Madinan surah revealed after the slander of Aishah RA by the hypocrites. She was accompanying the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on an expedition and became separated from the caravan whilst searching for her lost necklace. Her tent was hoisted onto her camel and the caravan left without her, not realising she was not inside.

Aishah RA fell asleep whilst waiting for a search party to come and retrieve her. In the morning, a companion passed by and recognised her, bringing her back to the caravan on his camel. Rumours were spread by the hypocrites alleging impropriety between Aishah RA and the companion.

On her return to Madinah, Aishah RA was taken ill and spent a month indoors recovering, unaware of the rumours that were spreading. However, she was aware that the Prophet ﷺ was not acting as he normally did with her, sensing something was not right. Eventually she found out about the rumours and was understandably very distressed.

She declared she would be patient and wait for Allah SWT’s help in dispelling the false claims. This surah was then revealed proclaiming her innocence and setting out rules and guidance on how to avoid and deal with such situations.

Themes

• Islamic legal rulings on accusations of and punishment for sexual offences.
• Guidance to avoid zinah.
• Abhorrence of slander.
• Family life and etiquette.
• Allah SWT aware of the actions of the hypocrites.
• Allah SWT is the Light.

Selected Verses

1: This is a surah which We have revealed and made its rulings obligatory and revealed in it clear commandments so that you may be mindful.

2: Punishment for fornicators (through the legal system) is 100 lashes and should be witnessed.

The ideology behind such harsh punishments is as a deterrent so that these moral crimes are not performed and society is not corrupted.

3: Marry a fornicator only to another fornicator or an idolator. This links these despicable acts to worshipping false gods.

4-10: Rules for accusing persons of fornication. Four eyewitnesses are required to provide evidence, a very high level of proof which is essentially untenable. Thus, punishments are very harsh but rarely applied as the bar for conviction is so high. False accusers will receive 80 lashes.

Spouses are able to give evidence against each other if there is no witness, by declaring an oath 4 times that they are telling the truth. A final 5th oath declares that they will incur the curse of Allah SWT if they are lying.

11-25: Chastising the righteous who allowed themselves to believe the rumour against Aishah RA and strongly criticising those who spread the gossip. The believers should have reacted by saying the rumour was clearly slander against another believer, with no witnesses to back it up. This is a most serious matter in the sight of Allah SWT. Those who spread indecency will face a severe punishment in this life and the Akhira when their limbs will testify against them and they will receive their just penalty.

Abu Bakr RA, the father of Aishah RA, was angry at his cousin whom he supported financially for spreading these rumours, vowing to end his assistance. The believers were reminded to forgive those who have wronged them in order to gain the mercy of Allah SWT.

However, this incident was good for the community overall, despite all its distress. The hypocrites were exposed, clearly identifiable from the believers. Aishah RA was praised and declared innocent by Allah SWT. No matter how bad a situation is, there is wisdom in it and lessons to be learnt.

Gossip magnifies the matter, elevating it to the level of a social scandal. This is a tactic of shaytan. Silence your tongue for individual sin is between a person and Allah SWT. Do not expose the sins of others. Allah SWT will cover your faults if you cover the faults of others.

26: The wicked are for the wicked and the virtuous for the virtuous: filth for filth and purity for purity. The virtuous are innocent of what the wicked say: exoneration of Aishah RA.

27: Ask permission to enter other people’s houses.

30-31: Lower your gaze and guard your chastity, this is better for you to avoid the incitement of lust. Women are commanded to cover their adornments (hair, chests, arms, legs, body shape) from men other than their husbands and mahrams (those males who they are not legally allowed to marry, namely close/immediate family members).

This sets the limits of decency for both genders, with differences for men and women. Women have been privileged with beauty and charm over and above men and these rules seek to protect their purity.

32: Marry the singles as this prevents extra marital relations.

35: The verse of Light. See tafsir below.

Allah is the Light of the heavens and earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp inside a crystal, the crystal like a shining star, lit from the oil of a blessed olive tree, located neither to the east nor the west, whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire. Light upon light! Allah guides whoever He wills to His light. And Allah sets forth parables for humanity. For Allah has perfect knowledge of all things.

