Indexed OCR Text

357
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 3
fully well that she would not give up her obnoxious habit of adultery even
after the bond of marriage. Only a male adulterer would be attracted to
her whose sole aim is to fulfill his lust rather than marriage. But if she
makes marriage a condition for any mundane consideration, he accepts
that too as a compromise. Alternatively, a polytheist male would agree to
marry an adulterer (Muslim) woman. Since, marrying a polytheist is as
prohibited for a Muslim woman as adultery, two things have been
combined in this situation, that the man is both a polytheist and an
adulterer. This is the explanation of the second sentence of the verse Gur,
.(24:3) لاَيَنْكِحُهَآ إِلاَّ زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ
This has become apparent from the above explanation that the term
adulterer is used for those men and women who do not repent and beg
Allah's Mercy, and stick to this evil habit. In case an adulterer man
marries a chaste woman for the sake of house-keeping or for having
children, then there is no ban to this marriage from this verse. Similarly,
if an adulterer woman marries a virtuous man with the intent of leading
a pure life, then also there is no stopping for such a marriage in the light
of this verse. Such a marriage will be valid in accordance with the Islamic
law. Majority of the Muslim jurists like Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik
and Imam Shafii etc. are of the same view, and it is also established that
the companions of the Prophet
have solemnized such marriages. Tafsir
Ibn Kathir has also reported the same fatwa by Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas
Now, as to the last sentence of the verse ◌َ24:3) وَحُرِّمَ ذلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِين) some
commentators have explained the word & as alluding towards adultery.
In that case the meaning of the sentence would be that, as the adultery is
such an evil act, it has been forbidden for believers. There is no confusion
in the meaning by adopting this explanation, but taking Ss for the
meaning of adultery is rather far fetched in the context of this verse.
Therefore, other commentators have adopted the explanation for Ss to
allude towards the marriage of adulterer (man and woman) and
polytheist (man and woman).
The marriage between a Muslim man and a polytheist woman, and
between a polytheist man and a Muslim woman is even otherwise
established as forbidden by other categorical Qur'anic injunctions, and
there is consensus of Ummah on the issue. However, the marriage
between an adulterer man and a chaste woman, and a chaste man and

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 4 - 5
an adulterer woman is forbidden as implied by this sentence but is
exclusive to the situation that a chaste man after marrying an adulterer
woman does not stop her from indulging in adultery even after the
marriage, as that will be nothing short of pimping, which is forbidden
(!) by Islamic law. Similarly, if a pious and chaste lady marries a
habitual adulterer man and let him indulge in adultery even after the
marriage, then this is also forbidden (!). What is meant here is that it is
a big sin, but it does not follow that their marriage will be nullified.
The word 'prohibited' ( ~~ ) has two connotations in Islamic law. One,
that this act is a sin and one who acts upon it will undergo punishment
for that in the Hereafter, and the other is that it will have no legal
validity in this world either. For instance if a Muslim man marries a
polytheist or a woman of prohibited degree, then it is not only a sin but
such a marriage is not valid under Islamic law. There is no difference
between such a marriage and adultery. The second meaning of
prohibition is that the act is forbidden (!) and is liable for punishment,
but the legal consequences of the act are recognized. For example if a
man elopes or abducts a woman and then marries her before two
witnesses with her consent, then despite the act being unlawful, the
marriage will be valid and the children legitimate. Similarly the marriage
between an adulterer man and an adulterer woman is though prohibited
if they marry for some worldly expediency but their real aim is adultery,
yet, such a marriage is legally recognized. As such all the provisions of
marriage, such as alimony, dower, lineage proof, heritage etc. will all be
applicable. This way the word >> in this verse fits in very well for the
polytheist woman as per former explanation, and for the adulterers (man
and woman) according to the latter explanation.
In the light of this explanation it is not needed to declare the verse as
cancelled as has been done by some commentators.
Verses 4 - 5
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُوْنَ الْمُحْصَنْتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوْا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَآءَ فَاجُلِدُوُهُمُ
ثَمْنِيْنَ جَلْدَةً وَّلاَ تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا" وَأُولِئِكَ هُمُ الْفُسِقُوْنَ

359
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 4 - 5
إِلَّ الَّذِيْنَ تَابُوا مِنْ بَعُدِ ذلِكَ وَأَصُلَحُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّه غَفُورٌ
4,
B
1
And those who accuse the chaste women (of
fornication), but they do not produce four witnesses,
flog them with eighty stripes and do not accept their
any evidence any more, and they are the sinners, [4]
except those who repent afterwards and mend their
ways; then, Allah is All-Forgiving, Very-Merciful. [5]
Commentary
The third injunction relating to fornication is on false
accusation and the punishment prescribed for it
As explained earlier, since adultery is the most damaging and heinous
of all crimes for society, as such its punishment is also most severe under
Islamic law, compared to all other crimes. Hence it was the requirement of
justice and fairness that the special care be attached to prove this act.
Without having prescribed evidence under Islamic law, no one should
dare accuse any man or woman of adultery. Therefore, the Islamic law
has made it mandatory to produce four honest equitable just men as
witnesses to the crime, without which the accusation of adultery is
declared a big crime by itself, for which the prescribed punishment (>) is
eighty stripes. In view of this mandatory provision one would dare
making the accusation of adultery only when he is absolutely sure of
watching the crime happening himself. Not only that, at the same time he
should be sure that alongwith him another three honest men have also
seen the crime happening, for which they will give the evidence. Because,
if there are no other witnesses, or the total number is less than four, or
there is doubt if the witnesses will give the evidence, then only one man
would never like to venture evidence alone and be punished with eighty
stripes.
A doubt and its answer
As for the issue that when there are such strong conditions for the
evidence of adultery, the criminals will have a free hand. No one will ever
dare to give evidence and fulfill the conditions of Islamic law, and hence,
no criminal will ever get punished. But this thinking is totally wrong,
because these conditions are exclusive to the punishment prescribed as

