Transliteration:( Wa bikufrihim wa qawlihim 'alaa Maryama buh taanan 'azeema )
"And We cursed them for their infidelity and for their very grave slander against Mariam."
The “calumny” refers to the false accusation the Jews made against Sayyidah Maryam (Mary) عليها السلام, unjustly staining her purity and chastity.
This act is cited as one of the reasons for divine curse upon them.
It serves as a stern warning against the grave sin of accusing chaste and noble women, especially those of elevated spiritual status.
Sayyidah Maryam is highly revered in Islam, and accusing her was a heinous crime that brought upon them Allah’s anger.
The verse also indirectly addresses those who malign Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqah (رضي الله عنها):
Those who dare to cast slander upon the Mother of the Believers, Hazrat Ayesha (رضي الله عنها), fall into a similar category of criminality as the Jews who slandered Maryam (عليها السلام).
The chastity of Hazrat Maryam was defended by Prophet ‘Isa (عليه السلام), but the innocence of Hazrat Ayesha was declared by Allah Himself in 18 verses of the Qur’an, establishing her honor permanently.
Thus, insulting her is a graver sin and carries serious consequences.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 156 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 155 which provides the complete commentary from verse 155 through 159.
(4:156) and for their going so far in unbelief[189] as uttering against Mary a mighty calumny,[190]
189. This marks the resumption of the main theme of the discourse.
190. The Jews had ho grounds for suspicion regarding the miraculous birth of Jesus. The day he was born God made the entire Jewish people witness that it was the birth of an extraordinary person, and that his birth had taken place miraculously rather than as the result of an act of moral corruption. When this unmarried girl, of a highly esteemed and pious Israelite family, produced a new-born infant, thousands of people of all age groups thronged to her house out of curiosity. Instead of replying to their queries verbally, Mary pointed to the baby, indicating that he would himself reply. The wonder-struck crowd inquired if they were expected to direct their questions to the infant child who lay in the cradle. To their amazement the child addressed the crowd in a clear and eloquent style: ‘I am indeed a servant of God, and to me has He vouchsafed Revelation, me has He made a Prophet’. (Surah Maryam, ayat 30)
Thus God demolished every basis for casting doubt on the birth of Jesus. When Jesus was young no one accused Mary of either unchastity or Jesus of being born illegitimately. When Jesus reached the age of thirty he launched his prophetic mission, censuring the Jews for their misdeeds and reproaching the rabbis and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He also called attention to the moral degeneration to which they had sunk, urging people to rise up and engage in the perilous struggle to establish the hegemony of God’s religion. Such a struggle called for all kinds of sacrifices and involved confrontation with Satanic forces on all fronts. Once Jesus launched this mission these criminals decided to spare no weapon, however base, in their bid to silence this fearless voice of truth. It was at this point that they flung at Mary the accusation of unchastity and at Jesus that of illegitimate birth. They made these accusations despite full knowledge that both mother and child were absolutely chaste and innocent. That is why this accusation is not characterized as either a wrong or a falsehood. It is rather branded as disbelief (kufr) since the calumny was motivated chiefly by the desire to obstruct the path of true faith and not just to bring an innocent woman into disrepute.
[232]- When they accused her of fornication.
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