الَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ ﴿۴﴾ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿۵﴾

﴾4﴿ Wallazeena yarmoonal muhsanaati summa lam yaatoo bi-arba'ati shuhadaaa'a fajlidoohum samaaneena jaldatanw wa laa taqbaloo lahum shahaadatan abadaa; wa ulaaa'ika humul
﴾5﴿ Illal lazeena taaboo mim ba'di zaalika wa aslahoo fa innal laaha Ghafoorur Raheem

﴾4﴿ And those who accuse chaste individuals (of fornication) and do not bring four witnesses, flog them with eighty lashes, and do not ever accept their testimony. And they are the transgressors
﴾5﴿ Except for those who repent after this action and reform their deeds, for indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful

[4] In this verse, the third ruling is given to prevent the use of indecent language, following the prohibition of the indecent act itself. The prescribed punishment here is for qadhf—accusing someone of adultery without proof. The primary context of the revelation of these verses is the false accusation against Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Though the verse mentions the characteristics of women, the ruling also includes men.
Some have said that "(الْمُحْصَنَاتِ)" refers to chaste souls in general, so the verse is general for both men and women.
"(بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ)"—the word "arba‘ah" (four) indicates that the witnesses must be men only. This is because when a number ending with "ـة" is used, the counted noun (tamyeez) must be masculine—therefore, women's testimony is not accepted in cases of adultery.
Three punishments for the false accuser are mentioned:
1. He is to be lashed eighty times.
2. His testimony is to be rejected, indicating that he should be socially excluded due to his corruption.
3. He is declared a fāsiq (open sinner), and the legal rulings related to a fāsiq apply to him.
This is because he both lied and dishonored a Muslim—both of which are major sins.
This verse is also a proof that anyone who believes in the slander against Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) without four witnesses is rejected as a witness, like the majority of Shi‘a today.
[5] The effect of this exception is agreed upon in removing the ruling of fāsiq (open sinner)—that is, through repentance, the label of fāsiq is lifted by consensus. However, there is a difference of opinion regarding the acceptance of his testimony afterward.
According to some scholars, his testimony is permanently rejected. According to others, after sincere repentance, his testimony is accepted.