24:1. [This is] a soorah that We have sent down and ordained; in it We have sent down clear signs so that you may pay heed.

That is, this is ﴾a soorah﴿ of great importance ﴾that We have sent down﴿ as a mercy from Us to Our slaves, and We have protected it from every devil

﴾and ordained﴿ that is, We have ordained in it what We ordained of limits, testimony and so on.

﴾fin it We have sent down clear signs﴿ that is, important rulings, commands, rebukes and great wisdom

﴾so that you may pay heed﴿ when We explain to you and teach you that which you did not know.

Then Allah begins to explain the rulings referred to:

24:2. As for the woman and the man who commit fornication, flog each of them with a hundred lashes. Do not let pity for them deter you from obedience to Allah [in carrying out the punishment He has prescribed], if you believe in Allah and the Last Day; and let a group of the believers witness their punishment.

This ruling applies to men and women who are virgins and commit fornication; they are each to be flogged with a hundred lashes. As for the fornicators who were previously married,^{1It refers to anyone who has ever been married and consummated the marriage, whether the marriage still stands or has ended through divorce or death of the spouse. (Translator)} the well-known, saheeh Sunnah indicates that the hadd punishment in this case is stoning. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has forbidden us to let pity for them deter us from obedience to Him and prevent us from carrying out the hadd punishment on them, whether that is natural pity or is because the person is a relative or friend and so on. Faith should lead one not to have that pity which could prevent one from carrying out the command of Allah. True mercy and compassion is in carrying out the hadd punishment on him that has been prescribed by Allah. Even though one may feel sorry for him because of what is decreed for him, in another way one should not feel sorry for him.

Allah te) also commands us that the punishment of the fornicators should be witnessed by a group of the believers, so that it will become widely known and thus disgrace the fornicators and deter others from doing this deed. They should watch the hadd punishment as it is carried out, because witnessing the rulings actually being carriedout deepens one’s knowledge of them and helps one to understand them better; that is also more likely to lead to accuracy in counting the number of lashes, to make sure that the number is not more or less than it should be. And Allah knows best.

24:3. A man who fornicates may only marry a woman who fornicates or who is a polytheist, and a woman who fornicates may only marry a man who fornicates or who is a polytheist. Such marriages are forbidden to the believers.

This highlights the abhorrent nature of fornication, for it tarnishes the honour of the one who does it and that of the one with whom he does it, in a manner that is not shared by other sins. So Allah tells us that no woman would marry a fornicator except one who commits the same deed, so that they will be a match for one another, or a female polytheist who does not believe in the resurrection or requital, and does not adhere to the commands of Allah.

By the same token, no man would marry a woman who commits fornication except a fornicator or a polytheist.

c-fSuch marriages are forbidden to the believers﴿ that is, Allah has prohibited them to marry fornicators. What this verse means is that if a person - man or woman - characteristically commits fornication, and does not repent from it, the one who wants to marry such a person, despite the fact that Allah has forbidden that, must either not be adhering to the rulings of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and such a person can only be a polytheist; or he or she is adhering to the rulings of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), but goes ahead with thismarriage despite being aware of the other person’s fornication. In that case, the marriage is fornication and the individual is a fornicator and is immoral, for if he truly believed in Allah, he would not do that. This clearly indicates that it is prohibited to marry a woman who fornicates unless she repents, and it is prohibited to marry a man who fornicates unless he repents. That is because the connection between a husband and wife is the strongest form of companionship and bonds between people.

Allah Ote) says:

t([Allah will command:] Gather together those who did wrong, and others of their ilk ...;﴿ (as-Sdffat 37: 22)

- that is, their spouses. Allah has forbidden that because of what it leads to of great evil, for it reflects a lack of protective jealousy and leads to the attribution to the husband of children who are not his; moreover, the fornicator or adulterer will be unable to keep his wife chaste because he is distracted by other women. Any one of these reasons on its own is sufficient to make it prohibited. This indicates that the fornicator or adulterer is not a believer, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«The fornicator is not a believer at the time when he is committing fornication.»(Bukhari)

Even if he is not a polytheist, he cannot be given the praiseworthy description of being a believer in general terms.

24:4. As for those who make accusations against chaste women but do not produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty lashes and never afterwards accept their testimony, for it is they who are the wicked transgressors,

24:5. Except those who repent after that and mend their ways, for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Having highlighted the seriousness of the crime of fornication and adultery, by decreeing that the one who commits this crime should be flogged, or stoned if he or she was previously married, and stated that it is not permissible to marry such a person or mix with him or her in such a way that one cannot be safe from his or her evil, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) here highlights the seriousness of violating a person's honour by accusing him or her of fornication or adultery, as He says:

﴾As for those who make accusations against chaste women﴿ that is, women who are free (not slaves) and chaste. This also applies to men, for there is no differentiation between the genders in this regard. What is meant by making accusations is accusations of fornication or adultery, based on the context.

﴾but do not produce four witnesses﴿ that is, men of good character who will testify to that in clear terms.

﴾flog them with eighty lashes j? with a whip of moderate thickness, so as to cause pain but not to the point of causing harm, because the aim is discipline, not injury. This verse affirms the hadd punishment for slander, but that is on condition that the person who is accused is, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, a chaste believer. As for slandering or accusing one who is not chaste, that deserves a disciplinary punishment (ta'zeer).

﴾and never afterwards accept their testimony'﴿ that is, there is a further punishment in this case, which is that the testimony of the one who made that accusation is not to be accepted, even if he has been punished, unless he repents, as we shall see below.

﴾for it is they who are the wicked transgressors﴿ that is, they have gone beyond the bounds of obedience to Allah, and their evilhas increased, because of this violation of that which Allah has made sacred and this violation of the honour of his brother, because he gave people the opportunity to repeat what he said, thus undermining the bond of brotherhood that Allah has created among the believers, and he loved to see indecency spread among the believers. This indicates that slander or making false accusations is a major sin.

﴾Except those who repent after that and mend their ways, for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿. Repentance, in this situation, means that the one who made that accusation admits that he was lying. It is obligatory for him to state that he was lying, even if he was certain that it had happened, because he failed to produce four witnesses. If the slanderer repents and mends his ways, then his bad deeds are turned into good deeds, and he is no longer to be described as a wicked transgressor. Similarly, his testimony may be accepted in the future, according to the correct scholarly view, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful; He forgives all sins for the one who repents and turns back to Him.

The slanderer is only to be flogged for not producing four witnesses if he is not the husband of the woman he accused. If he is the husband, then what is to be done (a procedure called IVan) is described in the following passage:

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24:6. As for those who make accusations against their wives but have no witnesses except themselves, such a person should testify four times by Allah that he is telling the truth,

24:7. And the fifth [oath] should be invoking the curse of Allah upon himself if he is telling a lie.

24:8. But it will avert the punishment from her if she testifies four times by Allah that he is telling a lie,

24:9. And the fifth [oath] should be invoking the wrath of Allah upon herself if he is telling the truth.

24:10. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, and that He is Accepting of repentance, Most Wise, [He would have hastened to punish you].

The reason why the husband’s testimony against his wife does not incur the hadd punishment is because usually the husband does not accuse his wife, when tarnishing her reputation would also tarnish his, unless he is telling the truth, and because he has the right to do that, for fear of a child being attributed to him who is not his child, as well as other reasons that are absent in regular cases of a person making accusations against a stranger. Hence Allah says:

﴾As for those who make accusations against their wives﴿ that is, wives who are free women and not slaves

﴾but have no witnesses﴿ to support the accusation ﴾except themselves﴿, as they do not have any witnesses to testify to what they are accusing their wives of,

﴾such a person should testify four times by Allah that he is telling the truth﴿. It is called testimony, because it takes the place of witnesses, when the husband says: I call upon Allah to bear witness that I am telling the truth with regard to what I have accused her of.

﴾And the fifth [oath] should be invoking the curse of Allah upon himself if he is telling a lie﴿ that is, the fifth time he should add to his testimony something to confirm his previous words, by invoking uponhimself the divine curse if he is lying. When he has completed this procedure of li‘an, the hadd punishment for making a false accusation is waived from him.

The apparent meaning of these verses suggests that if he mentions the alleged adulterer by name, he is not to be subjected to flogging because it is connected to the case of his wife. But is the hadd punishment to be carried out against her on the basis of the husband’s li'an if she refuses to swear an similar oath, or is she to be imprisoned? There are two scholarly views; the view that is supported by the evidence is that she is to be subjected to the hadd punishment, based on the fact that Allah says: ﴾But it will avert the punishment from her if she testifies four times by Allah that he is telling a lie... p. Were it not that the hadd punishment becomes due because of his li'an, then her li'an would not ward it off. This also indicates that the punishment may be averted from her if she responds to her husband’s testimony with similar testimony of her own.

﴾if she testifies four times by Allah that he is telling a lie﴿ and the fifth time, to confirm that, she adds an oath invoking divine wrath upon herself if she is lying. Once the li'an procedure between them has been completed, they become permanently separated, and the child concerning whom the dispute arose is not to be attributed to the man. The apparent meaning of this passage indicates that this wording is required, from both the man and the woman, in the event of li'an, and it must be done in this order, and nothing of that should be omitted or altered. Li'an is only for the husband, if he is accusing his wife; the converse does not apply. Once li'an has been done, it does not matter if the child resembles the husband or not, just as, if a child resembles the alleged adulterer, he is still to be attributed to the husband (if no li'an has taken place). Rather resemblance is to be taken into account when there is no other factor to indicate either way.

﴾Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, and that He is Accepting of repentance. Most Wise﴿ - the completionof this sentence is omitted, but is indicated by the context: He would have caused to befall the partner who was lying that which he or she had invoked upon himself or herself. But by His grace and mercy, this ruling was decreed especially for spouses, because there was a need for it, but He has highlighted to you the abhorrent nature of fornication and adultery, and the abhorrent nature of false accusations and He has prescribed repentance from these major sins and others.

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24:11. Verily those who propagated the slander were a group among you. Do not think that it was bad for you; rather it is good for you. Each man among them bears [responsibility for] his share in the sin, and as for the one among them who played the major role, for him there will be a grievous punishment.

24:12. Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and women not think the best of one another and say: This is obviously a lie?

24:13. Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? As they did not bring the witnesses, they are the liars before Allah.

24:14. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you in this world and the hereafter, a grievous penalty would have overtaken you, because of the talk you indulged in,

24:15. When you were propagating it with your tongues and saying with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge. You regarded [your talking about it] as a trivial matter, whereas with Allah it was a grievous offence.

24:16. Why, when you heard it. did you not say: It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You [O Allah]!^{1This is an expression of amazement, shock or surprise, as one would usually say. when seeing or hearing something that is amazing, strange or shocking, "subhan Allah (glory be to Allah)!”} This is a monstrous slander!?

24:17. Allah admonishes you never to repeat such conduct, if you are [truly] believers.

24:18. And Allah explains the revelations to you, for Allah is All- Knowing, Most Wise.

24:19. Verily those who like to see indecency spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and the hereafter; Allah knows, and you do not know.

24:20. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, and that He is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, [He would have hastened to punish you].

