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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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The Exegesis of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: << إذ تلقونه بألسنتكم و تقولون بأفواهكم ما ليس لكم به علم و تحسبونه هينا وهو عند الله عظيم >> .

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
There is rebuke in it. When you speak to your companion using the third-person form, it becomes gentler and easier. But when you then switch to the second-person form, it becomes more eloquent, whether it is praise or commendation. Yes, among the commendations is
(2) [All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds - (3) The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, (4) Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. الحمد لله رب العالمين الرحمن الرحيم مالك يوم الدين
[Al-Fatihah 1:2-4]
Then he said
You alone we worship إياك نعبد
So the one who prays commends Allah. He commends Allah using the third-person form: "Praise belongs to Allah," then using the form of
You alone we worship إياك نعبد
the addressed one. As if, after the commendation, he became present before his Lord, so he said
You alone we worship إياك نعبد
Thus, the shift here from the third person to the second person serves to alert and strengthen the rebuke, because the second-person address is more eloquent. Look at His saying, the Exalted:
(2) Because there came to him the blind man, [interrupting]. (3) But what would make you perceive, [O Muhammad], that perhaps he might be purified عبس وتولى أن جاءه الأعمى وما يدريك لعله يزكى
['Abasa 80:2-3]
... In the first part, "He frowned" is in the third person, then He said, "And what makes you know?" because it is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It is as if Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, did not wish to address him with the words "You frowned and turned away," but rather "He frowned and turned away" until it became clear. Then He said, "And what makes you know? Perhaps he will purify himself." This is similar. The important point is that when one shifts from the third-person form to the second-person form, it has the benefit of alerting, and another benefit is derived from the context.
Now,
When you received it with your tongues إذ تلقونه بألسنتكم
[An-Nur 24:15]
means that some of you transmit it from one another. "To receive" (talaqqā) means to meet it and take it. So they receive it with their tongues and say with their mouths what they have no knowledge of. The difference is between "you say with your mouths" and "you receive it with your tongues." Receiving (talaqqī) is taking it from the unseen; you receive it like receiving a load, meaning meeting it. So receiving is meeting the speech.
And you say with your mouths وتقولون بأفواهكم
That is for casting the speech to others. It contains an indication that this speech does not reach the heart, but is merely speech with the tongue. This is because many of the Companions doubted this report, and it has been mentioned that the majority of them and their virtuous ones rejected it from the very beginning.
When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge إذ تلقونه بألسنتكم وتقولون بأفواهكم ما ليس لكم به علم
[An-Nur 24:15]
In this is rebuke, in that a person says with his mouth. "Mouths" (afwāh) is the plural of "fāh," which is the mouth. You say with your mouth what you have no knowledge of. Now, if someone asks: Is not speech with the mouth? Why did He say "you say with your mouths" when speech is only with the mouth?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : And it is not settled in their hearts. Yes, this is because it is merely speech with the tongue and the mouth, but it has not settled in the heart because it is not based on knowledge. It may also be said that this is a form of emphasis, like the saying "he walked with his leg to so-and-so," to confirm the walking. It means that it is a confirmed statement you say explicitly, and it is not a suspicion in the heart, for "statement" (qawl) is used for suspicion. Similarly,
or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you ولا طائر يطير بجناحيه إلا أمم أمثالكم
[Al-An'am 6:38]
Yes,
or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you ولا طائر يطير بجناحيه إلا أمم أمثالكم
[Al-An'am 6:38]
In any case, we say that His saying "with your mouths" either intends to confirm the statement and that it is not merely a suspicion or imagination, but that they say it explicitly with their mouths. Or it may be said that this statement is on the mere mouth only and does not reach the depths of the soul, because although they say it, they seem to consider it unlikely, doubting its truth. And His saying
that of which you have no knowledge ما ليس لكم به علم
[Ali 'Imran 3:66]
How often this happens among people. A person must not say a statement unless he has knowledge of it. It is not sufficient to say a statement based on mere suspicion, nor on mere illusion or imagination. Do not speak, especially in serious matters, except about what you have knowledge of. Therefore, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said in Surat al-Isra:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم
[Al-Isra 17:36]
meaning do not follow it.
Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned. إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسئولا
[Al-Isra 17:36]
So you are responsible for your hearing, your sight, and your heart, which is the place of suspicion and belief. Therefore, do not say what you have no knowledge of. Do not follow what you have no knowledge of. So a person must be on knowledge. This is an upbringing from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, that benefits a person to be careful in what he says, so that his statement is considered and he is safe from the sin of speaking without knowledge. Especially if the statement is about Allah, for no one is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah. Or if the statement is in such serious matters that involve disparaging the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his household, and his Companions, and consequently disparaging the religion, because if one disparages the Messenger who brought it, it is a disparagement of the religion itself that this Messenger brought, and a deficiency in it.
Allah the Exalted said:
And you consider it a trivial matter. وتحسبوه هينا
There is no sin in it.
while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous. وهو عند الله عظيم
[An-Nur 24:15]
In the sin. In this phrase is an exaltation of this matter. It means: Do you think that speaking about this matter is light? That it is words that are said and transmitted? But it is great in the sight of Allah, and it becomes greater the further the person about whom it is spoken is from what was said about him. Therefore, the punishment (hadd) is for falsely accusing a chaste person, and discretionary punishment (ta'zir) is for falsely accusing a non-chaste person. That is, if a person falsely accuses someone suspected of zina who is not chaste, he is only given ta'zir. But if he falsely accuses a person known for chastity, the full hadd is obligatory. Therefore, He said:
and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous. وتحسبونه هينا وهو عند الله عظيم
[An-Nur 24:15]
And we said that it becomes greater according to the status of the one accused. Similarly, if the speech is not a false accusation, it becomes greater according to the nature of the speech. Therefore, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah a lie ومن أظلم ممن افترى على الله كذبا
[Al-An'am 6:21]
So the greatest lie is lying against Allah, then against His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And thus, lying becomes greater according to the one to whom the speech is attributed.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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