Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “If a wicked person comes to you with news, verify it”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
We return to the questions. This one asks, saying: In the saying of Allah the Exalted[Al-Hujurat 49:6], what is the intended meaning? May Allah preserve you.
Answer:
The intended meaning is that if you hear a rumor, you do not rush to believe it or spread it until you are certain of its authenticity, because the transmitter may either be mistaken and have not grasped the news correctly, or he may be deliberately lying and be a fasiq (open sinner), in which case you do not rely on him. This is especially so if the matter concerns the rights of others, for you may harm them with something you will regret, such as blaming them or hurting them, while they are innocent of it[Al-Hujurat 49:6].
So the verse means that one does not accept a rumor outright, but rather delays in it. And if it proves to be true, he does not spread it either, for that would be spreading scandal. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) commanded covering up faults and commanded covering up the faults of the Muslim, so one does not rush in that.
Also, matters that concern the society or concern the Muslims are to be entrusted to the people of opinion and the people of knowledge. Allah the Exalted said[An-Nisa 4:83] [An-Nisa 4:83] So matters that concern the Muslims or the conditions of the Muslims are referred to the scholars and to the people of opinion among those to whom authority has been entrusted and who lead the politics, and not everyone is to enter into them. Yes.
We return to the questions. This one asks, saying: In the saying of Allah the Exalted
O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَAnswer:
The intended meaning is that if you hear a rumor, you do not rush to believe it or spread it until you are certain of its authenticity, because the transmitter may either be mistaken and have not grasped the news correctly, or he may be deliberately lying and be a fasiq (open sinner), in which case you do not rely on him. This is especially so if the matter concerns the rights of others, for you may harm them with something you will regret, such as blaming them or hurting them, while they are innocent of it
lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.
أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَSo the verse means that one does not accept a rumor outright, but rather delays in it. And if it proves to be true, he does not spread it either, for that would be spreading scandal. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) commanded covering up faults and commanded covering up the faults of the Muslim, so one does not rush in that.
Also, matters that concern the society or concern the Muslims are to be entrusted to the people of opinion and the people of knowledge. Allah the Exalted said
And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِّنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِBut if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.
وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ
Source
قناة «مؤسسة الدعوة الخيرية»، فتاوى على الهواء 14-10-1434هـ - الفوزان — youtube.com (46:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.