogging.

When enacting such severe punishments for this abominable offence, Islam does not overlook the natural desire behind it. Islam knows that human beings cannot and should not suppress such a natural desire. Nor does Islam wish that people should fight the physiological functions God has given them as part of their nature and part of the laws of life, ensuring the continuity of mankind. Islam only shuns an animal approach to this desire that treats one body the same as another, and which has no intention of building a home, life partnership or family. Islam wants sexual relations between a man and a woman to be based on fine human feelings that involve their hearts and souls in their physical union, so as to make it a union between two human beings sharing their lives, pains, hopes, and futures. In this way, any children will be reared by both parents building a future together.

This is the reason why Islam ordains such a severe punishment for adultery, considering it a setback that reduces man to an animal. It destroys all these fine feelings and goals. Adultery turns human beings into animal-like creatures that treat all men as males and all women as females, trying to satisfy a physical desire in a casual way. Its momentary ecstasy has neither a constructive aim nor a fine, durable love behind it. It is the continuity aspect that distinguishes such a fine feeling from a momentary and casual charge which many people describe as passion when it is in fact a physical desire momentarily taking the guise of fine feeling.

Islam neither suppresses natural feelings nor considers them dirty. It only regulates, purifies and elevates them above the physical level so that they become central to many psychological and social values. By contrast, adultery, and prostitution in particular, removes from such natural desires all the exquisite feelings, attractions and values that have been refined over the long history of human life. It leaves such desires naked, dirty and coarser than in animals. In many animal and bird species, couples live together in a regulated life. They do not have the sort of sexual chaos that adultery spreads in some human communities, particularly where prostitution is rife.

In order to spare man this type of setback, Islam prescribes such punishment for adultery. Needless to say, this offence causes numerous social ills that people often mention when they speak about this crime. These include false parenthood, undermining family life and causing hatred and grudges. Each one of these social ills justifies a very hard punishment for the offence causing it. But the primary reason for it is preserving the humanity of man, protecting the moral standards that have come to be associated with clean sex, furthering the aims of marital life that is intended to last. This is, in my view, the reason that serves all others.

Islam, then, prescribes a very heavy penalty for adultery, but it does not legislate such a penalty without first putting in place sufficient legislation to protect people from falling into such sin. It also ensures that the punishment is not enforced except in cases where there is certainty about the offence and its perpetrators. Islam is a complete code of living that is not based on punishment. Its basis is to provide all that promotes a clean and pure life. If some individuals then abandon this clean and easy life in order to deliberately submerge themselves in filth, they incur such heavy penalties.

When a crime takes place in spite of all these measures, Islam prevents the infliction of the penalty wherever possible. The Prophet says: “Spare Muslims the infliction of mandatory punishments wherever possible.

If there is any way out for the accused, let him go unpunished. It is better that the ruler errs on the side of pardon, rather than punishment.” [Related by al-Tirmidhī] In the case of adultery, Islam requires four witnesses to testify that they have seen the offence, or else, a clear and confirmed confession.

It may be suggested, then, that the punishment is unreal and unenforceable, which renders it ineffective as a deterrent. As we have said, punishment is not the basis of the Islamic approach; its basis is prevention, education and cultivating people’s finer feelings and consciences so that they refrain from even contemplating an offence. It only punishes those who are intent on committing the crime, paying little regard to society, so as to be seen by four witnesses. It also inflicts the punishment on those who wish to purify themselves of the effects of the offence after having committed it.

In other words, the punishment is applied to those who confess to their offence. This is what happened to Mā`iz and his Ghāmidī consort when they went to the Prophet requesting him to inflict the punishment so as to purify them of their sin. Both were insistent, in spite of the Prophet turning away from them time after time. In fact, they confessed four times each, which left the Prophet no option but to inflict the punishment, for at this point the confession was no longer suspect. The Prophet said:

“Spare yourselves mandatory punishments; for when I have established that a sin carrying such a punishment has been committed, the punishment must be done.” [Related by Abū Dāwūd] Thus, when certainty is established and the matter has been put to the ruler, or judge, the mandatory punishment must be applied, with no compassion shown to the offenders. Such compassion is misplaced, because it is in fact cruel to the community and human morality. God is much more compassionate to His creatures and He has chosen what He knows to serve their interests best. When God decides on a particular case, no believer, whether man or woman, can counter that choice.

Nor is it right that anyone should speak out against such punishment, describing it as hard or savage. It is indeed much more compassionate than what awaits a community that allows adultery to spread.

Prescribing a very hard punishment for adultery is not sufficient, on its own, to protect the Muslim community and ensure the purity of its atmosphere. Therefore, a supplementary order is given to isolate the adulterers from the rest of the Muslim community. Furthermore, heavy punishment is prescribed for those who accuse chaste women of adultery without providing firm evidence in support of their accusation:

As for those who accuse chaste women [of adultery], and cannot produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes; and do not accept their testimony ever after; for they are indeed transgressors. Excepted are those who afterwards repent and make amends; for God is Much-Forgiving, Merciful. (Verses 4-5)

Allowing people to accuse chaste women, whether married or not, without clear proof would mean that people could make such accusations without fear of repercussion. This in turn would stain the Muslim community’s reputation. Every individual would feel threatened with false accusations. Every man would suspect his wife, and every wife her husband, and people would begin to doubt their legitimacy. In such an intolerable state of doubt and suspicion, every family would be undermined. Moreover, when such accusations are frequently made, those who steer themselves away from adultery might begin to think that such crime was common in society. They might then begin to see it in a different light, as less ghastly, as a result of such frequent mention. Furthermore, those who would not even have contemplated it at all might even begin to think of doing so, feeling that since many others do it, there is no harm in it.

Thus, in order to protect people’s honour, and to prevent their suffering from suspicion as a result of uncorroborated accusations, the Qur’ān prescribes for false accusation a punishment that almost equals that of adultery. False accusers are to be flogged with 80 stripes each, and their future testimony in any case or situation rejected. Plus they are to be labelled as transgressors. The first part of this punishment is physical, while the second is moral. It is sufficient that the accuser is deprived of the right to testify, and considered an unreliable and unacceptable witness no matter what the case or situation. The third part is religious. The one guilty of false accusation follows a line that deviates from the straight path of faith.

The only way out is that the accuser should provide four witnesses who have seen the offence being committed, or three alongside him if he himself has seen it. If the four give such testimony, the accusation is proved and the punishment for adultery is enforced on the perpetrator.

The point at issue here is that the Muslim community does not lose much by suppressing an accusation that cannot be proven. Conversely it loses much more by condoning accusations that cannot be proven. Indeed when such accusations become the subject of casual conversation, they serve to encourage people to do the same, while stopping any discussion of such matters, unless clearly proven, delivers a clear message that adultery, an abominable offence, is rare or even non-existent in society.

Moreover, the false accusation of chaste women causes the latter much pain and mental suffering, in addition to its being a means of destroying families and relations.

