Tafsir of An-Nur 24:16

{And why, when you heard it (from the one who fabricated it or the one who followed him in it), did you not say (as a refutation of him and to convey the horror of what he committed): "It is not for us to speak of this"} — meaning: it is not possible for us, nor should it proceed from us in any way to speak of this. The pointer is to the statement they heard, considering its specific instance. It is also permissible that it refers to its genus, for slandering ordinary people who are characterized by chastity is forbidden by the Sharia. It has been narrated from Hudhayfah, in a marfu' (elevated) hadith, that it "demolishes the deeds of a hundred years," let alone attacking the Siddiqah (the truthful one), the wife of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. The discussion regarding the placement of the adverbial phrase (in the middle) is the same as what has passed.

{"Subhanaka" (Glory be to You)} — an expression of amazement at the one who uttered it. Its origin is that it is mentioned when witnessing something amazing from the works of the Exalted in His Majesty, as a means of declaring Him free from the idea that such things are difficult for Him. Then, it became common until it was used for everything one is amazed by. Its use here is branched off from metonymy. Similar to this in its use for amazement is "There is no god but Allah." The common people use prayers upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) in that situation as well, though it has not been heard of in the language of the Sharia; indeed, some jurists have explicitly forbidden it.

It is permitted that "Subhanaka" here is used in its literal sense, the intended meaning being the declaration that Allah—exalted is His Majesty—is free from the possibility that He would allow His Prophet (peace be upon him) to be disgraced or shamed; for the immorality of a wife is a mark of shame upon the husband, turning hearts away from him and preventing souls from following him. For this reason, Allah protected the wives of the prophets (peace be upon them) from that. This is unlike disbelief, for a wife's disbelief is not a mark of shame upon the husband; it has been established that the wives of Nuh (Noah) and Lut (Lot), peace be upon them, were disbelievers. So it has been said, and what relates to this will come shortly, if Allah wills. Based on this, "Subhanaka" serves as a substantiation of what preceded it and a preamble to His saying, "This is a great slander" — meaning a lie that stuns and confuses the hearer because of its monstrosity.

"Great" — its magnitude cannot be estimated because of the greatness of the person being slandered. The insignificance of sins and their magnitude are often judged by their objects. It is apparent that the rebuke is directed at the hearers who indulged in the talk, not at hearers in absolute terms. It has been narrated from Sa'id ibn Jubayr that when Sa'd ibn Mu'adh heard what was said regarding 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), he said: "Subhanaka, this is a great slander." It is narrated from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib that two of the Prophet's companions, when they heard something of that, would say what was mentioned: Usamah ibn Zayd ibn Harithah and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them). Ibn Marduyah narrated from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: "The wife of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari said to him, 'O Abu Ayyub, do you not hear what the people are saying?' He replied, 'It is not for us to speak of this. Subhanaka, this is a great slander.'"

The origin of this certainty, as stated by Imam al-Razi, is the knowledge that the wife of the Messenger (peace be upon him) cannot be immoral, reasoning that such a thing would repel people from following him, thereby undermining the wisdom of the mission, just as base fathers and lewd mothers would. The second scholar [Al-Taftazani] explicitly stated that one of the conditions of prophecy is immunity from such things, indeed, from everything that repels people from following. This has been questioned: if what was mentioned is a condition, how then did those who heard it remain in the dark, such that the matter was hidden from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) until he said—as in Sahih al-Bukhari and elsewhere—"O 'Aishah, such and such has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will absolve you, and if you have committed a sin, seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him"?

In some narrations, it came: "O 'Aishah, if you have done this thing, tell me so that I may seek Allah's forgiveness for you." Likewise, it was hidden from his companion, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him); Al-Bazzar recorded with a sahih chain from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when her exoneration was revealed, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) kissed her head, and she said, "Will you not excuse me?" He replied, "Which heaven would shade me and which earth would carry me if I said what I do not know?"

The answer given is that this is not one of the rational conditions of prophecy, like honesty and truthfulness, but rather it is one of the legal and customary conditions, as Al-Laqani said. Therefore, it is permissible to say that it was not known before, and it was only known after the revelation of the verses of 'Aishah's exoneration. Lack of knowledge regarding such things does not blemish the station of prophecy. As for the claim of knowledge by those mentioned, there is no evidence for it; their words could have stemmed from a good opinion, not from knowledge that being free from what repels people is a condition of prophecy. This is supported by what Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah, and Ibn 'Asakir narrated from some of the Ansar: that the wife of Abu Ayyub said to him when the people of the slander said what they said, "Do you not hear what the people are saying about 'Aishah?" He said, "Yes, and that is a lie. Would you do that, O Umm Ayyub?" She said, "No, by Allah." He said, "Then 'Aishah is better than you, and more pure. This is only a lie and a false fabrication." A similar account was narrated by Al-Hakim and Ibn 'Asakir from Aflah, the freed slave of Abu Ayyub, and he is perhaps the one meant by "some of the Ansar" in the previous report. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not say anything similar because of his intense jealousy—and the jealous person hardly relies on a "good opinion" in such matters.

It is possible that their statement stemmed from knowledge that being free from what repels people is a condition of prophecy, in that they realized the wisdom of the mission requires that immunity; sometimes the learned person notices what one who is more learned than him does not. It is also permissible to claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that the immorality of the wives of the prophets (peace be upon them) is not permissible because of the repulsion it causes, which interferes with the wisdom of the mission, but he (peace be upon him) wanted the matter of the Siddiqah's exoneration to appear as clear as the sun at midday, so that no ambiguity would remain for any of the noble companions. The distress he felt was a natural matter resulting from the rumors of the hypocrites and their followers, and the spread of groundless falsehood among the people. It is possible he (peace be upon him) knew that immunity from such repulsions is a condition of prophecy, but he feared Allah—to Whom nothing is obligatory—that He might not render what the hypocrites and their followers delved into as a repulsion, by not creating the repulsion in hearts, which would lead to the prevention of following and the disruption of the wisdom of the mission. Thus, the distress that entered him was as it was, and he began to investigate the matter in the most thorough way. That was only out of immense knowledge and the peak of caution. Its counterpart in one sense is his fear of the Hour standing during a severe wind; he could not sleep as long as the matter remained so, until the sky rained.

It is said: It is possible that a wife's immorality is not a repelling factor unless she is kept after knowledge of it, so it is not permitted to occur, and divorce becomes obligatory. And if she is divorced, the repulsion that disrupts the wisdom does not materialize. This is so, and it is not hidden from you that some of the possibilities are problematic; indeed, some are at the furthest extreme from the field of acceptance. Perhaps the truth is that the matter of this condition was hidden from him (peace be upon him) until the matter of the exoneration became clear and the verses regarding it were revealed, for the wisdom of testing and other matters which Allah knows best. And that the statement of those companions—"Subhanaka, this is a great slander"—did not stem from anything other than a good opinion, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not hold fast to it because it does not put an end to gossip, nor does it refute any of the falsehoods. It does not behoove anyone who believes in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) that there should remain in his heart—after standing before the verses and reports—any doubt in the purity of the wives of the prophets (peace be upon them) from immorality, both in the lifetime of their husbands and after their passing. It has been attributed to the Shi'ah that they slander 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) with what Allah has exonerated her from, but they deny this with the strongest denial, and there is neither trace nor sign of it in the books they rely upon. Likewise, they deny what is attributed to them regarding the saying that this occurred from her after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and there is also no trace nor sign of it in their books. It is apparent that there is no one among the Islamic sects in whose heart this occurs, let alone the slander from which Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He—has exonerated her.