24:21. O you who believe, do not follow the footsteps of the Shaytan; whoever follows the footsteps of the Shaytan, he only enjoins indecency and wickedness. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, not one of you would ever have been purified. But Allah purifies whomever He wills, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

24:22. Let not those among you who are people of virtue and wealth swear to cease giving [aid] to their kinsfolk, the needy and those who have migrated in Allah’s cause. Rather let them pardon and overlook. Do you not like for Allah to forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

24:23. Verily those who make accusations against chaste women who are innocent at heart and believers are cursed in this world and the hereafter, and theirs will be a grievous punishment

24:24. On the day when their own tongues, hands and feet will testify against them regarding what they used to do.

24:25. On that day, Allah will give them in full their due recompense and they will know that Allah is indeed the Truth Who makes manifest [the true nature of all things],

24:26. Evil men are for evil women and evil women are for evil men; good words describe good people, and good people are describedby good words.^{2This translation of the meanings is in accordance with the view of the majority of commentators. However, this verse may also mean: “Evil men are for evil women and evil women are for evil men; good women are for good men and good men are for good women”, which indicates that ‘ A'ishah (i^b), as she was married to the Messenger of Allah («^g), could not have been anything but good.} Those [good people] are innocent of all that [the slanderers] say; they will have forgiveness and a generous provision.

In the previous verses Allah mentioned the seriousness of false accusations of adultery in general terms; it is as if that was an introduction to this story, which happened to the noblest of women, the Mother of the Believers ‘A’ishah (radiya Allahu 'anha - may Allah be pleased with her). These verses were revealed concerning the well-known story of the slander (al-ifk) which is proven in the books of Saheeh, the Sunans and the Musnads (books of Hadith).

In brief, the Prophet (ﷺ) went out on one of his military campaigns, and took his wife, ‘A’ishah as-Siddeeqah bint (Abi Bakr) as-Siddeeq (.radiya Allahu ‘anhuma - may Allah be pleased with both of them) with him. Her necklace broke, so she stayed behind to look for it, and they moved on with her camel and howdah, not realising that she was not there. The army moved on, and she came back to the place where they had been camping; she knew that once they realised that she was missing, they would come back for her, but they continued on their way. In the meantime, Safwan ibn al-Mu‘attal as-Sulami (رضي الله عنه), who was one of the best of the Sahabah, had lagged behind the army, and had stopped at the end of the night to sleep. He now came along and he saw ‘A’ishah (رضي الله عنها) and recognised her, so he made his camel kneel down and she mounted it, without him speaking to her or her speaking to him. Then he came, leading the camel, after the army had halted at noon time. When some of the hypocrites who were accompanyingthe Prophet (ﷺ) on that journey saw Safwan arriving with her in that state, they began to spread rumours, and the rumours spread far and wide, and people’s tongues wagged until even some believers were deceived and began to narrate what they had heard, and the revelations stopped coming to the Messenger (ﷺ) for a long time.

News of what was happening reached ‘A’ishah sometime after that, and she was very upset by it. Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sent down revelation confirming her innocence in these verses, in which He admonished the believers, highlighted how serious the matter was, and gave some important instructions.

﴾Verily those who propagated the slander﴿ that is, the abhorrent lie, which was an accusation against the Mother of the Believers ﴾were a group among you﴿ that is, they were a group who belonged to you, O believers, some of whom were sincere believers, but they were deceived by the rumours of the hypocrites, and some of them were themselves hypocrites.

c-(Do not think that it was bad for you; rather it is good for you﴿ because of the outcome of the matter, namely the declaration of the innocence and chastity of the Mother of the Believers, and the mention of her in the highest terms; that praise went even further, to include all of the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ); and because of what this incident led to of the revelation of some verses that people needed, which will remain applicable until the Day of Resurrection. All of this was great goodness that, were it not for the rumours spread by those who initiated the slander, would not have been achieved. If Allah wills something, He creates a cause for it. Therefore these words are addressed in general terms to all the believers, as Allah told them that impugning one another is like impugning their own selves. Hence the verse implies that the believers, in their mutual love, compassion, mercy and unity are like a single body, and the believers as a whole are like a structure, parts of which support other parts. Just as any individual would hate his honour to be impugned, he should hatefor anyone to impugn the honour of his fellow believer, who is like himself. Unless a person reaches this level, he is lacking in faith and in sincerity towards his brother.

﴾Each man among them bears [responsibility for] his share in the sin﴿ this is a warning to those who produced this slander that they will be punished for what they said of such things. And in fact the Prophet (ﷺ) carried out the hadd punishment on some of them, ﴾and as for the one among them who played the major role﴿ namely the evil hypocrite ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool (may Allah curse him)

﴾for him there will be a grievous punishment﴿ namely eternity in the lowest level of hell.

Then Allah advises His slaves as to what they should do if they hear such talk:

﴾Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and women not think the best of one another﴿ that is, the believers should think well of one another, which means assuming that they are innocent of what they are accused of, because what they have of certain faith should ward off any false accusations made against them, ﴾and say﴿ because of that positive thinking of one another ﴾This is obviously a Hep that is, a fabrication, one of the most abhorrent and most obviously mendacious of things. This is the way of thinking that is required when the believer hears such things about his fellow believer; he should state his innocence verbally and tell the one who says that: You are lying.

﴾Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it?﴿ That is, why did those who made this accusation not bring four witnesses of good character to testify to it?

f[As they did not bring the witnesses, they are the liars before Allah﴿. Even if they are certain of that, according to the rulings of Allah they are liars, because Allah has forbidden them to speak of that unless they can produce four witnesses. Hence Allah says: ﴾As they didnot bring the witnesses, they are the liars before Allah﴿. All of this serves to emphasise the sanctity of the Muslim’s honour, as it is not permissible to make an accusation against him without having the required number of witnesses to confirm it.

﴾ Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you in this world and the hereafter﴿, as His kindness encompasses you in both realms, in both your religious and worldly affairs,

﴾a grievous penalty would have overtaken you, because of the talk you indulged in﴿ with regard to the slander, because you deserve that as a result of what you said. But by Allah’s grace and mercy towards you. He prescribed repentance for you and made the punishment a means of purification.

﴾When you were propagating it with your tongues﴿ that is, spreading it and passing it to one another, whispering the gossip when it was a false story,

﴾fand saying with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge﴿. There are two forbidden matters here: speaking on the basis of falsehood and speaking without knowledge ﴾You regarded [your talking about it] as a trivial matter﴿, therefore some of the believers did that, who later repented and purified themselves

?(whereas with Allah it was a grievous offence﴿. This is an emphatic rebuke against indulging in some sins because one thinks that they are trivial. But what a person thinks will not avail him anything and will not reduce the punishment for that sin; rather it makes him get carried away in sin and makes it easy for him to do it again.

?(Why, when you heard it﴿ that is, why - O believers - when you heard what the people of the slander said

﴾did you not say﴿, denouncing it and regarding it as a serious matter, ﴾lt is not right for us to speak of this﴿ that is, we should not speak of this, and it is not appropriate for us to speak of this obvious lie, because the believer’s faith prevents him from committing abhorrent deeds﴾This is a monstrous slander﴿ that is, a monstrous lie.

﴾Allah admonishes you never to repeat such conduct﴿ that is, accusing the believers of immorality; Allah admonishes you and advises you not to repeat that, and what a beautiful admonition and advice from our Lord. Therefore we should accept it and submit to it, and give thanks to Him for what He has explained to us.

((...How excellent is the exhortation Allah gives you!...﴿ (an-Nisa' 4: 58)

﴾if you are [truly] believers﴿. This indicates that sincere faith prevents a person from committing prohibited actions.

﴾And Allah explains the revelations to you﴿ that contain the explanation of rulings, admonition, rebukes, encouragement and warnings. He explains them to you clearly,

﴾for Allah is All-Knowing﴿ that is, His knowledge is perfect and His wisdom is all-encompassing, and by His knowledge and wisdom He has taught you what He taught you, and that is in your best interests at all times.

﴾Verily those who like to see indecency﴿ that is, abhorrent and grievous things ﴾spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and the hereafter﴿ that is, a punishment that will hurt them emotionally and physically, because of their insincerity towards their Muslim brothers and their loving bad things for them, and their audacity in impugning their honour. If this warning is for merely liking indecency to be spread, and finding it exciting, then how about that which is worse than that, of showing that and transmitting it? It is the same whether the immoral act is actually committed or not.

All of this is by the mercy of Allah towards His believing slaves, and in order to protect their honour, as He protected their lives and wealth. Allah enjoined them to have a sincere relationship with one another, and instructed them that one of them should love for his brother what he loves for himself, and hate for his brother what he hates for himself.

﴾Allah knows, and you do not know﴿ therefore He has taught you and explained to you that of which you are not aware.

﴾Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you﴿ that encompass you on all sides, tfand that He is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful﴿, He would not have explained these rulings to you and would not have exhorted you, and He would not have given respite to those who go against His commands. But by His grace and mercy, which are His constant attributes, this matter resulted in some goodness for you in this world and in the hereafter, that is more than you can count or enumerate.

Having forbidden this sin in particular, Allah then forbids sins in general terms, as He says:

﴾jO you who believe, do not follow the footsteps of the Shay(an﴿ that is, his ways and whispers. The footsteps of the Shaytan include all the sins having to do with the heart (beliefs and intentions), tongue (words) and body (physical actions).

By His wisdom, Allah te) has explained the ruling, which is the prohibition on following the footsteps of the Shaytan, and the wisdom behind the ruling, by highlighting the evil of the prohibited deed, which dictates that one should stay away from it: ﴾whoever follows the footsteps of the Shaytan, he﴿ namely the Shaytan ﴾only enjoins indecency﴿ that is, major sins that are regarded by common sense and religious teachings as indecent, even though there may be some inclination towards them fjand wickedness﴿ - this refers to something that is denounced on the basis of reason and no one would approve of it. The sins that are described as being the footsteps of the Shaytan do not go beyond that. Allah has forbidden them to His slaves as a favour from Him, so they should give thanks to Him and remember Him, because this is protection for them against being contaminated with abhorrent and evil deeds.By His kindness towards them. He has forbidden these sins to them, as He has forbidden them to consume lethal poison and the like.

﴾('Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah towards you, not one of you would ever have been purified﴿ that is, they would never have been purified from following the footsteps of the Shaytan, because the Shaytan and his troops strive hard to call people to sins and make them appear fair-seeming, and the nafs is inclined towards evil and prompts one to do it. Man by nature is prone to shortcomings in all aspects, and faith is not strong, so if man were to be left (without help) under the influence of these factors, no one would be purified by cleansing himself of sins and bad deeds, and by starting to do good deeds. Purification requires cleansing oneself and doing good deeds. But Allah’s grace and mercy dictate that some of you should be cleansed and purified. One of the supplications of the Prophet was:

«0 Allah, grant my soul piety and purify it, for You are the best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Lord.» (Muslim)

Hence Allah says:

﴾But Allah purifies whomever He wills﴿, who He knows is fit for that; hence He says: ﴾and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing﴿.

﴾Let not those among you who are people of virtue and wealth swear to cease giving [aid] to their kinsfolk, the needy and those who have migrated in Allah’s cause. Rather let them pardon and overlook﴿.