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 4 - 5
hadd for adultery, i.e. - hundred stripes or stoning. If two non-mehram
man and woman are seen together in a compromising posture or
indulging in shameless acts, then there is no restriction against giving
evidence for it. All such matters which have nexus to adultery are also
liable for punishment under Islamic penal code, for which punishment of
stripes is awarded at the discretion of the judge or the ruler in accordance
with the extent of the crime, but not the maximum punishment of hadd.
Therefore, someone who has seen the act of adultery, but has no other
witnesses need not give evidence of adultery, but can testify for having
seen the accused persons in compromising position, and the judge or ruler
can award the punishment after establishing the crime.
(مُحْصَنَات) Who are muhsanat
The word Muhsanat is derived from the word oua2. In the Islamic
jurisprudence there are two types of ola ! . One, that has been
acknowledged for the punishment of adultery. It means that the person
against whom adultery is established is sane, adult, a free Muslim, and
who is validly married to a Muslim woman and has also copulated with
her. In that case the punishment of stoning will be awarded to him. The
second type is that which has been acknowledged for the punishment of
Jo, that is punishment for accusation of adultery. It means that the
person against whom the charge of adultery is levelled is sane, adult, a
free Muslim and chaste, that is he has not been proved an adulterer
before. The word clay is used in this sense in this verse (Jassas).
Ruling
In the Qur'anic verse, either because of general practice or because of
the incident for which the verse was revealed, the accusation of adultery
and related punishment is described in a way that the accusers are men
and the accused is a chaste lady. But the injunction applies to all
situations because of the common ground applicable to all persons. If a
woman levels a charge of adultery against another woman or a man, or a
nan accuses another man, but the required legal evidence is lacking,
then in either case the accuser will be liable to the punishment of eighty
stripes. (Jaşşaş & Hidayah)
Ruling
The punishment of eighty stripes as hadd is exclusive to false

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 4 - 5
accusation of adultery and does not apply to accusation of any other
crime. However, other punishments of ta'zir can be awarded on false
accusations of other crimes. Although it is not specifically mentioned in
the Qur'an that this punishment is exclusive to false accusation of
adultery but the condition of four witnesses is the proof of its
exclusiveness, because the condition of four witnesses is only in the case
of adultery. (Jaşaş and Hidayah)
Ruling
The punishment prescribed for qazf (false accusation of adultery)
relates to the right of the person against whom the charge of adultery is
levelled. As such the punishment against this crime will be executed only
when the person demands the execution of the punishment, otherwise it
will be annulled. This is unlike the punishment of adultery, which is
purely a right of Allah. Therefore, it has to be executed, even though no
person has ever demanded for it.
وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمُ شَهَادَةٌ أَبَدًا
And do not accept his any evidence any more - 24:4.
It means that the person guilty of qazf is subject to two punishments.
One is inflict at once, i.e. the eighty stripes, but there is another
punishment which stays with the culprit for ever. This punishment is that
his evidence will not be accepted in any matter, unless he begs Allah's
pardon with sincere repentance, and is also forgiven by the one whom he
had accused. Until this is done, his evidence will not be acceptable in any
case. This much is by consensus of Ummah. But in case of Hanafiah, even
after begging the pardon, his evidence is not acceptable. Only his sin is
pardoned.
إِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ تَابُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ ذُلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُواْتَ فَإِنَّ اللّهِ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Except those who repent afterwards and mend their ways; then,
Allah is All-Forgiving, Very-Merciful. (24:5)
Those who have been punished for false accusation of adultery, if
they beg pardon and improve their habits, so that there is no risk of
repetition of falsehood from them and also obtain forgiveness from one
they had accused, then Allah Ta'ala grants forgiveness and is Merciful.
This exemption, that is إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ تَابُوا refers to only the last sentence of the

