Al-Nūr: (12) If only, when you heard it...

This verse is part of the etiquette that they were required to observe. The word {لولا} (lawlā) here means "Why did you not" or "Had you only," which is common in the language when followed by a verb, as in His saying: {لولا أخرتنى} (If only You had delayed me) (Al-Munāfiqūn: 10) and {فلولا كانت قرية ءامنت} (But why was there not a town that believed) (Yūnus: 98). However, when followed by a noun, it is different, as in {لولا أنتم لكنا مؤمنين} (If it were not for you, we would have been believers) (Saba': 31) and {ولولا فضل الله عليكم ورحمته} (And were it not for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy) (Al-Nūr: 10).

The meaning intended here is that it was incumbent upon the believers, upon hearing the slanderers' accusation, to deny it, occupy themselves with thinking well [of the accused], and not rush to suspicion regarding those known for their purity.

Herein lie several questions:

Answer: This shift is employed to intensify the reprimand through the rhetorical device of iltifāt (shift in perspective). Furthermore, explicitly mentioning the term al-īmān (faith) indicates that sharing in faith necessitates thinking only good of Muslims. This is because their religion mandates that sin leads to harm, and their intellect guides them to the necessity of guarding against harm. This necessitates having a good opinion that they are guarding against sin. If this prerequisite for caution exists, and there is no equally strong counter-evidence, then good opinion is obligatory, and proceeding with accusation is forbidden.

Answer: There are two interpretations:

1. Meaning: It means that some of them should think well of others. This is analogous to His saying: {ولا تلمزوا أنفسكم} (And do not defame one another) (Al-Ḥujurāt: 11), {فاقتلوا أنفسكم} (then kill yourselves) (Al-Baqarah: 54), and {فإذا دخلتم بيوتا فسلموا على أنفسكم} (And when you enter houses, greet yourselves) (Al-Nūr: 61). This means thinking well of those like yourselves among the believers. It is narrated that Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Umm Ayyūb, "Do you not see what is being said [about ʿĀ’ishah]?" She replied, "If you were in Ṣafwān's place, would you think ill of the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah’s household?" He said, "No." She said, "And if you were in ʿĀ’ishah’s place, would you betray the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?" She continued, "ʿĀ’ishah is better than me, and Ṣafwān is better than you." Ibn Zayd interpreted this as a gentle rebuke to the believers, as a believer does not commit fornication with his mother, nor a mother with her son, and ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is the Mother of the Believers.

2. Meaning: The believers are treated as a single self (one body) regarding the matters that befall them. If harm befalls one of them, it is as if it has befallen them all. It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The likeness of the Muslims in their mutual affection, compassion, and sympathy is that of a single body. If one part of it suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever." And it is reported that he said: "The believers are to one another like a structure, parts of which support the other parts."

Answer: This is viewed from two perspectives:

1. The Obligation to State It: This is what must be said, but the speaker is reporting the claim of the slanderer, which is not based on any evidence, nor on the reality of the matter which the speaker does not know.
2. The Certainty in ʿĀ’ishah's Case: This statement was obligatory specifically concerning ʿĀ’ishah because her status as the wife of the infallible Prophet (peace be upon him)—who is protected from all repulsive things—serves as conclusive proof that the accusation is a lie.

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī said: This indicates that it is obligatory to think well of anyone whose outward appearance suggests righteousness (ʿadālah). It necessitates that the contracts and transactions of Muslims must be interpreted as valid and permissible. Therefore, our companions (the jurists) state that if someone finds a man with a strange woman, and they both confess to being married, it is not permissible to deny their claim; rather, they must be believed. Mālik, however, held that they should be flogged unless they provide proof of marriage.

This also supports the view of our companions (may Allah be pleased with them) regarding someone who sells a dirham and a dīnār for two dirhams and two dīnārs: we must interpret this as a valid transaction by assuming a difference in quality (i.e., the excess payment is for the superior quality of the items), because we are commanded to think well of believers. Similarly, if someone sells a jeweled sword valued at 100 dirhams for 200 dirhams, we interpret the extra 100 dirhams as being exchanged for the sword itself (its craftsmanship/jewels).

This also supports the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Muslims are trustworthy (ʿudūl) unless suspicion arises from them, because we are commanded to think well of them. This necessitates accepting their testimony unless a suspicion arises that requires pausing or rejecting it, as Allah the Exalted says: {إن الظن لا يغنى من الحق شيئا} (Indeed, conjecture is of no use at all against the truth) (Al-Najm: 28).

The Second Type