39-40: Parables for the deeds of the disbelievers:

• Like a mirage in a desert, which when approached turns out to be nothing.
• Like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by dark clouds. Darkness upon darkness!

Whoever Allah SWT does not bless with light will have no light.

45: Allah SWT created every living creature from water. Some crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs and others on four.

53-54: The hypocrites pay lip service to the commands of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ but Allah SWT is aware of what they do. The Prophets ﷺ duty is only to deliver the message.

55: Allah SWT has promised the believers who worship Him and associate nothing with Him:

• They will be successors within the land.
• Their faith will be established.
• Their fear will be changed to security.

56: Establish prayer, pay zakat and obey the Messenger ﷺ in order to receive mercy.

58-59: Rules on entry to parents’ rooms. When underage, permission is required to enter their rooms at three times when privacy should be respected: morning, midday and at night. For adults, permission is required at all times.

60: Say salaam on entering houses. No sin on eating together with family members or eating singly.

64: Allah SWT has perfect knowledge of all things. We will be informed of what we did on the Day of Judgement.

Tafsir on The Verse of Light

This is the most commented upon ayah of the Quran, with the most tafsir written about it. Allah SWT describes the physical world in the Quran so that we may reflect and gain insight into the unseen world. By reflecting upon physical light, we can learn lessons about the unseen.

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth

• Allah SWT is the source of guidance, the source of light. He calls the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ light. Allah SWT guides mankind from darkness into light.
• Allah brings a physical light to the heavens and the earth – the sun and moon.
• Allah is Light:
  • On the Day of Judgement this earth will be set alight by the light coming from Allah SWT.
  • Allah SWT’s hijab is light. If He were to remove this, the light coming from His Face would destroy all of existence. Nothing can withstand His brilliance.

The example of His light is the light Allah SWT has given to every believer, that is, their iman.

His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp inside a crystal, the crystal like a shining star, lit from the oil of a blessed olive tree, located neither to the east nor the west, whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire

• The niche symbolises the chest of believer, shaped like ribcage. The crystal symbolises the heart and the lamp symbolises iman.
• Thus, iman lies within the heart which lies within the chest wall.
• A crystal is fragile and transparent, akin to the heart of a believer. Fragile in the sense it is not hard hearted but soft. Transparent in the sense of purity and being genuine.
• The olive tree symbolises the Quran.
• Neither east nor west meaning:
  • The Quran is not from this world.
  • The tree is centrally located, bathed in light continuously from the east and from the west, thus producing the purest of oil. Hence the purest of revelation comes from the Quran.

Light upon light!

When our internal light, placed in our hearts by Allah SWT, meets His external light, the Quran, it leads us all the way to Him. Light upon light, the path to Allah SWT.

In order to see, we need an outside source of light, the sun, and a receptacle of light within us, our eyes. Allah SWT’s created light, the sun, lights up the whole world providing sustenance to all on earth. The Quran is compared to the sun, a light for mankind. In order to see the truth, we need the Quran to permeate into our hearts.

Allah guides whoever He wills to His light

Allah SWT places His light inside of us, our fitrah, our innate sense of iman. His is the best type of light. Allah SWT guides who He wills to His light. He is the Ultimate guide for mankind. His Light is the only source, everything else is darkness.

Light is associated with happiness, optimism and revelation, making everything clear. Our iman is like turning on a lamp in the darkness. The light of the believer shines brightest in dark times and in these times of darkness, true believers are the light for others to see. We raise our voices and call to Allah SWT in dark times. The 3 loudly recited prayers, Fajr, Maghrib and Isha, are all in the darkness.

How can we be guided to His light? Make dua for light to envelop us, the Dua of Light. Make Allah SWT the focus of our lives and follow His commands. Work on purifying our light so we can be the best believers and guide others to the light, through salah, charity and good deeds. True believers are always guided to Islam.

And Allah sets forth parables for humanity. For Allah has perfect knowledge of all things

Allah SWT gives examples for us to benefit from, to learn from. The Quran is structured for us to study and reflect upon.