274
| Narrated
Aisha: (The wife of the Prophet) Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to
go on a journey, he used to draw lots among his wives and would take
with him the one on whom the lot had fallen. Once he drew lots when he
wanted to carry out a Ghazwa, and the lot came upon me. So I proceeded
with Allah's Apostle after Allah's order of veiling (the women) had been
revealed and thus I was carried in my howdah (on a camel) and
dismounted while still in it. We carried on our journey, and when
Allah's Apostle had finished his Ghazwa and returned and we approached
Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered to proceed at night. When the army was
ordered to resume the homeward journey, I got up and walked on till I
left the army (camp) behind. When I had answered the call of nature, I
went towards my howdah, but behold ! A necklace of mine made of Jaz
Azfar (a kind of black bead) was broken and I looked for it and my
search for it detained me. The group of people who used to carry me,
came and carried my howdah on to the back of my camel on which I was
riding, considering that I was therein. At that time women were light in
weight and were not fleshy for they used to eat little (food), so those
people did not feel the lightness of the howdah while raising it up,
and I was still a young lady. They drove away the camel and proceeded.
Then I found my necklace after the army had gone. I came to their camp
but found nobody therein so I went to the place where I used to stay,
thinking that they would miss me and come back in my search. While I was
sitting at my place, I felt sleepy and slept. Safwan bin Al-Mu'attil
As-Sulami Adh-Dhakw-ani was behind the army. He had started in the last
part of the night and reached my stationing place in the morning and saw
the figure of a sleeping person. He came to me and recognized me on
seeing me for he used to see me before veiling. I got up because of his
saying: "Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun," which he uttered on
recognizing me. I covered my face with my garment, and by Allah, he did
not say to me a single word except, "Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi
rajiun," till he made his she-camel kneel down whereupon he trod on its
forelegs and I mounted it. Then Safwan set out, leading the she-camel
that was carrying me, till we met the army while they were resting
during the hot midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell in
destruction, and the leader of the Ifk (forged statement) was 'Abdullah
bin Ubai bin Salul. After this we arrived at Medina and I became ill for
one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the
people of the Ifk, and I was not aware of anything thereof. But what
aroused my doubt while I was sick, was that I was no longer receiving
from Allah's Apostle the same kindness as I used to receive when I fell
sick. Allah's Apostle would enter upon me, say a greeting and add, "How
is that (lady)?" and then depart. That aroused my suspicion but I was
not aware of the propagated evil till I recovered from my ailment. I
went out with Um Mistah to answer the call of nature towards Al-Manasi,
the place where we used to relieve ourselves, and used not to go out for
this purpose except from night to night, and that was before we had
lavatories close to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to
the habit of the old 'Arabs (in the deserts or in the tents) concerning
the evacuation of the bowels, for we considered it troublesome and
harmful to take lavatories in the houses. So I went out with Um Mistah
who was the daughter of Abi Ruhm bin Abd Manaf, and her mother was
daughter of Sakhr bin Amir who was the aunt of Abi Bakr As-Siddiq, and
her son was Mistah bin Uthatha. When we had finished our affair, Um
Mistah and I came back towards my house. Um Mistah stumbled over her
robe whereupon she said, "Let Mistah be ruined ! " I said to her, "What a
bad word you have said! Do you abuse a man who has taken part in the
Battle of Badr?' She said, "O you there! Didn't you hear what he has
said?" I said, "And what did he say?" She then told me the statement of
the people of the Ifk (forged statement) which added to my ailment. When
I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting, he
said, "How is that (lady)?" I said, "Will you allow me to go to my
parents?" At that time I intended to be sure of the news through them.
Allah's Apostle allowed me and I went to my parents and asked my mother,
"O my mother! What are the people talking about?" My mother said, "O my
daughter! Take it easy, for by Allah, there is no charming lady who is
loved by her husband who has other wives as well, but that those wives
would find fault with her." I said, "Subhan Allah! Did the people really
talk about that?" That night I kept on weeping the whole night till the
morning. My tears never stopped, nor did I sleep, and morning broke
while I was still weeping, Allah's Apostle called 'Ali bin Abi Talib and
Usama bin Zaid when the Divine Inspiration delayed, in order to consult
them as to the idea of divorcing his wife. Usama bin Zaid told Allah's
Apostle of what he knew about the innocence of his wife and of his
affection he kept for her. He said, "O Allah's Apostle! She is your
wife, and we do not know anything about her except good." But 'Ali bin
Abi Talib said, "O Allah's Apostle! Allah does not impose restrictions
on you; and there are plenty of women other than her. If you however,
ask (her) slave girl, she will tell you the truth." 'Aisha added: So
Allah's Apostle called for Barira and said, "O Barira! Did you ever see
anything which might have aroused your suspicion? (as regards Aisha).
Barira said, "By Allah Who has sent you with the truth, I have never
seen anything regarding Aisha which I would blame her for except that
she is a girl of immature age who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough
of her family unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it."
So Allah's Apostle got up (and addressed) the people an asked for
somebody who would take revenge on 'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul then.
