The Pure and the Impure in Marital Life: A Critical Study in Light of Verse 26 of Sūrah al-Nūr

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Assistant Professor Farabi Complex, University of Tehran

10.22034/dqm.2026.16811.1244

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: This study critically examines the intended meaning of the Qur'anic verse: "Vicious women are for vicious men, and vicious men for vicious women. Good women are for good men, and good men for good women" (Qur'an 24:26), in light of the divergent interpretations advanced by the Companions, the Successors (Tābiʿūn), and Qur'anic exegetes. Their opinions differ regarding the referents of the terms al-Khabīthāt (the impure) and al-Ṭayyibāt (the pure). One group interprets them as referring to speech, other limits them to evil and righteous deeds, while a third group understands them to denote women and men. This latter interpretation, transmitted from Imams Muḥammad al-Bāqir and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon them), relates the verse to marital life and the selection of spouses.
Research Methodology: The study employs a critical-analytical approach by surveying the exegetical opinions transmitted from the Companions, the Successors (Tābiʿūn), and Qur'anic commentators, critically examining their evidential bases, and comparing them with the narrations transmitted from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) in order to identify the most cogent interpretation of the verse within its Qur'anic context.
Findings: The study demonstrates that the exegetical opinions concerning the verse may be classified into three principal interpretive approaches: interpreting al-Khabīth (the impure) and al-Ṭayyib (the pure) as speech, as deeds, or as persons—namely, women and men. The study concludes in favor of the third interpretation, which is supported by the narrations transmitted from Imams Muḥammad al-Bāqir and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon them). According to this interpretation, the verse concerns the suitability of righteous men for righteous women and impure men for impure women in marital life. It is further connected with the meaning of the verse: "The fornicator will not marry anyone but a fornicatress or an idolatress" (Qur'an 24:3), thereby affirming the innocence of the righteous from impurity and its adherents, while highlighting the ethical and legislative dimensions of the verse in regulating marital relationships.

Keywords

References

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Contemporary Quranic Studies
Volume 5, Issue 15
June 2026
Pages 111-138

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