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Towards Understanding the Quran
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Introduction to Tafheem | Glossary | Verbs
Tafsirs: Maarif | Dawat | Ishraq | Clear

 Surah An-Nur 24:21-26 [3/9]
  
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Verse Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْO you who believe!
لَا(Do) not
تَتَّبِعُواْfollow
خُطُوَٲتِ(the) footsteps
ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ‌ۚ(of) the Shaitaan,
وَمَنand whoever
يَتَّبِعْfollows
خُطُوَٲتِ(the) footsteps
ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ(of) the Shaitaan
فَإِنَّهُۥthen indeed, he
يَأْمُرُcommands
بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِthe immorality
وَٱلْمُنكَرِ‌ۚand the evil.
وَلَوْلَاAnd if not
فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ(for the) Grace of Allah
عَلَيْكُمْupon you
وَرَحْمَتُهُۥand His Mercy
مَاnot
زَكَىٰ(would) have been pure
مِنكُمamong you
مِّنْ أَحَدٍanyone
أَبَدًاever,
وَلَـٰكِنَّbut
ٱللَّهَAllah
يُزَكِّىpurifies
مَنwhom
يَشَآءُ‌ۗHe wills.
وَٱللَّهُAnd Allah
سَمِيعٌ(is) All-Hearer,
عَلِيمٌAll-Knower.
﴿٢١﴾
وَلَاAnd not
يَأْتَلِlet swear
أُوْلُواْ ٱلْفَضْلِthose of virtue
مِنكُمْamong you
وَٱلسَّعَةِand the amplitude of means
أَنthat
يُؤْتُوٓاْthey give
أُوْلِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ(to) the near of kin,
وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَand the needy
وَٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَand the emigrants
فِىin
سَبِيلِ(the) way
ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ(of) Allah.
وَلْيَعْفُواْAnd let them pardon
وَلْيَصْفَحُوٓاْ‌ۗand let them overlook.
أَلَا(Do) not
تُحِبُّونَyou like
أَنthat
يَغْفِرَ ٱللَّهُAllah should forgive
لَكُمْ‌ۗyou?
وَٱللَّهُAnd Allah
غَفُورٌ(is) Oft-Forgiving,
رَّحِيمٌMost Merciful.
﴿٢٢﴾
إِنَّIndeed,
ٱلَّذِينَthose who
يَرْمُونَaccuse
ٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتِthe chaste women,
ٱلْغَـٰفِلَـٰتِthe unaware women
ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ(and) the believing women,
لُعِنُواْare cursed
فِىin
ٱلدُّنْيَاthe world
وَٱلْأَخِرَةِand the Hereafter.
وَلَهُمْAnd for them
عَذَابٌ(is) a punishment
عَظِيمٌgreat.
﴿٢٣﴾
يَوْمَ(On a) Day,
تَشْهَدُwill bear witness
عَلَيْهِمْagainst them
أَلْسِنَتُهُمْtheir tongues,
وَأَيْدِيهِمْand their hands
وَأَرْجُلُهُمand their feet
بِمَاfor what
كَانُواْthey used
يَعْمَلُونَ(to) do.
﴿٢٤﴾
يَوْمَئِذٍThat Day,
يُوَفِّيهِمُ ٱللَّهُAllah will pay them in full
دِينَهُمُtheir recompense,
ٱلْحَقَّthe due,
وَيَعْلَمُونَand they will know
أَنَّthat
ٱللَّهَAllah,
هُوَHe
ٱلْحَقُّ(is) the Truth
ٱلْمُبِينُthe Manifest.
﴿٢٥﴾
ٱلْخَبِيثَـٰتُEvil women
لِلْخَبِيثِينَ(are) for evil men,
وَٱلْخَبِيثُونَand evil men
لِلْخَبِيثَـٰتِ‌ۖ(are) for evil women.
وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتُAnd good women
لِلطَّيِّبِينَ(are) for good men
وَٱلطَّيِّبُونَand good men
لِلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ‌ۚ(are) for good women.
أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَThose
مُبَرَّءُونَ(are) innocent
مِمَّاof what
يَقُولُونَ‌ۖthey say.
لَهُمFor them
مَّغْفِرَةٌ(is) forgiveness
وَرِزْقٌand a provision
كَرِيمٌnoble.
﴿٢٦﴾


يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تَتَّبِعُوۡا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيۡطٰنِ​ ؕ وَمَنۡ يَّتَّبِعۡ خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيۡطٰنِ فَاِنَّهٗ يَاۡمُرُ بِالۡـفَحۡشَآءِ وَالۡمُنۡكَرِ​ ؕ وَلَوۡلَا فَضۡلُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَرَحۡمَتُهٗ مَا زَكٰى مِنۡكُمۡ مِّنۡ اَحَدٍ اَبَدًا وَّلٰـكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُزَكِّىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ​ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ سَمِيۡعٌ عَلِيۡمٌ‏   وَلَا يَاۡتَلِ اُولُوا الۡـفَضۡلِ مِنۡكُمۡ وَالسَّعَةِ اَنۡ يُّؤۡتُوۡۤا اُولِى الۡقُرۡبٰى وَالۡمَسٰكِيۡنَ وَالۡمُهٰجِرِيۡنَ فِىۡ سَبِيۡلِ اللّٰهِ ​​ۖ  وَلۡيَـعۡفُوۡا وَلۡيَـصۡفَحُوۡا​ ؕ اَلَا تُحِبُّوۡنَ اَنۡ يَّغۡفِرَ اللّٰهُ لَـكُمۡ​ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ‏  اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يَرۡمُوۡنَ الۡمُحۡصَنٰتِ الۡغٰفِلٰتِ الۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ لُعِنُوۡا فِى الدُّنۡيَا وَالۡاٰخِرَةِ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ عَظِيۡمٌۙ‏  يَّوۡمَ تَشۡهَدُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ اَلۡسِنَـتُهُمۡ وَاَيۡدِيۡهِمۡ وَاَرۡجُلُهُمۡ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏  يَوۡمَـئِذٍ يُّوَفِّيۡهِمُ اللّٰهُ دِيۡنَهُمُ الۡحَـقَّ وَيَعۡلَمُوۡنَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الۡحَـقُّ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏  اَلۡخَبِيۡثٰتُ لِلۡخَبِيۡثِيۡنَ وَالۡخَبِيۡثُوۡنَ لِلۡخَبِيۡثٰتِ​ۚ وَالطَّيِّبٰتُ لِلطَّيِّبِيۡنَ وَالطَّيِّبُوۡنَ لِلطَّيِّبٰتِ​ۚ اُولٰٓـئِكَ مُبَرَّءُوۡنَ مِمَّا يَقُوۡلُوۡنَ​ؕ لَهُمۡ مَّغۡفِرَةٌ وَّرِزۡقٌ كَرِيۡمٌ‏ 

Translation
(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.

Commentary

18. Satan is bent upon involving you in all kinds of pollutions and indecencies. Had it not been for the mercy and kindness of Allah Who enables you to differentiate between good and evil and helps you to educate and reform yourselves, you would not have been able to lead a pure and virtuous life on the strength of your own faculties and initiative alone.

19. It is Allah’s will alone which decides whom to make pious and virtuous. His decisions are not arbitrary but based on knowledge. He alone knows who is anxious to live a life of virtue and who is attracted towards a life of sin. Allah hears a person’s most secret talk, and is aware of everything that passes in his mind. It is on the basis of this direct knowledge that Allah decides whom to bless with piety and virtue and whom to ignore.

20. Aishah has stated that after the revelation of (verses 11- 21 )absolving her from the accusation, Abu Bakr swore that he would no longer support Mistah bin Uthatha. This was because the man had shown absolutely no regard for the relationship, nor for the favors that Abu Bakr had all along been showing him and his family. At this (verse 22 )was revealed and Abu Bakr, on hearing it, immediately said: By God, we do want that Allah should forgive us. Consequently he again started to help Mistah and in a more liberal manner than before. According to Abdullah bin Abbas, some other companions, besides Abu Bakr, also had sworn that they would discontinue helping those who had taken an active part in the slander. After the revelation of this verse, all of them revoked their oaths and the ill-will that had been created by the mischief was gone.

Here a question may arise as to whether a person, who swears for something and later on revokes the oath on finding that there was no good in it and adopts a better and more virtuous course, should offer expiation for breaking the oath or not. One group of the jurists is of the opinion that adoption of the virtuous course itself is the expiation and nothing more needs to be done. They base their argument on this verse where Allah commanded Abu Bakr to revoke his oath but did not require him to atone for it. They also cite a tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in support of their argument, saying: lf anybody takes an oath for something and later on finds that another course is better and adopts it, his adoption of a better course by itself is the atonement for breaking the oath.

The other group is of the view that there is a clear commandment in the Quran concerning the breaking of oath (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 225), and (Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 89), which has neither been abrogated by this verse nor clearly amended. Therefore the earlier commandment stands. No doubt, Allah commanded Abu Bakr to revoke his oath but He did not tell him that expiation was not necessary. As regards to the tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it only means this that the sin of taking an oath for a wrong thing is wiped out when the right course is adopted; it does not absolve one from making expiation for the oath itself. Another tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarifies this view. He said: Whoso swears for something and then finds that another course is better than the one he had sworn for, he should adopt the better course and atone for his oath. This shows that expiation for breaking one’s oath and expiation of the sin for not doing good are different things. The expiation for the first is to adopt the right course, and for the second the same as has been laid down in the Quran. For further explanation, see (E.N. 46 of Surah Suad).

21. The word ghafilat as used in the text means the women who are simple, unpretentious souls, who do not know any artifice, who have pious hearts and have no idea of immorality. They cannot even imagine that their names could ever be associated with any slander. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: To slander chaste women is one of the seven deadly sins. According to another tradition cited by Tabarani from Huzaifah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: To slander a pious woman suffices to ruin the good deeds of a hundred years.

21a For explanation, see (E.N. 55 of Surah YaSin) and (E.N. 25 of Surah HaMim Sajdah).

22. This verse enunciates a fundamental principle. Impure men are a fit match for impure women and pious men are a fit match for pious women. It never happens that a man is good in all other aspects but is addicted to a solitary vice. As a matter of fact, his very habits, manners and demeanor, all contain a number of evil traits, which sustain and nourish that single vice. It is impossible that a man develops a vice all of a sudden without having any trace of its existence in his demeanor and way of life. This is a psychological truth which everybody experiences in the daily lives of the people. How is it then possible that a man who has all along lived a pure and morally clean life, will put up and continue to live for years in love with a wife who is adulterous? Can a woman be imagined who is an adulteress, but she does not manifest her evil character through her talk, gait, manners and deportment? Is it possible for a virtuous man of high character to live happily with a woman of this type? What is being suggested here is that people in future should not credulously put their belief in any rumor that reaches them. They should carefully see as to who is being accused and on what account and whether the accusation fairly sticks on the person or not. And when there exists no trace of evidence to support the accusation, people cannot believe it just because a foolish or wicked person has uttered it.

Some commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that evil things are for the evil people and good things for the good people. The good people are free from the evil things which the wicked people utter about them. Some others have interpreted it to mean that evil deeds only go with evil people and good deeds with good people. The pious people are free from the evil deeds which the wicked people ascribe to them. Still others interpret it to mean that evil and filthy talk is indulged in only by the evil and filthy people and good and pious talk only by the good and pious people. The pious people are free from the sort of talk that these mischievous people are indulging in. The words of the verse are comprehensive and can be interpreted in any of the three ways, but the first meaning that strikes the reader is the one that we have adopted above and the same fits in more meaningfully with the context than others.