Surah An-Noor: Verse 11 - إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة... - English

Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not to be an evil to you; On the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned, and to him who took on himself the lead among them, will be a penalty grievous. (11)

Interconnection of verses

As has been mentioned earlier, the major part of Surah An-Nur is in connection with those injunctions which are related with protection and security of chastity and continence. Diametrically to that, any attempt to debase the chastity and honour would be in violation of the injunction, for which the punishment in the world and the torment in the Hereafter are enjoined. In this connection, first the maximum punishment of adultery (حد زنا), then the punishment for false accusation (حد قذف) and after that the process of li'an have already been described. False accusation of adultery against a chaste woman, without the support of four eyewitnesses, is held to be a great sin, and for such a person the punishment of eighty stripes is prescribed. This injunction is in regard to common chaste Muslim women. But the case of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ was quite different and grave, when the hypocrites fabricated a false slander against her in 6th Hijra, and some Muslims also indulged in mentioning it. Indeed it was a much serious and grave situation than for an ordinary chaste Muslim woman, hence Allah Ta’ ala revealed ten verses at that point exonerating her from the accusation and to project her purity and chastity. These verses announce the exoneration of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ on one hand and a warning of severe punishment to all those who were involved in the slander in any way. This incident of imputation is called the episode of ifk (false imputation) in the Qur'an and Hadith. The word Ifk means worst type of lie, imputation or slander. In order to understand the explanation of these verses it is necessary to know the background of the incident of Ifk. Therefore, it will be in order to give a brief account of this episode to begin with.

The incident of Ifk and the slander

This incident has been narrated with extra ordinary details in the Sahihs and other books of Hadith. However its brief version is as follows: When the Holy Prophet ﷺ went for the battle (بنی المصطلق ) of Bani Mustaliq, also known as battle (مُریسیع) of Muraisi', in the 6th Hijra, Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، amongst the mothers of believers, was also accompanying him. The common practice was that first she would sit in her litter and then it was placed on the back of the camel. It was because by that time the injunction in regard to hijab had been revealed. After the battle was over and the caravan was returning to Madinah it stopped for camping to spend the night. Towards the end of the night an announcement was made to the effect that the caravan would soon be departing, so that people should get ready after completing the necessities. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ felt the call of nature and went out to ease herself. There the string of her necklace was broken and it fell down. It took her some time to locate it, so she got a little late. By the time she returned to the camp, the caravan had departed. As for her camel, her litter was mounted on its back without realizing that she was not sitting in it. This happened because she was so young and frail at that time that her absence from the litter was not noticed; and also because the litter was covered. On her return to the camp when she did not find the caravan there, she did not panic nor ran helter-skelter to locate it. Instead, she acted very prudently and sat down at the camping place after wrapping herself. She did this knowing the Holy Prophet ﷺ very well that when he will not find her in her litter (ھودج) he will send out men to locate her at the camping place, and if she were gone some other place to locate them, it will only complicate things for the searching party. So, it was best to wait for them there, at the camp. Since it was still dark and she was tired, she fell asleep.

On the other hand, it so happened that Sayyidna Safwan Ibn Mu` attal ؓ ، whom the Holy Prophet ﷺ had assigned the duty to stay behind the caravan and pick up things if forgotten by anyone in a hurry, reached the camp at dawn. He saw someone sleeping. So he went there and recognized Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ whom he had seen before the injunction of hijab was revealed. Seeing her there like that, he was extremely dismayed and uttered إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ. On hearing his voice she was awakened, and covered her face. Then Sayyidna Safwan ؓ brought his camel near her and made it sit down. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ sat on the camel's back and rode on, while he was holding the string of the camel and walking in front. ` Abdullah Ibn Ubbayy was a very wicked hypocrite and enemy of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He got hold of this news and the wretched man fabricated shameless imputation against her. Unfortunately, some naive Muslims also narrated the gossip on hearsay; for instance Sayyidna Hassan and Mistah ؓ among the males and Sayyidah Hamnah ؓ from the females. (Tafsir Ad-Durr-al-Manthur has reported this version with reference to Ibn Marduwaih on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ -۔ اعانہ ای عبداللہ ابن اُبّی حسان و مسطح و حمنہ)

When this slander of the hypocrite was publicized, the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself was also very hurt. As for Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، it was but obvious to get hurt extremely. Even ordinary Muslims were also extremely pained on the spread of this totally false and fabricated slander. This went on for about a month, but at last Allah Ta’ ala revealed these verses to exonerate her and condemn those who were involved in its fabrication or spread, in any way. The commentary on these verses will follow soon.