The punishment meted out to the false accuser continues to hang over his head, even after its administration, unless he genuinely repents: “Excepted are those who afterwards repent and make amends; for God is Much-Forgiving, Merciful.” (Verse 5)

Scholars differ in their understanding of this exception: does it apply only to the last punishment, which means that the accuser is no longer considered a transgressor, but continues nevertheless to be unacceptable as a witness in any situation? Or would he be acceptable as a witness once he has declared his repentance? Mālik, Aĥmad and al-Shāfi`ī are of the view that once he has repented, he is no longer a transgressor. He is again acceptable as a witness. On the other hand, Abū Ĥanīfah maintains that repentance only stops him being considered a transgressor, but he remains unacceptable as a witness. Al-Sha`bī and al-Đahhāk, renowned scholars of the early Islamic period, say that despite his repentance, he is unacceptable as a witness unless he admits that his original accusation was false.

I personally prefer this last view, because it adds to the accuser’s repentance a clear declaration by him that the accused is innocent. In this way, all effects of the accusation are removed. No one can then say that the punishment was inflicted on the accuser because of lack of sufficient supporting evidence. No one who heard the accusation can continue to entertain any thought that its substance was correct, and that it could have been proven if more witnesses were ready to come forward. Thus, the innocent would have their innocence confirmed both socially and legally. This leaves no reason to continue to punish the accuser by refusing his testimony, after he has repented his original action and declared that the accusation he made was false.

All the foregoing applies to accusing women of adultery. An exception is made, however, in the case of a husband accusing his wife. To require him to produce four witnesses is unreasonable. In normal situations, a man does not accuse his wife falsely, because the very accusation carries a negative reflection on his own honour and against his own children. Hence, this type of accusation carries a totally different ruling:

And as for those who accuse their own wives [of adultery], but have no witnesses except themselves, let each of them call God four times to witness that he is indeed telling the truth; and the fifth time, that God’s curse be upon him if he is telling a lie.

However, punishment is averted from her if calls God four times to witness that he is indeed telling a lie; and the fifth time, that God’s wrath be upon her if he is telling the truth. Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, and that God is the One who accepts repentance, the Wise...! (Verses 6-10)

This ruling lightens the burden for married people in a way that takes their special circumstances into consideration. A man may find his wife in a compromising position but there be no one else as witness to the deed. In this case, he swears by God four times that he is telling the truth, and adds a fifth incurring God’s curse on himself if he is telling a lie. These oaths are called testimonies, because he is the only witness. When he has done so, he pays her any portion of her dowry that may be outstanding, and she is immediately and finally divorced. She is also liable to the punishment for adultery. However, she can avert this punishment by swearing by God four times that her husband is telling lies, and adds a fifth incurring God’s curse on herself if he is telling the truth. If she does, then no punishment is administered in this case, but the marriage is irrevocably terminated. If she is pregnant, the child is named after her, not after her husband. No one can attach any blame to the child. If anyone does make an accusation against the child, they are liable to punishment.

The sūrah comments on this delicate ruling by saying: “Were it not- for God’s favour upon you and His grace, and that God is the One who accepts repentance, the Wise...!” (Verse 10) It does not tell us what would have happened, had God not bestowed His favours and grace on us in this way, and extended His manifest grace by accepting our repentance. Instead, the statement leaves us with an impression that it is something very serious, and that people are much better off, avoiding it through God’s grace.

Several reports explain the occasion when these verses were revealed. Imām Aĥmad reports on the authority of Ibn `Abbās: “When the verse stating, As for those who accuse chaste women [of adultery], and cannot produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes; and do not accept their testimony ever after,’ was revealed, Sa`d ibn `Ubādah, the chief of the Anşār said: ‘Is that how it has been revealed, Messenger of God?’ The Prophet said: ‘People of the Anşār! Do you hear what your chief is saying?’ They said: ‘Do not blame him, Messenger of God. He is a man with a keen sense of honour. He never married a woman unless she was a virgin. If he divorced a woman, none of us would dare to marry her, because we realize how he takes that.’ Sa`d said: ‘Messenger of God! I know it to be true and that it comes from God. I only wondered that if I would find a man on top of my wife, I could not disturb him until I have brought four witnesses. By the time I bring them, he would have finished his business.’ It was not long after that Hilāl ibn Umayyah went to the Prophet. He had been on his farm before going home at night. He found a man with his wife. He saw things with his own eyes, and he heard things with his ears. He did not fight with the man, but the next morning he said to the Prophet: ‘Messenger of God! I went home last night and I found my wife with a man. I saw and heard things with my own eyes and ears.’ The Prophet was very displeased when he heard this, and found it hard to deal with. The Anşār said: ‘What Sa`d ibn `Ubādah foretold has come to pass. The Prophet must now subject Hilāl ibn Umayyah to punishment by flogging and declare him unacceptable as a witness.’ Hilāl said to his people: ‘By God, I certainly hope that He will provide a way out for me.’ Addressing the Prophet, he said: ‘Messenger of God! I see that my story has been very difficult for you; but God knows that I am telling the truth.’ The Prophet was about to give orders that punishment should be inflicted on Hilāl when revelations were bestowed on him from on high. Those who were around him recognized this fact by the change in his face. These verses dealing with the situation were revealed. The Prophet’s face regained its colour, and he said: ‘Hilāl! Rejoice, for God has given you a way out.’ Hilāl replied: ‘I certainly hoped that God would grant me that.’ The Prophet gave orders for the woman to be brought to him. When she came, the Prophet recited these verses to them both, reminding them both that punishment in the hereafter is far more severe than any punishment in this life. Hilāl said: ‘Messenger of God! I have certainly said the truth when I accused her.’ She said:

‘He is lying.’ The Prophet then said: ‘Let them both say their oaths.’ Hilāl was first told to swear. He swore by God four times that what he said was the truth. Before saying his fifth oath, people said to him: Hilāl, fear God. This is the one that incurs punishment in the hereafter, while punishment in this world is that much less.’ He said: ‘By God! He will not punish me for this, just like He did not let me be flogged for it.’ He made the fifth oath, invoking God’s curse on himself if he were lying. The woman was then offered the chance to refute the charge. She swore by God four times that he was lying. When she was about to make her fifth oath, people said to her: ‘Fear God, and remember that punishment in the hereafter is much more severe. This is the oath that incurs God’s punishment for you.’ She stopped for a while and thought about confessing. She then said: ‘I will not bring a scandal on my people’s heads.’ She made her fifth oath, invoking God’s curse on herself if her husband was telling the truth.

The Prophet ordered their marriage irrevocably terminated. He also judged that her child, should she be pregnant, would not be named after a father, and that the child would not be shamed. If anyone was to hurl an accusation at the child, then that person would be punished. His judgement also made it clear that she could not claim shelter in her husband’s home, and she could not have any maintenance from him, as the marriage was dissolved without divorce or death. He also said: ‘If her child, when born, has slightly reddish hair, a thin bottom and small legs, then he is Hilāl’s child. If he is born dark, with strong features and curly hair, of large build, with large legs and a fat bottom, then he belongs to the man she has been accused of associating with.’ When the child was born, he was of the second description. The Prophet said: ‘If it was not for the oaths, I would have had something to sort out with her.’” We see that this ruling was given to deal with a particular case that was not only hard for the husband concerned, but also the Muslim community and the Prophet.

Indeed, the Prophet could not find a way out of it. According to al-Bukhārī’s report, the Prophet said to Hilāl: ‘You either bring the proof or lay your back for punishment.’ Hilāl said to him: ‘Messenger of God! If any of us finds a man on top of his wife, should he go and seek witnesses?’

As this case provides for a special situation which is exempted from the general rules of false accusation, it may be asked why God did not reveal this exception to the general rules in the first place? Why did God wait until a situation occurred, one which caused embarrassment and hardship?

God certainly knows all this, but in His infinite wisdom He bestowed from on high the revelation outlining the rules when the need for it was keenly felt. Thus, the rules were received with eagerness, and people immediately recognized the wisdom behind the legislation and the divine grace it ensured. Hence, the verses outlining the procedure conclude with the statement: “Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, and that God is the One who accepts repentance, the Wise...’” (Verse 10)

Let us pause a little here to reflect on the Islamic method of moulding the new Muslim community and how the Prophet re-educated his Companions by means of the Qur’ān. We should remember here that he was dealing with Arabs who were characteristically and strongly impulsive, particularly in cases of personal honour.

They would rarely pause to consider options before rushing into action. Thus, when legislation was established outlining the punishment for accusing chaste women of adultery without providing the required proof, people found it difficult. Sa`d ibn `Ubādah, the chief of the Anşār, went as far as asking: “Is that how it has been revealed, Messenger of God?” He puts forward his question, knowing for certain that the verses were revealed in that way. His question, however, reflected the difficulty he felt in complying with that ruling in a particular situation he imagined. Hence, he explained: “Messenger of God! I know it to be true and that it comes from God. I only wondered that if I found a man on top of my wife, I could not disturb him until I had brought four witnesses. By the time I brought them, he would have finished his business.” Yet the situation that Sa`d found hard to imagine soon took place in reality. A man came forward, having found his wife with a stranger, seeing them with his own eyes, and hearing them with his own ears. Yet the Qur’ānic rules did not permit any measure to be taken against them. Therefore, he had to overcome his own feelings, traditions and the social environment that called for immediate action. Even harder than that, he had to restrain himself and wait for a ruling from God. Such restraint is especially difficult, but Islam re-moulded the Arabs to patiently bear such hardship so that there could be no rule other than God’s. Only His rulings apply in all life situations.

How could this happen? Simply, those people felt that God was with them, and that He took care of them, without requiring them to put up with things they could not bear. They realized that God would never abandon them in a situation that went beyond their abilities and would never deal unjustly with them. They felt that they lived under God’s care. Hence, they looked for His grace in the same way as children look to their parents’ care.

Hilāl ibn Umayyah had come home to find his wife with a man, seeing and hearing them both. As he was alone, he could only complain of this to the Prophet who, in turn, felt that he must apply the ruling concerning an accusation not supported by four witnesses. Hence, he said to Hilāl: “You either bring the proof or lay your back for punishment.” Hilāl, however, believed that God would not let him suffer a punishment when he only stated the truth. He knew that what he said about his wife was right. At this moment, God revealed new verses outlining an exception in the case of husbands accusing their wives. The Prophet gave the good news to Hilāl, who confidently said: “I certainly hoped that God would grant me that.” He trusted to God’s mercy, justice and care. Furthermore, he trusted that God was looking after that community of believers. It was faith that re-moulded the Arabs and made them submit fully to God’s rulings, whatever they happened to be.

Having outlined the rules applicable in cases of accusing women of adultery, the sūrah mentions a case of false accusation that reflects the repugnance of this crime.

This involved the Prophet’s own household with its noble and chaste inhabitants. It reflected on the honour of the Prophet, the most beloved person by God, and the honour of his friend, Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest Companion. It also involved the honour of a man, Şafwān ibn al-Mu`aţţal, who enjoyed the Prophet’s own testimony that he never saw anything but good from him. It was a case that preoccupied the entire Muslim community in Madīnah for a whole month.

The Qur’ān refers to this whole episode, calling it The Falsehood, in a ten-verse passage that runs as follows:

Those who concocted the falsehood were a band from among you. Do not regard it as bad for you; indeed it is good for you. Each one of them shall bear what he has earned of sin; and awesome suffering awaits the one who took on himself the lead among them. When you heard it, why did not the believers, men and women, think the best of themselves, and say: ‘This is a blatant falsehood.’ Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it? Since they have not produced witnesses, then in the sight of God, they are certainly liars. Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, in this world and in the life to come, awesome suffering would indeed have afflicted you on account of what you indulged in. You took it up with your tongues and uttered with your mouths something of which you have no knowledge, thinking it a light matter whereas in God’s sight it is grave indeed. If only when you heard it you said:

‘It is not right for us to speak of this! All glory belongs to You. This is a monstrous slander’ God admonishes you lest you ever revert to the like of this, if you are truly believers. And God makes plain to you His revelations. God is All-Knowing, Wise.

Those who love that gross indecency should spread among the believers shall be visited with grievous suffering both in this world and in the life to come. God knows, but you do not know. Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, and that God is Compassionate, Merciful...! (Verses 11-20)

This false story caused the purest soul in human history much suffering, and made the Muslim community go through one of the hardest experiences in its long history. It left the hearts of the Prophet, his wife `Ā’ishah, Abū Bakr and his wife, as well as Şafwān, for a whole month subject to doubt, worry and endless pain. Here are the details of the story as told by the pure and chaste lady at the centre of this painful episode.

Every time the Prophet went abroad he made a toss among his wives to decide which of them should accompany him. At the time of the al-Muşţalaq expedition, the toss favoured me and I travelled with him. At the time, women did not eat much, which meant that they were slim and light. When my transport was prepared for me, I would sit in my howdah which would then be lifted onto the camel’s back. When they had secured it, the camel driver would march with it.

When the Prophet had completed his business on that expedition and was on his way back, he encamped one night at a spot not very far from Madīnah. He stayed there only part of the night before the call to march was again made.

People started to get ready and in the meantime I went out to relieve myself. I was wearing a necklace, and I did not feel it drop off me before I returned.

Back in the camp I felt for my necklace and, realizing that it was gone, I looked for it there, but could not find it. People were just about to move. I therefore went quickly back to that particular spot and searched for my necklace until I found it.

In the meantime, the people who prepared my camel finished their task and took up the howdah, thinking that 1 was inside, and lifted it onto the camel’s back and secured it. It did not occur to them that I was not inside. They, therefore, led the camel away. When I came back to where we had encamped, there was no one to be seen. The army had marched. I, therefore, tied my dress round my body and lay down. I realized that when I was missed, someone would come back for me. I soon fell asleep.

Şafwān ibn al-Mu`aţţal of the tribe of Sulaym was travelling behind the army.

He was apparently delayed by some business and did not spend that night in the camp. When he noticed someone lying down, he came towards me. He recognized me since he used to see me before we were ordered to wear veils.

He said: Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rāji`ūn, “We all belong to God and to Him we shall return.” I woke up when I heard him. I did not answer him when he asked me why I had been left behind. However, he made his camel sit down and asked me to ride it, which I did. He led the camel seeking to catch up with the army. Nobody missed me before they had stopped to rest. When everybody had sat down to relax, Şafwān appeared, leading his camel, on which I was riding. This prompted those people to invent the story of falsehood. The whole army was troubled with it, but I heard nothing.

It is worth noting here that when `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy saw `Ā’ishah approaching, he enquired who she was. When he was told that it was `Ā’ishah, he said: “Your Prophet’s wife has spent the whole night with a man, and now she turns up with him leading her camel!” This statement gave rise to the falsehood that was spread about `Ā’ishah. `Ā’ishah’s narrative continues:

Shortly after our arrival in Madīnah, I felt very ill. Nobody told me anything about what was going on. The Prophet and my parents heard the story, but they did not mention anything to me. However, I felt that the Prophet was not as kind to me during this illness of mine as he used to be. When he came in, he would ask my mother who was nursing me: “How is that woman of yours?” He said nothing else. I was distressed and requested his permission to be nursed in my parents’ home. He agreed. I went there and heard nothing. I was ill for 20-odd nights before I began to get better.

Unlike other people, we, the Arabs, did not have toilets in our homes. To us, they were disgusting. What we used to do was to go out at night, somewhere outside Madinah where we would relieve ourselves. Women went only at night. One night I went out with Umm Misţah [Abū Bakr’s cousin]. While we were walking, she was tripped by her own dress and fell down. As she did so, she said: “Confound Misţah” to her own son.

I said: “Improper indeed is what you have said about a man of the Muhājirīn who fought at Badr.” She asked me: “Have you not heard the story then?” When I asked her what story, she recounted to me what the people of falsehood said about me. I swear I could not relieve myself that night. I went back and cried bitterly until I felt that crying would break me down. I said to my mother: “May God forgive you. People said what they said about me, and you mentioned nothing to me.” My mother said: “Calm down, child. Any pretty woman married to a man who loves her will always be envied, especially if she shares him with other wives.” I said: “Glory be to God. That people should repeat this sort of thing!” I cried bitterly throughout that night till morning, without a moment’s sleep.

The Prophet called `Alī ibn Abī Ţālib and Usāmah ibn Zayd to consult them about divorcing me. Usāmah, who felt that I was innocent, said: “Messenger of God, she is your wife and you have experienced nothing bad from her.

This story is a blatant lie.” `Alī said: “Messenger of God, God imposed no restriction on you in matrimonial matters. There are many women besides her. If you would see fit to ask her maid, she would tell you the truth.” The Prophet called in my maid, Barīrah, and asked her whether she had seen anything suspicious.

Barīrah said: “By Him who sent you with the message of truth, there is nothing I take against her other than, being so young, she would doze off and let the hens eat the dough I had prepared for baking.” The Prophet addressed the Muslims in the mosque when I was still unaware of the whole matter. He said: “I have seen nothing evil from my wife. Those people are also involving a man from whom I have seen no evil. He never entered my wives’ rooms except in my presence.

Sa`d ibn Mu`ādh, the Aws leader, said: “Messenger of God, if these men belong to the Aws, our tribe, we will spare you their trouble. If, on the other hand, they belong to our brethren the Khazraj, you have only to give us your command.” Sa`d ibn `Ubādah, the leader of the Khazraj, who enjoyed a good reputation, allowed his tribal feelings to get the better of him this time and said to Sa`d ibn Mu`ādh: “By God, you shall not kill them. You are saying this only because you know that they are of the Khazraj.” Usayd ibn Ĥuđayr, a cousin of Sa`d ibn Mu`ādh, said to Sa`d ibn `Ubādah:

“You are no more than a hypocrite defending other hypocrites.” People who belonged to both tribes were very angry and were about to fight. The Prophet was still on the pulpit and he tried hard to cool them down, until finally he succeeded.

I continued to cry for the rest of the day. I could not sleep. Next morning both my parents were with me – I had spent two nights and a day crying hard. My tears never stopped. Both of them felt that my crying would break my heart.

While we were in that condition, a woman from the Anşār came to me and started to cry with me.

Shortly afterwards the Prophet came and sat down. He had not sat in my room ever since the rumour started. For a whole month he received no revelations concerning me. When he sat down, he praised and glorified God before going on to say: `Ā’ishah. People have been talking, as you are now well aware. If you are innocent, God will make your innocence known. If, however, you have committed a sin, then you should seek God’s forgiveness and repent. If a servant of God admits her sin and repents, God will forgive her.” When the Prophet finished, my tears dried up completely and I turned to my father and said: “Answer the Prophet.” He said: “By God, I do not know what to say to God’s Messenger, peace be upon him.” I then said to my mother: “Answer the Prophet.” She said: “I do not know what to say to God’s Messenger, peace be upon him.” I was still a young girl, and I did not read much of the Qur’ān. However, I said: ‘I know that you all have heard this story repeated again and again until you now believe it. If I tell you that I am innocent, and God knows that I am, you will not believe me. If, on the other hand, I admit something when God knows that I am innocent of it, you will believe me. I know no comparable situation to yours except that of Joseph’s father [I tried to remember Jacob’s name but I could not] when he said: “Sweet patience! It is to God alone that I turn for support in this misfortune that you have described.” (12: 18) I then turned round and lay on my bed. I knew that I was innocent and that God would make my innocence known. It did not occur to me for a moment, however, that God would reveal a passage of the Qur’ān concerning me. I felt myself too humble for God to include my case in His revelations. All I hoped for was that the Prophet should see something in his dream to prove my innocence.