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
previous verse according to Imam Abu Hanifah and some other Imams,
which is ◌َ24:4) وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفُسِقُون). So, with this exemption it means that the
one who is punished for false accusation is a sinner, but if he repents with
sincerity and improves himself after obtaining forgiveness from the one
he had falsely accused, then he will no longer remain a sinner, and his
punishment will be pardoned in the Hereafter. In other words the two
punishments meant for this world, which are referred in the beginning of
the verse, that is eighty stripes and inadmissibility of his evidence, will
remain despite the repentance. It is because the big punishment of stripes
has already been executed and the second punishment is part of hadd.
All scholars are unanimous on the point that repentance does not remit
punishment of hadd, only the torment of the Hereafter is pardoned. Since
inadmissibility of the evidence is part of hadd, it will not be remitted by
repentance. Imam Shafi'i and some other Imams have taken this
exemption toward all the sentences of the previous verse, which means
that as one does not remain sinner after repentance, hence he would also
not be debarred from giving evidence. Jassas and Mazhari have provided
arguments on both sides - Those interested may consult them.
Verses 6 - 10
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُونَ أَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَلَمْ يَكُنُ لَّهُمْ شُهَدَآءُ إِلاَّ أَنْفُسُهُمُ
فَشَهَادَةُ أَحَدِ هِمْ أَرْبَعُ شَهْدتٍ بِاللّهِ" إِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصُّدِقِيْنَ ﴿٦﴾
وَالْخَامِسَةُ أَنَّ لَعْنَتَ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْكُذِبِيْنَ ﴿٢﴾ وَيَدْرَؤُا
عَنْهَا الْعَذَابَ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ آَرْبَعَ شَهَاتٍ ) بِاللهِ( إِنَّهُ، لَمِنَ الْكُذِيْنَ
﴿٨﴾ وَالْخَامِسَةَ أَنَّ غَضَبَ اللهِ عَلَيْهَا إِنْ كَانَ مِنْ الصُّدِقِينَ ﴿٩)
وَلَوْ لاَ فَضُلُ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ، وَأَنَّ اللّهَ تَوَّابٌّ حَكِيْمٌ ﴿.١﴾
And those who accuse their wives (of adultery) and they
have no witnesses except their own selves, then the
evidence of one of them would be to swear four oaths
by Allah that he is from among the truthful, [6] and the
fifth (oath) that Allah's curse be on him if he is from
among the liars. [7] And it will remove the punishment
from the woman if she swears four oaths by Allah that

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
he ( the accuser husband) is certainly from among the
liars, [8] and the fifth (oath) that Allah's wrath be on
her if he is among the truthful. [9] And had it not been
for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy and (had
it not been) that Allah is Most-Relenting, All-Wise (you
would have been ruined). [10]
Commentary
The fourth injunction is of Li'an (¿W : curse) among the adjuncts
of fornication
The meaning of JU and west is to curse and praying for Allah's wrath
on each other. Certain specific types of oaths between husband and wife
with special connotation are called Li'an (s ) in Islamic law. When a
husband accuses his wife of adultery or refuses to own his child as being
legitimate, and his wife refutes his allegation to be false, and claims for
the punishment of false accusation (Jf) of eighty stripes to be awarded
to him, then the husband will be asked to produce four witnesses. If the
husband produces four witnesses, then the wife will be awarded the
punishment of adultery, and if he could not produce four witnesses, then
they will be subjected to li'an (54), that is first the husband will be asked
to testify four times with the wordings given in the Qur'an to the effect
that he is honest, and the fifth time will say that if he was lying, then
Allah's curse be on him.
If the husband hesitates from saying these words, then he should be
arrested, and asked either to swear by saying these words five times or
accept himself to be a liar. Until he accedes to one of the two alternatives,
he should not be released. If he accepts himself to be a liar, then he
should be awarded the punishment of false allegation of adultery (
Jiall), but, in case he swears by repeating the required words five times,
then the wife be asked to swear five times by uttering the words given in
the Qur'an for this purpose. If she refuses to swear, then she should be
put under arrest until such time that either she swears five times or
accepts her guilt of adultery, in which case she will be awarded the
punishment for adultery. In case she agrees to swear and utters the
required words five times, then the process of li'an (su) has been
completed. This way they both have escaped the punishment in this
world, but in the Hereafter, the one who has lied will suffer the
punishment, as Allah knows best who is the liar. However, in this world

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
also, after the process of li'an (¿) this couple will be forbidden to each
other for ever. The husband should free the woman by divorcing her. If
the husband does not divorce her, then the judge or the ruler can have
them separated by his decree, which will have the same force as divorce.
Moreover, they also cannot get married again for ever. Details of the
process of li'an (ou) are given in the books of fiqh, where they can be
seen.
The law of li'an (36) has been placed in the Islamic jurisprudence to
take care of the psychology and emotions of the husband, because in the
preceding verses it has been ruled that for putting the blame of adultery
on anyone it is essential to produce four eyewitnesses, and if one fails to
do so, then he himself will be liable to punishment of false allegation of
adultery. For a common man it is possible to keep quiet and not to accuse
someone of adultery if he cannot produce four eye-witnesses, in order to
save himself from the punishment of false accusation of adultery, but for
the husband it is different and a very grave matter, when he has seen the
adultery of his wife with his own eyes. For if he accuses his wife without
the support of four eye-witnesses he will be liable to punishment of eighty
stripes, and if he keeps quiet, it will be a life long agony for him to live
with the knowledge that his wife has been unfaithful to him. Therefore,
the husband's case has been separated from the general law and a
separate provision has been prescribed, which is exclusive to the case
between husband and wife. For others the directive is the same as
enjoined in the preceding verses.
The books of Hadith have narrated two incidents under this subject
The commentators have different views as to which of the two incidents
was the cause of revelation of these verses. Qurtubi has taken both the
incidents as the cause of revelation of verses so as the revelation was
repeated twice. Hafiz Ibn Hajr, the annotator of Bukhari, and Nawawi,
the annotator of Muslim, have treated both incidents as the cause of
revelation of the verses. Their reasoning is more appealing, which will
soon appear. One incident is that of Hilal bin Umayyah and his wife,
which is narrated in Bukhari on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas 4ee . The
initial part of this incident, also on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas 40 , has
appeared in the Musnad of Ahmad like this:
Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas 46 has said that when the verses of Qur'an on