Allah's Apostle, while on the pulpit, said, "O Muslims! Who will help me
against a man who has hurt me by slandering my family? By Allah, I know
nothing except good about my family, and people have blamed a man of
whom I know nothing except good, and he never used to visit my family
except with me," Sad bin Muadh Al-Ansari got up and said, "O Allah's
Apostle! By Allah, I will relieve you from him. If he be from the tribe
of (Bani) Al-Aus, then I will chop his head off; and if he be from our
brethren, the Khazraj, then you give us your order and we will obey it."
On that, Sad bin 'Ubada got up, and he was the chief of the Khazraj,
and before this incident he had been a pious man but he was incited by
his zeal for his tribe. He said to Sad (bin Muadh), "By Allah the
Eternal, you have told a lie! You shall not kill him and you will never
be able to kill him!" On that, Usaid bin Hudair, the cousin of Sad (bin
Muadh) got up and said to Sad bin 'Ubada, "You are a liar! By Allah the
Eternal, we will surely kill him; and you are a hypocrite defending the
hypocrites!" So the two tribes of Al-Aus and Al-Khazraj got excited till
they were on the point of fighting with each other while Allah's
Apostle was standing on the pulpit. Allah's Apostle continued quietening
them till they became silent whereupon he became silent too. On that
day I kept on weeping so much that neither did my tears stop, nor could I
sleep. In the morning my parents were with me, and I had wept for two
nights and a day without sleeping and with incessant tears till they
thought that my liver would burst with weeping. While they were with me
and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked permission to see me. I
admitted her and she sat and started weeping with me. While I was in
that state, Allah's Apostle came to us, greeted, and sat down,. He had
never sat with me since the day what was said, was said. He had stayed a
month without receiving any Divine Inspiration concerning my case.
Allah's Apostle recited the Tashahhud after he had sat down, and then
said, "Thereafter, O 'Aisha! I have been informed such and-such a thing
about you; and if you are innocent, Allah will reveal your innocence,
and if you have committed a sin, then ask for Allah's forgiveness and
repent to Him, for when a slave confesses his sin and then repents to
Allah, Allah accepts his repentance." When Allah's Apostle had finished
his speech, my tears ceased completely so that I no longer felt even a
drop thereof. Then I said to my father, "Reply to Allah's Apostle on my
behalf as to what he said." He said, "By Allah, I do not know what to
say to Allah's Apostle." Then I said to my mother, "Reply to Allah's
Apostle." She said, "I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle."
Still a young girl as I was and though I had little knowledge of Quran, I
said, "By Allah, I know that you heard this story (of the Ifk) so much
so that it has been planted in your minds and you have believed it. So
now, if I tell you that I am innocent, and Allah knows that I am
innocent, you will not believe me; and if I confess something, and Allah
knows that I am innocent of it, you will believe me. By Allah, I cannot
find of you an example except that of Joseph's father: "So (for me)
patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah
(Alone) Whose help can be sought. Then I turned away and lay on my bed,
and at that time I knew that I was innocent and that Allah would reveal
my innocence. But by Allah, I never thought that Allah would sent down
about my affair, Divine Inspiration that would be recited (forever), as I
considered myself too unworthy to be talked of by Allah with something
that was to be recited: but I hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a
vision in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah's
Apostle had not left his seat and nobody had left the house when the
Divine Inspiration came to Allah's Apostle . So there overtook him the
same hard condition which used to overtake him (when he was Divinely
Inspired) so that the drops of his sweat were running down, like pearls,
though it was a (cold) winter day, and that was because of the
heaviness of the Statement which was revealed to him. When that state of
Allah's Apostle was over, and he was smiling when he was relieved, the
first word he said was, "Aisha, Allah has declared your innocence." My
mother said to me, "Get up and go to him." I said, "By Allah, I will not
go to him and I will not thank anybody but Allah." So Allah revealed:
"Verily! They who spread the Slander are a gang among you. Think it
not...." (24.11-20). When Allah revealed this to confirm my innocence,
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha because of
the latter's kinship to him and his poverty, said, "By Allah, I will
never provide for Mistah anything after what he has said about Aisha".
So Allah revealed: "Let not those among you who are good and are wealthy
swear not to give (help) to their kinsmen, those in need, and those who
have left their homes for Allah's Cause. Let them Pardon and forgive
(i.e. do not punish them). Do you not love that should forgive you?
Verily Allah is Oft-forgiving. Most Merciful." (24.22) Abu Bakr said,
"Yes, by Allah, I wish that Allah should forgive me." So he resumed
giving Mistah the aid he used to give him before and said, "By Allah, I
will never withold it from him at all." Aisha further said: Allah's
Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh about my case. He said, "O Zainab!
What have you seen?" She replied, "O Allah's Apostle! I protect my
hearing and my sight (by refraining from telling lies). I know nothing
but good (about Aisha)." Of all the wives of Allah's Apostle, it was
Zainab who aspired to receive from him the same favor as I used to
receive, yet, Allah saved her (from telling lies) because of her piety.
But her sister, Hamna, kept on fighting on her behalf so she was
destroyed as were those who invented and spread the slander.
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