Surah An-Noor (24) — Ayah 26

(Ayah 26) ➊ { اَلْخَبِيْثٰتُ لِلْخَبِيْثِيْنَ… :} In this verse, the psychological reality is stated that wicked (impure) men are compatible with wicked women, and pure men are compatible only with pure women. It cannot happen that a man himself is very pure, yet he continues to live compatibly with a wicked woman for years. The purpose is to declare the purity of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that if there had been even the slightest trace of impurity in her, how could it have been possible that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who was the leader of the pure from eternity to eternity, would have continued to live with her with utmost love and satisfaction for years? Some commentators have taken {’’ اَلْخَبِيْثٰتُ ‘‘} to mean wicked words and deeds, and {’’ الطَّيِّبٰتُ ‘‘} to mean pure words and deeds, i.e., a person acts and speaks according to his own nature. Now, since Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was pure, her character and her words and deeds were also pure, and these hypocrites themselves were wicked, so it was expected from them to utter such wicked words and perform such wicked deeds.

➋ {اُولٰٓىِٕكَ مُبَرَّءُوْنَ مِمَّا يَقُوْلُوْنَ:} That is, pure men and pure women are declared completely innocent of those things which wicked men and wicked women say. {’’ مُبَرَّءُوْنَ ‘‘} is the passive participle form, meaning "declared free." In this, the exoneration of Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is mentioned in clear words. That is, whoever among the believers hears this, declares her pure by saying {’’ سُبْحٰنَكَ هٰذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيْمٌ ‘‘}, and Allah Almighty also announces her exoneration with {’’ اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ جَآءُوْ بِالْاِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ‘‘}. {’’ مِمَّا يَقُوْلُوْنَ ‘‘} means that the slanderers' words are mere utterances, they have no reality.

➌ Due to the tanween of exaltation on { لَهُمْ مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَّ رِزْقٌ كَرِيْمٌ : ’’ مَغْفِرَةٌ ‘‘}, it is translated as "great forgiveness," i.e., the pure do not become bad by the evil words of wicked people, rather, the pain they suffer due to these accusations and their patience over it becomes a means for the forgiveness of their mistakes and slips, and the more the mischief-makers try to disgrace them, the more they are granted honorable sustenance. In this, there is glad tidings of Paradise for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Aisha, her parents, and Safwan (may Allah be pleased with them all), which is the true noble provision, because all of their honor and dignity was attacked by this slander and all of them suffered great distress.

26-1. One meaning of this is the same as has been stated in the translation. In this case, it will be synonymous with the verse, and by خبیثات and خبیثیوں are meant adulterous men and women, and by طیبات and طیبون are meant chaste women and men. Another meaning is that impure words are for impure men, and impure men are for impure words, and pure things are for pure men, and pure men are for pure things, and the meaning will be that impure words are done only by those men and women who are impure, and speaking pure words is the practice of pure men and women. In this, there is an indication towards the fact that those who accused Hazrat Aisha of impurity are impure, and those who declared her innocence from it are pure.

26-2. By this is meant the sustenance of Paradise which will be granted to the people of faith.

26. Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men are for corrupt women. And pure [31] women are for pure men, and pure men are for pure women. They are innocent of what (the slanderers) say; for them is forgiveness and an honorable provision.

[31] One meaning of this verse is as is clear from the translation, and in terms of the context of the subject matter, this is also the most appropriate. That is, the culture, environment, and habits of chaste men and women are completely different from those who are involved in indecent and immoral acts. It is naturally impossible for the two to sit together. Neither can their cultures be shared, nor their conversations, nor their habits. If a chaste person enters a corrupt environment, it becomes difficult for him to spend even a single day there; similarly, for an immoral man or woman, it is difficult to spend even a single day in a pure environment. Therefore, one should never try to bring these two groups together or establish relationships between them. And if anyone tries to do so, he will gain nothing but failure and harm. The second meaning is that "tayyibat" should be taken in its broad sense. In this regard, it includes not only pure women but also pure words. That is, only pure words come from the tongues of chaste people, and those with corrupt minds only think of indecent things. Just as it is impossible for pure-minded people to think of indecent things, in the same way, those with corrupt minds rarely think of pure things. The clear meaning of this is that those who spread this indecency and propaganda were, in reality, people of corrupt mentality. It is not the way of chaste people to take part in such matters. They consider their safety to be in avoiding such things.