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
punishment of false accusation of adultery were revealed namely,
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُوْنَ الْمُحْصَنْتِ ثُمَّلَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةٍ شُهَدَآءَ فَاجْلِدُوُهُمْ ثَمِنِيْنَ جَلْدَةً
And those who accuse the chaste women (of fornication), but
they do not produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty
stripes - 24:4.
in which it is made obligatory on the person accusing a woman of
adultery to produce four eyewitnesses, one of them he being himself, and
if he fails to do so, then he should be charged with the false accusation
and awarded eighty stripes instead, and should also be debarred for life
from giving any evidence. After hearing these verses a leader of
Madinah, Sayyidna Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah
enquired from the Holy
Prophet
whether these verses were revealed like that only. The
Holy Prophet
(was very surprised to hear this from Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah),
asked the Ansar whether they were listening to what their leader had
said. The group of Ansar pleaded to the Holy Prophet
not to reproach
him, as he had made this enquiry only because of extreme sense of
honour. Then Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah spoke himself and said "My parents be
sacrificed on your honour! I know fully well that these verses are nothing
but truth, and have been revealed from Allah Ta'ala; but what I am
surprised of is that if I see a shameless wife in a situation that a strange
man is lying over her, then would it not be right for me to scold him and
remove him from there. Instead, will it be incumbent on me to get four
men and show them this situation to make them eye-witnesses, and by
the time I could find four men, he runs away after performing his work?".
(Sayyidna Sa'd's wordings are recorded with slight differences by various
narrators, but the gist of all is the same. - Qurțubi)
Only a short time had lapsed after revelation of the verses of
punishment against false accusation of adultery and the remarks made
by Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah, that the incident of Hilal Ibn Umayyah
took
place. It so happened that Sayyidna Hilal 4
returned from his lands late
in the night, when he saw a man with his wife with his own eyes, and
listened to their conversation. But he did not do any thing and waited
until the dawn, when he went to the Holy Prophet
and narrated the
story, the Holy Prophet i was very unhappy to hear about this incident
and felt very bad. In the meantime the people of Ansar were gathered
and started discussing among themselves that the same thing had

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
happened as was hinted by their chief, and that Hilal Ibn Umayyah 4
would be punished with eighty stripes in accordance with the Islamic law,
and be debarred for life for giving any evidence. Nevertheless, Hilal Ibn
Umayyah 4
said 'By Allah I am very hopeful that Allah Ta'ala will take
me out of this predicament'. Sahih of Bukhari has also quoted that in fact
the Holy Prophet , after hearing the incident of Sayyidna Hilal 46 had
asked him, according to Islamic law, to produce four eye-witnesses or be
prepared for the punishment of eighty stripes on the back. Sayyidna Hilal
Ibn Umayyah swore an oath by God before the Holy Prophet
, and
pleaded that he was honest, and that Allah will surely send down a
command which will save his back from flogging. While this conversation
was still on Jibra'll
descended with the verses containing the law of
li'an, that is:
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُوْنَ أَزْوَاجَهُمْ
And those who accuse their wives (of adultery). - 24:6.
Abu Ya'la has quoted the same version on the authority of Sayyidna
Anas 40% , which also says that when the verses of li'an were revealed,
the Holy Prophet
gave the good tiding to Hilal Ibn Umayyah tee that
Allah Ta'ala has sent down the solution to his predicament. Hilal replied
that he was hoping the same from Allah Ta'ala.
Then the Holy Prophet
called Sayyidna Hilal Ibn Umayyah's
4
wife also, and when they were both together, he inquired from the wife
about the incident. She said that her husband was making a false
accusation against her. The Holy Prophet
g said that Allah knows one of
you is a liar, so would you not dread (Allah's torment) and come out with
the truth and repent. Then Sayyidna Hilal Ibn Umayyah 4
said 'My
parents be sacrificed on you! I have said nothing but truth and whatever
I have said is true'. After that the Holy Prophet > directed that the
process of li'an be conducted on both husband and wife according to the
revealed verses of the Qur'an. First Sayyidna Hilal
' was asked to
testify four times with the wordings of Qur'an, which are, 'Believing Allah
to be present everywhere and seeing everything, I testify that I am
honest in my allegation', Sayyidna Hilal
testified four times with the
Qur'anic wordings. When it came to testify the fifth time, of which the
Qur'anic wordings are, 'Allah's curse be on me, if I were lying'. At that

