Al-Nūr: (11) Indeed, those who brought forth the slander...

The discussion regarding this verse involves two aspects: first, its exegesis (Tafsir), and second, its occasion of revelation (Sabab al-Nuzul).

I. Exegesis (Tafsir)

Know that Allah Almighty mentioned three things in this verse:

1. Recounting the Incident: This is His statement: {Indeed, those who brought forth the slander, a group from among you} (إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة منكم).

• Al-Ifk (The Slander): This is the most extreme form of lying and fabrication. It is also said to mean slander/calumny (al-buhṭān), which is something you are unaware of until it suddenly befalls you. Its root (al-ifk) means turning or deviation, as it is a statement turned away from the truth.
• The Muslims are unanimous that what is meant is the slander directed against 'A'ishah.
• Allah described this lie as ifk because the known state of 'A'ishah contradicted it, for several reasons:
  1. Her Status as the Prophet's Wife: Being the wife of the infallible Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) prevents such a thing. Prophets are sent to invite disbelievers and soften their hearts; therefore, nothing should be with them that would repel people from them. A person whose wife is known for immorality is one of the greatest repellents.
     • Objection: If this were true, how could the Prophet's wife be like the wives of Noah or Lot (who were disbelievers), yet not be a libertine? Furthermore, if it were impossible for her to be a libertine, the Prophet would have known this best, and his heart would not have been distressed, nor would he have asked 'A'ishah about the incident.
     • Response: Disbelief (kufr) is not a repellent in the same way immorality (fujūr) is. As for the second point, the Prophet's heart was often distressed by the words of disbelievers even while knowing their falsehood, as Allah says: {And We certainly know that your breast is constrained by what they say} (Al-Hijr: 97). This incident falls under that category.
  2. Her Known Character: 'A'ishah's known character prior to this incident was one of chastity and distance from the preliminaries of immorality. One known for such a character deserves good presumption.
  3. The Slanderers' Identity: The accusers were hypocrites and their followers. The fabricated speech of an enemy is known to be a form of delirium.
• Due to the totality of these indications, the falsehood of this statement was known even before the revelation descended.
• 'Asbah (A Group): This is said to mean a group ranging from ten to forty. I'ṣaṣabū means they gathered. They included 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl (the chief of hypocrisy), Zayd ibn Rifāʿah, Ḥassān ibn Thābit, Misṭaḥ ibn Uthāthah, Ḥamnah bint Jaḥsh, and those who supported them.

2. The Meaning of "From Among You" (min kum):

• This means that those who brought the slander concerning 'A'ishah were a group from among you, O believers, because 'Abdullāh was outwardly judged to be among the believers.

3. The State of the Accused and Those Affected: Allah Almighty explained their situation by saying: {Do not think it is bad for you; rather, it is good for you} (lā taḥsabhūhu sharran lakum bal huwa khayrun lakum).

• The correct view is that this address is not to the slanderers, but to those who were slandered and harmed by it.
  • Objection 1: They were not previously mentioned.
  • Objection 2: The slandered parties were 'A'ishah and Ṣafwān. How can the plural form (lakum) be applied to them?
  • Response 1: They were mentioned previously by the phrase {from among you}.
  • Response 2: The plural form refers to everyone who was distressed and pained by that lie, including the Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), Abū Bakr, and those connected to them.
• Objection: How can this be good for them when it was an immediate harm?
• Response (for several reasons):
  1. They endured this grief seeking Allah's pleasure, thus earning reward. This is the way of believers when wronged.
  2. Had this slander not been exposed, the suspicion might have remained hidden in the hearts of some. By its exposure, the falsehood of the people became clear for all time.
  3. It became good for them because it brought them honor and clarified their virtue, as eighteen verses were revealed, each independently proclaiming 'A'ishah's innocence, testifying to the slanderers' falsehood, and decreeing condemnation and blame upon them—this is the height of honor and virtue.
  4. It became good because the matter became tied to the distinction between disbelief and faith regarding her honor and praise. Since Allah confirmed the incident as ifk and elaborated on it, anyone who doubted it was definitively a disbeliever—this is a high station.

• Alternative View (Addressing the Slanderers): Some scholars hold that the address {Do not think it is bad for you} is directed at the slanderers, and that Allah made it good for them in several ways:
  1. The revelation of the Qur'an prevented them from continuing the slander, cutting them off from perpetuating the lie.
  2. It was good for them as this mention served as an immediate punishment, like expiation (kaffārah).
  3. It was good for them because some among them repented upon hearing it.
• Critique of the Alternative View: This view is weak because Allah addressed them with the singular masculine pronoun (ka), but when describing the people of slander, He used the feminine pronoun (hā) in {For each man among them is what he has earned of sin} (likulli imri’in minhum mā iktasaba min al-ithm). What they earned is not punishment itself. Therefore, the meaning is that they receive the recompense for what they earned: punishment in the Hereafter and blame in this world. The measure of punishment corresponds to the extent of their involvement.

