The Quran

Preface

وَإِذ أَسَرَّ النَّبِيُّ إِلىٰ بَعضِ أَزواجِهِ حَديثًا فَلَمّا نَبَّأَت بِهِ وَأَظهَرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيهِ عَرَّفَ بَعضَهُ وَأَعرَضَ عَن بَعضٍ ۖ فَلَمّا نَبَّأَها بِهِ قالَت مَن أَنبَأَكَ هٰذا ۖ قالَ نَبَّأَنِيَ العَليمُ الخَبيرُ

Yusuf Ali

When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence¹ to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it (to another), and God made it known to him, he Confronted² her with part thereof and held back a part. Then when he told her thereof, she said, “Who told thee this? “He said, “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (With all things).”

Who these two consorts were, and what was the matter in confidence which was disclosed, we are not expressly told, but the facts mentioned in n. 5529 above will help us to understand this passage. The sacred words imply that the matter was of great importance to the principle involved, but that the details were not of sufficient importance for permanent record. For the lessons to be drawn, see the notes following.
The moral we have to draw is manifold. (1) If anything is told to us in confidence, especially by one at the head of affairs, we must not divulge it to our closest friend. (2) If such divulgence is made in the most secret whispers, God’s Plan is such that it will come to light and expose those guilty of breach of confidence. (3) When the whispered version is compared with the true version and the actual facts, it will be found that the whispered version is in great part untrue, due to the misunderstanding and exaggeration inevitable in the circumstances. (4) The breach of confidence must inevitably redound to the shame of the guilty party, whose surprise only covers a sense of humiliation. See next note.