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
time the Holy Prophet
said to Sayyidna Hilal Ibn Umayyah 400, as a
warning, that he must be careful and fear Allah, as worldly punishment
is lighter than the torment of the Hereafter. The torment of Allah is much
more severe than the punishment of people, and that the fifth testimony
is the final one, on which the ruling would depend. But Hilal Ibn
Umayyah insisted that he could say under oath that Allah Ta'ala would
not punish him for his testimony in the Hereafter (as he was sure that
this was a true testimony). Then he uttered the wordings of the fifth
testimony. After that the Holy Prophet
obtained four oaths, in the
similar manner, from his wife. She too swore with Qur'anic wordings that
her husband was lying. When it came to testify the fifth time, the Holy
Prophet
asked her to wait, and warned her that it was the fifth and
final testimony, and as such she should be fearful of Allah, as His torment
is much more severe than the punishment by the people, that is the
Islamic punishment of adultery. On hearing this, she hesitated to swear
and waited in that condition for a while. Then said ultimately 'By Allah I
will not disgrace my people', and testified the fifth time, saying that if her
husband was true then Allah's wrath be on her. This way when the
process of li'an was completed, the Holy Prophet
separated the
husband and wife, that is broke down their marriage, and ruled that the
child to be born of this conception will take the mother's name and will not
be attributed to the father, but the child should not be disparaged. (Tafsir
Mazhari quoted from Musnad Ahmad, authority Ibn 'Abbas).
The second incident
The second incident is also quoted in the Sahihs of Bukhari and
Muslim, and the details of the incident are narrated by Baghawi on the
authority of Ibn 'Abbas
. He has said that the Holy Prophet &g , while
standing on minbar, related the verses` in which it is enjoined to punish
وَالَّذِينَ يَرُمُونَ that is, (حدّ القذف) the man making false accusation of adultery
char JI (24:4). At that time Sayyidna 'Aşim Ibn 'Adiyy al-Ansa
was
also present in the crowd. He got up and pleaded 'O Messenger of Allah
my life be sacrificed on your honour ! If any one of us discovers his
wife lying in bed with another man and narrates this situation, then he
will be punished with eighty stripes, and would be debarred from giving
evidence for life. Moreover, the Muslims would call him liar. In such a
situation how can we get the eyewitnesses immediately? And if we do, and

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
go in search of eyewitnesses, he would run away after doing his work, by
the time we could bring the witnesses.It was the same inquiry made by
'Aşim Ibn 'Adiyy 4%, which was made by Sayyidna Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah
in the first incident.
This inquiry was made on a Friday. After that it so happened that
'Aşim Ibn Adiyy's 40 cousin, Uwaimir, who had married Khaula un Ce,
Lane, another cousin of Adiyy's, saw his wife involved with yet another
cousin, Sharik Ibn Sahma'. 'Uwaimir 4% related this incident to his cousin
'Aşim Ibn 'Adiyy
, who recited ◌َإِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّ إِلَيُهِ رَاجِعُون and went to see the
Holy Prophet
the next day - again a Friday. 'Adiyy 4ee said to the
Holy Prophet
that he had made an inquiry on the previous Friday in
which he himself has got involved unfortunately, as the same incident
has taken place in his family. Baghawi has narrated the incident in great
detail as to how were the husband and wife were called and went through
the process of li'an (Mazhari)
This incident is narrated in the Sahihs on the authority of Sayyidna
Sahal Ibn Sa'd Sa'idi 40 that 'Uwaimir al-'Ajlani 40 inquired from the
Holy Prophet
that if someone finds his wife in bed with another man
then should he kill that man, as a result of which he will be killed by
people or what else should he do? the Holy Prophet
replied that Allah
Ta'ala has revealed an injunction for the case of your wife and yourself.
Go and get your wife. Sayyidna Sahal Ibn Sa'd 4, the narrator of the
Hadith, narrates that the Holy Prophet
subjected them to the process
of li'an in the mosque (This process has been explained above). When the
process of li'an was completed after both husband and wife had sworn
five times, 'Uwaimir said 'If I still keep her as my wife this will mean as if
I had made a false accusation against her. Therefore, I am announcing
three divorces to her'. (Mazhari on authority of Şahins)
In both these incidents it is reported that the verses of li'an were
revealed for that particular incident. Hafiz Ibn Hajar and Shaikh ul
Islam Nawawi Jw Ul do, have noted the alikeness in the two by
explaining that it looks the first incident was that of Hilal Ibn Umayyah
, and the verses of li'an were revealed in that connection, and
immediately after that 'Uwaimir
was also confronted with a similar
incident, which he presented before the Holy Prophet , perhaps not

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 6 - 10
knowing Hilal Ibn Umayyah's 4
incident, which had occurred earlier.
Then the Holy Prophet
told him the judgement in his case. This
appears plausible because, in the case of Hilal Ibn Umayyah see the
wordings are فنزل جبرئيل (Then Jibra'il descended with these verses) , while
in the case of 'Uwaimir
4
the wordings are قد أنزل الله فيك (Allah has
revealed about you), the meaning of which could be that Allah Ta'ala has
enjoined His command in a case similar to yours. Jel dul, (Mazhari)
Ruling
When li'an has taken place between husband and wife before the
judge then that woman becomes forbidden for good for that man, just like
foster relatives are forbidden for marriage among themselves forever. The
Holy Prophet
has said in a Hadith المتلاعنان لايجتمعان ابدًا (The spouses who
have gone through li'an can never join each other). Unlawfulness
establishes immediately after the li'an. As for the woman's second
marriage with another man, she is allowed after the expiry of her 'iddah
period of three months, when she is divorced by her first husband or if he
had just said that he had left her. This is the ruling given by Imam Abu
Hanifah Ww All ). But if the husband does not carry out any of the
two alternatives, then the ruler or the judge would order the separation,
which would have the same effect as the divorce, and after that she would
complete three periods of menses, and then she would be free to marry
another man. (Mazharī etc.)
Ruling
When the li an is completed, after that the child that would born from
that conception would not have the name of her husband, but would be
called after the name of the mother. The Holy Prophet
gave this ruling
in both the cases of Hilal Ibn Umayyah and 'Uwaimir 'Aljanis Jo)
. اجمعين
Ruling
Although the torment of Hereafter would increase on the one who is
liar, after the li'an, but the punishment of the world be annulled.
Similarly, it is not permissible to call the woman an adulterer nor is it
permissible to call her child illegitimate. This was also ruled by the Holy
Prophet
in the case of Hilal Ibn Umayyah
. وقضى بان لا تُرمى ولا ولدُها. ظ