One of those who were involved in spreading the slander was Mistah ibn Athathah, who was a relative of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq. Mistah was a poor man, one of those who had migrated in Allah’s cause. Abu Bakr swore that he would no longer spend on him, because of what he had said. But then this verse was revealed, forbidding them to swear that they would no longer spend on them, and urging him to pardon and overlook, promising the forgiveness of Allah, if he forgave his relative:﴾Do you not like for Allah to forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿; if you are forgiving towards His slaves, by pardoning and overlooking, then Allah will treat you likewise. When Abu Bakr heard this verse, he said: Nay, by Allah I like that Allah should forgive me. And he resumed spending on Mistah.

This verse indicates that it is prescribed to spend on relatives, and one should not stop doing so, or stop showing kindness towards them, because of a sin that a person may commit. It is encouraged to pardon and overlook, no matter what sins a person may commit.

Then comes a stem warning against making accusations against chaste women:

﴾Verily those who make accusations against chaste women﴿ that is, women who refrain from immoral acts

﴾who are innocent at heart﴿ and such things never cross their minds ﴾and believers are cursed in this world and the hereafter﴿ the curse can only be because of a major sin. It is highlighted that the curse is ongoing and will impact them in both realms ﴾and theirs will be a grievous punishment﴿. This is in addition to the curse; Allah will cast them far away from His mercy and will send against them His mighty vengeance.

That punishment will come on the Day of Resurrection, ﴾On the day when their own tongues, hands and feet will testify against them regarding what they used to do﴿. Each of their physical faculties will testify against them, regarding what they did. They will be caused to speak by the One Who will cause everything to speak, so it will not be possible to deny anything. He is just towards His slaves, for He will cause the witnesses to be from their own selves.

﴾On that day, Allah will give them in full their due recompense﴿ that is. He will requite them for their deeds, giving the due recompense that is based on justice and fairness, and they will find their recompense in full, with nothing missing.

. .They will say: Woe to us! What sort of record is this, that leaves no deed, small or great, unaccounted for? They will find all they did recorded there, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.(al-Kahf 18:49)

They will realise, in that great place of standing, that Allah is the Truth Who makes manifest all things.

His sublime attributes are true, His deeds are true, worship of Him is true, the meeting with Him is true, His promise, His warning, His religious decree and His judgement are all true, and His Messengers are true, so there is nothing true except that which is with Allah and from Allah.

﴾Evil men are for evil women and evil women are for evil men﴿ that is, everything that is evil of men, women, words and deeds is befitting for the one who is evil, for it is in harmony with him and is similar to him. And everything that is good of men, women, words and deeds is befitting for the one who is good, for it is in harmony with him and is similar to him.

This is general in meaning, and nothing is excluded from that. One of the most important implications of that is the fact that nothing is suitable for the Prophets - especially the Messengers of strong will among them, and especially our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), who is the best of all good people in absolute terms - except the best of women.

Casting aspersions upon ‘A’ishah (رضي الله عنها) with regard to this matter is casting aspersions upon the Prophet (ﷺ); he was the intended target of the slander fabricated by the hypocrites. From the mere fact that she was the wife of the Messenger (ﷺ), it is known that she could not be anything but good and pure, innocent of this reprehensible action.

So how about when she is more than that? For she was the siddeeqah of women (that is, one who was strong and true in faith), the best, most knowledgeable and most pure of women, the beloved of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds; revelation never camedown to him when he was under the cover of any of his other wives, apart from her.

Then Allah states that clearly, in such a way that no evildoer would have any justification for saying anything bad about her, and that there is no room left for doubt, as He says: ﴾Those [good people] are innocent of all that [the slanderers] say﴿. This refers primarily to 'A’ishah (رضي الله عنها), but also to other chaste believing women who are innocent at heart.

﴾they will have forgiveness﴿ that will cleanse all their sins ﴾and a generous provision]-﴿ in paradise, coming from the Most Generous Lord.

24:27. O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission and greeted their occupants; that is better for you, so that you may pay heed.

24:28. If you do not find anyone therein, do not enter them until you are given permission. If you are told to go back, then go back; that is more proper for you. And Allah is well aware of all that you do.

24:29. There is no sin on you if you enter uninhabited houses, if that serves a useful purpose. And Allah knows what you disclose and what you conceal.

Here Allah instructs His believing slaves not to enter houses other than their own without permission, because that leads to a number of bad consequences, such as the following:

• That to which the Messenger (ﷺ) referred when he said:

((Seeking permission has only been prescribed so that one will not see that which is not appropriate for him to see.» (Bukhari and Muslim)

Not following this ruling properly may lead to one’s gaze falling upon private things that he is not meant to see inside other people's houses. A person’s house, by covering what is private, inside its walls, is like a garment that covers what is private of his body.

• Entering other people’s houses without permission may create suspicion about the one who enters them, and he may be accused of evil deeds such as stealing and so on, because entering houses surreptitiously is suggestive of evil intent. Allah forbids the believers to enter houses other than their own until they seek permission; the word used in the original Arabic suggests that seeking permission creates a sense of assurance, whereas entering without permission may cause alarm.

ffand greeted their occupants﴿ - the manner in which this is to be done is mentioned in the hadith:

((As-salamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you); may I come in?» (Recorded by Abu Dawood; al-Albani graded it as sound)

﴾that﴿ namely seeking permission to enter ﴾is better for you, so that you may pay heed﴿, because it will serve many interests, and because it is part of the noble characteristics that are required of the Muslim.

If he is given permission, then he may enter, but ﴾If you do not find anyone therein, do not enter them until you are given permission. If you are told to go back, then go back﴿ that is, do not refuse to goback, and do not get angry about it, because the owner of the house is not depriving you of a right that you must have. Rather he has the choice: if he wishes he may give you permission to enter, or he may refuse. So no one should feel offended or annoyed in that case.

﴾that is more proper for you﴿ that is, it is more effective in protecting you from falling into sin, and it helps you to do more good. f(And Allah is well aware of all that you do﴿; He will requite each person for his deeds, whether they were many or few, good or otherwise.

This ruling applies to inhabited houses, whether one is going there for a purpose or not, and to uninhabited houses for which one has no need to enter them.

In the case of houses that are not inhabited, but they contain the belongings of the person who needs to enter the house, but there is no one present whose permission he may seek to enter - which applies to rented accommodation and so on - Allah has mentioned them in the following verse:

﴾There is no sin on you﴿ that is, there is no blame on you. In contrast, entering the houses mentioned above without permission is deemed to be prohibited because it is described as blameworthy. f(if you enter uninhabited houses, if that serves a useful purpose﴿. This is an example of the amazing wisdom and prudence of the Qur’an: the words (-﴾do not enter houses other than your own﴿ are general in meaning and apply to all houses that do not belong to the individual, but Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) excluded from that houses that do not belong to him, but he has some interest there, and no one lives there. In that case, blame is waived for the one who enters them.

f﴾And Allah knows what you disclose and what you conceal﴿ - He knows your inward and outward condition, and He knows what is in your best interests; therefore He has prescribed for you what you need and cannot do without of laws and teachings.

24:30. Tell the believing men to avert their gaze [from that which is forbidden] and restrain their carnal desires; that will be more conducive to their purity. Verily Allah is well aware of all that they do.

That is, instruct the believers and tell those who have faith that prevents them from doing that which undermines faith:

﴾fto avert their gaze﴿ from looking at nudity, or at non-mahram women or beardless youths, where there is the fear that looking at them may lead to temptation; and tell them to avert their gaze from looking at worldly adornments that may be tempting and cause them to fall into that which is prohibited.

﴾and restrain their carnal desires﴿ from prohibited sexual acts, in the vagina, anus or otherwise, and from allowing others to touch or look at their private parts

﴾that﴿ caution with regard to the gaze and carnal desires ﴾will be more conducive to their purity﴿ that is, it will be purer and better, and more effective in helping them to do righteous deeds. The one who restrains his carnal desires and his gaze will be pure and free of the evil that contaminates those who commit immoral deeds, and it will make his deeds pure, because of giving up the prohibited actions to which the soul may be inclined and may prompt one to do. Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something better than it; whoever averts his gaze (from that which is forbidden), Allah will give him enlightenment. If a person restrains his carnal desires and averts his gaze from that which is forbidden, and that which leads to it, despite the pressure of desire.then he is more likely to refrain from other things. Therefore Allah describes this as hifdh (lit. guarding, translated here as “restraining”) because if a person does not try hard to keep watch over the thing that he is guarding, and take proper measures to guard it, it will not be guarded. The same applies to the gaze and carnal desires: if he does not try hard to guard them and restrain them, they will cause him to fall into troubles and problems.

Think about how Allah gives instructions to restrain their carnal desires completely, because allowing them free reign is not permissible under any circumstances. But with regard to the gaze, He says ﴾to avert their gaze)s; the wording of the original Arabic suggests that this is only to be done in part, because it is permissible to look in some cases, if there is a need for that, as in the case of one who is giving testimony, or one who wants to propose marriage, and so on. Then Allah reminds them that He is aware of all that they do, so that they will strive hard to protect themselves against that which is prohibited.

24:31. Tell the believing women to avert their gaze [from that which is forbidden] and restrain their carnal desires, and not to showtheir adornments except what ordinarily appears thereof.^{1{(what ordinarily appears thereof!?: this refers to the outer garments.} And let them draw [part of] their headcovers over their chests and not show their adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their [fellow Muslim] women, slaves whom they own, male retainers^{2This refers to dependants or followers who are attached to a tribe or family.} who are free of physical desire, or small children who still have no awareness of the private aspects of women. Nor let them stamp their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And, O believers, turn all together towards Allah in repentance, so that you may prosper.

Having instructed the believing men to avert their gaze and restrain their carnal desires, Allah now instructs the believing women to do likewise:

﴾Tell the believing women to avert their gaze﴿ and avoid looking at that which they are not supposed to look at, such as looking at men with desire and other kinds of prohibited looking.

﴾and restrain their carnal desires﴿ by not allowing anyone to have intercourse with them, touch them or look at them in prohibited ways.

﴾and not to show their adornments﴿ such as beautiful clothes and jewellery; the entire body comes under the heading of adornment.

Because the outer garment is something that cannot be concealed, Allah says: ﴾-(except what ordinarily appears thereof﴿ that is, the outer garment that is usually worn, so long as there is nothing in it that could cause temptation.

﴾And let them draw [part of] their headcovers over their chests﴿. This is in order to perfect their covering up. This indicates that the adornment that is prohibited to show includes the entire body, aswe have mentioned. Then Allah repeats the prohibition on showing adornment, then makes an exception from that:

﴾except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers﴿ - this includes the father himself, and grandfathers, no matter how far the line of ascent reaches

﴾their sons, their husbands’ sons﴿ this includes sons and grandsons, no matter how far the line of descent reaches.

﴾their brothers, their brothers’ sons﴿ this includes both full brothers and half-brothers through the father or mother ﴾their sisters’ sons, their [fellow Muslim] women﴿ that is, it is permissible for women to look at one another in all cases. It may be that what is meant by “their women” is women of the same religion as them, namely other Muslim women. This is quoted as proof by those who say that it is not permissible for a dhimmi (non-Muslim) woman to see a Muslim woman (without hijab).

﴾slaves whom they own﴿ it is permissible for a slave, if the woman owns him completely, to see his mistress, so long as he belongs to her. If that ownership comes to an end, in full or partially, then it is not permissible for him to see her.