Before the Prophet left us, however, and before anyone left the house, God’s revelations started. The Prophet was covered with his own robe, and a pillow was placed under his head. When I saw that, I felt no worry or fear. I was certain of my innocence, and I knew that God, limitless as He is in His glory, would not be unjust to me. As for my parents – well, by Him who holds `Ā’ishah’s soul in His hand, while they waited for the Prophet to come back to himself, they could have died for fear that divine revelations might confirm what people said. Then it was all over. The Prophet sat up, with his sweat looking like pearls on a wet day. As he wiped his forehead, he said:

“`Ā’ishah, I have good news for you. God has declared your innocence.” I said: “Praise be to God.” My mother said to me: ‘Rise and go to God’s Messenger, (peace be upon him).’ I said: ‘No. I am not rising, and I am not praising anyone other than God who has declared my innocence.’ God revealed the passage starting with, Those who concocted the falsehood were a band from among you,’ in ten verses. When God thus declared my innocence, Abū Bakr, who used to support Misţah ibn Athāthah, considering that he was a poor relation of his, said: ‘By God, I will never again give Misţah any assistance, after what he has said about `Ā’ishah.’ But God then revealed the verse that says: ‘Let not those of you who have been graced with God’s favour and ample means resolve by oath not to help those who are near of kin, the needy and those who have left their homes for the sake of God. But let them pardon and forbear. Do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins? God is indeed Much-Forgiving, Merciful.’ (Verse 22) Abū Bakr said: ‘Yes, indeed. I do hope that God will forgive me my sins.’ He then resumed his support of Misţah, saying: ‘I will never stop my assistance to him.’ `Ā’ishah further mentions that the Prophet had asked another of his wives, Zaynab hint Jaĥsh, about her. She said: ‘Messenger of God! I want to protect my hearing and sight. By God, I have seen from her nothing but good.’ She was the one among the Prophet’s wives who used to vie with me for a favourite position with the Prophet. God has thus protected her through her keen sense of piety. Her sister, Ĥamnah, however, continued to speak, as though to enhance her position. She was thus involved with those who circulated the false story. [Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim]

This account tells us how the Prophet and his household, Abu Bakr and his family, as well as Şafwān ibn al-Mu`aţţal, and the entire Muslim community lived in such a suffocating atmosphere, suffering much mental pain because of the false rumours circulating.

It is hard to imagine this particularly difficult period in the Prophet’s life when his beloved wife, `Ā’ishah, young and sensitive as she was, endured such profound anguish. `Ā’ishah, pure, kind, innocent and entertaining only clear thoughts and with a clear conscience, faced an accusation about her most valued qualities. She, Abu Bakr’s daughter who enjoyed the most noble and moral upbringing, was accused with regard to her honour; the wife of Muhammad ibn `Abdullāh, who belonged to the noble clan of Hāshim, faced an accusation concerning her honesty; the wife enjoying the great love of her husband was charged with being unfaithful; the girl brought up according to Islamic values from a very early age was accused of being false to her faith. And `Ā’ishah was none other than the wife of God’s Messenger, (peace be upon him)! Such accusations were levelled at her when she was innocent, unaware, taking no precaution as she expected no harm. Hence, she had nothing to prove her innocence except hope for help from God Almighty. Her dearest wish was that the Prophet should have a dream revealing her innocence. But revelations slackened for a whole month, and this is for a definite purpose known to God alone. Hence, she continued to suffer.

Can we imagine her, much weakened by illness, when she received the shocking news from Misţah’s mother? She suffered a recurrence of her fever. In her grief, she said to her mother: ‘Glory be to God. That people should repeat this sort of thing!’ A different version of the story quotes her saying to her mother: ‘Does my father know of this?’ Her mother told her that he did, and she went on: ‘And God’s Messenger?’ Again her mother confirmed this.

Great indeed was her pain when she heard the Prophet in whom she believed saying to her: “People have been talking as you are now well aware. If you are innocent, God will make your innocence known. If, however, you have committed a sin, then you should seek God’s forgiveness and repent. If a servant of God admits her sin and repents, God will forgive her.” Hearing these words, she realized that he was uncertain of her innocence, and that he could not make a judgement about the accusation levelled at her. God had not yet told him the fact of which she herself was certain but had no means of proving, i.e. that she was absolutely innocent. She was aware that although she enjoyed a favourite position in his great heart, she now stood uncertain.

Consider the position of Abū Bakr, a man endowed with great sensitivity and a noble heart, feeling the painful sting of an accusation levelled at his daughter, married to his most intimate friend who was none other than the Prophet in whom he unhesitatingly believed. Strong and pain-enduring as he was, he let out an expression of the writhing thoughts troubling him: “We were never accused of such a thing in the days of ignorance! Are we to accept such a charge under Islam?” His sick and much tormented daughter said to him: “Answer the Prophet!” Dejected and forlorn, he said: “By God, I do not know what to say to God’s Messenger, peace be upon him.” His wife, Umm Rawmān, tried to put a strong face on in front of her daughter who was rending her heart apart with crying. She said to her: “Calm down, child.

Any pretty woman married to a man who loves her will always be envied, especially if she shares him with other wives.” But her fortitude collapsed when her daughter said to her: “Answer the Prophet.” Like her husband before her, she said: “By God, I do not know what to say to God’s Messenger, peace be upon him.” And then, Şafwān ibn al-Mu`aţţal, a good believer who laid down his life to fight for God’s cause, was accused of being unfaithful to the Prophet. Thus, the accusation touched his honour, honesty and faith. A God-fearing Companion of the Prophet was falsely accused of being untrue to everything the Prophet’s Companions held dear. Yet he was certain of his innocence. When faced with this false accusation, he said: “All praise be to God! By God I have never taken a dress off a female’s shoulder.” When he heard that Hassān ibn Thābit was one of those who repeated the accusation, he hit him on the head with his sword, almost killing him. He knew that it was forbidden for him to hit a fellow Muslim, but the pain of this false accusation was unbearable.

Far worse, it was Muhammad (peace be upon him), God’s Messenger and the man at the pinnacle of the Hāshimite clan, the noblest in Arabia, who found himself subject to an accusation that involved none other than `Ā’ishah, the woman who occupied a special place in his heart as his most beloved wife. This accusation meant that the most private place in his home, which was a source of purity, was not pure.

The Prophet, who was very keen to guard every sanctity in his community, was faced with an accusation that violated the sanctity of his own household. God’s Messenger, who was protected against all harm, was shown through this accusation to have no protection from God! With this accusation levelled at `Ā’ishah (may God be pleased with her), the Prophet encountered everything that ran against his personal honour and against everything that was held dear to an Arab, and to a Prophet. Yet the accusation had been made, and was the subject of conversation in Madīnah for a whole month, and he had no means to put an end to it. For a definite purpose of His own, God let this falsehood circulate for a whole month, revealing nothing to set the record straight and put the facts as they were. Meanwhile, Muhammad, the man, suffered all that a human being experiences in such a hard situation. Shame and heart-felt pain were part of what he endured. But he also suffered the absence of the light that always illuminated his way, i.e. revelation. Doubt crept into his heart, despite the numerous indications that confirmed his wife’s innocence. Yet he lacked clear certainty as the rumours continued to circulate in Madīnah. His loving heart was tormented by doubt which he could not clear because he was, after all, a human being who experienced all human feelings. He was a man who could not entertain the thought that his bed could be stained. Once the seed of doubt creeps into a man’s heart, it is difficult to remove without clear and decisive evidence.

