According to Zemahşerî, the penalty of the conditional clause is the combination of three sentences (flogging, rejection of testimony, the ruling of wickedness); that is, these three punishments are applied together to the person who commits false accusation. The exception ('إلا الذين تابوا') is directed toward all three sentences, and the person who repents is neither flogged, nor their testimony rejected, nor considered wicked. He also transmits the difference of opinion between Shâfiî and Abû Hanîfa regarding whether the exception is in the nominative or genitive case and the effect of repentance on the acceptance of testimony.

والذي يقتضيه ظاهر الآية ونظمها أن تكون الجمل الثلاث بمجموعهن جزاء الشرط ، كأنه قيل : ومن قذف المحصنات فاجلدوهم وردوا شهادتهم وفسقوهم أي : فاجمعوا لهم الجلد والرد والتفسيق ، إلا الذين تابوا عن القذف وأصلحوا فإن الله يغفر لهم فينقلبون غير مجلودين ولا مردودين ولا مفسقين

According to this exegete, the verse shows that the fact that Allah is Pardoner and Merciful does not make the acceptance of repentance rationally necessary; if it were necessary, there would be no meaning of being pardoner and merciful in this acceptance. Furthermore, this verse is evidence that repentance from every sin is acceptable; the view of those who say that repentance for intentional murder will not be accepted is erroneous, because associating partners with Allah is graver than killing, and since Allah accepts the repentance of the disbeliever, it is even more fitting that He accepts the repentance of the murderer.

دلت الآية على أن التوبة من كل ذنب مقبولة ، وقول من قال : التوبة عن القتل العمد غير مقبولة خطأ ، لأن الشرك أشد من القتل ، فإذا قبل الله توبة الكافر فقبول توبة القاتل أولى

Kurtubî discusses in the context of verses 4-6 of Light which of the three rulings concerning the person who commits false accusation (the penalty of flogging, rejection of testimony, wickedness) the exception particle affects. Scholars have disagreed on whether the rejection of testimony falls within the scope of the exception: According to Shurayh, Ibrâhîm al-Nahâ'î, al-Hasan al-Basrî, al-Sufrî and Abû Hanîfa, the exception does not apply to the rejection of testimony and the testimony of the false accuser is never accepted even if they repent; according to the majority, the exception applies to the rejection of testimony as well, and the testimony of the person who repents is accepted absolutely before or after the punishment. He also transmits differences of opinion among schools regarding the form of repentance (whether it is self-denial or merely improving one's condition) and whether the exception particle refers to all of the clauses being conjoined or only to the nearest element.

فقال شريح القاضي وإبراهيم النخعي والحسن البصري وسفيان الثوري وأبو حنيفة : لا يعمل الاستثناء في رد شهادته وإنما يزول فسقه عند الله تعالى وأما شهادة القاذف فلا تقبل ألبتة ولو تاب وأكذب نفسه ولا بحال من الأحوال وقال الجمهور : الاستثناء عامل في رد الشهادة فإذا تاب القاذف قبلت شهادته

According to Ibn Kesîr, this group of verses conveys that the sins of those who abandon fighting in the Sacred Sanctuary and turn toward Islam and repentance will be pardoned by Allah, and that even if they have killed Muslims, Allah's forgiveness of those who repent is not difficult for Him. Subsequently, Allah commanded fighting against the disbelievers regarding whom fault had previously been incurred because of their oaths. The text also contains reports concerning the incident of al-Hârith b. Suwayd entering Islam and then reverting to disbelief, and the rejection of the practices that the polytheists named and made lawful or unlawful according to their own judgment (such as bahîra, sâiba, wasîla, hâm).

أي فإن تركوا القتال في الحرم وأنابوا إلى الإسلام والتوبة فإن الله يغفر ذنوبهم ولو كانوا قد قتلوا المسلمين في حرم الله فإنه تعالى لا يتعاظمه ذنب أن يغفره لمن تاب منه إليه

According to Beydâwî, the expression 'if they desist' in verse 192 refers to refraining from fighting and disbelief, and Allah's pardon covers past sins. The command to fight in verse 193 continues until the tribulation of associating partners with Allah is eliminated and the religion becomes entirely Allah's, with no share for Satan. The expression 'there is enmity only toward the wrongdoers' conveys that those who desist are not to be attacked, otherwise the attacker themselves would fall into the position of being wrongdoers.

فلا عدوان إلا على الظالمين أي فلا تعتدوا على المنتهين إذ لا يحسن أن يظلم إلا من ظلم، فوضع العلة موضع الحكم. وسمي جزاء الظلم باسمه للمشاكلة

According to this exegete, the text addresses the matter that those who repent within the scope of false accusation regarding fornication between women and men will be pardoned and the treatment applied to them will change after repentance; furthermore, it is stated that the verse was primarily revealed concerning 'Â'isha but the ruling applies generally to everyone possessing the attribute that Allah qualified. In this context, the attributes 'Pardoner' and 'Merciful' are explained in the sense of concealing the sin and not punishing after repentance.

والحكم بها عام في كل من كان بالصفة التي وصفه الله بها فيها