370
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
Verses 11 - 26
إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ جَاءُ وُ بِالْإِفُكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ، لَا تَحْسَبُوُهُ شَرًّا لَّكُمْ + بَلْ
هُوَخَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ، لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمُ مَّ اكُتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ وَالَّذِىُ تَوَلَّى
كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمُ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١١) لَوْلًا إِذْسَمِعْتُمُوُهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
وَالْمُؤْمِنْتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا " وَقَالُوا هَذَا ◌ِفْكٌّ مُّبِيْنٌ ﴿٢ ﴾ لَوْلَا جَاءُ وُ
عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةٍ شُهَدَآءَ فَإِذْ لَمْ يَأْتُوْا بِالشُّهَدَآءٍ فَأُولِئِكَ عِنْدَ اللهِ هُمُ
الْكُذِبُوْنَ ﴿١٣﴾ وَلَوْلَا فَضُلُ اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فِى الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
لَمَسَّكُمْ فِىْ مَآ أَفَضْتُمْ فِيْهِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿(١٤) إِذْ تَلَقَّوُنَهُ بِالْسِنَتِكُمُ
وَتَقُوُلُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِكُمُ مَّالَيْسَ لَكُمْ بِهِ عِلُمْ وَّ تَحْسَبُوْنَهْ هَيِّئًا نُ وَّهُوَ
عِنْدَ اللّهِ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١٥) وَلَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوْهُ قُلْتُمْ مَّايَكُوْنُ لَنَآ أَنْ تَتَكَلَّمَ
بِهذَا نَّ سُبُحِنَكَ هذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١٦) يَعِظُكُمُ اللّهُ أَنْ تَعُوُدُوْا
لِمِثْلَهَ ابَدًا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ ﴿١٩﴾ وَيُبَيِّنُ اللهُ لَكُمُ الْأَيْتِ ، وَاللَّهُ
عَلِيُمْ حَكِيْمٌ ﴿١٨) إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِيْعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِى الَّذِيْنَ
أَمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ( فِى الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا
تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٩﴾ وَلَوْ لَا فَضْلُ اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحُمَتُهُ، وَأَنَّ اللّهَ رَءُوفٌّ
رَّحِيمٌ ﴿ٌ﴾ ◌َأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا لَا تَتَبِعُوا خُطُوتِ الشَّيْطْنِ* وَمَنْ يَّتْبِعُ
خُطُونِ الشَّيْطِنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحُشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ، وَلَوْلًا فَضْلُ اللهِ
عَلَيْكُمُ وَ رَحُمَتُهُ مَازَكَى مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ ابَدًا وَلكِنَّ اللّهَ يُزَّىُ مَنْ
يَّشَاءُ وَاللّهُ سَمِيْعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢١) وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْكُم
وَالسَّعَةِ أَنْ يُؤْتُوَّا أُولِى الْقُرْبِى وَالْمَسْكِيْنَ وَالْمُهِجِيْنَ فِىُ سَبِيْلٍ
اللّهِ مٍ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصُفَحُوا﴾ آلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَّغْفِرَاللّهُ لَكُمْءُ وَاللّهُ

371
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٢٢﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُوْنَ الْمُحْصَنْتِ الْغُفِلِتِ الْمُؤْمِنْتِ
لُعِنُوْا فِى الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ م وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿٢﴾ يَوْمَ تَشْهَدُ
عَلَيْهِمُ الْسِنَتُهُمُ وَاَيْدِيْهِمْ وَآَرْجُلُهُمُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعُمَلُونَ ﴿٢٤) يَوْمَئِذٍ
يُّوَفِيْهِمُ اللهُ دِيْنَهُمُ الْحَقَّ وَيَعْلَمُوْنَ أَنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِيْنُ ﴿٢٥﴾
الْخَبِيُقْتُ لِلْخَبِيْثِيْنَ وَالْخَبِيْقُوْنَ لِلْخَبِيْتِ، وَالطَّئْتُ لِلطَِّبِينَ
وَالطِّبُوْنَ لِلطَّيْتِ أُولِئِكَ مُبَرَّءُونَ مِمَّا يَقُوْلُونَ* لَهُمُ مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزُقْ
كَرِيمٌ ﴿٢٦﴾
Those who have come up with the false imputation are
a gang among you. Do not think it is bad for you;
rather, it is good for you. Everyone of them is liable
for what he earned of the sin. And the one who
undertook the major part of it, for him there is a
mighty punishment. [11]
Why - when you (O believers) heard of it - did the
believing men and the believing women not think well
on their own selves and (why did they not) say, 'This is
a manifest lie'. [12] Why did they (the accusers) not
bring four witnesses to prove this? So, as they did not
bring the witnesses, they are the liars in the sight of
Allah. [13] And had it not been for the grace of Allah
upon you, and His mercy in this world and in the
Hereafter, a great punishment would have reached you
for what you got indulged in - [14] when you were
welcoming it with your tongues and were saying with
your mouths something of which you had no knowledge,
and were taking it as a trivial matter, while in the sight
of Allah it was grave. [15] And why, when you heard of
it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak about this.
Pure are You (O Allah). This is a terrible calumny.' [16]
Allah admonishes you never to repeat something like
this, if you are believers. [17] And Allah makes the signs
clear to you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [18]
Surely, those who like that shamelessness spreads
among the believers, for them there is painful

