Surah Al Hujuraat states in verse 6 & 7:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ
- O you who believe! If a sinner comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.
In this verse, Allah instructs the believers and informs them that when news/information is brought by sinners and unreliable people, then they must investigate it to ensure that it is authentic. If they do not do so, it may happen that they may consider it to be the truth while in reality, it is false. Then, this would cause severe harm to themselves and others while they may be unaware.
Commentators of the Holy Quran have stated that the above verse was revealed about Waleed bin Uqba bin Abi Mu’it who was sent by the Prophet (ﷺ) to the Banu Mustaliq tribe to collect their Zakaah. During the days of ignorance (pre-Islamic period), there was some enmity between the Banu Mustaliq tribe and Waleed bin Uqba. When the people of the tribe heard that someone was being sent by the Prophet (ﷺ), they came out to meet/welcome him to show respect for the order of the Prophet (ﷺ). However, when Waleed bin Uqba approached the town and saw the people waiting for him, Satan made him think that the people intended to kill him, and so, he became scared and returned to the Prophet (ﷺ). There, he informed the Prophet (ﷺ) that the Banu Mustaliq tribe have refused to pay Zakaah and they intended to kill him. Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) became angry and made an intention to fight against them.
When the people of the tribe found out that the Zakaah collector (Waleed) had returned, they came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we heard of the coming of your messenger and we came out to meet him and honour him, and to give him what we have accepted as the right of Allah. But, it became clear to him to return and we feared that you may have become upset with us on some account and sent him a letter recalling him. We seek refuge with Allah from His wrath and the wrath of His Messenger.
After hearing them, the Prophet (ﷺ) sent Khalid bin Waleed to them in order to see if they had spoken the truth. Khalid bin Waleed (R.A) went to the tribe and observed that they were true Muslims who were upon the obedience of Allah and goodness. He accepted their Zakaah and returned to the Prophet (ﷺ), informing him of what he saw. It was about this incident, and the wrong information conveyed by Waleed bin Uqba that Allah revealed the above verse, saying,
‘O you who believe! If a sinner comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.’
(Tafseer Al Baghwi vol.4 pg. 213 Idara Taleefat Ashrafiya Multan; Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol. 16 pg. 264, 265 Maktaba Rasheediya Queta)
In the above incident, Waleed bin Uqba conveyed wrong information to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) which brought his anger and displeasure, and would have caused fighting between the Muslims, if the Prophet (ﷺ) did not send Khalid bin Waleed to investigate. But Allah guided the Prophet (ﷺ) and protected the Muslims of the Banu Mustaliq tribe from suffering any harm. As a permanent teaching, Allah revealed the above verse, instructing the believers to investigate, check and verify news and information which are narrated/related by people who are sinners, transgressors or unreliable. This also includes people who are not known to be truthful or just. Therefore, when news or information come from the above mentioned people, a believer must first verify it, before he accepts it or acts upon it.
Surah Al Hujuraat states in verse 7:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ۚ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَزَيَّنَهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَالْفُسُوقَ وَالْعِصْيَانَ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الرَّاشِدُونَ
- And know that, among you there is the Messenger of Allahﷺ. If he were to obey you (i.e. follow your opinions and desires) in much of the matter, you would surely be in trouble, but Allah has endeared the Faith to you and has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience hateful to you. These! They are the rightly guided ones.
This verse is connected to verse 6 and it admonishes those who brought wrong/false information to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). It is also an advice and a threat to those who wish to do the same, informing them that Allah would not allow His prophet to rely on false information or fabricated news brought by sinners who entertain doubts regarding the prophethood of the Prophet (ﷺ). Whenever people brought such false news to the Prophet (ﷺ), Allah made it known to him and instructed him to investigate it.
In the verse, Allah said, ‘And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)’. Here, they were told that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was in their midst and they were required to show great respect and honour to him, and recognize that Allah has granted a high status and rank to him. As such, they must not convey wrong/false information to him since, as a prophet of Allah, he will become aware of it. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer vol.5 pg. 584 Dar Al Kitab Al Arabi, Beirut 2013; Tafseer Al Baghwi vol.4 pg. 212 Idara Taleefat Ashrafiya Multan).
The verse further states, ‘If he were to obey you (follow your opinions and desires) in much of the matter, you would surely be in trouble (difficulty)’.
Here, they were told by Allah that if the Prophet (ﷺ) had listened to them and accepted the wrong information which they conveyed to him, then it would have resulted in great difficulty for them. But Allah guided the Prophet (ﷺ) to that which was right, and they were protected from every type of harm and trouble.
Regarding this, the verse states, ‘But Allah has endeared (made beloved) Faith (Imaan) to you and has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience hateful to you. Such are they who are rightly guided’.
As mentioned by some commentators of the Holy Quran, the above part of the verse was directed to those sincere/true believers who refrained from conveying false/wrong information to the Prophet (ﷺ). They were never untruthful to him and did not carry false news to him. About them, Allah says that Imaan (faith) was made beloved to them and it became the most beloved thing to them. Allah then made it beautiful to them in their hearts to the extent that it became more valuable than the worldly matters. The result of this was that they sacrificed their lives for the sake of Allah and became fully obedient to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
Along with making Imaan (faith) beloved to these true believers, Allah also made kufr (disbelief) and sins detestable to them. The verse states, ‘and He made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience hateful to you’. It therefore means that while a true believer loves Imaan (faith) and everything that is connected to it, he also hates Kufr (disbelief) and everything which is associated with it. This includes major and minor sins, transgressions and wrongdoings.
At the end of the verse, Allah says, ‘Such are they who are rightly guided’. It means that all those who possess the above-mentioned attributes, they are the ones who are rightly guided by Allah.