Surah Al-Hujraat, Verse no:6

Translation: O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done. Explanation and Background: he believers should be concerned about the negative news that they are bombarded with especially when unrighteous people control all the information that reach us in this part of the World. They should pay attention to this verse before they listen and accept any news. After the battle of Banu Mustalaq (5 AH/627 CE) in which the Mustalaq tribe was defeated and taken prisoners, all members of the tribe were divided up and given to the Muslims of Madeenah as slaves. The Prophet subsequently married Juwayreeyah, wife as their servants then daughter of the former king of the Mustalaq tribe, al-Hrith ibn AbeeDarr. The marriage made the Sahbah ashamed to have the relatives of the Prophet's Prophet so they freed the rest of the tribe. When all members of the Mustalaq tribe were freed, the invited al-Hrith to accept Islm which he willingly did. The Prophet asked him to invite the rest of his tribe to Islm and to collect Zakh from those who

became Muslim. Al-Hrith agreed and asked the Prophet collect the Zakh at a particular time.

to send a messenger to

When the time arrived and no messenger came, al-Hrith feared that the Prophet agreed to send a delegation to the Prophet In the meantime the Prophet

might

have been displeased with him in some way so he consulted his tribesmen and they in order to find out the reason for the delay. sent al-Waleed ibn 'Uqbah to collect the Zakh from aland told him that al-

Hrith. However, on the way al-Waleed heard that a group from Banu Mustalaq had set out and he became afraid. He returned swiftly to the Prophet Hrith had refused to turn over the Zakh and had threatened his life. The Prophet became angry and dispatched a group of companions to deal with al-

Hrith. The two groups met and returned to the Prophet, who questioned al-Hrith as follows; "Why did you refuse to pay the Zakh and try to kill my messenger?" Al-Hrith replied, "By the one Who sent you with the truth, I did not see him nor did he come to me, and the only reason I came was because I feared that your reason for not contacting me was due to Allh's displeasure with us. " Then the verse, O Believers, if an was revealed. unrighteous person comes to you with news, you should verify it...

This verse was revealed confirming the truth of al-Hrith's statement, reprimanding the Prophet his snap judgement and warning the Believers in general to thoroughly check out any information coming from questionable sources. The principle was designed to avoid judgements which could bring harm to others since our sorrow and regret no matter how great it may be cannot wipe out the hurt caused by false cusations though it might have been unintentional. Thus, great caution must always be taken when dealing with information conveyed by people of doubtful character, those whose honesty has not yet been proven or by known sinners. It should be noted that based on this verse, Islmic scholars have unanimously ruled that the testimony of one who is known to be unrighteous should be rejected as evidence in court unless verified. (If his testimony can be confirmed, it is obligatory to do so and if it can not be confirmed, it should be flatly rejected). The converse also holds true. The

testimony of a just and righteous person does not require verification except in special cases identified by the Ourn or the Sunnah. On the basis of the above mentioned legal ruling, the scholars of Hadeeth decided to reject any Hadeeth which had in its chain of narrators an individual classified as Majhool al-Hl, that is, one whose name is known but his character is unknown, for any such narrator ,night be of bad moral character and his statement false. This shows the great care taken by Hadeeth scholars in weeding out all the questionable narrations thereby preserving the Sunnah in its pristine purity for later generations. Related Incidents: Throughout history, the west has been following the strategy of divide and rule, and one of the most effective tools they use to achieve this is misinformation. We can find many examples in history where people had to suffer because of some false news intentionally spread by miscreants, or failing to verify news they have received from an inauthentic source. In this way innocent people have played in the hands of the evil and caused others harm. One example from the times of Prophet (RA). The particular incident occurred on the return from the expedition to the Banu Mustaliq, A.H. 5-6. When the march was ordered, Hazrat Ayesha was not in her tent, having gone to search for a valueable necklace she had dropped. As her litter was veiled, it was not noticed that she was not in it, until the army reached the next halt. Meanwhile, finding the camp had gone, she sat down to rest, hoping that some one would come back to fetch her when her absence was noticed. It was night, and she fell asleep. Next morning she was found by Safwan, a Muhajir who had been left behind the camp expressly to pick up anything inadvertently left behind. He put her on his camel and brought her, leading the camel on foot. This gave occasion to enemies to raise a malicious scandal. The ringleader among them was the chief of the Madina hypocrites, Abdullah ibn Ubai, who is referred to in the last clause of this verse of Surah Noor. is the incident related to Hazrat Ayesha

