19إِنَّ الَّذينَ يُحِبّونَ أَن تَشيعَ الفاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذينَ آمَنوا لَهُم عَذابٌ أَليمٌ فِي الدُّنيا وَالآخِرَةِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعلَمُ وَأَنتُم لا تَعلَمونَMuhammad AsadVerily, as for those who like [to hear] foul slander1 spread against [any of] those who have attained to faith - grievous suffering awaits them in this world2 and in the life to come: for God knows [the full truth], whereas you know [it] not.3The term fahishah signifies anything that is morally reprehensible or abominable: hence, "immoral conduct" in the widest sense of this expression. In the above context it refers to unfounded or unproven allegations of immoral conduct, in other words, "foul slander".I.e., the legal punishment as stipulated in verse 4 of this surah.This Qur'anic warning against slander and, by obvious implication, against any attempt at seeking out other people's faults finds a clear echo in several well-authenticated sayings of the Prophet: "Beware of all guesswork [about one another], for, behold, all [such] guesswork is most deceptive (akdhab al-hadith); and do not spy upon one another, and do not try to bare [other people's] failings" (Muwatta'); almost identical versions of this Tradition have been quoted by Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Da'ud); "Do not hurt those who have surrendered themselves to God (al-muslimin), and do not impute evil to them, and do not try to uncover their nakedness [i.e., their faults]: for, behold, if anyone tries to uncover his brother's nakedness, God will uncover his own nakedness [on the Day of Judgment]" (Tirimidhi); and, "Never does a believer draw a veil over the nakedness of another believer without God's drawing a veil over his own nakedness on Resurrection Day" (Bukhari). All these injunctions have received their seal, as it were, in the Qur'anic exhortation: "Avoid most guesswork [about one another] - for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin" (49:12).