The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 332
of stray acts of immorality should not be hunted down and crushed. As in every community there are to be found some persons of lax morals, such individuals may be treated with a certain indulgence. But at the same time a warning is held out to those who seek, by their continued pernicious activities, to create discord among Muslims and indulge in abusive language and calumny that they will be punished in this world and in the next. God will expose their iniquities and sins and thus, will bring upon them disgrace and humiliation. Muslims are enjoined not to give ready credence to unseemly things said about a person who to all outward appearance leads a good life, just as they would not readily attribute good things to a bad man. The Surah then proceeds to observe that it is his careless acts that subject a man to suspicion and calumny and that most careless of all such acts is promiscuous intermingling between the sexes. In order to put a stop to such occasions as cause suspicion and lead to slander-mongering the Sūrah directs a Muslim not to enter a house without having obtained prior permission of its inmates and having greeted them with the salutation, "peace be upon you," and if such permission is not forthcoming he is expected to go back and not to insist on seeing the person whom he wishes to see. But a person is allowed to enter an unoccupied house in which his property is lying without asking the permission of anybody. Further, the Surah enjoins on Muslim men and women that if they happen to confront each other, they should restrain their looks and guard all avenues of sin and vice. This commandment applies equally to men and women. As an additional safeguard, Muslim women are further enjoined not to display their beauty, natural as well as artificial, to those males as are outside the prohibited degrees of marriage, except such parts of the body as it is not possible to cover, for instance, the build of the body or the stature. For this purpose they should wear their head-coverings in such a manner as to make them hang down over their breasts. (For a detailed note on "purdah" see v. 32. ) Another safeguard is enjoined for the improvement and preservation of national morals, viz. that widows should not be allowed to remain unmarried. They should be married at the earliest possible occasion and no consideration of poverty or insufficiency of means should be permitted to stand in the way of their marriage. And it is laid down that those who are devoid of necessary means to get married, should all the more be on their guard to preserve their chastity. Another measure laid down for the purpose of safeguarding sexual morality is that steps should be taken to set free prisoners of war at the earliest occasion and a captive who does not find it possible to earn his or her freedom immediately may be allowed to pay the indemnity money in instalments. For this purpose a contract may be made between the captive and Islamic government, and other Muslims are urged to help him or 2246