His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, those who accuse chaste, unaware, believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and they will have a great punishment." "On the Day their tongues, their hands, and their feet will testify against them concerning what they used to do." "On that Day Allah will give them their true religion, and they will know that Allah is the clear truth."

Said Sa'id ibn Jubair: This verse, which includes the curse of the accuser and His severe warning, is specifically about the accusers of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and Al-Dahhak, and others said: No, this is for all the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Allah has made the matter of accusing them severe due to their status in the religion. So He cursed their accusers and did not mention repentance at the end of the verse.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the accuser of others has the name of wickedness, and repentance has been mentioned for him.

A group of scholars said: No, it is concerning Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, but it is intended for everyone who possesses this attribute. Some of this group said: This verse was revealed first about the accusers, then the verse that followed in the chapter that contains repentance was revealed. The explanation of "the chaste" has already been mentioned.

And the "curse" in this verse means distance, the imposition of a penalty, the aversion of the believers from them, and their abandonment, and their removal from the rank of justice. And for those who said that this verse is specifically for Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, these hardships are related to Abdullah ibn Ubayy and his like. And among the accusation of the chaste is the accusation of the man with her, and he may be a believer.

The operative word in His saying: "On the Day" is an implied verb that necessitates punishment, meaning: they will be punished on that Day, or something similar. And Allah, exalted and glorified is He, has informed that their limbs will testify against them, and this is one of the greatest humiliations and punishments. The tongue will testify, and the heart of the hypocrite does not intend what it testifies to. And the hands and feet will testify [and they will speak] words that Allah, exalted and glorified is He, will decree against them. The majority of the seven reciters read: "will testify" with the 'ta' from above, while Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "will testify" with the 'ya'.

And "the religion" in this verse means the recompense, and from it is the saying of the poet:

And nothing remains but the enmity we dealt with them as they dealt with us.

Meaning: We recompensed them as they acted. And the proverb is: "As you deal, you will be dealt with." The majority of people read: "the truth" with the accusative as an attribute of the religion, while Mujahid read: "the truth" with the nominative as an attribute of Allah, exalted and glorified is He. In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with them, it is written: "On that Day Allah will give them their true religion" with the attribute preceding the described. This was narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And His saying, blessed and exalted is He: "And they will know that Allah is the clear truth" supports the view of those who said that the verse is about the hypocrites, Abdullah ibn Ubayy and others. This is because every believer in this world knows that Allah is the clear truth, otherwise he is not a believer.