Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nur Verse 14

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Had it not been for the grace of Allah upon you, and His mercy in this world and in the Hereafter, a severe punishment would have reached you for what you indulged in -

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Had it not been for Allah’s grace and mercy upon you in this world and the Hereafter, you would have certainly been touched with a tremendous punishment for what you plunged into—

Ruwwad Translation Center

Were it not for Allah’s grace and mercy upon you in this world and in the Hereafter, you would have been afflicted with a great punishment for that [lie] in which you were involved,

A. J. Arberry

But for God's bounty to you and His mercy in the present world and the world to come there would have visited you for your mutterings a mighty chastisement.

Abdul Haleem

If it were not for God’s bounty and mercy towards you in this world and the next, you would already have been afflicted by terrible suffering for indulging in such talk.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Had there not been Allah's grace upon you and His mercy in the World and the Hereafter, surely there would have touched you for that whcrein ye had rushed, torment mighty--

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that ye rushed glibly into this affair.

Abul Ala Maududi

Were it not for Allah's grace and mercy towards you in this world and in the Hereafter, a painful scourge would have visited you because of the things in which you were involved.

Ahmed Ali

Were it not for the grace of God and His mercy upon you in this world and the next, you would have suffered a great affliction for the false accusation.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And were it not for Allah’s munificence and His mercy upon you in the world and in the Hereafter, a terrible punishment would have reached you for the discussions you fell into.

Ali Quli Qarai

Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you in this world and the Hereafter, there would have befallen you a great punishment for what you ventured into,

Ali Ünal

Were it not for God’s grace to and favor upon you, and His mercy in the world and the Hereafter, a mighty punishment would certainly have afflicted you (who got involved in circulating rumors) on account of what you indulged in.

Amatul Rahman Omar

But for the fact that Allâh has shown His grace and mercy to you in the present world, and in the next a great punishment would have certainly befallen you on account of that (slander) which you spread.

English Literal

And where it not for God`s grace/favour/blessing on you and His mercy in the present world and the end (other life), great torture would have touched you in what you flowed/spread in it.

Faridul Haque

And were it not for Allah’s munificence and His mercy upon you in the world and in the Hereafter, a terrible punishment would have reached you for the discussions you fell into.

Hamid S. Aziz

Why did they not bring four witnesses to it? But since they did not bring witnesses, then verily they stand forth as liars in the sight of Allah.

Hilali & Khan

Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Why did they not bring four witnesses of it? So, as they have not brought witnesses, they are liars in the sight of Allah.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And were it not for Allah's grace upon you and His mercy in this world and the hereafter, a grievous chastisement would certainly have touched you on account of the discourse which you entered into.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you in the world and the Hereafter an awful doom had overtaken you for that whereof ye murmured.

Muhammad Sarwar

Were it not for the favors and mercy of God upon you, in this world and in the life to come, a great torment would strike you for your involvement in this false report.

Qaribullah & Darwish

But for the bounty of Allah and His Mercy towards you in this life and in the Everlasting Life you would have been sternly punished for that which you were involved.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken.

Wahiduddin Khan

Had it not been for the grace of God and His mercy on you in this world and the Hereafter, a terrible punishment would have afflicted you for your plunging headlong into slander.

Talal Itani

Were it not for God’s favor upon you, and His mercy, in this world and the Hereafter, you would have suffered a great punishment for what you have ventured into.

Tafsir jalalayn

And were it not for God's bounty to you and His mercy in the life of this world and the Hereafter there would have befallen you, for what you, O band [of accusers], engaged in, [for] what you indulged in, an awful chastisement, in the Hereafter;

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Grace of Allah towards the People of the Slander by giving Them the Opportunity to repent

Allah says,

وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالاْخِرَةِ

Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter,

This is addressed to those who were indulging in discussing the matter of A'ishah, informing them that Allah has accepted their repentance in this world, and forgiven them because of their faith in the Hereafter.

لَمَسَّكُمْ فِي مَا أَفَضْتُمْ فِيهِ

would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken,

with regard to the slander.

عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ




a great torment.

This refers to those who had faith in Allah because of their repentance, such as Mistah, Hassan and Hamnah bint Jahsh the sister of Zaynab bint Jahsh.

As for the hypocrites who indulged in the slander, such as Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul and his like, they are not the ones who are referred to in this Ayah, because they did not have sufficient faith and righteous deeds to balance or cancel out what they had done.

By the same token, the threats that were narrated for a specific deed are bound to be carried out, if there is no repentance or sufficient righteous deeds to balance or outweigh it.

Then Allah says