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah
knows and you do not know. [19] And had it not been for
the grace of Allah upon you, and His mercy and that
Allah is Very-Kind, Very-Merciful (you would have been
destroyed). [20]
O those who believe, do not follow the footsteps of
Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan,
(should know that) he orders (one to commit) shameless
acts and evil deeds. And had it not been for the grace of
Allah upon you, and His mercy, not a single person
from you would have ever attained purity. But Allah
purifies whomsoever He wills. And Allah is
All-Hearing, All-Knowing. [21]
And the men of grace and wealth among you should not
swear against giving (their charitable gifts) to the
kinsmen and the poor and to those who have migrated
in the way of Allah. And they should forgive and forego.
Do you not like that Allah forgives you? And Allah is
Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful. [22]
Surely, those who level a false charge against the
chaste, naïve and believing women are cursed in this
world and the Hereafter, and for them there is a mighty
punishment [23] on the Day their tongues, their hands
and their legs will testify against them of what they
used to do. [24] On that day Allah will give them their
due recompense in full and they will know that Allah is
the Truth Who makes all things manifest. [25]
Vile women are for vile men, and vile men are for vile
women. And good women are for good men and good
men are for good women. Those are free from what they
(the accusers) say. For them there is forgiveness and a
graceful provision. [26]
Interconnection of verses
As has been mentioned earlier, the major part of Surah An-Nur is in
connection with those injunctions which are related with protection and
security of chastity and continence. Diametrically to that, any attempt to
debase the chastity and honour would be in violation of the injunction, for
which the punishment in the world and the torment in the Hereafter are
enjoined. In this connection, first the maximum punishment of adultery

373
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
(Uj ), then the punishment for false accusation (Jf >) and after that
the process of li'an have already been described. False accusation of
adultery against a chaste woman, without the support of four
eyewitnesses, is held to be a great sin, and for such a person the
punishment of eighty stripes is prescribed. This injunction is in regard to
common chaste Muslim women. But the case of Sayyidah 'A'ishah (2)
Lus was quite different and grave, when the hypocrites fabricated a false
slander against her in 6th Hijra, and some Muslims also indulged in
mentioning it. Indeed it was a much serious and grave situation than for
an ordinary chaste Muslim woman, hence Allah Ta'ala revealed ten
verses at that point exonerating her from the accusation and to project
her purity and chastity. These verses announce the exoneration of
Sayyidah 'A'ishah Que Je, on one hand and a warning of severe
punishment to all those who were involved in the slander in any way.
This incident of imputation is called the episode of ifk (false imputation)
in the Qur'an and Hadith. The word Ifk means worst type of lie,
imputation or slander. In order to understand the explanation of these
verses it is necessary to know the background of the incident of Ifk.
Therefore, it will be in order to give a brief account of this episode to begin
with.
The incident of Ifk and the slander
This incident has been narrated with extra ordinary details in the
Şahins and other books of Hadith. However its brief version is as follows:
When the Holy Prophet
went for the battle (بني المصطلق) of Bani
Muștaliq, also known as battle (y) of Muraist', in the 6th Hijra,
Sayyidah 'A'ishah Que J +, amongst the mothers of believers, was also
accompanying him. The common practice was that first she would sit in
her litter and then it was placed on the back of the camel. It was because
by that time the injunction in regard to hijab had been revealed. After
the battle was over and the caravan was returning to Madinah it stopped
for camping to spend the night. Towards the end of the night an
announcement was made to the effect that the caravan would soon be
departing, so that people should get ready after completing the
necessities. Sayyidah 'A'ishah رضى الله عنها felt the call of nature and went
out to ease herself. There the string of her necklace was broken and it fell
down. It took her some time to locate it, so she got a little late. By the time

374
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
she returned to the camp, the caravan had departed. As for her camel,
her litter was mounted on it's back without realizing that she was not
sitting in it. This happened because she was so young and frail at that
time that her absence from the litter was not noticed; and also because the
litter was covered. On her return to the camp when she did not find the
caravan there, she did not panic nor ran helter-skelter to locate it.
Instead, she acted very prudently and sat down at the camping place
after wrapping herself. She did this knowing the Holy Prophet
very
well that when he will not find her in her litter (,) he will send out
men to locate her at the camping place, and if she were gone some other
place to locate them, it will only complicate things for the searching party.
So, it was best to wait for them there, at the camp. Since it was still dark
and she was tired, she fell asleep.
On the other hand, it so happened that Sayyidna Safwan Ibn
Mu'attal 4
e, whom the Holy Prophet
had assigned the duty to stay
behind the caravan and pick up things if forgotten by anyone in a hurry,
reached the camp at dawn. He saw someone sleeping. So he went there
and recognized Sayyidah 'Aishah رضى الله عنها whom he had seen before
the injunction of hijab was revealed. Seeing her there like that, he was
extremely dismayed and uttered ◌َإِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون. On hearing his voice she
was awakened, and covered her face. Then Sayyidna Safwan
brought his camel near her and made it sit down. Sayyidah 'A'ishah ~)
Que Al sat on the camel's back and rode on, while he was holding the
string of the camel and walking in front. 'Abdullah Ibn Ubbayy was a
very wicked hypocrite and enemy of the Holy Prophet
₹. He got hold of
this news and the wretched man fabricated shameless imputation against
her. Unfortunately, some naïve Muslims also narrated the gossip on
hearsay; for instance Sayyidna Hassan and Mistah
among the males
and Sayyidah Hamnah Que d >> from the females. (Tafsir
Ad-Durr-al-Manthur has reported this version with reference to Ibn Marduwaih on the
authority of Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas 4
(اعانه اى عبدالله ابن أبى حسان ومسطح وحمنة ---
When this slander of the hypocrite was publicized, the Holy Prophet
himself was also very hurt. As for Sayyidah 'A'ishah رضى الله عنها ,it was
but obvious to get hurt extremely. Even ordinary Muslims were also
extremely pained on the spread of this totally false and fabricated
slander. This went on for about a month, but at last Allah Ta'ala revealed

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Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
these verses to exonerate her and condemn those who were involved in its
fabrication or spread, in any way. The commentary on these verses will
follow soon.
In accordance with the Qur'anic injunction, which has been detailed
above under the heading of punishment for false accusation (Jiall i-),
those who were involved in the spread of false slander were asked to
produce the evidence in support of their accusation. Since that was a
totally unfounded accusation, they could not produce any evidence
whatsoever. As a consequence, the Holy Prophet
awarded the
punishment of false accusation (Jiall i-) to them, and each one of them
was flogged with eighty stripes. Bazzar and Ibn Marduwaih have
reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah .
that the Holy
Prophet
awarded the punishment to three Muslims, namely, Mistah,
Hamnah and Hassan , while Țabarani has reported on the authority of
Sayyidna 'Umar
that the Holy Prophet
had awarded double the
punishment of false accusation to 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, the hypocrite,
who had fabricated this slander. After that the Muslims repented, but the
hypocrites remained as they were. (Bayan ul Qur'an)
Commentary
Unique proficiency of Sayyidah 'A'ishah's Que du>, , and the
remaining part of the incident of Ifk
The enemies of the Holy Prophet
¿ did their best to harm him, and
did every thing they could possibly think to afflict him. Amongst all the
afflictions which were perpetrated by the infidels, perhaps the most severe
and emotionally torturous was to pass slander on the most exalted,
proficient, learned, and respected mother of the believers amongst all his
pure wives. With the contemptible false slander the respected name of
Sayyidna Safwan Ibn Mu'attal
was also maligned by the hypocrite
'Abdulalh Ibn Ubayy. The hypocrites gave the slander different colours
and then spread it. The most distressful thing in this episode was that
some simple Muslims were carried away by the unfortunate slander and
started narrating it as well. The unfounded slander would have been
exposed by the truth in a few days time, but for compensating the
emotional torture inflicted on Sayyidah 'A'ishah and on the Holy Prophet
himself by it and for exonerating her, Allah Ta'ala did not rest just at
hinting at the episode in a revelation, but revealed almost two ruku's for

376
Surah An-Nur : 24 : 11 - 26
her exoneration. Not only that, but all those who had fabricated this
slander, and those who had participated in narrating it, were warned to
face the torment in this world and in the Hereafter. Perhaps never such
warnings were revealed on any occasion.
In fact this incident of Ifk has brought into the open and highlighted
the excellence of Sayyidah 'A'ishah's superior wisdom and intelligence
along with her chastity and sanctity. That is why in the very first of the
above quoted verses Allah Ta'ala has asked not to consider this incident
as bad for her, rather it was a blessing. What could be a greater blessing
than this, that Allah Ta'ala has confirmed her purity in no less than ten
verses, which will be recited until the Dooms Day. Sayyidah 'A'ishah >)
Que JI had herself said that she was quite confident that Allah Ta'ala
would exonerate her and clarify her position through a Wahy (message to
the Holy Prophet
, but did not consider herself to be so fortunate that
Qur'anic verses would be revealed referring to her person, which will be
recited for ever. At this point it will help the readers to know some details
about the incident for understanding the verses. So, they are briefly
narrated here:
On return from that journey Sayyidah 'A'ishah Que d' », got
involved in her household affairs, and was not the least aware of the
rumor that was circulated by the hypocrites about her. Sahih of Bukhari
has narrated on the authority of Sayyidah 'A'ishah رضى الله عنها herself that
after the return from the journey she fell slightly sick, the main cause of
which was that she did not notice the favour and grace from the Holy
Prophet
towards her, which was his norm. Instead, she noticed during
that period that when he would come home, he would only inquire about
her health after the salutation and go back. Since she did not know at all
anything about the rumor that was being circulated about her, hence she
could not understand the cause of his attitude towards her, but took the
grief to heart, which started telling on her health. One day she went out
in the open to ease herself, as there used to be no latrines in the houses in
those days. Because she was not keeping well she took along Mistah's
mother with her. When they were returning home after she had eased
herself, the foot of Mistah's mother got entangled in her sheet and she fell
down. As she fell down she uttered the phrase تَعِسَ مِسُطَح . This phrase is
normally used by Arabs while cursing someone. Sayyidah 'A'ishah de,