namely, people of commendable bearing who are not known for evil; what occurred from them was only an inadvertent slip.
— “their slips”: the plural of ʿathrah, meaning a lapse or misstep, as appears in some narrations.
Imām al-Shāfiʿī said: The persons of dignified standing whose slips are to be overlooked are those who are not reputed for wrongdoing; when one of them stumbles, it is but a single lapse. Al-Māwardī added: A ʿathrah is the first sin in which he has fallen.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. The address is directed to rulers and the Muslim authorities who manage the community’s affairs, enforce the prescribed punishments, and discipline people for deviant conduct.
2. The wise Lawgiver instructs them to be lenient and not hold to account those of noble bearing, wholesome character, and upright behavior—people from whom wrongdoing is rare and whose offences are few. He counsels that when such individuals stumble once or fall into a lapse, they should be pardoned, and their earlier good record and praiseworthy conduct should be remembered.
3. This overlooking and leniency, however, apply only to discretionary punishments (taʿzīrāt) whose execution is left to the judgment of the sharʿī judge. They do not apply to the fixed punishments set by Allah, for the ḥudūd of Allah must never be suspended; they are to be carried out upon everyone, regardless of his condition or rank.