Those who came with the slander are a band of you; do not reckon it evil for you; rather it is good for you. Every man of them shall have the sin that he has earned charged to him; and whosoever of them took upon himself the greater part of it, him there awaits a mighty chastisement. 11 Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and women not of their own account think good thoughts, and say, 'This is a manifest calumny'? 12 Why did they not bring four witnesses upon it? Since they did not bring witnesses, they themselves are liars before Allah. 13 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 wherein ye had rushed, torment mighty. 14 When you were spreading it with your tongues and saying with your mouths things of which you had no knowledge, you considered it to be a trivial matter, but, in God's sight, it was very serious. 15 Why did you not, as soon as you heard of it, say, "It is not proper for us to utter such a thing? Glory be to Allah! This is a great slander." 16 Allah admonishes you that in future you should never repeat a thing like this, if you are true Believers. 17 And Allah clearly explains the verses for you; and Allah is All Knowing, Wise. 18 Indeed those who wish that slander should spread among the Muslims – for them is a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter; and Allah knows, and you do not know. 19 Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, and that Allah is full of kindness and mercy, (ye would be ruined indeed). 20