24. [an-Nur, Medina 102]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّه رَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿٢٠﴾

24: 20. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, and that Allah is full of kindness and mercy (ye would be ruined indeed).

C2971. Note the refrain that comes four times in this passage, "Were it not for the grace and, mercy of Allah ....... Each time it has a different application.

1. In 24:10, it was in connection with the accusation of infidelity by the man against his wife, they were both reminded of Allah's mercy and warned against suspicion and untruth.

2. In 24:14, the Believers were told to be wary of false rumours lest they should cause pain and division among themselves: it is Allah's grace that keeps them united.

3. Here is an admonition for the future:

there may be conspiracies and snares laid by evil against simple people; it is Allah's grace that protects them.

4. In 14:21, the general warning is directed to the observance of purity in act and in thought, concerning one's self and concerning others: it is only Allah's grace that can keep that purity spotless, for He hears prayers and knows of all the snares that are spread in the path of the good.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ...

24: 21. O ye who believe! follow not Satan's footsteps:

...وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ...

if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong:

...وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا...

and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure:

C2972. See last note.

...وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء...

but Allah doth purify whom He pleases:

C2973. Spotless purity in thought, word, and deed, includes the disposition to put the best construction on the motives of others, so that we ascribe no evil motive to the seeming indiscretions of virtuous people.

Such a high standard can only come by the grace of Allah, Who hears all prayers and knows all the temptations to which human nature is subject. His Will and Plan make both for spiritual protection and spiritual peace, and we must place ourselves trustingly in His hands.

...وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢١﴾

and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).

وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا...

24: 22. Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping

C2974. The immediate reference was to Hadhrat Abu Bakr, the father of Hadhrat Aisha. He was blessed both with spiritual grace from Allah and with ample mean; which he always used in the service of Islam and of Muslims.

One of the slanderers of Hadhrat Aisha turned out to be Mistah, a cousin of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, whom he had been in the habit of supporting. Naturally Hadhrat Abu Bakr wished to stop that aid, but according to the highest standards of Muslim ethics he was asked to forgive and forget, which he did, with the happiest results to the peace and unity of the Muslim community.

But the general application holds good for all time. A generous patron should not, in personal anger, withdraw his support even for serious faults if the delinquent repents and mends his ways.

If Allah forgives us, who are we to refuse forgiveness to our fellows?

...أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ...

their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah's cause:

...وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا...

let them forgive and overlook:

...أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ...

do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?

...وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٢٢﴾

For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Asad’s Version:

24:20

And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, and that God is compassionate, a dispenser of grace...

(24:21) O YOU who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan's footsteps: for he who follows Satan's foot steps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason. 24 And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

(24:22) Hence, [even if they have been wronged by slander,]

let not those of you who have been graced with [God's] favour and ease of life ever become remiss in helping 25 [the erring ones among] their near of kin, and the needy, and those who have forsaken the domain of evil for the sake of God, 26 but let them pardon and forbear. [For,] do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins, seeing that God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace? 27

[[ Asad’s notes -

20 The term fahishah signifies anything that is morally reprehensible or abominable: hence, "immoral conduct" in the widest sense of this expression. In the above context it refers to unfounded or unproven allegations of immoral conduct, in other words, "foul slander" .

21 I.e., the legal punishment as stipulated inverse 4 of this surah.

22 This Qur'anic warning against slander and, by obvious implication, against any attempt at seeking out other people's faults finds a clear echo in several well-authenticated sayings of the Prophet: "Beware of all guesswork [about one another], for, behold, all [such] guesswork is most deceptive (akdhab al-hadith); and do not spy upon one another, and do not try to bare [other people's] failings" (Muwatta 1 ); almost identical versions of this Tradition have been quoted by Bukhari, Muslim and

Abu Da'ud); "Do not hurt those who have surrendered themselves to God (al-muslimin), and do not impute evil to them, and do not try to uncover their nakedness [i.e., their faults] : for, behold, if anyone tries to uncover his brother's nakedness, God will uncover his own nakedness [on the Day of Judgment]" (Tirimidhi); and, "Never does a believer draw a veil over the nakedness of another believer without God's drawing a veil over his own nakedness on Resurrection Day" (Bukhari). All these injunctions have received their seal, as it were, in the Qur'anic exhortation: "Avoid most guesswork [about one another] - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin"

(49:12).

23 See verse 10 of this surah and the corresponding note 11.

24 In this context, the term al-munkar has apparently the same meaning as in 16:90 (explained in the corresponding note 109) since, as the sequence shows, it clearly relates to the unreasonable self-righteousness of so many people who "follow Satan's footsteps" by imputing moral failings to others and forgetting that it is only due to God's grace that man, in his inborn weakness, can ever remain pure.

25 Or: "Swear that [henceforth] they would not help [lit., "give to"] , etc. Both these meanings - "he swore [that]" and "he became remiss [in]" - are attributable to the verb ala; which appears in the above sentence in the form ya'tal. My rendering is based on the interpretation given to this verb by the great philologist Abu al-Qasim al-Harawi (cf Lane I, 84). ]]