Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:12
Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
This is a rebuke from Allah, the Exalted, directed at the believers because of what had arisen in their hearts from the slanderous talk that was being spread about ʿĀʾisha. The Exalted says to them: Why, O people, when you heard what the group of liars said about ʿĀʾisha, did not the believing men and the believing women among you think the best of their fellow believers — that is to say: think that the one accused of this had not committed such an indecency? The word bi-anfusihim (about themselves) is used here because all Muslims are as one soul, for they belong to one community.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
*Mention of who said this:*
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of his father, on the authority of some of the men of the Banū al-Najjār, that Abū Ayyūb Khālid ibn Zayd had said to his wife Umm Ayyūb: Do you hear what the people are saying about ʿĀʾisha? He said: Yes, and it is a lie. Would you do such a thing, O Umm Ayyūb? She said: No, by Allah, I would never do such a thing. He said: Then ʿĀʾisha, by Allah, is better than you. When the Qurʾān was revealed, Allah named those who uttered the lie about ʿĀʾisha as belonging to the group of liars: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ — these were Ḥassān and his companions who said what they said. Then He said: لَوْلا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ — the verse: as if it were as Abū Ayyūb and his wife had done.
Yūnus related to me; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: لَوْلا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا — This good is: the believer thinks that the believer would not commit fornication (zinā) with his mother, and that the mother would not do that with her son. If anyone wished to commit fornication, he would commit it with someone other than his mother. He said: ʿĀʾisha was indeed a mother, and the believers were her sons — she was forbidden to them. And he recited: لَوْلا جَاءُوا عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ — the verse.
Al-Qāsim related to us; he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us; he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا — he said: The good for them. Do you not see that He says: وَلا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ — that is to say: some of you (kill) others? And: peace (salām) upon yourselves — that is to say: some of you greet others.
Ibn Bashshār related to us; he said: Hawdha related to us; he said: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His words: لَوْلا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا — by this he meant the believing men and women.
As for His words: وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُبِينٌ (And they said: This is a manifest lie) — He says: the believing men and women said: what we heard from those people — that of which ʿĀʾisha was accused regarding indecency — is a lie and a sin which, to whoever reflects and considers it, makes clear that it is a lie, a sin, and a false accusation.
Thus Ibn Bashshār related to us; he said: Hawdha related to us; he said: ʿAwf informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُبِينٌ — they said: this can only be uttered by one who brings four witnesses for it and upon whom the prescribed punishment for fornication (ḥadd al-zinā) is imposed.
