The first verse in this passage, without going through the incident, implies how a false report, or a slander maliciously uttered, may stir up a population and cause great troubles.

      They were a band among the new community of Muslims.... a small band of united hypocrites who were always tending to injure the reputation of the prophet and his disciples. They were some forty people or less, and both men and women were involved in spreading the scandal, while the ring leader in them was ABDULLAH-IBN-UBAI, whom the prophet did not want to punish, till he died and joined the fire in Hell.

      They spread the scandal with the bad intention of ruining the reputation of the prophet and his companions, but Allah turned it to the benefit and good of the believers.

      The incident served to tear off the veil from ugly faces of the non-believers given to hypocrisy. By that event, Muslims learned that they should not pay attention to the rumours that the gossipers spread here and there.

      The next lesson to have been taken was that, Muslims should not think too much of the mere appearances of events unless its inner truth has been revealed to them. Such are some of the reasons by which Qurän gives comfort to the prophet and to his truthful companions:ِ

      ``.... Do not reckon it evil, it rather is good, (useful) for you.''

      The pronoun,``YOU'' here refers to all believers, and it may imply that all the believers are as one single body of brotherhood, sharing each other in happiness or sadness. Or they may be reckoned as one single soul in many bodies.

      Then another group of believers were addressed who were deceived in this regard, for being simple minded. They should have thought well of the believers when the rumour was maliciously spread:ِ

      ``Why when you heard it, the believing men and women did not think well of their own people and say; this is a manifest scandal?''