﴾male retainers who are free of physical desire﴿ that is, those who are dependent on you and are connected to you of men who have no desire, such as one who has an intellectual disability and is not aware of what is going around him, or one who is impotent and has no desire, physical or otherwise. In this case it is not prohibited for these individuals to look at the woman.

﴾for small children who still have no awareness of the private aspects of women﴿ that is, children below the age of discernment. It is permissible for them to look at non-mahram women. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gives the reason for that, which is that they have no awareness of the private aspects of women. In other words they have no knowledge and no desire yet. This indicates that once the child has reached the age of discernment, women should cover in front of him, because he is now aware of the private aspects of women.

﴾Nor let them stamp their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments﴿ that is, they should not stamp the ground with their feet so that the jewellery they are wearing, such as anklets and the like, makes a noise by which their adornments may be known, and thus become a means of temptation. From this verse and others is derived the principle of barring the means. If something is permissible in and of itself, but it may lead to something that is prohibited, or there is the fear that that may happen, then it is disallowed. Stamping the feet on the ground is permissible in principle, but if it is a means of making hidden adornment known, then it is disallowed.

Having issued these goodly instructions and this excellent advice, because it is inevitable that there will be some shortcomings on the part of the believers, Allah (tig) enjoins us to repent, as He says: ﴾And, O believers, turn all together towards Allah in repentance﴿, because the believer’s faith calls him to repent. Then that is made a condition of attaining prosperity, as Allah says:

﴾so that you may prosper﴿, for there is no way to prosper except by repenting, which means giving up that which Allah hates, both inwardly and outwardly, and focusing on that which He loves, both inwardly and outwardly. This indicates that every believer needs to repent, because here Allah is addressing all the believers together. And He urges them to be sincere in repentance, as He says: ﴾ftum all together towards Allah in repentance﴿ that is, not for any other purpose except seeking His pleasure; it should not be for any other purpose such as seeking protection from troubles in this world, or showing off and seeking to enhance one’s reputation, or other corrupt purposes.

24:32. Arrange marriages for those among you who are single, and those who are righteous and fit for marriage among your male and female slaves. If they are poor, Allah will suffice them from His bounty, for Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.

24:33. Let those who do not have the means to marry keep themselves chaste until Allah suffices them from His bounty. If any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing [to enable them to earn their freedom in return for a certain sum], then write it for them, if you see any good in them,^{1That is, if you deem them able to earn their own livelihood and not become dependent on others.} and give them some of the wealth that Allah has given you. Do not force your slave girls into prostitution, if they want to remain chaste, seeking thereby some worldly gain. But if anyone does compel them, verily Allah, after such compulsion, is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs guardians and masters to arrange marriages for the single people under their care. This refers to those who have no spouses, whether they are men, previously married women or virgins. So relatives and guardians of orphans should arrange marriages for those who wish to get married among those on whom they are obliged to spend. If they are enjoined to arrange marriages for those who are under their guardianship, then it is more appropriate that they should be instructed to get married themselves.

﴾and those who are righteous and fit for marriage among your male and female slaves﴿ it may be that what is meant by the wordsaliheen (translated here as righteous and fit for marriage)?) is being righteous in religious terms, and in the case of male or female slaves who are righteous - which refers to those who are not immoral and do not commit fornication - their master is instructed to arrange marriages for them, as a reward to the slave for being righteous and by way of encouraging him to remain righteous. The fact that it is not permissible for anyone to marry one who is immoral and fornicates confirms what is mentioned at the beginning of the soorah, that it is prohibited to marry a man or woman who fornicates until he or she repents. Righteousness is singled out for mention with regard to slaves - as opposed to those who are free - because fornication is usually more common among slaves. Or it may be that what is meant by saliheen is those slaves, male and female, who are fit and capable for marriage and ready to bear the responsibilities thereof.

The latter view is supported by the fact that the master is not obliged to arrange a marriage for his slave before he needs to get married. And it is not unlikely that both meanings are intended. And Allah knows best.

﴾If they﴿ that is, married people or those who want to get married ﴾are poor, Allah will suffice them from His bounty﴿. So you should not let what you imagine - that if he gets married, he will become poor because of having too many dependents - prevent you from getting married. This offers encouragement to get married, and is a divine promise to the one who gets married that he will become independent of means after having been poor.

﴾for Allah is All-Encompassing﴿ and His generosity encompasses all t)All-Knowingp - He knows who deserves His grace and bounty in both religious and worldly terms, or in one of them, and who does not deserve that. So He gives to all in accordance with His knowledge and wisdom.

﴾Let those who do not have the means to marry keep themselves chaste until Allah suffices them from His bounty﴿. This ruling applies to the one who is unable to get married. Allah instructs him to keep himself chaste, refrain from that which is prohibited and to take measures to restrain himself and prevent thoughts crossing his mind that may prompt him to fall into sin. He should also do what the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed, as he said:

«0 young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, and whoever cannot, let him fast, for it will be a shield for him.» (Muslim)

﴾Let those who do not have the means to marry﴿ that is, they are not able to get married, either because they themselves are poor or because their guardians and masters are poor, or because the latter refused to arrange marriages for them, and they do not have the means to force them to do that. This interpretation is better than the interpretation of those who understood it to refer to those who cannot afford the mahr (dowry) for marriage. There are two reservations about the latter interpretation:

1 - The word mahr is not mentioned in this verse, so we should not assume that this is what is meant.

2- Introducing the idea of the mahr would restrict the meaning to free people who can or cannot afford it, and would exclude male and female slaves and those whose marriage is the responsibility of their guardians, as we have mentioned above.

﴾keep themselves chaste until Allah suffices them from His bounty﴿ - this is a promise to the one who keeps himself chaste that Allah will suffice him and make things easy for him; he is instructed to await relief so that his situation will not become unbearable.

﴾flf any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing [to enable them to earn their freedom in return for a certain sum], then write it for them, if you see any good in them﴿ that is, whoever among your slaves, male or female, seeks a contract of manumission from you in orderto purchase his or her freedom, you should respond to this request and write that contract for him or her.

﴾if you see any good in them﴿ that is, in those who are requesting that contract. What is meant by good here is the ability to earn a living, as well as righteousness and religious commitment, because writing such a contract serves two interests: the interest of manumission and freedom (for the slave), and the interest (or benefit) of the money he pays to his master in order to ransom himself (for the master). Perhaps he will work hard and strive, and be able to earn money for his master during the period covered by the contract of manumission that he could not do as a slave, so there will be no harm done to the master’s interests by writing this contract; this is in addition to the great benefits that will be attained by the slave. Therefore Allah enjoined masters to draw up contracts in this way, and that is either obligatory, as appears to be the case, or it is recommended, according to the other opinion. Allah enjoined that slaves should be helped in their manumission, because they need that, as they have no wealth of their own. Therefore He said: ﴾and give them some of the wealth that Allah has given you﴿. This includes a command to the master who writes the contract of manumission to give him some of the costs of his manumission or to waive some of the costs, and He also instructed people in general to help them.

Therefore Allah has allocated a share of zakah to slaves who seek to buy their freedom, and He encourages people to give it, as He says: ﴾and give them some of the wealth that Allah has given you﴿. That is, as the wealth belongs to Allah, what He has given to you is a gift from Allah to you and is a pure blessing, so show kindness to the slaves of Allah as Allah has shown kindness to you.

What this verse means is that if a slave does not seek manumission, then his master is not obliged to initiate that process. If he does not know of any good in him, in the sense that what he knows of him is the opposite of that, either because he knows that he is not able to earn a living and would therefore become dependent upon people anddestitute, or he fears that if he is manumitted and becomes free, he would spread mischief, then in such cases the master is not instructed to manumit him; rather he is forbidden to do that because of the reservations mentioned above.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Do not force your slave girls into prostitution, if they want to remain chaste﴿ because it is not possible to imagine them being forced into that unless they want to be chaste. If a slave woman does not want to be chaste, then she is immoral and her master must prevent her from doing that. This prohibition is mentioned because they used to do that during the jahiliyah (pre- Islamic period of ignorance), when a master would force his slave woman into prostitution in order to take her earnings. Hence Allah says: ﴾seeking thereby some worldly gain﴿. It is not befitting for your slave women to be better and more chaste than you, when you are doing that to them for the sake of worldly gain and some small fleeting gain that is soon gone.

Attaining dignity, purity and decency - regardless of reward or punishment in the hereafter - is better than acquiring some small gain that causes you to become immoral and vile.

Then Allah calls upon those who forced their slave women into prostitution to repent, as He says: ﴾But if anyone does compel them, verily Allah, after such compulsion, is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful)﴿, so let him repent to Allah and give up what he did that incurred divine wrath. If he does that, Allah will forgive him his sins and will have mercy on him, as he had mercy on himself and tried to protect himself from punishment, and as he showed mercy towards his slave woman by not forcing her to do that which would harm her.

24:34. Verily We have sent down to you revelations making things clear, and an account of those [nations] who passed away before you, and an admonition for those who fear Allah.

This highlights the greatness and high status of these verses that are recited to His slaves, so that they may realise their importance and comply with them in the proper manner.

(-﴾Verily We have sent down to you revelations making things clear﴿ that is, they are clear in meaning and clarify everything that you need to know of the fundamentals and minor issues of Islam, so that there will be no confusion or ambiguity.

﴾and﴿ We have also sent down to you (-﴾an account of those [nations] who passed away before you﴿ that is, stories of the earlier nations, both righteous and otherwise, and a description of their deeds and what happened to them of ease and hardship, so that you may take it as an example and lesson that whoever does what they did will be requited as they were requited.

﴾and an admonition for those who fear Allah﴿ that is, and We have sent down to you an admonition for those who fear Allah, containing the promises and warnings, encouragement and deterrent, by which those who fear Allah may be admonished, so that they will refrain from that which Allah hates and do that which Allah loves.

24:35. Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is that of a niche in which is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is like a brightly-shining star. [The lamp is] lit from a blessed tree; an olive, neither of the east nor of the west,^{1This refers to an olive tree in a place that receives sunlight throughout the day, not only when the sun is rising or setting. Olive trees that grow in such locations produce purer and higher-quality oil. (at-Tabari; Ibn Katheer; ar-Razi)} whose oil would almost glow [by itself] though no fire touched it. Light upon light; Allah guides to His light whomever He will. Allah sets forth comparisons for people; and Allah has knowledge of all things.

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth﴿. This is true in both a literal and metaphorical sense, for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is Himself light and His veil - which, were it not for His kindness, the splendour of His Countenance would have burned everything of His creation as far as He can see - is also light. By that light the Throne, the Footstool, the sun, the moon and all light is illuminated, and by it paradise is illuminated. This is also true in a metaphorical sense. So His Book is light. His law is light, faith and knowledge in the hearts of His Messengers and His believing slaves is light. Were it not for His light, darkness would have accumulated. Therefore every place in which His light is lacking is a place of darkness and constraint.

﴾The likeness of His light﴿ to which He guides people, which is the light of faith and the Qur’an in the hearts of the believers ﴾is that of a niche in which is a lamp﴿, because the niche concentrates the light of the lamp so that it is not scattered ﴾the lamp is in a glass; the glass﴿ because of its purity and splendour ﴾is like a brightly-shining star﴿ that is, it shines like a star.

