وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿۱۰﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَكُمْ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿۱۱﴾ لَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُبِينٌ ﴿۱۲﴾

﴾10﴿ Wa law laa fadlul laahi 'alaikum wa rahmatuhoo wa annal laaha Tawwaabun Hakeem
﴾11﴿ Innal lazeena jaaa'oo bilifki 'usbatum minkum; laa tahsaboohu sharral lakum bal huwa khairul lakum; likul limri'im minhum mak tasaba minal-ism; wallazee tawallaa kibrahoo minhum lahoo 'azaabun 'azeem
﴾12﴿ Law laaa iz sami'tumoohu zannal mu'minoona walmu'minaatu bi anfusihim khairanw wa qaaloo haazaaa ifkum mubeen

﴾10﴿ And if it were not for the grace of Allah, the Most High, upon you and His mercy, and that Allah is indeed the Accepting of Repentance, the Wise
﴾11﴿ Indeed, those who brought forth the slander (against Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her) are a group among you. Do not think it is bad for you; rather, it is good for you. Every one of them will have what they earned of sin, and the one who took upon himself the greater portion of it—for him is a great punishment
﴾12﴿ Why was it not that, when you heard it, the believing men and believing women thought well of one another and said, This is an obvious falsehood

[10] In this verse, there is encouragement to act upon the previous rulings and a mention of Allah’s blessing. The meaning of fadl (grace) is protection from indecent actions, as referred to in the first two rulings. The meaning of rahmah (mercy) is protection from indecent speech, as referred to in the last two rulings, which include the mention of legal punishments and li‘ān.
The consequence of "lawlā" (if not for) is omitted, and its meaning is: "you would certainly have been afflicted with indecency"—(لَابْتُلِيتُمْ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ).
[11] From this verse until verse (27) is the second section. In it, there are warnings for the hypocrites who accuse the believers, along with etiquettes for the believers when a believer is accused, and descriptions of the hypocrites with warnings of the Hereafter. It also includes encouragements for the believers along with glad tidings.
In verse (11), there is a warning for the hypocrites who falsely accused Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Only three believers were involved in this incident: Hassan ibn Thabit, Mistah ibn Uthathah, and Hamnah bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with them), and the rest were hypocrites.
"(عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ)"—‘Usbah refers to a group of three to ten people. "Minkum" is said because the hypocrites counted themselves among the believers.
"(لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ)"—this is consolation for the believers, because this incident led to the revelation of Surah An-Nur, which is a great blessing. Also, because through bearing false accusations, sins are forgiven and ranks are elevated.
This indicates that the trials that befall the friends of Allah carry goodness for them.
"(وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ)"—this refers to Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, who initiated the slander and spread it. This is reported in the narration of Imam Bukhari, and it is the correct view.
As for the claim that Hassan ibn Thabit was responsible, that opinion is not correct—it is simply the personal judgment of a narrator.
[12] In this verse, the first etiquette for the believers is mentioned regarding the moment when a false accusation is made against a believer. That is, it is not appropriate for believers to believe the accusers; rather, they should think well and have a good opinion, because the apparent condition of a believer is chastity and purity.