Alone, he found this whole burden too heavy. Therefore, he sent for Usāmah ibn Zayd, a young man who held a position close to his heart [as Usāmah was the son of the man the Prophet had adopted as his own son in pre-Islamic days]. He also sent for `Alī ibn Abī Ţālib, his trusted cousin. He consulted them both about this very private matter. `Alī, the Prophet’s close relative, was keenly aware of the difficulty of the situation and the pain, worry and doubt experienced by the Prophet, his cousin who had brought him up. Hence, he told him that God had not restricted him in matters of marriage. He also advised that the Prophet should ask the maid, so that he could get some reassurance. Usāmah, on the other hand, realized how compassionate the Prophet felt towards his wife, and how troubling to him was the thought of leaving her. He, therefore, stressed what he knew of her certain purity and the fact that those who circulated the rumour were indeed liars.

In his eagerness to establish the truth, and in his continued anxiety, Muhammad, the man, derived some support from Usāmah’s statement and the maid’s report. He spoke to the people in the mosque, reproaching those who did not respect his honour, spoke ill of his wife and accused a man who was known to be virtuous and with no blemish on his character. This led to friction between the Aws and the Khazraj, culminating in mutual accusations and verbal abuse. All took place in the Prophet’s presence, which gives us a picture of the atmosphere that prevailed in the Muslim community during that very strange period. It was a time when the sanctity of the Muslim leadership was breached. The Prophet was further hurt by the absence of the light which he always expected to illuminate his way. Therefore, he went to `Ā’ishah, telling her of people’s talk and asking her for a clear statement that could bring him relief.

At this point when the Prophet’s pain was at its most acute, his Lord turned to him with compassion. Revelations were bestowed from on high, making `Ā’ishah’s innocence absolutely clear. Thus, the noble household of the Prophet was free of blame. The hypocrites who had circulated this falsehood were exposed. The proper way of dealing with such a serious matter was also outlined for the Muslim community.

Referring to this passage of the Qur’ān that was revealed to deal with her case, `Ā’ishah said: “I knew that I was innocent and that God would make my innocence known. It did not occur to me for a moment, however, that God would reveal a passage of the Qur’ān concerning me. I felt myself too humble for God to include my case in His revelations. All I hoped for was that the Prophet should see something in his dream to prove my innocence.” But the question was not merely that of `Ā’ishah and her personal status. It touched on the Prophet, his personality and his role in the Muslim community. It indeed touched on his relation with his Lord and his message. The falsehood story was not aimed at `Ā’ishah as a person. Rather, it aimed to undermine the entire faith of Islam, by casting doubts about the Prophet sent by God to deliver this message.

For this reason, a whole passage of the Qur’ān was revealed to provide a final verdict about this invented falsehood. Thus, the Qur’ān directed the Muslim camp in the raging battle, revealing the divine wisdom behind all developments.

“Those who concocted the falsehood were a band from among you.” (Verse 11) It was not merely one or a few individuals that circulated the story. On the contrary, they were a ‘band’ or a group working for a particular objective. `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy was not the only one who fabricated the story. Rather, he was the one who took the lead and played the larger part in the affair. He simply represented the band of Jews or hypocrites who felt unable to fight Islam in open engagement. Therefore, they sought to hide behind the pretence that they were Muslims. They felt that this would enable them to scheme in secret against Islam. This false story was one of their worst schemes which was so successful that some Muslims were deceived and a few of them, like Ĥamnah hint Jaĥsh, Hassān ibn Thābit and Misţah ibn Athāthah repeated the story. The real culprits, however, were the band headed by `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, a canny schemer who operated behind the scene, saying nothing in public that might have incriminated him. He simply whispered into the ears of those whom he trusted never to testify against him. The plan was so subtle that the false rumours continued to circulate for a whole month in Madīnah, the purest society on earth at that time.

The Qur’ānic passage opens with stating this fact so as to make clear the enormity of the event and the fact that it was perpetrated by a group of people intent on wicked scheming against Islam. The sūrah, however, quickly reassures the Muslim community that the eventual outcome of the event will not harm them: “Do not regard it as bad for you; indeed it is good for you.” (Verse 11)

It was indeed good because it exposed those who schemed against Islam, targeting the Prophet and his family. It also showed the Muslim community the importance of prohibiting the accusation of adultery, and prescribing a severe punishment for such false accusations.’ The event also clearly showed the dangers that threatened the Muslim community if people were to casually accuse chaste female believers who might behave unwittingly. For once this begins, it never stops. Indeed, it can increase at such a scale that it eventually touches the most noble of leadership. The result is that the Muslim community loses all values that provide protection against such a state of affairs. Moreover, it is good for the Muslim community that God outlines how best to deal with such an affair.

As for the pain suffered by the Prophet, his household and the Muslim community in general, it is all part of the test they had to go through in order to learn through experience.

Those who were involved in circulating and repeating the false story will bear their fair share of sin, according to what they did or said: “Each one of them shall bear what he has earned of sin.” (Verse 11) Each will be taken to account by God for what they perpetrated. This is indeed vile because it is a sin that incurs punishment both in this world and in the life to come. Furthermore, “awesome suffering awaits the one who took on himself the lead among them,” to suite his role in this ghastly business.

The one ‘who took the lead’ and masterminded the whole affair was `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, the chief of the hypocrites who was consistently the worst schemer against Islam. He knew how to choose his moment which could have had devastating effects, had not God foiled all his schemes. In His grace, God preserved His faith, protected His Messenger and looked after the Muslim community. One report suggests that when Şafwān ibn al-Mu`aţţal, leading `Ā’ishah’s howdah, passed by him and a group of his people, `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy asked: ‘Who was that?’ People said: “Ā’ishah.’ He said: ‘By God! She has not been safe from him, nor was he safe from her.’ He further exclaimed: ‘Your Prophet’s wife has passed the night with a man until the morning, then he comes leading her!’ This was a wicked remark which he repeated in various ways, circulating it through his band of hypocrites. They employed such wicked means that Madīnah was full of this incredible story for a whole month, despite all indications and evidence that confirmed its falsehood. Yet many were the Muslims who spoke about it in a casual manner when it should have been dismissed right away.

How could all this have happened in that particular community? Even today, we are surprised that such a flimsy fabrication could have circulated in that Muslim community, producing far-reaching effects and causing much pain to the noblest people on earth.

The whole episode was a battle fought by God’s Messenger (peace be upon him), the Muslim community and Islam. It perhaps was the greatest battle fought by the Prophet. He emerged from it victorious, having controlled his great anguish, maintained his dignity and endured it all patiently. Not a word did he utter to indicate weakness or impatience. Yet he was experiencing the worst pain he ever endured in his life. He further recognized that the risks to which Islam was exposed as a result of this falsehood were among the worst it had to face at any time.

Yet had the Muslims then searched in their own hearts, they would have found the right answer. Had they applied simple natural logic, they would have been rightly guided. The Qur’ān directs all Muslims to follow this proper approach when they face such difficulties. It is the first step in arriving at the right conclusion: “When you heard it, why did not the believers, men and women, think the best of themselves, and say:

This is a blatant falsehood.’” (Verse 12)

That would have been much better. Muslims should think well of themselves and realize that they are highly unlikely to sink so low. Their Prophet’s pure wife and their brother who fought for Islam, laying down his life, belonged to them as a community. Hence, to think well of them was the better course of action. What is unbecoming of all Muslims is unbecoming of the Prophet’s wife and of his Companion who was known as a good person. This is indeed what was done by Abū Ayyūb, Khālid ibn Zayd al-Anşārī and his wife. According to Ibn Isĥāq, Abū Ayyūb was asked by his wife: “Have you heard what people are saying about `Ā’ishah?” He replied: “Yes, I have, and it is all lies. Would you have done that, Umm Ayyūb?” She said: “No, by God! I would not.” He said: “And by God, `Ā’ishah is better than you.” A different report is given by al-Zamakhsharī in his commentary on the Qur’ān, suggesting that it was Abū Ayyūb who asked his wife: “Have you heard what is being said?” In reply, she asked him: “Had you been in Şafwān’s place, would you have thought ill of the Prophet’s wife?” He said: “Certainly not.” She said: “And if I were in `Ā’ishah’s place, I would never be unfaithful to the Prophet. Yet `A’ishah is better than me, and Şafwān is better than you.” Both reports suggest that some Muslims at least searched their own hearts and ruled out the possibility that the false story suggested. They dismissed any notion that `Ā’ishah or the Prophet’s Companion could have committed such a grave sin and been unfaithful to the Prophet, and recognized how utterly flimsy the basis of the whole accusation was. This is the first step in the approach the Qur’ān outlines for dealing with such matters; it seeks evidence from within people’s consciences.

The second step is to produce material evidence: “Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it? Since they have not produced witnesses, then in the sight of God, they were certainly liars.” (Verse 13)

This blatant fabrication targeted the highest position in the Muslim community and the purest people. Hence, it should not have been allowed to circulate casually without supporting evidence. Hence the requirement: “Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it?” (Verse 13) They certainly did not produce any witnesses.

Hence, they were, in God’s judgement, liars. God never alters His verdict or modifies His decision. Thus, this description of those people as liars remains always true of them, and they cannot escape it in any situation.

Thus we have two steps in the Islamic approach: searching in our own hearts and basing our decision on firm and clear evidence. But the Muslim community at the time overlooked both steps, allowing the liars to speak ill of the Prophet and his honour. This was serious indeed and it could have landed the Muslim community in serious trouble, had it not been for God’s grace. Hence, God warns the Muslims never to fall into such a trap again: “Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, in this world and in the life to come, awesome suffering would indeed have afflicted you on account of what you indulged in.” (Verse 14)

God wanted this to be a very hard lesson for the fledgling Muslim community, but in His compassion He did not inflict any punishment on them. The offence itself merited stiff punishment because of the pain it caused the Prophet, his wife, close friend and his other Companion of whom he knew nothing but good. It also merited a punishment equal to the evil that circulated within the Muslim community, violating all its sacred values, and equal to the hypocrites’ wickedness whose scheme aimed to undermine Islam by raising doubts about God, the Prophet and the Muslim community itself. This continued for a whole month which was a time of doubt, worry and confusion. But God’s grace was forthcoming, and He bestowed His mercy on those who were in error after having learnt their bitter lesson.

The sūrah gives us a picture of the period, when standards and values were placed on the wrong footing, and the community lost sight of its principles: “You took it up with your tongues and uttered with your mouths something of which you have no knowledge, thinking it a light matter whereas in God’s sight it is grave indeed.” (Verse 15) The picture painted here is one of recklessness and irresponsibility, showing little care for even the most serious of matters.

“You took it up with your tongues.” (Verse 15) One tongue picks it up from another paying little heed to what is being said. There was an utter lack of proper examination of the report, as though people repeated it without ever thinking of its significance. You “uttered with your mouths something of which you have no knowledge.” (Verse 15) It is just like that: a mouth utterance without thought or consideration.

Mere idle talk uttered and circulated even before it is understood. They thought it a light matter, although it was an accusation against God’s Messenger’s personal honour, causing him, his wife and household great pain. It was an accusation against Abū Bakr’s family which suffered no similar trouble even in pre-Islamic days when moral values were of little importance. This false story also accused another Companion of the Prophet who laid his life down for the defence of Islam. It further had negative implications concerning the care God took of His Messenger. Yet, still they circulated the false rumour “thinking it a light matter whereas in God’s sight it is grave indeed.” (Verse 15) Nothing could be described as grave in God’s sight unless it is so serious that it shakes firm mountains and disturbs the heavens and earth.

A matter of such seriousness should have made people shudder just on hearing it.

They should have been reluctant even to refer to it, and certainly been unwilling to accept it as a subject of conversation. They should have looked to God to protect His Messenger. Such falsehood should have been cast aside immediately: “If only when you heard it you said: ‘It is not right for us to speak of this. All glory belongs to You! This is a monstrous slander.’” (Verse 16)

When the matter has thus been clarified, and those early Muslims were taken aback by the enormity of the affair and their role in it, they were given a very stern warning for the future: “God admonishes you lest you ever revert to the like of this, if you are truly believers.” (Verse 17)

The warning comes in the form of an admonition so as to be educative, choosing the time when the Muslim community is at its most receptive. But the admonition carries at the same time an implicit warning, and attaches their being believers to the heeding of this warning. Believers cannot retain their faith if they revert to the same type of action after they have been shown its enormity and after they have been given such a warning.

“And God makes plain to you His revelations.” (Verse 18) He has certainly shown the story to be plainly false, exposing the scheming behind it. He has also made plain the errors involved in this matter. “God is All-Knowing, Wise.” He knows motives, intentions, objectives, thoughts and feelings. His method of bringing out the best in people and providing proper restrictions and controls to set the community’s life right testifies to His wisdom.

The sūrah further elaborates its comments on this falsehood and its effects, repeating its warning against anything that may be of a similar nature. It reminds the Muslims of God’s grace and mercy, warning those who falsely accuse chaste women of committing indecency that they expose themselves to God’s punishment in the life to come. It also purges people’s hearts of the remaining effects of this confrontation, frees them of earthly restrictions and restores their purity. This is clearly reflected in Abū Bakr’s attitude to Misţah ibn Athāthah, his relative who was involved in repeating the story.

“Those who love that gross indecency should spread among the believers shall be visited with grievous suffering both in this world and in the life to come. God knows, but you do not know.” (Verse 19) The ones who accused chaste women of adultery, particularly those who made their accusations against the Prophet’s own family, really aimed to undermine the values of goodness, chastity and fidelity, so as to make it easier for people to commit adultery by implying that it was common practice. When people begin to think of it in this light, it will be practised more frequently.