That lamp which is in that shining glass is ﴾lit from a blessed tree: an olive﴿ that is, it is lit with olive oil, which shines the brightest when it is lit﴾neither of the east﴿ only, so that it does not get any sun at the end of the day

﴾nor of the west﴿ so that it does not get any sun at the beginning of the day. As it is neither of these two, it is in the middle of the earth, like the olive trees of Greater Syria, which get sun at both the beginning and the end of the day, so their oil is of good quality and good taste, and is the purest oil. Hence Allah says:

﴾whose oil﴿, because it is so pure, ﴾would almost glow [by itself] though no fire touched it﴿. So if the fire does touch it, it shines very brightly.

﴾Light upon light﴿ that is, the light of the fire and the light of the oil.

This likeness that Allah gives and applies to the believer, in whose heart is the light of Allah, refers to the natural disposition with which Allah created him. That disposition is likened to the pure oil; it is pure and is receptive to divine teaching and prescribed actions. When knowledge and faith reach his heart, that light will begin to shine in his heart, like the fire in the wick of the lamp. This refers to the heart that is pure and free of bad intentions and misunderstandings of the divine text. If faith reaches that heart, it will be illuminated greatly, because it is pure and free of contamination, like the purity of the shining glass. Thus in that heart are combined the light of sound natural inclinations, the light of faith, the light of knowledge and the purity of proper understanding of faith: light upon light.

Because this comes from the light of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and not everyone is fit to receive it, Allah says:

﴾Allah guides to His light whomever He will﴿ who He knows is pure of heart, so faith will grow in his heart and it will benefit him and have an impact on him.

﴾Allah sets forth comparisons for people﴿ so that they may understand them, out of kindness towards them, and so that the truth may become clear and distinct from falsehood. Comparisons make the intended meanings clear when compared to something physical, so that people may leam those meanings and understand them clearly.

﴾and Allah has knowledge of all things﴿ - His knowledge encompasses all things, so you should realise that when He sets forth comparisons, that is done by One Who knows the reality and details of all things, and that is in the interests of people, so they should strive to ponder and understand them, not turn away and oppose them, for He knows and you do not know.

Because the places where the means of finding the light of faith and the Qur’an are most available are the mosques, Allah mentions them in the context of praise and speaking highly of them, as He says:

24:36. [Such lamps are lit] in houses [mosques] which Allah has ordained to be built so that His name may be remembered therein. In them His name is glorified morning and afternoon.

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24:37. By men who are not distracted by buying or selling from the remembrance of Allah, or from establishing prayer or giving zakah. They fear a day when hearts will quiver and eyes will stare fixedly.

24:38. [Their hope is] that Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds and give them yet more out of His bounty, for Allah bestows His abundance without measure on whomever He will.

As Allah is worshipped ﴾in houses﴿ of great virtue, which are the dearest of places to him, namely the mosques. He ﴾has ordained﴿that they ﴾be built so that His name may be remembered therein﴿. These two things summarise the rulings on mosques, which includes building them, constructing them, sweeping them, cleansing them of impurities and dirt, protecting them from insane people and small children who do not know how to clean themselves from impurity, and from disbelievers; mosques are also to be protected from idle talk and the raising of voices in anything other than remembrance of Allah.

﴾so that His name may be remembered therein﴿ this includes all prayers, obligatory and supererogatory, reading Qur’an, tasbeeh (glorifying Allah), tahleel (reciting the phrase la ilaha ilia Allah [there is no god but Allah]), and other kinds of dhikr, acquiring knowledge and teaching, discussing issues of religion, i‘tikaf, and other kinds of worship that are done in the mosques. Hence maintenance of the mosques is divided into two categories: maintaining and protecting the structure, and maintaining remembrance of Allah in them by praying and doing other acts of worship. The latter is the nobler of the two categories.

Hence it is prescribed to offer the five daily prayers and Jumu‘ah prayer in the mosques, and this is obligatory according to most of the scholars, or recommended according to others.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) praises those who stay in the mosques to worship, as He says: ﴾In them His name is glorified﴿ sincerely ﴾morning﴿ at the beginning of the day f(and afternoon﴿ at the end of the day. These two times are singled out because of their high status and because it is easier at these times to turn to Allah in worship.

That includes tasbeeh (glorifying Allah) in prayer and otherwise. Therefore it is prescribed to recite the adhkcir and awrad^{1Awrad (sing, wird): Remembrance of Allah and glorifying Him in various phrases that are prescribed at different times as a voluntary act, which a Muslim commits to reciting on a daily basis, such as morning and evening.} of the morning and the afternoon at those times.

(f By men﴿ that is, at those times they glorify Allah, and what good men they are, for they are not those who give precedence to worldly pleasures or trade, and the distractions of business.

﴾who are not distracted by buying or selling﴿ - this includes any type of earnings through exchange. These men, even if they do engage in trade, buying and selling - and there is nothing wrong with that - they are not distracted by that and they do not give it precedence over (﴾the remembrance of Allah, or from establishing prayer or giving zakah﴿. Rather they make obedience and worship of Allah their ultimate desire and goal, and whatever gets in the way of that, they reject it.

Because forsaking worldly matters is very hard for most people, and love of earning by means of various kinds of trade is dear to them, and giving it up is very hard for most of them, and it may not come naturally to them to give precedence to the rights of Allah over that. He mentions that which will motivate them to do it by means of encouragement and warnings:

﴾They fear a day when hearts will quiver and eyes will stare fixedly﴿ due to severe terror and emotional and physical turmoil. Hence they fear that day, so it becomes easy for them to do righteous deeds and give up that which distracts them from such deeds.

﴾[Their hope is] that Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds﴿ what is meant by the best of their deeds is their righteous good deeds, because they are the best of all that they do, as they do both permissible deeds and others. The reward will only be for the good deeds. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾And Allah will absolve them of the worst of their deeds, and He will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds. ﴿

﴾and give them yet more out of His bounty﴿ - He will give them much more than the reward that is due for their deeds ﴾for Allah bestows His abundance without measure on whomever He will﴿; indeed He will give him a reward much greater than hisdeeds deserve, and indeed much more than he ever hoped for. He will give him without counting or measuring. This is indicative of His great abundance.

24:39. As for the disbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert plain. The thirsty man thinks it is water until, when he reaches it, he finds it to be nothing. But he finds [the punishment of| Allah waiting, thus Allah will requite him in full, for Allah is swift in reckoning.

24:40. Or [their deeds are] like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed by waves, above which are other waves, above which are clouds; layers of darkness, one above another. If a man stretches out his hand [in this darkness], he can hardly see it. The one to whom Allah gives no light will have no light at all.

These are two likenesses that Allah gives of the deeds of the disbelievers in terms of their falseness and how they will be of no avail to them, and how the doers will feel regret.

﴾As for the disbelievers﴿, who disbelieved in their Lord and rejected His Messengers ﴾their deeds are like a mirage in a desert plain﴿ that is, barren flat land in which there are no trees or plants.

﴾The thirsty man﴿ whose thirst is so intense that he imagines what others do not imagine

﴾thinks it is water﴿ because of his thirst, but this is a false perception; so he heads towards it to relieve his thirst.

﴾until, when he reaches it, he finds it to be nothing﴿ then he regrets it greatly and that only exacerbates his thirst, because his hopes have been dashed.

Thus the deeds of the disbelievers are like a mirage; they are seen, and the ignorant person who has no knowledge of things thinks that they are beneficial deeds, but he is deceived by their outward appearance, and he thinks that they also serve his own whims and desires. He also needs them and is in fact desperate for them, just as the thirsty man needs water, but when he comes to his deeds on the day of requital, he will find them lost and he will not find anything. But in fact they are not lost; rather he will find ﴾[the punishment of) Allah waiting, thus Allah will requite him in full﴿. For nothing is hidden from Him, not even the smallest of deeds; nothing small or great will be missing.

﴾for Allah is swift in reckoning﴿, so the ignorant should not think that this promise is slow in coming, for it will inevitably come. Allah likens it to a mirage in the desert plain, a place in which there are no trees or plants. This is the likeness of the hearts, in which there is no goodness and no righteousness by means of which they may be purified or blessed. That is because of the impediment, which is disbelief.

The second likeness of the invalidity of the disbelievers’ good deeds is ﴾the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed by waves, above which are other waves, above which are clouds﴿. This refers to the darkness of the vast deep ocean, above which is the darkness of other layers of waves, and above that is the darkness of huge clouds, then above that is the darkness of the dark night. So this darkness is very intense, such that anyone in that situation, ifhe ﴾stretches out his hand [in this darkness], he can hardly see it﴿, even though it is so close to him, so how about anything else? This is how the disbelievers are: layers of darkness have accumulated in their hearts: inherent darkness in which there is nothing good, above which is the darkness of disbelief; above that is the darkness of ignorance, and above that is darkness of the deeds which result from that which is mentioned above. Thus they remain confused in the darkness, wandering blindly in their confusion, turning away from the straight path and stumbling along the paths of misguidance. That is because Allah (is) has forsaken them and has not given them any of His light.

﴾The one to whom Allah gives no light will have no light at all﴿, because he is a wrongdoer and ignorant, and there is nothing in his heart of goodness and light except what its Lord bestows upon it.

It may be that these two likenesses refer to the deeds of all of the disbelievers, and each is applicable to all of them, so two likenesses are given in order to describe the situation from different angles. Or it may be that each likeness refers to a particular group: the first refers to the leaders and the second refers to the followers. And Allah knows best.

24:41. Do you not see that all who are in the heavens and on earth glorify Allah, as do the birds with wings outspread? Each knows its [own way] of praying and glorifying Him. And Allah has full knowledge of all that they do.

24:42. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and unto Him is the return [of all].

Here Allah points out to His slaves His greatness, His perfect power and authority, and the need of all created things for Him to take care of them and their need to worship Him:

﴾Do you not see that all who are in the heavens and on earth﴿ both animate beings and inanimate objects

﴾glorify Allah, as do the birds with wings outspread﴿ that is, with their wings outspread in the air.

﴾﴾Each]﴿ of these created things {(knows its [own way] of praying and glorifying Him﴿ that is, each has its own way of prayer and worship, according to each situation, as is appropriate for it. Allah has inspired it to pray and glorify Him, either through the Messengers, as in the case of the jinn, humans and angels, or by inspiring it directly, as in the case of all other created things. This interpretation is more likely to be correct, based on the fact that Allah says: ﴾And Allah has full knowledge of all that they do﴿ that is, He knows all their deeds, and nothing of that is hidden from Him, and He will requite them for that. Based on that, this verse combines mention of His knowledge of the deeds of creatures for whom there is no requital, which they do on the basis of inspiration from Him, with mention of His knowledge of the deeds of those for whom there is requital, on the basis of those deeds. This verse is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾The seven heavens and the earth, and all those who are therein, glorify Him. There is not a thing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification. Verily, He is Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.﴿ (a!-Isra' I 7: 44)

Having highlighted their servitude and need for Him - in the sense of worship and affirming His oneness, Allah now mentions their need for His sovereignty, care and control of their affairs, as He says:

﴾To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth﴿, for He is the Creator and provider, and He controls them through Hisreligious and universal decree in this realm, and what He will decree of requital in the hereafter. This is based on the fact that He says: ﴾and unto Him is the return [of all]﴿ that is, the ultimate return of all creatures is to Him, and He will requite them for their deeds.