Translation: Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not to be an evil to you; On the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned, and to him who took on himself the lead among them, will be a penalty grievous. Abdullah ibn Ubai had other sins and enormities to his debt, and he was left to the spiritual punishment of an unrepentant sinner, for he died in that state. The minor tools were given the legal punishment of the law, and after penitence mended their lives, they made good. Good women are sometimes indiscreet because they think of no evil. But even such innocent indiscretion lands them, and those who hold them dear, in difficulties. Such was the case with Hazrat Ayesha, who was in extreme pain and anguish for the whole month because of the slanders spread about her. Her husband and her father were also placed in a most awkward predicament, considering their position and the great work in which they were engaged.

Translation: Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this life and in the Hereafter: for them is a grievous Penalty,Such attitude and behavior is also very much common in our society. Women often have to face accusations of ill behavior and are defamed among the circles without any crime. If a woman is seen with a man, a third person observing will himself assume that there is an affair between them ignoring that fact that that man can also be her brother. Unprincipled people, who start such slanders, and their unthinking tools who help in spreading such slanders, are both guilty of the gravest spiritual offence, and their worst punishment is the deprivation of Gods grace, which means being in a state of curse. The Quran further states in Surah Noor, verse 15 that:

Translation: Behold, ye received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God.

More examples can also be extracted from our daily life how not seeking guidance from the subject verse has created problems for so many. In our country the government has taken all the measures to eradicate the disease of polio from the population. However, there are some elements present in the northern areas of the country, who are propagating false ideas that polio droplets given during the antipolio campaign contain drugs for birth control. These same people also deem birth control to be an idea against the teachings of Islam and therefore discourage the people from getting their children vaccinated. As a result, children become a victim of this incurable disease and are crippled for life. Verse no. 6 of Surah Hujurat also addresses the role of all responsible news bearers. In an Islamic Republic, media (i.e. television, radio and newspapers etc) and journalists are the elements that can be directly assessed in accordance with this verse. An Islamic medias basic purpose is to act as the eyes and ears of the state hence entrusting to it a great responsibility to promote and pass on to its audience only that which is right and justifiable. In Pakistan, specifically the electronic media is the most influential of the closely followed news spreaders. News channels have largely developed in their scope during the last few years and are currently enjoying massive popularity. However, regrettably our media has yet to fully come to terms with its lawful duty which is to only spread news that has been verified by reliable and trustworthy sources. We have constantly been witnessing imprudence on the part of our media concerning many sensitive issues. This indiscretion has been in the form of lack of foresight by spreading unverified and questionable news the likes of which have led to many controversies. Recently, a nationwide rumor was spread against Lays potato chips which affected the companys sales drastically and resulted in huge economic losses. Irresponsible people had been spreading false information that a flavor enhancer E631 which is used in the chips is manufactured from pig fat. SMSes and Emails had been circulating with the following content

We found the code E631 printed on the wrapper of LAYS POTATO CHIPS. The following images clearly show code E631 printed in the ingredients of LAYS POTATO CHIPS as flavour enhancers. Pig is HARAAM for Muslims. SO we MUST avoid eating it.

However, the company has certified that in all over the pakistan flavours seasonings enhancers and all such products are provided by IFF international flavors and fragrances, and stamp of halal certificate from Saudia Arabia is labeled on their products.

Considering all the examples above, one should realize how big an impact his minor actions have over the life of so many. One should realize that its not only in this world that he will have to bear the consequences, but also in the afterlife. We shall be held accountable for every word that we utter throughout our lives on the Judgment Day.

On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions.