وَلَوْلَآ إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَآ أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَـٰذَا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ هَـٰذَا بُهْتَـٰنٌ عَظِيمٌ 16
Translations
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allāh]; this is a great slander"?
Transliteration
Wa law lā idh sami'tūmūhu qultum mā yakūnu lanā an natakallama bi hādhā subḥānaka hādhā buhṭānun 'aẓīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes those who heard the false accusation against 'Ā'ishah (رضي الله عنها) for not immediately rejecting it as a grave lie. The verse teaches that upon hearing a serious false claim, the believers should have immediately disassociated themselves from it and proclaimed Allah's transcendence, recognizing the accusation as a monstrous fabrication. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this establishes an obligation to defend the honor of Muslims and reject slander without delay or hesitation.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah An-Nur (Chapter 24), which was revealed in response to the grave slander (ifk) spread against 'Ā'ishah, the Prophet's wife, during the expedition to Banī al-Muṣṭaliq (5 AH). The surah addresses both the incident itself and establishes broader principles regarding chastity, modesty, and the protection of reputation in the Muslim community.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim record the detailed account of the slander (hadith of ifk) where the Prophet's companions gradually came to 'Ā'ishah's defense. Additionally, the hadith in Muslim, "Whoever defends the honor of his brother [in his absence], Allah will defend his face from the Fire on the Day of Judgment," relates thematically to the obligation of defending reputations.
Themes
Key Lesson
Muslims have a collective duty to immediately refute false accusations and slander against their brothers and sisters, recognizing that defending reputation is an Islamic obligation. This ayah teaches that silence in the face of lies amounts to participation in evil, and swift, clear rejection of falsehood is both a moral and religious necessity.
Related Ayahs
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allāh upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allāh purifies whom He wills, and Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزْجِى سَحَابًا ثُمَّ يُؤَلِّفُ بَيْنَهُۥ ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُۥ رُكَامًا فَتَرَى ٱلْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَـٰلِهِۦ وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مِن جِبَالٍ فِيهَا مِنۢ بَرَدٍ فَيُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَصْرِفُهُۥ عَن مَّن يَشَآءُ ۖ يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهِۦ يَذْهَبُ بِٱلْأَبْصَـٰرِ
Do you not see that Allāh drives clouds? Then He brings them together; then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightning almost takes away the eyesight.
وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
And to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and to Allāh is the destination.
لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
That Allāh may reward them [according to] the best of what they did and increase them from His bounty. And Allāh gives provision to whom He wills without account [i.e., limit].