| This Surah (Revealed) Medinese, consisting of 62 or 64 verses.(An-Nâr)
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| بِسْم ِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ | | Ayah First 1 الأية الأولي |
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Tafseer
This is, a sūra which We have revealed and prescribed (read faradnāhā, or [the
intensive form] farradnāhā, on account of the large number of prescriptions contained in it) and wherein We
have revealed manifest signs, [signs] containing clear indications, that perhaps you might remember
(tadhakkarūna: the second tāâ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl), that you might be
admonished.
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Tafseer
As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, that is, of those not in wedlock â
because those [in wedlock] are stoned according to the Sunna (the al [in al-zāniya, âthe fornicatressâ, and
al-zānī, âthe fornicatorâ] according to some mentioned [opinions] is a relative [particle]; the clause [al-zāniyatu
waâl-zānī] is a subject, and because of its similarity to a conditional, the fāâ has been inserted into the
predicate, which is [the following, faâjlidū]): strike each of them a hundred lashes, [a hundred] strikes (one says
jaladahu to mean daraba jildahu, âhe struck him on the skinâ). According to the Sunna, in addition to
this [punishment] there is also banishment for a whole year. The slave, however, receives half of the mentioned
[punishment]. And do not let any pity for them overcome you in Godâs religion, that is to say, in [the
fulfilment of] His rulings, by disregarding any part of their prescribed punishment, if you believe in God and
the Last Day, namely, the Day of Resurrection: in this [statement] there is an incitement to [abide by]
what was [mentioned] before the conditional [above] and it also constitutes the response to the latter, or
[at least is] an indication of the response to it. And let their punishment, the flogging, be witnessed by a group
of the believers â some say [that this should be a group of] three; some say four, as in the number of
witnesses testifying to an act of fornication.
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Tafseer
The fornicator shall not marry anyone but a fornicatress or an idolatress, and
the fornicatress shall be married by none except a fornicator or an idolator, in other words, what is
suitable for each of the two [for the purposes of marriage] is the above-mentioned; and that, namely, marrying of
fornicators, is forbidden to believers, who are better [than those]. This was revealed when the poor among
the Emigrants resolved to marry the wealthy whores of the idolaters, so that they [the women] would
provide for them. Thus it is said that the prohibition applies specifically to them; but it is also said to apply
in general; but it was abrogated by Godâs words: Marry off the spouseless among you [Q. 24:32].
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Tafseer
And those who accuse honourable women [in wedlock], who are chaste, of
fornication, and then do not bring four witnesses, to testify as eyewitnesses to their fornication, strike
them eighty lashes, that is, each one of them, and do not accept any testimony from them ever, in anything; and
those, they are the 391 immoral, for committing a grave sin (kabīra);
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Tafseer
except those who repent thereafter and make amends, in their deeds, for God is
indeed Forgiving, of their [unsubstantiated] accusations, Merciful, to them, in inspiring them to make
repentance whereby their immorality is curbed and their testimony becomes [once again] acceptable â some
say, however, that it can never be accepted [thereafter], if the proviso is taken to refer to the last
clause.
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Tafseer
And those who accuse their wives, of fornication, but have no witnesses, to
[substantiate] this, except themselves â which happened with some Companions â then the testimony of one of
them (fa-shahādatu ahadihim, the subject) shall be to testify [swearing] by God four times (arabaâa
shahādātin, is in the accusative as a verbal noun) that he is indeed being truthful, in accusing his
wife of committing fornication,
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Tafseer
and a fifth time that Godâs wrath shall be upon him if he were lying, in this
(the predicate of the subject [fashahādatu ahadihim, âthen the testimony of one of themâ] is [the implicit] âwill spare him
the prescribed [legal] punishment for [false] accusationâ).
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Tafseer
And the punishment, namely, the prescribed [legal] punishment for fornication
that is established upon his testimony, shall be averted from her if she testify [swearing] by God four times
that he is indeed lying, in accusing her of having fornicated;
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Tafseer
and a fifth time that Godâs wrath shall be upon her if he were being truthful,
therein.
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Tafseer
And were it not for Godâs bounty to you and His mercy, in shielding you [from
being exposed] in such [situations], and that God is the Relenting, in His acceptance of repentance in
such [situations] and otherwise, Wise, in the rulings He has given for this and other matters, that He
might make clear the truth therein and hasten punishment for those deserving it.
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Tafseer
Truly those who initiated the slander, the worst calumny against âĀâisha â
mother of the believers, may God be pleased with her â accusing her [of fornication], are a band from among
yourselves, a group from among the believers. She said [that these were] Hassān b. Thābit, âAbd Allāh b.
