And when he mentioned what concerns a person from his sin, he followed it with what relates to others. He said: ﴿And whoever earns a sin﴾; meaning: a sin that he did not intend; ﴿or a wrongdoing﴾; meaning: a sin that he intended. And since slander is very severe, few dare to commit it. He referred to it with a tool of delay, saying: ﴿Then he throws it at a free man﴾; meaning: he attributes it to one who did not commit it - as Tu'mah did with the Jew, and Ibn Ubayy did with the truthful woman - may Allah be pleased with her. He magnified the crime of the one who does that with the form of causation in his saying: ﴿Indeed, he has borne﴾; and in his saying: ﴿slander﴾; meaning: a serious lie that astonishes the one targeted by it due to its severity. And it is as if it is an indication of what befalls the slanderer in this world from blame. ﴿And a great sin﴾; meaning: a major sin; ﴿clear﴾; for which he will be punished in the Hereafter. And it is called clear due to the knowledge of his betrayal of himself and the innocence of the one targeted by it. And because Allah - glorified and exalted is He - has established His beautiful custom, that He will manifest the innocence of the one accused one day, by one of the ways, even if for some people.