24:43. Do you not see that Allah drives along the clouds, then gathers them together, then piles them into heaps? Then you see the rain coming forth from their midst. He sends down hail from mountains [of clouds] in the sky; He strikes with it whomever He will and He averts it from whomever He will. The brightness of their lightning almost takes away the sight.

24:44. Allah alternates the night and the day. Verily in this there is a lesson for those who have insight.

That is, have you not seen with your own eyes the greatness of Allah’s might, and how He tidrives along the clouds﴿ in scattered pieces, ﴾then piles them into heaps﴿, gathering the pieces together and piling them up like mountains.

﴾Then you see the rain﴿ coming out of the clouds in scattered crops, to bring about benefit without harm. Then the streams and rivers are filled, and water flows through the wadis, bringing forth every type of beautiful plants.

Sometimes Allah sends down from those clouds hail that destroys whatever it strikes, f(He strikes with it whomever He will and Heaverts it from whomever He will﴿ according to His decree and wisdom, for which He is to be praised.

c-(The brightness of their lightning﴿ that is, the lightning that emanates from the cloud, because it is so bright, ﴾almost takes away the sight﴿. Is not the One Who creates the clouds and drives them towards His needy slaves, and sends down rain from them in such a way that it brings benefits and does not cause harm, perfect in might, His will is always done, and He is abundant in mercy?

﴾Allah alternates the night and the day﴿ from hot to cold and from cold to hot, from night to day and from day to night; He causes the days to alternate among His slaves.

﴾Verily in this there is a lesson for those who have insight﴿ that is, those who have reason with which to understand what they need to understand. Just as one sees physical things with one’s eyes, the one who has insight looks at creation, reflects upon it and leams from it the divine wisdom behind its creation, whereas the one who is ignorant looks at it in a heedless manner, just as animals look at it.

24:45. Allah has created every living creature from water. Some of them move on their bellies, some walk on two legs and some walk on four. Allah creates whatever He wills; verily Allah has power over all things.

Here Allah draws the attention of His slaves to what they see, for He has created all creatures that are on the face of the earth﴾from water)﴿ that is, the substance of all of that is water, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾f...And We have made from water every living thing...﴿ (al-Anbiya'

The substance of animals that procreate is the water of the nutfah (drop of semen), when the male fecundates the female. With regard to animals that lay eggs in the ground, they only procreate by means of dampness, such as insects; there are none that procreate without water.

The substance is the same, but the nature of each creature is different in many ways:

﴾Some of them move on their bellies﴿ like snakes and the like ﴾some walk on two legs﴿ like humans and many birds ﴾and some walk on four﴿ like livestock animals, and so on.

These differences in shape - despite having the same origin - indicates that Allah is able to do all that He wills. Hence He says:

Allah creates whatever He wills﴿ of creatures, with the characteristics that He wants

﴾verily Allah has power over all things﴿. As He sent down rain upon the earth, it is one fecundation and the mother - namely the earth - is one, but the offspring (plants and trees) vary greatly in types and characteristics.

﴾And on earth there are adjoining [yet different] tracts of land, and gardens of grapevines, grains and date palms, growing in clusters from one root or standing alone. They are irrigated with the same water, yet We cause some of them to excel others in taste. Surely in that there are signs for people of understanding.﴿ (ar-Ra d 13. 4)

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24:46. Verily We have sent down to you revelations making things clear, and Allah guides whom He will to a path that is straight.

That is. We had mercy on Our slaves, and We sent down to them clear signs that point to the teachings of Islam, praiseworthy manners and attitude, endowed with all that leads to guidance. Thus the issues become clear and guidance becomes distinct from misguidance. So there is no longer any specious argument to cling to and no reason for the slightest confusion for the one who sincerely seeks the truth, because it has been sent down from One Whose knowledge is perfect. Whose mercy is perfect and Whose explanation is perfect, so no one can explain things any more clearly than He.

﴾...and so that [after that] those who chose to perish [by choosing disbelief] might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who chose to live [by choosing faith] might do so after seeing clear evidence...﴿

﴾fand Allah guides whom He will﴿ of those who are destined for paradise ﴾to a path that is straight﴿ that is, a path that is clear and straightforward, and that leads to Him and to His paradise; it can be reached through knowledge of the truth, giving it precedence and acting upon it.

Allah makes His revelations clear to everyone, but He singles out for His guidance whomever He will. This is His grace and bounty, and by His generosity. That is because He is just and He did not want to leave any excuse for anyone. Allah knows best who is deserving of His generosity.

24:47. They [the hypocrites] say: We believe in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey. But after that, some of them turn away. Such are not [truly] believers.

24:48. When they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them, some of them turn away in aversion.

24:49. But if the right is on their side, they come to him willingly.

24:50. Is it that there is a disease in their hearts? Or are they full of doubt? Or do they fear that Allah and His Messenger might deal unjustly with them? Nay, it is they who are the wrongdoers.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the situation of the wrongdoers, those in whose hearts is a disease, weakness of faith, hypocrisy, doubt or lack of knowledge. They speak words and make a show of commitment to faith and obedience to Allah, but then they do not act in accordance with what they say. Some of them turn away significantly from obedience, based on the fact that Allah says here: ﴾some of them turn away﴿. The one who turns away may have the intention of coming back to that from which he turned away, but in this case what is referred to is the one who turns away and does not turn back at all, and does not look at that from which he is turning away. You will find that this is applicable to many of those who claim to believe in Allah and be obedient to Him, but they are weak in faith; you will find that they do not do many acts of worship, especially those that are hard for many people, such as giving zakah, spending in ways that are obligatory or recommended, jihad in Allah's cause, and so on.

﴾When they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them﴿ that is, if an issue arises between them and someone else where a judgement is required, and they are called to the judgement of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ),﴾some of them turn away in aversion'p seeking the rulings of the time of ignorance, and preferring the rulings of man-made laws over the rulings of Sharia, because they know that they are in the wrong and that Sharia only judges on the basis of what really is the case.

﴾But if the right is on their side, they come to him﴿ that is, they come to the ruling of Sharia ﴾willingly﴿ but that is not because it is the ruling of Sharia; rather that is because it coincides with their whims and desires. So they are not doing anything praiseworthy in this case, even if they come willingly, because the one who is a slave of Allah in a true sense is the one who follows the truth whether he likes it or not, whether it suits him or not. As for the one who follows Sharia when it coincides with his whims and desires and rejects it when it does not, and gives precedence to his whims and desires over Sharia, he is not a slave of Allah in a true sense.

Allah says, criticising them for turning away from the ruling of Sharia:

f(Is it that there is a disease in their hearts﴿ that undermines the healthy state of the heart and removes common sense, so that he becomes like a sick person who turns away from that which will benefit him and turns towards that which will harm him?

﴾Or are they full of doubt﴿ that has made them anxious about the ruling of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), so that they accused him of not judging in accordance with the truth?

﴾Or do they fear that Allah and His Messenger might deal unjustly with them?﴿ That is, are they afraid that an unfair and unjust ruling will be passed against them? Rather that is how they are, ﴾Nay, it is they who are the wrongdoers﴿. As for the ruling of Allah and His Messenger it is based on the utmost justice and is in accordance with wisdom.

d...But who could be better in judgement than Allah, for a people who are certain in faith?﴿ (al-Maidah 5: 50)

These verses indicate that faith is not just words, unless those words are accompanied by action. Therefore the one who turns away from obedience has no faith.

It is obligatory to submit to the ruling of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) >n all cases, and if a person does not submit to that ruling, this is indicative of a disease in his heart and weakness in his faith. It is forbidden to think negatively of the rulings of Sharia or to think that they are contrary to justice and wisdom.

Having described the condition of those who turn away from the rulings of Sharia, Allah now describes the condition of the praiseworthy believers:

24:51. The only response of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them, is to say: We hear and we obey. It is they who will be the successful ones.

24:52. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, and fears Allah, and remains mindful of Him - it is they who will be the triumphant ones.

﴾The only response of the believers﴿ that is, the true believers whose deeds confirm their faith, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) so that he may judge between them, whether that is in accordance with their whims and desires or otherwise,﴾is to say: We hear and we obey﴿ that is, we hear the ruling of Allah and His Messenger we respond to that to which he called us, and we obey him completely, without any reservation.

﴾It is they who will be the successful ones﴿ it is only they who will be successful, because success means attaining what is sought and being saved from what one fears, and no one will succeed except the one who refers to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) for judgement, and obeys Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ).

Having mentioned the virtue of obedience with regard to the rulings in particular, Allah now mentions the virtue of obedience in general terms, in all situations:

﴾Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger﴿ by believing in what they say and complying with their commands,

﴾and fears Allah﴿ that is, fear accompanied by knowledge, so he refrains from what is forbidden to him and restrains himself from following whims and desires. Hence Allah says, ﴾and remains mindful of Him﴿ by refraining from that which is prohibited, because being mindful of Allah (taqwa) - when it is mentioned in general terms - includes doing what is enjoined and refraining from what is forbidden. When this is mentioned alongside righteousness or obedience - as in this case - it is interpreted as referring to warding off the punishment of Allah by refraining from disobeying Him.

f)it is they﴿ namely those who combine obedience to Allah, obedience to His Messenger (ﷺ), fear of Allah and mindfulness of Him

﴾who will be the triumphant ones﴿ as they will be saved from the punishment, because they avoided the causes that lead to that, and they will attain reward, because they did that which leads to it. So triumph is theirs alone. As for those who were not like that, they will miss out on triumph, according to what they failed to attain of these praiseworthy characteristics.

This verse also refers to the duty that is owed to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), namely obedience that stems from faith. It also mentions a duty that is owed exclusively to Allah, which is fear of Him and mindfulness of Him. There remains a third duty, that is owed exclusively to the Messenger (ﷺ), which is respect and veneration. These three duties are also mentioned together in Soorat al-Fath, where Allah says:

﴾So that you [O people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger, and support and honour him, and glorify Allah morning and afternoon.

24:53. They [the hypocrites] swear their most solemn oaths by Allah that, if you give the command, they will surely march forth. Say [O Muhammad]: Do not swear; [the real nature of your so-called] obedience is known. Verily Allah is well aware of all that you do.

24:54. Say [O Muhammad]: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty entrusted to him and you are responsible for the duty entrusted to you. If you obey him, you will be rightly guided. The duty of the Messenger is only to convey the message in the clearest way.

Here Allah tells us about the condition of those who stayed behind and did not go out for jihad with the Messenger (ﷺ); these were thehypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease and weakness of faith. They swore by Allah that ﴾if you give the command﴿ in the future, ﴾(they will surely march forth﴿. But Allah said, refuting what they said:

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: Do not swear﴿ that is, we do not need your oaths or excuses, for Allah has told us about you and the real nature of your obedience is known and is not hidden from us. We are aware of your reluctance and slowness with no excuse, so your apology and oath are pointless. Rather the one who may need to give an excuse and swear an oath is the one whose case is unclear. That is the one whose excuse may benefit him and prove his innocence, but in your case that is not acceptable at all. Rather what is expected and feared in your case is the punishment and vengeance of Allah. Therefore He warned them by saying: c-fVerily Allah is well aware of all that you do﴿. And He will requite them for that in full.

As for the Messenger (ﷺ), his role is to enjoin them to do what is right and to forbid them to do what is wrong. Hence Allah says:

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger﴿ then if they comply, that is because they are fortunate and blessed,

﴾But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty entrusted to him﴿ of conveying the message, and he has fulfilled that duty. t]you are responsible for the duty entrusted to you﴿ of obedience. But now the situation has become quite clear, and it is obvious that you are misguided and are deserving of punishment.

﴾If you obey him, you will be rightly guided﴿ to the straight path in word and deed, but there is no way for you to be guided except through obedience; without that it is not possible for you to be guided, and in fact it is impossible.

﴾The duty of the Messenger is only to convey the message in the clearest way﴿ that is, to convey it in the clearest manner so that there will be no doubt or confusion left for anyone. And he did indeed do that; he conveyed the message clearly. But the one who will bringyou to account and requite you for your deeds is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى); the Messenger (ﷺ) has no control over that and he has done what was required of him.

24:55. Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors [to power] in the land, as He made those before them successors; that He will surely establish for them their religion that He has chosen for them; and that He will surely cause their [present] state of fear to be replaced by peace and security. [That is because] they worship Me alone and do not associate anything with Me. If any are ungrateful after this, it is they who are the evildoers.

This is one of the true promises of Allah, the interpretation and fulfilment of which was witnessed. He promised to those of this Ummah who believed and did righteous deeds that He would make them successors to power in the land, and they would become people of authority, in charge of its affairs, and that He would establish for them their religion that He had chosen for them, namely the religion of Islam which is superior to all other religions, which He chose for this Ummah because of its virtue and high status, and because He blessed it by enabling them to establish the religion and to implement its teachings and laws, both visible and hidden, with regard tothemselves and others, because the followers of all other religions, and all the disbelievers, are to be defeated and humiliated; and He promised to replace their fear - because of which a Muslim could not practise his religion openly without suffering persecution from many of the disbelievers, as the number of Muslims was very few in comparison to others, and all the people of earth at that time had ganged up on them and were scheming against them - with peace and security.

So Allah promised these things to them at the time when this verse was revealed, when they had not yet witnessed being made successors in the land and being given authority, or being able to establish the Islamic religion in complete security, so that they could worship Allah, not ascribing any partner to H im, without fearing anybody but Allah. The early generations of this Ummah had such strong faith and did such righteous deeds that they surpassed others, so Allah gave them power in the land and control over people, and they conquered the east and the west of the earth, and they achieved complete security and power. This is one of the dazzling and wondrous signs of Allah, that will continue until the onset of the Hour. Every time they establish faith and do righteous deeds, they will inevitably find what Allah promised them. The disbelievers and hypocrites only gain power over them and sometimes get the upper hand because of the shortcomings of the Muslims in terms of faith and righteous deeds.

t﴾If any are ungrateful after this﴿ that is, after you have been given full power and authority, O Muslims ﴾it is they who are the evildoers﴿ who have drifted away from obedience to Allah and have become corrupt, so they are no longer righteous people and are no longer qualified for anything good, because if a person gives up faith when the religion is prevailing and its enemies have been defeated, and there are no impediments to faith, this is indicative of his corrupt intentions and evil nature, because he has no reason to abandon faith except that.

This verse indicates that Allah gave power to those who came before us and made them successors to power in the land, as Moosa said to his people:

It may well be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, so that He may see how you will do.﴿

And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾But it was Our will to bestow favour upon those who were oppressed in the land, to make them leaders and cause them to inherit [the land], and to establish them in the land...﴿ (al-Qasas 28. 5-6)

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24:56. Establish prayer, give zakah and obey the Messenger, so that you may be shown mercy.

24:57. Do not think that those who disbelieve can escape [Allah’s punishment] on earth. Their abode will be the fire, a hapless journey’s end.

Here Allah enjoins establishing prayer with all of its essential parts, conditions and etiquette, both outwardly and inwardly, and the giving of zakah from the wealth that Allah has entrusted to His slaves and given to them, by giving it to the poor and others whom Allah has designated as recipients of zakah. These two are the greatest and most virtuous acts of worship, in which are combined the fulfilment of duties towards Allah and towards His creation, in which the individual shows devotion to Allah and shows kindness to people. That is followed by a general command:

tfand obey the Messenger﴿, by complying with what he enjoins and refraining from what he forbids.

﴾Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah...(an-Nisd’4: 80) ﴾so that﴿, if you do this, ﴾you may be shown mercy﴿. Whoever seeks mercy, this is the way to attain it. Whoever hopes to find mercy without establishing prayer, giving zakah and obeying the Messenger (ﷺ) is indulging in wishful thinking and is lying; his nafs has made him feel content with wishful thinking.

﴾Do not think that those who disbelieve can escape [Allah’s punishment] on earth﴿ that is, do not be deceived by what they are given in the life of this world of ease and pleasure. Although Allah gives them respite. He does not forget about them.

﴾We will allow them to enjoy life for a little while, then We will drive them to a harsh punishment.﴿ (Luqmdn 31:24)

Hence Allah says here: ﴾Their abode will be the fire, a hapless journey’s end﴿ that is, what a wretched destination is the destination of the disbelievers, for it is a destination of evil, loss and eternal punishment.

24:58. O you who believe, let any slaves you may own, and those among you who have not yet reached puberty, ask permission [to enter] at three times: before fajr prayer, when you have undressed [in order to rest] at midday and after 'isha ' prayer; these are three times of privacy for you. Beyond that there is no blame on either you or them in moving about freely, attending to one another. Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations, for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.

24:59. And when the children among you reach puberty, let them also ask permission [to enter, at all times], as their elders do. Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations, for Allah is All- Knowing, Most Wise.

Here Allah instructs the believ ers that their slaves and those among them who have not yet reached puberty should ask permission to enter. He mentions the wisdom behind that, and states that there are three times of privacy when permission to enter must be sought: the time when they go to sleep at night after ‘isha’ prayer; when they wake up before fajr prayer; and during the mid-day siesta. No mention is made of the state of dress in the case of the time after ‘isha’ and the time before fajr, because usually the sleeper at night wears something other than his usual day-time garments. However, with regard to sleeping during the day, because it is usually brief, the individual may sleep in his ordinary, day-time clothes, or he may change his clothes or remove some of his clothes, as mentioned here: ﴾when you have undressed [in order to rest] at midday﴿, which refers to the siesta in the middle of the day; if that is the case, then permission to enter must be sought.

At these three times, slaves and small children, like all others, should not be allowed to enter except with permission. Concerning all other times apart from these three, Allah says:

﴾Beyond that there is no blame on either you or them﴿ that is, they are not like others, because they are always needed, so it would be toodifficult for them to have to ask permission every single time. Hence Allah says: there is no blame on either you or them in moving about freely, attending to one another﴿ that is, coming and going among you, doing their work and attending to your needs.

﴾Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations﴿, accompanied by an explanation of His wisdom, so as to increase you in conviction and compliance, and so that you may appreciate the mercy and wisdom of the Lawgiver. Hence He says

﴾for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿. His knowledge encompasses all that must exist, or that cannot possibly exist, or that may possibly exist, and the wisdom on the basis of which everything is put in the right place. Hence He has given every creature the shape and structure that suits its nature, and He issues each ruling in a manner that suits the wisdom behind it, including these rulings which He explains and highlights their beauty.

﴾And when the children among you reach puberty﴿ by the emission of maniy (semen) either when awake or asleep,

﴾let them also ask permission [to enter, at all times], as their elders do﴿. Their elders are those whom Allah mentions in a previous verse: ﴾0 you who believe, do not enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission and greeted their occupants; that is better for you, so that you may pay heed﴿ (24: 27).

﴾Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations﴿ and He clarifies them, explaining their rulings in detail ﴾for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿.

In these two verses we learn many things, including the following:

• Masters of slaves and guardians of small children are instructed to teach their slaves and the children under their guardianship Islamic knowledge and etiquette, because Allah addresses them here by saying: ﴾0 you who believe, let any slaves you may own, and those among you who have not yet reached puberty...﴿.

That can only be done by teaching them and disciplining them, hence He says: ﴾Beyond that there is no blame on either you or them﴿).

• It is enjoined to respect that which is private and take precautionary measures to attain that in all ways. With regard to any place or location in which a person’s ‘awrah may be seen, it is prohibited to bathe, wash one’s private parts and so on in that place.

• It is permissible to uncover the ‘awrah when needed, such as when going to sleep, when urinating and defecating, and so on.

• The Muslims used to take a nap or siesta during the day, as they used to sleep at night, because Allah addressed them with reference to the habits and customs that existed at the time of revelation.

• In the case of a small child who has not yet reached the age of puberty, it is not permissible to let him see the ‘awrah of any other person, just as it is not permissible to let his ‘awrah be seen, because Allah only enjoined that they should seek permission to enter because of something that is not permissible.

• It is also not permissible for a slave to see the ‘awrah of his master, or for the master to see the ‘awrah of his slave, as we mentioned in the case of the small child.

• Preachers, teachers and so on who speak about issues of knowledge should accompany that with mention of the reason and wisdom behind it, and the basis for it. They should not just tell people about rulings with evidence, without explaining why. That is because when Allah stated the ruling under discussion here, He gave reasons for it by saying: ﴾these are three times of privacy for you﴿.

• Small children and slaves are included in these verses as their guardians and masters are also included, because Allah says: ﴾Beyond that there is no blame on either you or them﴿).• The saliva of a minor is tahir (pure), even after the occurrence of impurities such as vomiting, because Allah Ofe) says: ﴾moving about freely﴿. Furthermore, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, when he was asked about cats:

«They are not najis (impure); rather they are among those who move about freely among you.» (A sound hadith recorded by at-Tirmidhi)

• It is permissible for a person to tell the children under his care to do tasks for him, within reason, so long as it is not too difficult for the child, because Allah says: ﴾moving about freely﴿.

• The rulings discussed in the verse all have to do with children below the age of puberty. After they reach the age of puberty, they can only enter after asking permission.

• The sign of reaching puberty is ejaculation; all the Islamic rulings that are connected to reaching puberty come into effect once ejaculation has occurred. This is a matter concerning which there is scholarly consensus; the differences of opinion have to do with whether age or the appearance of pubic hair count as signs of puberty. And Allah knows best.

24:60. With regard to elderly women who have no interest in marriage, there is no blame on them if they put aside their outer garments, without aiming to flaunt their adornments. But if they refrain from doing so, that is better for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Elderly women are those who no longer hope for marriage and no longer feel desire.

﴾who have no interest in marriage﴿ that is, they do not want to get married, and they are not sought for marriage, because they have grown old and are no longer desirable, or they have lost their looks. They no longer feel desire and they are no longer desirable.