Ubayy, Mistah [b. Uthātha], and Hamna bt. Jahsh. Do not suppose, O you believers other than the [mentioned]
band, that it is bad for you; rather it is good for you, for God will reward you for it and reveal
âĀâishaâs innocence and [the innocence of] the one who [is supposed to have] committed it with her, namely,
Safwān [b. al-Muâattal]. She [âĀâisha] related: âI accompanied the Prophet (s) during a raid, and this was
after the [requirement to wear the] veil had been revealed. When he was through with it [the raid], he headed
back [to the campsite] and one night, having drawn close to Medina, he announced that all should march off
[home]. So I walked a distance [away from the campsite] and relieved myself. But when I came back to
the campsite, [I realised that] my necklace (âiqd meaning qilāda) had snapped. So I went back to look for
it. In the meantime they had strapped my litterâ â in which one rides â âthinking that I was inside, for
in those days women were slight and ate very small portions (âulqa). [Finally] I found my necklace, but
when I went back to where I had been staying overnight, they had already departed. I sat in the place where
I had camped; I assumed that the group would notice my absence and come back for me. But my eyes were
overcome [by 392 drowsiness] and I fell asleep. Safwān had pitched camp behind the army to rest
for some of the night (âarrasa), then set off while it was still night until he reached the site of
the camp. He saw what looked like a person sleeping and recognised me when he [eventually] saw me, having seen me on
numerous occasions before the [requirement of the] veil. I woke up to the sound of him saying, âTo
God we belong and to Him we shall surely returnâ (innā liâLlāhi wa-innā ilayhi rājiâūn), for he had
recognised me. So I concealed my face with my gown (jilbāb) â in other words, I covered it up with my wrap (mulāâa).
By God he did not so much as say a word to me, nor did I hear him say anything other than the words, âTo
God we belong and to Him we shall surely returnâ, as he brought his camel to its knees and pressed with
his foot against its foreleg [for me to mount it]. I then mounted it and he set off leading me back on the camel
until we reached the army which had stopped because of the extreme midday heat; some had died [searching]
for me. The one who bore the greater share of it [the sinful accusation] was âAbd Allāh b. Ubayy b.
Salūlâ â her [âĀâishaâs] words end here; this was reported by the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]. God,
exalted be He, says: Upon every man of them shall be the [onus of the] sin which he has earned, in this
[affair], and as for him who bore the greater share thereof, that is, [him who] assumed most of [the
responsibility for] it, having initiated it and made it public, namely, âAbd Allah b. Ubayy: there will be an awful
chastisement for him, namely, the Fire in the Hereafter.
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Tafseer
Why, when you [first] heard about it, did the believing men and women not think
good of themselves, that is, [why did] some [not] think good of others, and say, âThis is a manifest
calumny?â, [this is] a patent lie? (there is a shift here in the address from the second to the third person), in
other words, [why did] you [not] assume [good of them], O band [of believers] and say:
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Tafseer
Why did they, that is, this band [of accusers], not produce four witnesses to
it?, who had witnessed it. And since they did not produce the witnesses, those, in Godâs sight, in His
judgement, they are liars, in this [matter].
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Tafseer
And were it not for Godâs bounty to you and His mercy in the life of this world
and the Hereafter there would have befallen you, for what you, O band [of accusers], engaged in, [for] what
you indulged in, an awful chastisement, in the Hereafter;
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Tafseer
when you were receiving it [welcomingly] with your tongues, that is to say,
[when] you were reporting it one from the other (one of the two letters tāâ has been omitted from the verb
[tatalaqqawnahu, âyou were receiving itâ]; idh, âwhenâ, is dependent because of massakum, âbefallen youâ,
or afadtum, âengaged inâ) and were uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, supposing it
to be a light matter, a sinless [act], while with God it was grave, in sinfulness.
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Tafseer
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, âIt is not for us to speak about
this. Glory be to You! â this [exclamation] here is meant to indicate amazement â This is an awful calumny?â,
[an awful] lie?
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Tafseer
God admonishes you, He forbids you, lest you should ever repeat the like of it,
if you are [in truth] believers, [then] you will be admonished by this.
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Tafseer
393 And God clarifies for you the signs, through commands and prohibitions, and God
is Knower, of what He enjoins and what He prohibits, Wise, therein.
