148۞ لا يُحِبُّ اللَّهُ الجَهرَ بِالسّوءِ مِنَ القَولِ إِلّا مَن ظُلِمَ ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ سَميعًا عَليمًاMuhammad AsadGod does not like any evil to be mentioned openly, unless it be by him who has been wronged [thereby]1 And God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing,As some of the commentators (e.g., Razi) point out, this may refer to giving currency to earlier sayings or deeds of the repentant sinners - both hypocrites and outright deniers of the truth - mentioned in the preceding two verses: an interpretation which seems to be borne out by the context. However, the above statement has a general import as well: it prohibits the public mention of anybody's evil deeds or sayings, "unless it be by him who has been wronged (thereby)" - which also implies that evil behaviour which affects the society as a whole may be made public if the interests of the wronged party - in this case, the society as such - demand it.