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 was it not that the believing men and women, when you heard it, thought good of their own people, and had said, “This is a clear accusation”? 12 Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses, such men, in the sight of Allah, (stand forth) themselves as liars! 13 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. 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 When you heard it, why did you not say, "It is not right for us to speak of this. God forbid! This is a monstrous slander." 16 Allah admonishes you that in future you should never repeat a thing like this, if you are true Believers. 17 God explains His commands to you clearly, for God is all-knowing and all-wise. 18 There is painful punishment in this world and the next for those who like that immorality should spread among the believers, for God knows and you do not know. 19 Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you, and that Allah is Clement, Merciful, (ye had been undone). 20