4. Regarding the Statement: {And for the one among them who took the greatest part of it, there will be a mighty punishment} (wa-lladhī tawallā kibrahu minhum ʿadhābun ʿaẓīm):

This involves several issues:

• Issue 1 (Recitation): It was recited as kibrahu (with a ḍammah) or kibrahu (with a kasrah), both meaning its magnitude/greatness.
• Issue 2 (Identification): Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said that the one who took the greatest part was Ḥassān and Misṭaḥ. The Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) flogged them when Allah revealed the exoneration. A woman from Quraysh was flogged with them. It is narrated that 'A'ishah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā) mentioned Ḥassān and said, "I hope Paradise for him." When asked, "Is he not the one who took the greatest part?" she replied, "When I hear his poetry praising the Messenger, I hope Paradise for him." The Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said, "Allah supports Ḥassān with the Holy Spirit in his poetry." Another narration suggests the severe punishment was blindness. Perhaps Allah made that mighty punishment the loss of his sight. The most probable interpretation is that it refers to 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, as he was a hypocrite seeking to defame the Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), while others were merely following him, and some among them were not suspected of hypocrisy.
• Issue 3 (Meaning of Attribution): The attribution of kibr (the greatest part) to him means he was the originator of the statement. Consequently, he deserved the same punishment as everyone else who spoke it, based on the Prophet's saying: "Whoever establishes a bad precedent bears its burden and the burden of everyone who acts upon it until the Day of Resurrection." Another view, attributed to Abū Muslim, is that the attribution signifies his intense desire to spread that obscenity.
• Issue 4 (Implication of Punishment): Al-Jubbā’ī said that {For each man among them is what he has earned of sin} means the punishment for what they earned. If they did not deserve punishment, Allah would not have said this. This indicates that whoever among them did not repent will face eternal punishment in the Hereafter, because deserving punishment precludes deserving reward.
  • Response: The discussion regarding the nullification of deeds (al-muḥābaṭah) has been covered multiple times; there is no need to repeat it. And Allah knows best.

II. Occasion of Revelation (Sabab al-Nuzul)

Al-Zuhri narrated from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, ʿAlqamah ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, and ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUqbah ibn Masʿūd—all narrating from 'A'ishah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā):

