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Response by Shaahin Amiri-Sharifi to Can slander
of chaste women be forgiven?
Verse 24:5 is about "women" in general, even unbelievers
but 24:23 talks about "believing women". The punishment in
case that the acuser doesn't provide 4 witnesses is 80
stripes and losing the credibility as a witness in the
society, unless they repent and DO GOOD after that, to make
it clear that they have repented honestly and sincerely.
This punishment goes for both cases, but the one who acuses
"believing women", is cursed forever too. in the later case,
no extra "earthly" punishment is considered. Allah is the
most forgiving! he may even forgive the people in the second
category. This forgiveness is not contradictory to the fact
that they are cursed forever. To make it clearer, suppose
that you being "retaliated" by a person who suffers from a
crime you committed against him. after, say cutting your
hand off(!), he may forgive you, but the "curse" of losing
hand is yours and with you forever, point is, being "cursed"
doesn't mean being "unforgiven".
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