Transliteration:( Al khabeesaatu lil khabeeseena wal khabeesoona lil khabeesaati wat taiyibaatu lit taiyibeena wat taiyiboona lit taiyibaat; ulaaa'ika mubarra'oona mimma yaqooloona lahum maghfiratunw wa rizqun kareem (section 3) )
“Dirty women are for dirty men and dirty men for dirty women, and clean women are for clean men and clean men for clean women [47]: they are free from what they are saying [48]. For them is forgiveness and honourable provision. [49]”
This verse reveals a general moral principle:
Immoral people gravitate toward others like themselves, and pure, righteous people are matched with the pure.
The phrase “dirty” (khabith) refers not just to sexual immorality, but to:
Indecent habits,
Corrupt talk,
And wicked character.
By contrast, “clean” (tayyib) people are marked by chastity, decency, and sincerity. They avoid slander and baseless suspicion. This verse affirms that the Prophet ﷺ and his family belong firmly in the camp of purity and honour.
This part clears Sayyidah Ayesha Siddiqah (RA) of the slander completely:
“They are free from what they are saying.”
It emphasizes:
The innocence of the Prophet’s wife,
The baselessness of the slander,
And how accusers stand refuted by divine declaration.
It also proves that Allah, the Kind and All-Knowing, would never pair His beloved Prophet with anyone impure. If even an average father investigates a daughter's character before marriage, how could Allah — the Most Merciful — not protect His Prophet’s honour?
The verse assures not just forgiveness but also honourable provision — referring to:
Acceptance in both worlds,
High spiritual rank,
And paradise promised by Allah Himself.
It goes on to describe Sayyidah Ayesha's unmatched virtues:
Only virgin wife of the Prophet ﷺ.
Foremost in knowledge and Qur'anic commentary.
Her image was shown to the Prophet ﷺ by Jibreel (AS).
He passed away resting on her chest.
He is buried in her room.
Allah directly testified to her chastity.
Revelation was received in her bed.
Jibreel (AS) greeted her with salaam.
She was pure from birth until death.
Her room will remain sacred till the Day of Judgment, as the Prophet’s tomb is there.
These unmatched honours elevate her beyond comparison — even above Sayyidah Maryam (RA) — as Allah Himself cleared her of accusations, not a human witness.
26. Bad statements are for bad people and bad people for bad statements. Good statements are for good people and good people for good statements: such are innocent of (every) bad statement which they say; for them is forgiveness, and honored provision.
Ibn `Abbas said, “Evil words are for evil men, and evil men are for evil words; good words are for good men and good men are for good words. This was revealed concerning `A’ishah and the people of the slander.” This was also narrated from Mujahid, `Ata’, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ash-Sha`bi, Al-Hasan bin Abu Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Habib bin Abi Thabit and Ad-Dahhak, and it was also the view favored by Ibn Jarir. He interpreted it to mean that evil speech is more suited to evil people, and good speech is more suited to good people. What the hypocrites attributed to `A’ishah was more suited to them, and she was most suited to innocence and having nothing to do with them. Allah said:
(such (good people) are innocent of (every) bad statement which they say;) `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, “Evil women are for evil men and evil men are for evil women, and good women are for good men and good men are for good women.” This also necessarily refers back to what they said, i.e., Allah would not have made `A’ishah the wife of His Messenger unless she had been good, because he is the best of the best of mankind. If she had been evil, she would not have been a suitable partner either according to His Laws or His decree. Allah said:
(such are innocent of (every) bad statement which they say;) meaning, they are remote from what the people of slander and enmity say.
(for them is forgiveness,) means, because of the lies that were told about them,
(and honored provision.) meaning, with Allah in the Gardens of Delight. This implies a promise that she will be the wife of the Messenger of Allah in Paradise.
(24:26) Corrupt women are for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women. They are innocent of the calumnies people utter.[22] There shall be forgiveness for them and a generous provision.
22. This verse enunciates a fundamental principle. Impure men are a fit match for impure women and pious men are a fit match for pious women. It never happens that a man is good in all other aspects but is addicted to a solitary vice. As a matter of fact, his very habits, manners and demeanor, all contain a number of evil traits, which sustain and nourish that single vice. It is impossible that a man develops a vice all of a sudden without having any trace of its existence in his demeanor and way of life. This is a psychological truth which everybody experiences in the daily lives of the people. How is it then possible that a man who has all along lived a pure and morally clean life, will put up and continue to live for years in love with a wife who is adulterous? Can a woman be imagined who is an adulteress, but she does not manifest her evil character through her talk, gait, manners and deportment? Is it possible for a virtuous man of high character to live happily with a woman of this type? What is being suggested here is that people in future should not credulously put their belief in any rumor that reaches them. They should carefully see as to who is being accused and on what account and whether the accusation fairly sticks on the person or not. And when there exists no trace of evidence to support the accusation, people cannot believe it just because a foolish or wicked person has uttered it.
Some commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that evil things are for the evil people and good things for the good people. The good people are free from the evil things which the wicked people utter about them. Some others have interpreted it to mean that evil deeds only go with evil people and good deeds with good people. The pious people are free from the evil deeds which the wicked people ascribe to them. Still others interpret it to mean that evil and filthy talk is indulged in only by the evil and filthy people and good and pious talk only by the good and pious people. The pious people are free from the sort of talk that these mischievous people are indulging in. The words of the verse are comprehensive and can be interpreted in any of the three ways, but the first meaning that strikes the reader is the one that we have adopted above and the same fits in more meaningfully with the context than others.
[984]- Another accepted interpretation is "Evil women are for evil men, and evil men are for evil women. And good women are for good men, and good men are for good women."
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