\nNarrated `Aisha:\n\n
Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he used to draw lots amongst his wives, and \nAllah's Apostle used to take with him the one on whom lot fell. He drew lots amongst us during one of \nthe Ghazwat which he fought. The lot fell on me and so I proceeded with Allah's Apostle after Allah's \norder of veiling (the women) had been revealed. I was carried (on the back of a camel) in my howdah \nand carried down while still in it (when we came to a halt). So we went on till Allah's Apostle had \nfinished from that Ghazwa of his and returned. \nWhen we approached the city of Medina he announced at night that it was time for departure. So \nwhen they announced the news of departure, I got up and went away from the army camps, and after \nfinishing from the call of nature, I came back to my riding animal. I touched my chest to find that my \nnecklace which was made of Zifar beads (i.e. Yemenite beads partly black and partly white) was \nmissing. So I returned to look for my necklace and my search for it detained me. (In the meanwhile) \nthe people who used to carry me on my camel, came and took my howdah and put it on the back of \nmy camel on which I used to ride, as they considered that I was in it. In those days women were light \nin weight for they did not get fat, and flesh did not cover their bodies in abundance as they used to eat \nonly a little food. Those people therefore, disregarded the lightness of the howdah while lifting and \ncarrying it; and at that time I was still a young girl. They made the camel rise and all of them left \n(along with it). I found my necklace after the army had gone. \nThen I came to their camping place to find no call maker of them, nor one who would respond to the \ncall. So I intended to go to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and come \nback to me (in my search). While I was sitting in my resting place, I was overwhelmed by sleep and \nslept. Safwan bin Al-Muattal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army. When he reached my \nplace in the morning, he saw the figure of a sleeping person and he recognized me on seeing me as he \nhad seen me before the order of compulsory veiling (was prescribed). So I woke up when he recited \nIstirja' (i.e. \"Inna li l-lahi wa inna llaihi raji'un\") as soon as he recognized me. I veiled my face with \nmy head cover at once, and by Allah, we did not speak a single word, and I did not hear him saying \nany word besides his Istirja'. He dismounted from his camel and made it kneel down, putting his leg \non its front legs and then I got up and rode on it. Then he set out leading the camel that was carrying \nme till we overtook the army in the extreme heat of midday while they were at a halt (taking a rest). \n(Because of the event) some people brought destruction upon themselves and the one who spread the \nIfk (i.e. slander) more, was `Abdullah bin Ubai Ibn Salul.\" \n(Urwa said, \"The people propagated the slander and talked about it in his (i.e. `Abdullah's) presence \nand he confirmed it and listened to it and asked about it to let it prevail.\" `Urwa also added, \"None \nwas mentioned as members of the slanderous group besides (`Abdullah) except Hassan bin Thabit and \nMistah bin Uthatha and Hamna bint Jahsh along with others about whom I have no knowledge, but \nthey were a group as Allah said. It is said that the one who carried most of the slander was `Abdullah \nbin Ubai bin Salul.\" `Urwa added, \"`Aisha disliked to have Hassan abused in her presence and she \nused to say, 'It was he who said: My father and his (i.e. my father's) father and my honor are all for the \nprotection of Muhammad's honor from you.\"). \n`Aisha added, \"After we returned to Medina, I became ill for a month. The people were propagating \nthe forged statements of the slanderers while I was unaware of anything of all that, but I felt that in my \npresent ailment, I was not receiving the same kindness from Allah's Apostle as I used to receive when \nI got sick. (But now) Allah's Apostle would only come, greet me and say,' How is that (lady)?' and \nleave. That roused my doubts, but I did not discover the evil (i.e. slander) till I went out after my \nconvalescence, I went out with Um Mistah to Al-Manasi' where we used to answer the call of nature \nand we used not to go out (to answer the call of nature) except at night, and that was before we had \nlatrines near our houses. And this habit of our concerning evacuating the bowels, was similar to the \nhabits of the old 'Arabs living in the deserts, for it would be troublesome for us to take latrines near \nour houses. So I and Um Mistah who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin `Abd \nManaf, whose mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin 'Amir and the aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and \nwhose son was Mistah bin Uthatha bin `Abbas bin Al-Muttalib, went out. I and Um Mistah returned to \nmy house after we finished answering the call of nature. Um Mistah stumbled by getting her foot \nentangled in her covering sheet and on that she said, 'Let Mistah be ruined!' I said, 'What a hard word \nyou have said. Do you abuse a man who took part in the battle of Badr?' On that she said, 'O you \nHantah! Didn't you hear what he (i.e. Mistah) said? 