Tafsir of An-Nur 24:14

"And were it not for the grace of Allah..."

(That is, His—glorified be He—bestowal of favor) "upon you and His mercy" (towards you) "in the world" through the various types of blessings, among which is the respite granted for repentance, "and in the Hereafter" through the various types of bounties, among which are pardon and forgiveness following repentance. In the discourse, there is an elaboration following the order of mention. It is also permissible for "in the world and the Hereafter" to be connected to both the grace of Allah and His mercy, with the meaning being: were it not for the general grace and general mercy in both abodes, "there would have touched you" immediately "for that into which you delved"—that is, because of that which you plunged into regarding the discourse of the Slander (al-ifk). The ambiguity is meant to magnify its gravity and emphasize the reprehensibility of mentioning it. One says "he afada (delved) into the conversation," just as one says "he khada (plunged)," "he hadaba," and "he indafa'a" (rushed into), all with the same meaning. The term ifada (delving) in this context is a metaphor derived from the pouring of water into a vessel. The particle lawla signifies that the condition is prevented by the existence of its cause, and its apodosis is "there would have touched you... a great punishment."

It is a punishment in comparison to which rebuke and flogging are considered insignificant. The address is directed to those among the slanderers other than Ibn Ubayy. It has also been suggested that it applies to all of them, though this has been challenged by the observation that Ibn Ubayy, as the leader of the hypocrites, has no share in the mercy of Allah in the Hereafter, for he is to abide eternally in the lowest depth of the Fire.