This is the reason for describing the false accusers of chaste women as people who love to spread indecency among the believers. Hence they are warned against a very severe suffering both in this life and in the life to come.

It is an aspect of the Qur’ānic method of educating the Muslim community and a measure of prevention based on perfect knowledge of how people react and formulate their attitudes, feelings and lines of action. Hence, the comment at the end of the verse asserts: “God knows, but you do not know.” Who knows the human heart better than the One who created it? Who can provide humanity with a better code of living than the One who originated it? Who sees what is concealed as well as what is left in the open, and whose knowledge encompasses all things and situations?

Once again the sūrah reminds the believers of the grace God bestows on them:

“Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, and that God is Compassionate, Merciful. ..!” (Verse 20)

The mistake committed was grave indeed, and its evil was about to engulf the whole Muslim community, but God’s grace, mercy and care prevented this evil.

Hence, God reminds them of this, time after time, as He aims this to be an edifying lesson. When they realized the extent of the matter that could have engulfed them all, had it not been for God’s grace and mercy, they were told that what they did was indeed following in Satan’s footsteps. They must not fall into this trap, since Satan is their avowed enemy, ever since the beginning of human life. Again they are warned against what this may entail in their life: “Believers! Do not follow Satan’s footsteps, for he who follows Satan’s footsteps will only enjoin what is shameful and wrong. Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, none of you would have ever been pure. It is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity. God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (Verse 21)

Nothing but a terrible fate awaits the believers if they take just one step with Satan. They should steer away from him altogether and follow a different way. The very thought of following Satan is repugnant to believers. Hence, drawing it in this way and holding it in front of them should make them always alert. “He who follows Satan’s footsteps will only enjoin what is shameful and wrong.” (Verse 21) This false story is a stark and gruesome example of how Satan leads believers to something evil.

Man is weak, susceptible to desires and whims which may leave him stained, unless he benefits by God’s grace when he turns to Him and follows His guidance:

“Were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, none of you would have ever been pure. It is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity.” (Verse 21) When God’s light shines in a believer’s heart, it purifies it. It is only through God’s favours and grace that people grow in purity. Since God knows all and hears all, He certainly knows the ones who deserve to be purified and who are genuinely good. It is these that He helps to grow in purity.

Within the context of purity, the sūrah calls on believers to forgive one another as they love to be forgiven their sins: “Let not those of you who have been graced with God’s favour and ample means resolve by oath not to help those who are near of kin, the needy and those who have left their homes for the sake of God. But let them pardon and forbear. Do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins? God is indeed Much- Forgiving, Merciful.” (Verse 22)

This verse was revealed in connection with Abū Bakr after the Qur’ān had cleared his daughter, `Ā’ishah the pure, of any misconduct. He realized that Misţah ibn Athāthah, his relative whom he supported because of his poverty, was among those involved in circulating the false rumour. Therefore, he vowed that he would never do Misţah a good turn in the future. This verse, however, reminds Abū Bakr and the believers that they also commit mistakes and hope for God’s forgiveness. Hence, they should forgive one another their mistakes. They must not deprive those who need the support of their generosity, even though the latter might have committed a grave error.

Now we see how one of the souls touched by God’s light grows in purity attaining a truly sublime standard. Abū Bakr, who was so deeply hurt by the false rumours targeting his daughter and attempting to disgrace his family, responded to the Qur’ānic call on the believers to forgive those who hurt them. He reflected on the inspiring question, “Do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins?” (Verse 22)

And he rose above the pain and injury, and also above the logic that prevailed in his environment. He felt there could only be one answer to that question, and with certainty and contentment he said: “Yes, indeed. I love that God should forgive me.” He reinstated the allowance he had been giving Misţah, and vowed anew that he would never stop it in future. His vow replaced his earlier one that he would not give him anything. With such a sublime standard of generosity, Abū Bakr’s heart was cleansed of any hard feeling and retained its purity.

The forgiveness of which God reminds the believers is granted only to those who repent of their errors, accusing chaste women of adultery and spreading corruption in the Muslim community. On the other hand, those who, like Ibn Ubayy, deliberately, and out of malice, make such accusations, will have no pardon or forgiveness. Even though they may escape punishment in this world, because no witnesses will testify against them, they will inevitably endure the punishment in the hereafter when no witnesses will be required.

Those who accuse chaste women who may have been unthinkingly careless but remained true believers, shall be rejected by God in this world as well as in the life to come. They shall endure awesome suffering; on the day when their own tongues, hands and feet will testify to what they did. On that day God will pay them in full their just due, and they will come to know that God alone is the Ultimate Truth, absolutely manifest. (Verses 23-25)

The sūrah paints their crime in stark colours so as to expose its odious nature. It is an accusation against chaste women believers who go about their lives, totally oblivious to any possibility of accusation. They behave naturally, not thinking that they will be accused of something, simply because they have done nothing wrong.

To accuse them of immorality is thus seen to be very serious, betraying the contemptible and mean nature of their accusers. Hence, they are cursed now by God, and expelled from among those who receive His grace in this present life and in the life to come. The sūrah then shows us a fascinating scene: “On the day when their own tongues, hands and feet will testify to what they did.” (Verse 24) Thus we see them accusing one another, just as they used to accuse chaste believing women. The contrast is very clear, as is always the case in the Qur’ān.

“On that day God will pay them in full their just due.” (Verse 25) Their deeds will be accurately reckoned and they will be given all that they really deserve. At that time they will he certain of what they used to be in doubt about. “They will come to know that God alone is the Ultimate Truth, absolutely manifest.” (Verse 25)

The sūrah concludes its comments on this whole story of falsehood by highlighting God’s justice in the way He has given man his nature so as to manifest itself in practice. This is why the corrupt will unite with their like and the good will associate with others of their type. This is how relations are consolidated between husband and wife. Hence, it is absolutely impossible that `Ā’ishah could be like what her accusers said of her, because she was destined to be the wife of the best person that ever lived.

“Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women, just as good women are for good men, and good men for good women. These are innocent of all that people may impute to them. Forgiveness and excellent sustenance are in store for them.” (Verse 26)

The Prophet dearly loved `Ā’ishah. It was inconceivable that God should let His Prophet love her so much unless she was innocent of all guilt, pure and deserving of such a great love.

Good men and women are, by their very nature, “innocent of all that people may impute to them.” (Verse 26) False accusations cannot stick to them. “Forgiveness and excellent sustenance are in store for them.” (Verse 26) They will be forgiven any mistake they may commit, and they have their reward with God, clearly indicating their high position with Him.

Thus the sūrah concludes its comments on this serious trial for the Muslim community because it aimed at undermining their trust that the Prophet’s household was absolutely pure and that God would not allow anyone but the most pure to be a member of that household. God wanted this episode to be an edifying lesson for the Muslim community, elevating it to an even more sublime standard.