She said: "Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) intended to travel, he would cast lots among his wives, and whichever one's name came out, she would travel with him. She said: 'He cast lots among us for an expedition he undertook before the Battle of Banū al-Muṣṭaliq, and my name came out, so I traveled with him. This was after the verse of the veil had been revealed. I was carried in a howdah. When the Messenger of Allah returned and neared Medina, he stopped at a place, then announced departure. I left when they announced departure and walked away until I passed the army. When I finished my needs and returned to my resting place, I touched my chest and found my necklace made of Yemeni agate had broken. I went back to search for my necklace, and the search detained me. The group who were to load my conveyance approached, and they loaded my howdah, thinking I was inside because of my lightness—as I was a young girl. They thought I was in the howdah and took the camel away. When I returned, I found no one in the place, so I sat down, thinking they would return to look for me. I slept. Ṣafwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal used to stay behind the army, looking after people's belongings to carry them to the next stop so nothing would be lost. When he saw me, he recognized me and asked, 'What kept you behind the people?' I told him the story. He dismounted, moved away until I mounted, and then led the camel. When the people camped, they missed me, and people began to talk about me. When the Messenger of Allah arrived in Medina, I also arrived, but I felt pain. I did not see from him the gentleness I was accustomed to when I was ill. Usually, the Messenger of Allah would enter and ask, 'How is she?' That is what worried me. I did not know what had happened until I recovered. One night, I went out with Umm Misṭaḥ for a necessary errand. When we finished, as I and Umm Misṭaḥ were returning to my house, Umm Misṭaḥ tripped over her garment and exclaimed, 'Woe to Misṭaḥ!' I rebuked her, saying, 'Do you curse a man who witnessed Badr?' She replied, 'Have you not heard the news?' I asked, 'What is it?' She said, 'May Allah curse you! I testify that you are among the heedless believers.' Then she informed me of what the slanderers were saying. My sickness increased upon my sickness. I returned weeping. Then the Messenger of Allah entered and asked, 'How is she?' I asked his permission to go to my parents, and he permitted me. I went to my parents and asked my mother, 'Mother, what are people saying?' She said, 'Daughter, take comfort. By Allah, rarely does a beautiful woman have a husband who loves her and has co-wives, but they will increase talk against her.' Then she asked, 'Did you not know what was being said until now?' I began to weep, and I wept that night. The next morning, I was still weeping. My father entered while I was weeping and asked my mother, 'What is making her cry?' She replied, 'She did not know what was being said about her until now.' My father began to weep and said, 'Be quiet, my daughter.' The Messenger of Allah called ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Usāmah ibn Zayd and consulted them about separating from his family. Usāmah said, 'O Messenger of Allah, they are your family, and we know nothing but good about them.' As for ʿAlī, he said, 'Allah has not constrained you, and there are many women besides her. If you ask the slave girl, she will tell you the truth.' The Messenger of Allah then called Barīrah and asked her about my affair. Barīrah said, 'O Messenger of Allah, by the One who sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything more about her than that she is a young girl who sleeps and neglects the dough of her household until the stray sheep comes and eats it.' Then the Prophet (ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) stood up to deliver a sermon on the pulpit and said, 'O assembly of Muslims, who will defend me against a man who has harmed me concerning my family (meaning 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy)? By Allah, I know nothing but good about my family, and I know nothing but good about the man they mentioned, who never entered my household except when I was with him.' Saʿd ibn Muʿādh stood up and said, 'I will defend you against him, O Messenger of Allah! If he is from Al-Aws, I will strike his neck. If he is from our brethren from Al-Khazraj, we will do as you command us.' Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah, the chief of Al-Khazraj—a righteous man, but tribal zeal overcame him—stood up and said to Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, 'You lied! By Allah, you cannot kill him!' Then Usaid ibn Ḥuḍayr, Saʿd ibn Muʿādh's cousin, stood up and said, 'You lied, by Allah! We will surely kill him! You are nothing but a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites!' The tribes of Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj became agitated and almost fought, while the Messenger of Allah was on the pulpit. He kept calming them down until they fell silent. She said: 'I spent that day weeping continuously, and my parents thought the weeping would tear my liver apart. While they were sitting with me weeping, the Messenger of Allah entered, greeted them, and sat down. She said: 'He had not sat with me since the rumors were spread. He had remained for a month without Allah revealing anything concerning my affair. Then he said: 'Now then, O 'A'ishah, I have heard about you such and such. If you are innocent, Allah will surely clear you. But if you have committed a sin, ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him, for when a servant repents, Allah accepts his repentance.' She said: 'When the Messenger of Allah finished speaking, my tears flowed. I asked my father to answer on my behalf to the Messenger of Allah. He said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say.' I asked my mother to answer for me. She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say.' So I said, being a young girl who had memorized much of the Qur'an: 'By Allah, I know you have heard this until it has settled in your minds and you have believed it. If I tell you I am innocent, you will not believe me. If I confess to something while Allah knows I am innocent, you will believe me. By Allah, I find no example for myself or for you except what the righteous servant [Joseph] said: {So, patience is most beautiful. And Allah is the one whose help is sought concerning what you describe} (Yusuf: 18).' She said: 'Then I turned and lay down on my bed. By Allah, I knew Allah would clear me, but by Allah, I never imagined that revelation would descend concerning my affair to be recited. My affair was too insignificant in my own estimation for Allah to speak about it with a recited text. Rather, I hoped the Messenger of Allah would see a dream in which Allah cleared me.' She said: 'By Allah, the Messenger of Allah did not rise from his seat, nor did anyone from the household leave, until Allah revealed the revelation to His Prophet. He was overcome by what used to overcome him during revelation—so much so that sweat like pearls would stream from him on a cold winter day due to the weight of the revelation. He was covered with a cloth, and a cushion was placed under his head. By Allah, I did not recover, nor did I care, knowing my innocence. As for my parents, by Allah, the distress did not leave the Messenger of Allah until I thought my parents' souls would depart, fearing that Allah would confirm what the people had said. When the distress left him and he was smiling, the first word he spoke was: 'Rejoice, O 'A'ishah! By Allah, Allah has cleared you!' I said, 'Praise be to Allah, not to you, nor to your companions.' My mother said, 'Get up to him.' I replied, 'By Allah, I will not get up to him, nor will I praise anyone except Allah who revealed my innocence.' Then Allah Almighty revealed: {Indeed, those who brought forth the slander, a group from among you} (the ten verses). Abū Bakr said, 'By Allah, I will not spend on Misṭaḥ after this,' although he used to spend on him due to kinship and poverty. Then Allah Almighty revealed: {And let not those of you who are blessed and have wealth swear off giving to their relatives...} up to {Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?} (Al-Nūr: 22). Abū Bakr replied, 'Yes, by Allah, I wish that Allah would forgive me.' So the spending on Misṭaḥ resumed. She said: 'When my exoneration was revealed, the Messenger of Allah stood on the pulpit, mentioned this, and recited the Qur'an. When it was revealed, 'Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, Misṭaḥ, Ḥamnah, and Ḥassān were flogged.'"

III. Admonitions Following the Story

Know that after Allah Almighty mentioned the story and the state of the accused and the slanderers, He followed it up with appropriate manners and deterrents, which are of several types:

Type One: