12 Preface لَولا إِذ سَمِعتُموهُ ظَنَّ المُؤمِنونَ وَالمُؤمِناتُ بِأَنفُسِهِم خَيرًا وَقالوا هٰذا إِفكٌ مُبينٌYusuf AliWhy did not the believers - men and women1 - when ye heard of the affair,- put the best construction on it in their own minds and say, “This (charge) is an obvious lie"?Both men and women were involved in spreading the scandal. Their obvious duty was to put the best, not the worst, construction on the acts of one of the “mothers of the Believers”.