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Tafseer
Truly those who love that indecency should be spread, by the tongue, concerning
those who believe, by its being associated with them â and the ones [meant] are the band â theirs will be
a painful chastisement in the life of this world, by way of the prescribed [legal] punishment for [false]
accusation, and the Hereafter, by way of the Fire, as is Godâs due, and God knows, that such [indecency] does
not apply in their case, and you, O band [of accusers], as regards the calumny of which you spoke, do not
know, whether such [indecency] took place among them.
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Tafseer
And were it not for Godâs bounty to you, O band [of accusers] and His mercy and
that God is Gentle, Merciful, to you, He would have surely hastened to [bring about] your
punishment.
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Tafseer
O you who believe, do not follow in the steps of Satan, that is, his ways of
making things seem attractive. For whoever follows in the steps of Satan, assuredly he, the one being followed,
enjoins indecency, that is, [he enjoins] vile acts, and what is reprehensible, if followed, according to the
Law. And were it not for Godâs bounty to you and His mercy not one of you, O band [of accusers], would ever
have grown pure, after the calumny of which you spoke, that is to say, [not one of you] would have ever
been reformed or purified from this sin by repenting of it. But God purifies whom He will, from sin, by
accepting his repentance from him, and God is Hearer, of what you have said, Knower, of your intentions.
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Tafseer
And do not let those of you who possess bounty, the wealthy, and the affluent
swear not to give to the near of kin and the poor and those who emigrate in the way of God â this was revealed
regarding Abū Bakr who swore to provide no more for Mistah, his maternal cousin, a destitute Emigrant
who had fought at [the battle of] Badr, because of his involvement in the calumny, when thitherto he
had provided for him. And [it was revealed also regarding] certain Companions who swore not to give voluntary
alms to those who had participated in [spreading] the calumny in any way. Let them forgive and excuse,
them in this matter. Do you not love that God should forgive you? And God is Forgiving, Merciful, to
believers. Abū Bakr said: âIndeed. I would love that God forgive meâ, and he restored [thereafter] to
Mistah what he used to expend on him.
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Tafseer
Truly those who make accusations, of fornication, against honourably married,
chaste, women who are unaware, of indecent acts â since it would never occur to them to commit such
[acts] â who believe, in God and His Messenger, shall be cursed in this world and the Hereafter; and
there will be an awful chastisement for them
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Tafseer
on the day (yawma is in the accusative because of the [implicit sense of]
âpermanenceâ to which lahum, âfor themâ, is semantically connected) when their tongues and their hands and their
feet shall testify against them (read [feminine person] tashhadu or [masculine person] yashhadu, âtestifyâ)
concerning what they used to do, in terms of speech and action â this [day] is the Day of
Resurrection.
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Tafseer
On that day God will pay them in full their just due, He will requite them with
the requital they deserve, and 394 they shall know that God is the Manifest Truth, since He will have realised for
them that requital of His whereof they had been in doubt. Among such [people] is âAbd Allāh b. Ubayy. The
âhonourable womenâ mentioned above are the Prophetâs (s) wives, regarding whom no repentance has
been mentioned [as being possible] in the case of their being falsely accused; those women regarding whom
repentance has been mentioned, however, at the beginning of the sūra [verses 4-5], in the case of
their being falsely accused, are women other these [wives of the Prophet].
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Tafseer
Vile women, and [vile] words, are for vile men, and vile men for vile women, and
the mentioned [vile words]. Good women, and as mentioned [good words], are for good men, and good
men for good women, and the mentioned [good words], that is to say, what suits something vile is its
like, and what suits something good is its like â such, good men and women, the like of âĀâisha and
Safwān, are absolved of what they say, [what] the corrupt men and women [say] about them. For them, for
good men and women, will be forgiveness and a glorious provision, in Paradise. âĀâisha felt honoured
by some of the things [mentioned] in this [verse], namely, that she was created âa good womanâ and was
promised âforgiveness and a glorious provisionâ.
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Tafseer
O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your houses until you have
[first] asked permission and greeted their occupants. So a person must say, âPeace be upon you, may I
enter?â, as is stated in one hadīth. That is better for you, than entering without permission, that perhaps
you might remember (tadhakkarūna: the second tāâ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the
dhāl) the superiority of such [conduct] and so follow it.
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Tafseer
And if you do not find anyone in them, to give you permission, [still] do not
enter them until permission has been given to you. And if it is said to you, when you are seeking permission,
âGo away,â then go away, for this, going away, is purer, that is, better, for you, than sitting [and waiting]
at the doorstep. And God knows what you do, whether you enter with permission or without it, and He will
requite you for it.
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