'I said, 'What did he say?' \nThen she told me the slander of the people of Ifk. So my ailment was aggravated, and when I reached \nmy home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting me, said, 'How is that (lady)?' I said, 'Will \nyou allow me to go to my parents?' as I wanted to be sure about the news through them. Allah's \nApostle allowed me (and I went to my parents) and asked my mother, 'O mother! What are the people \ntalking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry, for scarcely is there a charming woman who is \nloved by her husband and whose husband has other wives besides herself that they (i.e. women) would \nfind faults with her.' I said, 'Subhan-Allah! (I testify the uniqueness of Allah). Are the people really \ntalking in this way?' I kept on weeping that night till dawn I could neither stop weeping nor sleep then \nin the morning again, I kept on weeping. When the Divine Inspiration was delayed. \nAllah's Apostle called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usama bin Zaid to ask and consult them about divorcing \nme. Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of my innocence, and the respect he preserved in himself for \nme. Usama said, '(O Allah's Apostle!) She is your wife and we do not know anything except good \nabout her.' `Ali bin Abi Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not put you in difficulty and there \nare plenty of women other than she, yet, ask the maid-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that \nAllah's Apostle called Barira (i.e. the maid-servant) and said, 'O Barira! Did you ever see anything \nwhich aroused your suspicion?' Barira said to him, 'By Him Who has sent you with the Truth. I have \nnever seen anything in her (i.e. Aisha) which I would conceal, except that she is a young girl who \nsleeps leaving the dough of her family exposed so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' \nSo, on that day, Allah's Apostle got up on the pulpit and complained about `Abdullah bin Ubai (bin \nSalul) before his companions, saying, 'O you Muslims! Who will relieve me from that man who has \nhurt me with his evil statement about my family? By Allah, I know nothing except good about my \nfamily and they have blamed a man about whom I know nothing except good and he used never to \nenter my home except with me.' Sa`d bin Mu`adh the brother of Banu `Abd Al-Ashhal got up and \nsaid, 'O Allah's Apostle! I will relieve you from him; if he is from the tribe of Al-Aus, then I will chop \nhis head off, and if he is from our brothers, i.e. Al-Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your \norder.' On that, a man from Al-Khazraj got up. Um Hassan, his cousin, was from his branch tribe, and \nhe was Sa`d bin Ubada, chief of Al-Khazraj. Before this incident, he was a pious man, but his love for \nhis tribe goaded him into saying to Sa`d (bin Mu`adh). 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you shall not \nand cannot kill him. If he belonged to your people, you would not wish him to be killed.' \nOn that, Usaid bin Hudair who was the cousin of Sa`d (bin Mu`adh) got up and said to Sa`d bin \n'Ubada, 'By Allah! You are a liar! We will surely kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on the \nbehalf of hypocrites.' On this, the two tribes of Al-Aus and Al Khazraj got so much excited that they \nwere about to fight while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. Allah's Apostle kept on \nquietening them till they became silent and so did he. All that day I kept on weeping with my tears \nnever ceasing, and I could never sleep. \nIn the morning my parents were with me and I wept for two nights and a day with my tears never \nceasing and I could never sleep till I thought that my liver would burst from weeping. So, while my \nparents were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked me to grant her admittance. I \nallowed her to come in, and when she came in, she sat down and started weeping with me. While we \nwere in this state, Allah's Apostle came, greeted us and sat down. He had never sat with me since that \nday of the slander. A month had elapsed and no Divine Inspiration came to him about my case. Allah's \nApostle then recited Tashah-hud and then said, 'Amma Badu, O `Aisha! I have been informed so-andso \nabout you; if you are innocent, then soon Allah will reveal your innocence, and if you have \ncommitted a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him for forgiveness for when a slave confesses his sins \nand asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.' \n(continued...) \n(continuing... 