يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَإٍۢ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ أَن تُصِيبُوا۟ قَوْمًۢا بِجَهَٰلَةٍۢ فَتُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَٰدِمِينَ
6
سُورَةُ الحُجُرَاتِ
English — Sahih International
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.
اردو — مودودی
اے لوگو جو ایمان لائے ہو، اگر کوئی فاسق تمہارے پاس کوئی خبر لے کر آئے تو تحقیق کر لیا کرو، کہیں ایسا نہ ہو کہ تم کسی گروہ کو نادانستہ نقصان پہنچا بیٹھو اور پھر اپنے کیے پر پشیمان ہو
Bahasa Indonesia — Kemenag
Hai orang-orang yang beriman, jika datang kepadamu orang fasik membawa suatu berita, maka periksalah dengan teliti agar kamu tidak menimpakan suatu musibah kepada suatu kaum tanpa mengetahui keadaannya yang menyebabkan kamu menyesal atas perbuatanmu itu.
Ibn Kathir
Admonishing Those Who call the Prophet from behind Dwellings
Allah the Exalted and Most Blessed admonished those, such as the uncivilized bedouins, who used to call to the Prophet from behind the dwellings which belong to his wives,
أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ
(most of them have no sense.) Allah the Exalted and Most Honored then ordains the better behavior in this regard,
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ صَبَرُواْ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَكَانَ خَيْراً لَّهُمْ
(And if they had patience till you could come out to them, it would have been better for them.) it would have earned them the better benefit of this life and the Hereafter. Allah, Worthy of all praise, then encourages them to turn to Him in repentance.
وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
(And Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful.) It was reported that this Ayah was revealed about Al-Aqra` bin Habis At-Tamimi, may Allah be pleased with him, according to more than one source. Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Aqra` bin Habis said that he called the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from behind his dwellings, saying, "O Muhammad! O Muhammad!" "O Allah's Messenger!" according to another narration, but the Messenger did not answer him, Al-Aqra` said, "O Allah's Messenger.
Investigating the Reliability of the News conveyed by Wicked People
Allah the Exalted ordered investigating the news that sinners and the wicked bring, to make sure of its authenticity. Otherwise, if the sinner's word is taken for granted and a decision is based on it, regardless of whether the information is true or not, the authorities will be taking the lead of the sinners. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored forbade taking the path of the corrupted and sinners. This is why groups of the scholars of Hadith refuse to accept narrations from narrators whose reliability is unknown, for they might be from among the wicked people, in reality.
The Prophet's Decision is Better
Allah said,
المُيَسَّر
يا أيها الذين صدَّقوا الله ورسوله وعملوا بشرعه، إن جاءكم فاسق بخبر فتثبَّتوا من خبره قبل تصديقه ونقله حتى تعرفوا صحته؛ خشية أن تصيبوا قومًا برآء بجناية منكم، فتندموا على ذلك.