Surah 24. An-Nur

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-20 [2], 21-26 [3], 27-34 [4], 35-40 [5], 41-50 [6], 51-57 [7], 58-61 [8], 62-64 [9]

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Quran Text of Verse 21-2624. An-Nur Page 352یٰۤاَیُّهَاO (you who)الَّذِیْنَ(O) you whoاٰمَنُوْاbelieveلَا(Do) notتَتَّبِعُوْاfollowخُطُوٰتِ(the) footstepsالشَّیْطٰنِ ؕ(of) the Shaitaanوَ مَنْand whoeverیَّتَّبِعْfollowsخُطُوٰتِ(the) footstepsالشَّیْطٰنِ(of) the Shaitaanفَاِنَّهٗthen indeed, heیَاْمُرُcommandsبِالْفَحْشَآءِthe immoralityوَ الْمُنْكَرِ ؕand the evilوَ لَوْ لَاAnd if notفَضْلُ(for the) Grace of Allahاللّٰهِ(for the) Grace of Allahعَلَیْكُمْupon youوَ رَحْمَتُهٗand His Mercyمَاnotزَكٰی(would) have been pureمِنْكُمْamong youمِّنْanyoneاَحَدٍanyoneاَبَدًا ۙeverوَّ لٰكِنَّbutاللّٰهَAllahیُزَكِّیْpurifiesمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُ ؕHe willsوَ اللّٰهُAnd Allahسَمِیْعٌ(is) All-Hearerعَلِیْمٌ All-Knower وَ لَاAnd notیَاْتَلِlet swearاُولُواthose of virtueالْفَضْلِthose of virtueمِنْكُمْamong youوَ السَّعَةِand the amplitude of meansاَنْthatیُّؤْتُوْۤاthey giveاُولِی(to) the near of kinالْقُرْبٰی(to) the near of kinوَ الْمَسٰكِیْنَand the needyوَ الْمُهٰجِرِیْنَand the emigrantsفِیْinسَبِیْلِ(the) wayاللّٰهِ ۪ۖ(of) Allahوَ لْیَعْفُوْاAnd let them pardonوَ لْیَصْفَحُوْا ؕand let them overlookاَلَا(Do) notتُحِبُّوْنَyou likeاَنْthatیَّغْفِرَAllah should forgiveاللّٰهُAllah should forgiveلَكُمْ ؕyouوَ اللّٰهُAnd Allahغَفُوْرٌ(is) Oft-Forgivingرَّحِیْمٌ Most Merciful اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoیَرْمُوْنَaccuseالْمُحْصَنٰتِthe chaste womenالْغٰفِلٰتِthe unaware womenالْمُؤْمِنٰتِ(and) the believing womenلُعِنُوْاare cursedفِیinالدُّنْیَاthe worldوَ الْاٰخِرَةِ ۪and the Hereafterوَ لَهُمْAnd for themعَذَابٌ(is) a punishmentعَظِیْمٌۙgreat یَّوْمَ(On a) Dayتَشْهَدُwill bear witnessعَلَیْهِمْagainst themاَلْسِنَتُهُمْtheir tonguesوَ اَیْدِیْهِمْand their handsوَ اَرْجُلُهُمْand their feetبِمَاfor whatكَانُوْاthey usedیَعْمَلُوْنَ (to) do یَوْمَىِٕذٍThat DayیُّوَفِّیْهِمُAllah will pay them in fullاللّٰهُAllah will pay them in fullدِیْنَهُمُtheir recompenseالْحَقَّthe dueوَ یَعْلَمُوْنَand they will knowاَنَّthatاللّٰهَAllahهُوَHeالْحَقُّ(is) the Truthالْمُبِیْنُ the Manifest اَلْخَبِیْثٰتُEvil womenلِلْخَبِیْثِیْنَ(are) for evil menوَ الْخَبِیْثُوْنَand evil menلِلْخَبِیْثٰتِ ۚ(are) for evil womenوَ الطَّیِّبٰتُAnd good womenلِلطَّیِّبِیْنَ(are) for good menوَ الطَّیِّبُوْنَand good menلِلطَّیِّبٰتِ ۚ(are) for good womenاُولٰٓىِٕكَThoseمُبَرَّءُوْنَ(are) innocentمِمَّاof whatیَقُوْلُوْنَ ؕthey sayلَهُمْFor themمَّغْفِرَةٌ(is) forgivenessوَّ رِزْقٌand a provisionكَرِیْمٌ۠noble

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Translation of Verse 21-26

(24:21) Believers! Do not follow in Satan's footsteps. Let him who follows in Satan's footsteps (remember that) Satan bids people to indecency and evil. Were it not for Allah's Bounty and His Mercy unto you, not one of you would have ever attained purity.¹⁸ But Allah enables whomsoever He wills to attain purity. Allah is All- Hearing, All-Knowing.¹⁹

(24:22) Let those among you who are bounteous and resourceful not swear to withhold giving to the kindred, to the needy, and to those who have forsaken their homes in the cause of Allah; rather, let them forgive and forbear. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Allah is Ever Forgiving, Most Merciful.²⁰

(24:23) Those that accuse chaste, unwary, believing women,²¹ have been cursed in the world and the Hereafter, and a mighty chastisement awaits them.

(24:24) (Let them not be heedless of) the Day when their own tongues, their hands, and their feet shall all bear witness against them as to what they have been doing.21a

(24:25) On that Day Allah will justly requite them, and they will come to know that Allah - and He alone - is the Truth, the One Who makes the Truth manifest.

(24:26) Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women. They are innocent of the calumnies people utter.²² There shall be forgiveness for them and a generous provision.

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Commentary

19. God does not arbitrarily endow people with the ability to purify themselves. Rather, He does so on the basis of His knowledge as to u ho sincerely seeks the Right Way and who seeks error. So pervasive is God's knowledge that He hears what people say in their own privacy and He knows the ideas that cross a man's mind. Hence, God decides on a sound and solid basis whom He enables to purify himself and whom He does not.

20. ‘A’ishah reports that after her exoneration by the Qur’an, Abu Bakr discontinued the financial help he provided to Mistah ibn Uthathah. This he did because Mistah showed neither consideration for kinship nor felt ashamed in acting so wickedly towards his daughter despite Abu Bakr's munificence to him and his family. It was against this backdrop that the above verse was revealed. On hearing it Abu Bakr instantly cried out: ‘Yes, Allah! We do want You, Our Lord, to forgive us.’ (See Bukhari, k. Tafsi‘r al-Quran, Surah al-Nur, ‘Bab inna al-ladhina yuhibbun ‘an tashi’ al-Fahishah — Ed.)

He then resumed his financial help to Mistah anal did so on an even bigger scale.

According to ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, some other Companions, in addition to Abu Bakr, vowed not to extend any help to those who had taken part in the slander campaign. But after the revelation of this verse they too recanted their vow. Thus the bitterness and hostility which had been engendered by the slander campaign instantly dissipated.

Here we may also consider a legal question: if someone takes a vow and later realizes that there is no good in it, should he honor the vow or break it and make expiation for it? According to some jurists such expiation (kaffarah) is not required. That a person opts for that which is good in itself constitutes the expiation for breaking the vow. They support this opinion by referring to this verse and point out that God directed Abu Bakr to break his vow without asking him to make any expiation for so doing. Moreover, they cite the following statement made by the Prophet (peace be on him) in support of their view: ‘If someone vows and later realizes that the other option is better, he should go for the better option and that constitutes its expiation.’

Another group of jurists, however, refer to the categorical injunctions of the Qur'an about breaking a vow (see al-Baqarah 2: 225 and al-Ma'idah 5: 89). The verse under discussion neither abrogates nor categorically modifies this injunction. Hence, it should be considered as still being in force. Moreover, in the verse under discussion God asked Abu Bakr to break his vow but He did not specify that he was exempt from the expiation necessitated by such an act. As for the Prophet's statement, it implies that the sin incurred by making an improper vow is atoned for by opting for that which is better. The statement does not mean though that if one adopts the preferable option, one need not expiate oneself for breaking the vow. In another hadith the Prophet (peace be on him) says: 'He who vows and later realizes that something is better than that, he should follow what is better and make expiation for his broken vow.' We thus learn that expiation for breaking a vow is one thing, but expiation for the sin of not doing good is quite another. Taking a better option when one realizes that such is available in preference to what one had vowed constitutes the expiation for the earlier mistake. As for the expiation for breaking one's vow, this is laid down in the Qur'an. > (See Tafhim al-Qur'an, vol. 4, Surah Sad 38, n. 46.)

21. The word ghafilat is used in this verse to characterize believing women [who have been subjected, despite their excellent character, to outrageous accusations]. They are described here as simple, straightforward, honorable and decent women who are void of all the cunning that characterizes women of bad character. They are essentially so good that they are not even aware of devious ways of corruption and how people go about them. Being essentially (25) On that Day Allah will justly requite them, and they will come to know that Allah - and He alone - is the truth, the One who makes the truth manifest. (26) Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women. They are innocent of the calumnies people utter.22 There shall be forgiveness for them and a generous provision.

good they are unable to imagine that people would make them targets of outrageous accusations of sexual misconduct. The Prophet (peace be on him) branded the slandering of chaste women as among the seven deadly sins. A tradition in Tabarani on the authority of Hudhayfah mentions that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: 'To slander a chaste woman nullifies all one's good deeds of one hundred years.'

2la. For further details, see Tafhim al-Qur'an, vol. 4, Ya sin 36, n. 55 and Fussilat 41, n. 25.

22. This verse expounds a general principle: that evil men and evil women make a good match. Likewise, righteous men are instinctively drawn towards righteous women in their choice of life-partners. Anyone who is disposed towards evil, never stops at doing just one evil act. Instead, his conduct and habits embrace the whole gamut of evil that supports and nourishes him. For it is not possible for evil to overtake someone who is otherwise a good person. It is inconceivable for evil to suddenly burst forth from a man whose general conduct and pattern of behavior display no indications of it.

This psychological fact about people is well known. Now, how can anyone believe that a man of such outstandingly excellent character as the Prophet would put up with and have tender feelings for a woman guilty of gross sexual misconduct? It is, therefore, all the more surprising that some Muslims gave credence to a report which insinuated that someone as pure as the Prophet (peace be on him) had put up with such a woman. How could the Prophet spend such a long time with her and yet her ways, her gait, her mode of conversation and her gestures not betray her true character? By the same token, is it conceivable that a man possessed of purity of soul and excellent moral character would live happily with a woman of such low character? (27) Believers!23 Enter not houses other than your own houses until you have ascertained the approval24 of the inmates of those houses and have greeted them with peace. This is better for you. It is expected that you will observe this.25>-

This point is made so as to caution Muslims against blindly accepting similar charges in the future. In other words, they would be well advised to critically look into the conduct of the accused, to consider the nature of the accusation and to arrive at some judgement as to whether the incident reported could indeed have taken place or not. There should at least be some prima facie ground for the charge that is made. A report cannot be given credence simply on the basis that it has been narrated by someone. If there is some ground for the accusation one may believe it, or at any rate regard it as within the range of possibilities. But if something strange is reported - something for which there seems no supporting basis — it should not be accepted merely because someone - who at any rate might be a fool or scoundrel - has reported it.

Some commentators of the Qur'an interpret the present verse to mean that evil things are for evil people, meaning thereby that evil things are worthy of evil people. Conversely, good things behoove good people, implying that they are to be exonerated of the evil acts attributed to them by their opponents. Other scholars consider this verse to mean that evil deeds are done by evil people whereas good deeds are worthy of being done by good people. Good people are far above the level of evil conduct that is ascribed to them by evil people.

Other scholars interpret the verse to mean that evil deeds are committed by evil people and good deeds by good people. Good people cannot engage in the evil deeds which are ascribed to them by slanderers.

All these meanings may be derived from this verse. It appears, however, that the first meaning is the correct one, especially in view of the context in which it occurs.