1): -5.462:... ... \nWhen Allah's Apostle finished his speech, my tears ceased flowing completely that I no longer felt a \nsingle drop of tear flowing. I said to my father, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning \nwhat he has said.' My father said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle .' Then I \nsaid to my mother, 'Reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf concerning what he has said.' She said, 'By \nAllah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.' In spite of the fact that I was a young girl and had \na little knowledge of Qur'an, I said, 'By Allah, no doubt I know that you heard this (slanderous) speech \nso that it has been planted in your hearts (i.e. minds) and you have taken it as a truth. Now if I tell you \nthat I am innocent, you will not believe me, and if confess to you about it, and Allah knows that I am \ninnocent, you will surely believe me. By Allah, I find no similitude for me and you except that of \nJoseph's father when he said, '(For me) patience in the most fitting against that which you assert; it is \nAllah (Alone) Whose Help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side and lay on my bed; and \nAllah knew then that I was innocent and hoped that Allah would reveal my innocence. But, by Allah, I \nnever thought that Allah would reveal about my case, Divine Inspiration, that would be recited \n(forever) as I considered myself too unworthy to be talked of by Allah with something of my concern, \nbut I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. But, \nby Allah, before Allah's Apostle left his seat and before any of the household left, the Divine \ninspiration came to Allah's Apostle. \nSo there overtook him the same hard condition which used to overtake him, (when he used to be \ninspired Divinely). The sweat was dropping from his body like pearls though it was a wintry day and \nthat was because of the weighty statement which was being revealed to him. When that state of \nAllah's Apostle was over, he got up smiling, and the first word he said was, 'O `Aisha! Allah has \ndeclared your innocence!' Then my Mother said to me, 'Get up and go to him (i.e. Allah's Apostle). I \nreplied, 'By Allah, I will not go to him, and I praise none but Allah. So Allah revealed the ten Verses:- \n- \"Verily! They who spread the slander Are a gang, among you.............\" (24.11-20) \nAllah revealed those Qur'anic Verses to declare my innocence. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq who used to \ndisburse money for Mistah bin Uthatha because of his relationship to him and his poverty, said, 'By \nAllah, I will never give to Mistah bin Uthatha anything after what he has said about Aisha.' Then \nAllah revealed:-- \n\"And let not those among you who are good and wealthy swear not to give (any sort of help) to their \nkinsmen, those in need, and those who have left their homes for Allah's cause, let them pardon and \nforgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.\" \n(24.22) \nAbu Bakr As-Siddiq said, 'Yes, by Allah, I would like that Allah forgive me.' and went on giving \nMistah the money he used to give him before. He also added, 'By Allah, I will never deprive him of it \nat all.' \nAisha further said:.\" Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e. his wife) about my case. He \nsaid to Zainab, 'What do you know and what did you see?\" She replied, \"O Allah's Apostle! I refrain \nfrom claiming falsely that I have heard or seen anything. By Allah, I know nothing except good (about \n`Aisha).' From amongst the wives of the Prophet Zainab was my peer (in beauty and in the love she \nreceived from the Prophet) but Allah saved her from that evil because of her piety. Her sister Hamna, \nstarted struggling on her behalf and she was destroyed along with those who were destroyed. The man \nwho was blamed said, 'Subhan-Allah! By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, I have never uncovered the \ncover (i.e. veil) of any female.' Later on the man was martyred in Allah's Cause.\"","english_grade":"Sahih","last_updated":null,"xrefs":""}