﴾there is no blame﴿ or sin ﴾fon them if they put aside their outer garments﴿ such as the face veil and the like, concerning which Allah says to women: ﴾And let them draw [part of] their headcovers over

In the case of these women, it is permissible for them to uncover their faces, because there is no fear of such a woman causing temptation to others or being tempted herself. As it is stated that there is no blame on them if they put aside their outer garments, one may think that it is permissible for them to adorn themselves; therefore in order to avoid this misunderstanding, Allah says: ﴾without aiming to flaunt their adornments﴿ that is, without showing their adornments to people, such as beautifying themselves by wearing a fancy outer garment whilst covering the face, or stamping the feet in order to make known what is hidden of adornments, because the mere presence of adornment - even if it is hidden, and even if she is not desirable and there is no possibility of being tempted by her - could cause the one who looks at her to fall into sin.

﴾But if they refrain from doing so, that is better for them﴿ refraining means seeking chastity by taking measures to achieve that, such as getting married and refraining from that which it is feared may lead to temptation.

﴾And Allah is All-Hearing﴿ and hears all voices All-Knowing﴿: He knows people’s intentions and aims, so women should beware of all bad words and bad intentions, and understand that Allah will requite them for that.

24:61. There is no blame on the blind nor any blame on the lame nor any blame on the sick nor on yourselves if you eat from your own houses, or from the houses of your fathers, or from the houses of your mothers, or from the houses of your brothers, or from the houses of your sisters, or from the houses of your paternal uncles, or from the houses of your paternal aunts, or from the houses of your maternal uncles, or from the houses of your maternal aunts, or from houses of which the keys are in your possession, or the houses of your friends. There is no blame on you if you eat together or separately. But when you enter houses, greet one another with salam, a greeting from Allah, blessed and good. Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations, so that you may understand.

Here Allah Os) tells us of the blessings that He bestows upon His slaves, and that He has not imposed any hardship on them in religion; rather He has made it very easy:

﴾There is no blame on the blind nor any blame on the lame nor any blame on the sick﴿ that is, there is no blame on these people for notdoing duties for one of the reasons mentioned. This refers to jihad and other things that the one who is blind cannot do because he cannot see, and the one who is lame cannot do because his limbs are not sound, and the one who is sick cannot do because he is not in good health. Because of this general meaning, the words are mentioned in general terms and are not restricted, as is the case with the following phrase: ﴾nor on yourselves﴿ that is, there is no blame on yourselves ﴾you eat from your own houses﴿ that is, the houses of your children. This is in accordance with the hadith that is proven to be sound: «You and your wealth belong to your father.» (Recorded by Ibn Majah; al-Albani graded it as sound)

- another hadith says:

«The best of what you eat is what you earn yourselves, and your children are included in what you eam.» (An authentic hadith recorded by at-Tirmidhi)

The phrase ﴾from your own houses﴿ does not refer to a person’s own house, because that would be stating the obvious, and Allah would not state something that is so obvious; moreover, saying that there is nothing wrong with that may give the impression that there is something sinful in the case of those mentioned here, whereas in the case of a person’s own house, no one would think such a thing.

﴾or from the houses of your fathers, or from the houses of your mothers, or from the houses of your brothers, or from the houses of your sisters, or from the houses of your paternal uncles, or from the houses of your paternal aunts, or from the houses of your maternal uncles, or from the houses of your maternal aunts﴿ these cases are quite clear.

﴾for from houses of which the keys are in your possession﴿ that is, houses which have been entrusted to you and are under your care, or houses that belong to someone who is under your guardianship, and the like. With regard to the interpretation of this phrase as referring to slaves, that is not valid, for two reasons:

Firstly: it is not said concerning a slave that one “owns his keys”; rather one would say “those whom you own” and the like, because the master owns the entire slave, not just his keys.

Secondly: the houses of slaves are no different from a man’s own house, because the slave and all that he owns belong to his master, so there is no reason to say that there is no blame in eating from your slave’s house.

﴾or the houses of your friends﴿. The statement that there is no blame on eating from these houses applies to cases where that is done without express permission. The wisdom behind it is known from the context: the custom with regard to the people mentioned here is usually to tolerate a person’s eating from them, because of close blood ties, complete authority, or close friendship. But if it is known that a person does not allow that or is stingy with regard to food, then it is not permissible to eat from his house, and blame is not lifted in that case, because of the reason mentioned above.

﴾There is no blame on you if you eat together or separately﴿ - all of that is permissible. If the members of a household eat together, or each one of them eats on his own, this verse says that there is no blame, but that does not mean that eating separately is better, because it is preferable to eat together.

﴾But when you enter houses﴿ - this includes both a person’s own house and the houses of others, whether there is anyone in the house or not. When a person enters a house, «fgreet one another with salam﴿.

It is prescribed to say salam when entering houses, with no differentiation between one type of house and another, whereas with regard to asking permission, there are some differences in the rulings as stated above.

Then Allah praises this salam, saying: ﴾fa greeting from Allah, blessed and good﴿ that is, when you say salam, by saying as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu (peace be upon you andthe mercy of Allah and His blessings) or as-salamu ‘alayna wa ‘ala ‘ibadillah is-saliheen (peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allah) when you enter houses, this is ﴾a greeting from Allah﴿. That is. He has prescribed it for you and has made it your greeting ﴾blessed﴿ because it implies attaining mercy, blessing, growth and increase

﴾fand good﴿ because it is one of the good words that are beloved by Allah, for it shows kindness, love and affection to the one who is greeted.

Having explained to us these sublime rulings, Allah now says: ﴾Thus does Allah make clear to you His revelations﴿ that point to His rulings and the wisdom behind them

﴾so that you may understand!) what He reveals to you regarding the rulings, so that you may understand them and comprehend them, and so that you may be people of reason and mature understanding, for knowing the rulings and understanding them properly increases one in wisdom and causes understanding to grow, because the meaning of these verses and the etiquette they describe are most sublime, and the reward matches the deed. Just as the individual used his reason in order to understand the revelation of his Lord and to reflect upon His revelations to which He called him, He will increase him in understanding.

This passage points to the general holistic principle that “custom and tradition make exceptions to what is stated in general, just as one statement may make specific what is stated in general.” Although in principle it is not allowed to eat the food of another person, Allah made an exception allowing one to eat from the houses of the people mentioned here, because custom and tradition allow that. With regard to issues that depend on permission from the owner of the thing, if it is known that he gave permission, either verbally or according to custom, it is permissible to go ahead and make use of it.

This indicates that the one who is taking care of a person’s house and has authority concerning it, such as his wife, sister and the like, may eat from it according to what is customary, and give to the poor on a reasonable basis.

It also indicates that it is permissible to share food, whether people eat together or separately, even if that leads to some of them eating more than others.

CU-1T Jnif

24:62. The true believers are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger. When they are with him for a matter of communal concern, they do not depart until they have asked his permission. Those who ask your permission [O Muhammad] are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, so when they ask your permission to attend to some of their own affairs, then give permission to whomever you wish among them and ask Allah’s forgiveness for them, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

24:63. Do not regard the summons of the Messenger to you as being like your summoning of one another. Allah surely knows thoseof you who try to slip away surreptitiously. So let those who go against His command beware lest some calamity strikes them or a painful punishment befalls them.

24:64. Verily to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. He surely knows your condition [of sincere faith or hypocrisy]. On the day they return to Him, He will inform them about what they used to do. And Allah has knowledge of all things.

Here Allah instructs His believing slaves that when they are with the Messenger (ﷺ) dealing with a matter of communal concern - that is, something that requires all to be present - such as jihad, consultation and similar matters that concern all the believers, what is required is for them all to meet together and not be scattered. So the one who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) should not leave for some reason, or go back to his family, or go to attend to some of his own affairs that would keep him away from them, except with the permission of the Messenger (ﷺ) or his representative after he is gone. Allah has made it a condition of faith that no one should leave without permission, and He praised them for doing that and for their good manners with His Messenger (ﷺ) and those in authority over them. Hence He says: ﴾Those who ask your permission [O Muhammad] are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger﴿. But should he give them permission or not? Two conditions are mentioned for giving permission to them:

1- That there should be some personal matter or errand that they want to attend to. As for the one who asks for permission to leave with no excuse, he should not give him permission;

2- He should agree to give his consent because there is a good reason to do so, and no harm should result to the one who gives permission.

Allah says: ﴾so when they ask your permission to attend to some of their own affairs, then give permission to whomever you wishamong them﴿. If he has good reason to leave and asks for permission to do so, then if there is an interest to be served by his staying and not leaving, such as if he could help by giving his opinion, or because of his courage and the like, then he should not give him permission to leave.

However, even if he asks permission to leave, and is given permission, subject to these two conditions, Allah instructs His Messenger (ﷺ) to pray for forgiveness for him, because perhaps he is falling short by seeking permission to leave. Hence Allah says: ﴾and ask Allah’s forgiveness for them, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ - He will forgive their sins and have mercy on them, by allowing them to seek permission to leave even when they have an excuse for doing so.

﴾Do not regard the summons of the Messenger to you as being like your summoning of one another﴿ that is, do not make the Messenger’s summoning of you and your summoning of him like your summoning of one another, because if he summons you, it is obligatory for you to respond. It is even obligatory to respond to the Messenger (ﷺ) when one is praying. There is no one whose opinion the Ummah must accept and comply with except the Messenger (ﷺ), because he is infallible and we are commanded to follow him. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

t(0 you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life...﴿ (al-Anfal 8: 24)

The word translated above as ﴾summons﴿ may also mean ‘call’, therefore another meaning of this verse is: do not make your calling of the Messenger (ﷺ) like your calling of one another. So do not say, “O Muhammad” or “O Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah”, when you call him, as you do when calling one another. Rather, because of his honour and virtue, and because of his being distinct from others, one should say, ‘‘O Messenger of Allah” or “O Prophet of Allah”.

﴾Allah surely knows those of you who try to slip away surreptitiously﴿. Having praised those who believe in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), who - when they are with him for a matter of communal concern - do not leave until they have asked his permission, Allah now warns those who do not do that and who leave without asking permission, even though you (O Muslims) were unaware of their sneaking away, which is what is meant by the phrase ﴾those of you who try to slip away surreptitiously﴿ - that is, they hide behind something at the time when they slip away, so as to be hidden from view. Allah is aware of them and He will requite them for that in full. Therefore He warns them by saying:

﴾So let those who go against His command beware﴿ that is, those who leave to attend to some of their own affairs and go against the command of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ); so how about those who do not leave to attend to some of their own affairs; rather they leave because they are simply going against Allah’s command, without any affairs to attend to?

﴾lest some calamity﴿ that is, something bad ﴾strikes them or a painful punishment befalls them﴿.

﴾Verily to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth﴿ in the sense that He owns them and they are His slaves, and He controls them by His decree and His religious rulings.

﴾He surely knows your condition [of sincere faith or hypocrisy]﴿ that is, His knowledge encompasses all that you do of good and evil, and He knows all your deeds, for He encompasses them with His knowledge. His pen has written it all down, and the noble scribes (the angels) are recording it.

?(On the day they return to Him﴿ that is, the Day of Resurrection ﴾He will inform them about what they used to do﴿ that is. He will tell them about all their deeds, small and great, exactly what they did, and He will summon their physical faculties to testify against them, and they will be treated on the basis of grace or justice.

Having mentioned that His knowledge specifically encompasses their deeds, Allah now states that His knowledge goes beyond that, as He says: And Allah has knowledge of all things﴿.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat an-Noor.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.