In accordance with the Qur'anic injunction, which has been detailed above under the heading of punishment for false accusation (حدّ القذف) those who were involved in the spread of false slander were asked to produce the evidence in support of their accusation. Since that was a totally unfounded accusation, they could not produce any evidence whatsoever. As a consequence, the Holy Prophet ﷺ awarded the punishment of false accusation (حدّ القذف) to them, and each one of them was flogged with eighty stripes. Bazzar and Ibn Marduwaih have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ awarded the punishment to three Muslims, namely, Mistah, Hamnah and Hassan ؓ ، while Tabarani has reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had awarded double the punishment of false accusation to ` Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, the hypocrite, who had fabricated this slander. After that the Muslims repented, but the hypocrites remained as they were. (Bayan ul Qur’ an)

Commentary

Unique proficiency of Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ ، and the remaining part of the incident of Ifk

The enemies of the Holy Prophet ﷺ did their best to harm him, and did everything they could possibly think to afflict him. Amongst all the afflictions which were perpetrated by the infidels, perhaps the most severe and emotionally torturous was to pass slander on the most exalted, proficient, learned, and respected mother of the believers amongst all his pure wives. With the contemptible false slander the respected name of Sayyidna Safwan Ibn Mu'attal ؓ was also maligned by the hypocrite ` Abdulalh Ibn Ubayy. The hypocrites gave the slander different colours and then spread it. The most distressful thing in this episode was that some simple Muslims were carried away by the unfortunate slander and started narrating it as well. The unfounded slander would have been exposed by the truth in a few days time, but for compensating the emotional torture inflicted on Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ and on the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself by it and for exonerating her, Allah Ta’ ala did not rest just at hinting at the episode in a revelation, but revealed almost two ruku's for her exoneration. Not only that, but all those who had fabricated this slander, and those who had participated in narrating it, were warned to face the torment in this world and in the Hereafter. Perhaps never such warnings were revealed on any occasion.

In fact this incident of Ifk has brought into the open and highlighted the excellence of Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ superior wisdom and intelligence along with her chastity and sanctity. That is why in the very first of the above quoted verses Allah Ta’ ala has asked not to consider this incident as bad for her, rather it was a blessing. What could be a greater blessing than this, that Allah Ta’ ala has confirmed her purity in no less than ten verses, which will be recited until the Dooms Day. Sayyidah 'A'ishah ؓ had herself said that she was quite confident that Allah Ta’ ala would exonerate her and clarify her position through a Wahy (message to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ), but did not consider herself to be so fortunate that Qura'nic verses would be revealed referring to her person, which will be recited forever. At this point it will help the readers to know some details about the incident for understanding the verses. So, they are briefly narrated here:

On return from that journey Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ got involved in her household affairs, and was not the least aware of the rumor that was circulated by the hypocrites about her. Sahih of Bukhari has narrated on the authority of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ herself that after the return from the journey she fell slightly sick, the main cause of which was that she did not notice the favour and grace from the Holy Prophet ﷺ towards her, which was his norm. Instead, she noticed during that period that when he would come home, he would only inquire about her health after the salutation and go back. Since she did not know at all anything about the rumor that was being circulated about her, hence she could not understand the cause of his attitude towards her, but took the grief to heart, which started telling on her health. One day she went out in the open to ease herself, as there used to be no latrines in the houses in those days. Because she was not keeping well she took along Mistah's mother with her. When they were returning home after she had eased herself, the foot of Mistah's mother got entangled in her sheet and she fell down. As she fell down she uttered the phrase تَعِسَ مِسطَح . This phrase is normally used by Arabs while cursing someone. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ was taken aback on hearing this phrase from Mistah's mother for her own son , and said to her that it was very bad that she was cursing her own son, who was such a gentleman and who had participated in the battle of Badr. On that Mistah's mother asked her ` My dear girl, don't you know, this son of mine, what has he been saying around?' Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ inquired as to what had he been saying around. Then Mistah's mother told her the whole story of Ifk fabricated by the people, and how her son was involved in its spreading. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to say that on hearing this her sickness was doubled. When she returned home and the Holy Prophet ﷺ came and inquired about her health after salutation as usual, she asked his permission whether she could go to her parent's house. He consented to her going to their house. The idea was to take them in confidence and have consultation. So she consulted her mother, who consoled her and said that there were people who were jealous of women like her, and spread rumors like that. So, she need not worry about it. Things would get alright on their own. On that she retorted ` Allah is Pure / Subhan Allah! People have been talking about that. How can I be patient?' Then the whole night she cried, and did not sleep a wink. On the other hand the Holy Prophet ﷺ was extremely grieved on the spread of this false story, more so, because he did not receive any revelation on the incident during that period. Therefore, he called Sayyidna ` Ali and Usamah Ibn Zaid ؓ ، who were both members of his household, and consulted them as to what should he do under the circumstances. Sayyidna Usamah Ibn Zaid said very emphatically that on the basis of his information he had no misgivings about Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing, which could point toward any mistrust. Hence he need not pay any heed to such rumors. Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ advised him (in order to bring him out of his grief and anxiety) that Allah Ta’ ala had not put any restriction on him, hence if he had any unpleasant feelings about Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، because of the rumors, then there are many other women. Moreover he suggested another alternative to remove his unpleasant feelings, and advised him to make inquiries about her from Barirah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا who was the slave girl working for Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ . Hence, the Holy Prophet ﷺ made inquiries from Barirah ؓ ، who submitted that she did not see anything unbecoming in Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ except that sometimes, because of her young age, she would leave the dough in the open and go to sleep, and the goat would eat up the dough. (After this the Hadith narrates the address of the Holy Prophet ﷺ from the rostrum in great detail in which he had complained about those who had fabricated the accusation and those who had spread the slander. A brief account of what happened next is as follows).

Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to say "I cried the whole day and the second night also continuously. My parents had also come to me, as they feared that I would break down with grief. While my parents were sitting with me the Holy Prophet ﷺ came in and sat down alongside me. He had not sit with me before ever since this incident had started. Then he recited the khutbah of shahadah and said ` 0, ` A'ishah, I have received this information about you. If you are free from blame, then Allah will definitely exonerate you (that is express exoneration through revelation), but if you have slipped, then beg for Allah's pardon with repentance, because when the servant invokes His mercy after admitting his sin then Allah Ta’ ala accepts his repentance'. After the Holy Prophet ﷺ had completed his discourse, my tears dried up completely. There was not a drop in my eyes. I requested my father, Abu Bakr ؓ ، to give an answer to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but he excused himself saying what could he say. Then I asked my mother to give an answer, and she too excused herself saying as to what could she say. Then per force I had to speak. I was only a young girl, and by then had not learnt much even the Qur'an". In such a perplexing condition of grief and distress that she was in, even extremely learned and intelligent persons would have found it very difficult to express themselves in a balanced manner, but what Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ said at that time is a piece of highly intellectual and scholarly discourse. Her wordings are reproduced verbatim below:

و اللہ لقد عرفت لقد سمعتم ھٰذا الحدیث حتّٰی استقرَّ فی انفسکم وصدقتم بہ، ولیٔن قلت لکم : انّی بریٔۃ، واللہ یعلم انّی بریٔۃ، لا تصدّقونی ولیٔن اعترفت لکم بامر، واللہ یعلم انی منہ بریٔۃ، لتصدقونی ، واللہ لا اجد لی ولکم مثلا الا کما قال ابو یوسف : فصبر جمیل واللہ المستعان علی ما تصفون

"By God, I fully realize that you listened to this talk and kept on listening until it made inroads into your heart, and you have confirmed this (by your actions). Now if I say that I am free from this blame, as Allah knows well that I am in reality, then you will not verify my statement. And if I make admission of the accusation, of which Allah knows I am free, then you will agree with my admission. Wallah, now I do not see any example on the issue between you and me, except the one which the father of Yusuf (علیہ السلام), said after hearing the wrong statement of his sons that ` So patience is best. And it is Allah whose help is sought against what you describe."

Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ 'related further that "After having said so I went away and lied down on my bed. I was confident that since I was free from the blame in reality, Allah Ta’ ala would surely exonerate me by sending down a revelation. But I did not have the slightest idea or expectation that in my case Qur'anic verses will be revealed, which will be recited forever. It was because I considered my position to be much lower than that. All I had expected was that probably my exoneration will be revealed to him in his dream". Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to narrate that "the Holy Prophet ﷺ had not got up from that company yet, nor anyone from the household had got up, when he was overtaken by the condition which he used to experience at the time of revelation of the Qur'an. In this condition he used to perspire profusely on the forehead. When this condition was over, then the Holy Prophet ﷺ got up smiling, and the very first thing that he said was ابشری یا عایٔشہ اما اللہ فقد ابرأکِ that is "0 ` A'ishah, listen the good tiding . As for Allah Ta’ ala, He has exonerated you". Then my mother said to me "Get up and go to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . I replied, "I do not feel obliged to anyone in this case, except Allah, nor would I get up. I am thankful to my Lord, and it is He who has exonerated me".

Few distinctions of Sayyidah Siddiqah ؓ

While explaining these verses Imam Baghawi (رح) has said that there were some distinctions of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ which no woman other than her could get, and Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، also used to relate them with a sense of pride (as honorable gift). First, that before the marriage with the Holy Prophet ﷺ Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) had brought to him her image wrapped in a silk cloth, and said to him ` she is your wife', (As reported by At-Tirmidhi - from ` A'ishah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا) while some other versions say that Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) had brought this image in his palm.

Second, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ did not marry any maiden girl other than her.

Third, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ died in her lap.

Fourth, that he was buried in her house.

Fifth, that he ﷺ had received revelation even at that time also when he used to be with Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ under the same quilt. None other wives was granted this distinction ever.

Sixth, that her ؓ ، exoneration was sent down from the Heaven.

Seventh, that she was the daughter of the caliph of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and was herself a Siddiqah ؓ and was among those whom Allah Ta’ ala had promised forgiveness and bountiful sustenance even during their lifetime. (Mazhari)

After seeing Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ scholarly research, understanding of jurisprudence and eloquent expression, Sayyidna Musa Ibn Talhah ؓ commented that he had never come across a person more eloquent than her. (Tirmidhi)

Tafsir al-Qurtubi has related that when Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was falsely accused, Allah Ta’ ala exonerated him through the evidence of a baby by granting him speech, and when Sayyidah Maryam (علیہا السلام) was falsely accused, Allah Ta’ ala exonerated her through the evidence of her son, ` Isa (علیہ السلام) but when false accusation was leveled against Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، then Allah Ta’ ala sent down ten verses of the Holy Qur'an to declare her exoneration, which has further enhanced her respect and stature.

Now the specific sentences of these verses will be discussed and elaborated:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ

Those who have come up with the false imputation are a gang among you. 24:11.

Literal meaning of Ifk (اِفک) is to turn over, reverse or to change. The worst type of lie which turns the truth to falsehood and the false as truth, and labels the pious and God fearing as sinner, and the sinner as pious and God fearing, also falls under the connotation of Ifk. ` Usbah عُصبَہ means a group of ten to forty persons, but is also used for less or more persons. The word مِنکُم (among you) in the verse refers to Muslims. Although the actual fabricator of the slander was ` Abdullah Ibn 'Ubayy, who was a hypocrite and not a Muslim, but since the hypocrites used to claim themselves as Muslims, he too has been included within the fold of (مِنکُم). Among the Muslims two men and one woman got involved in the spread of slander, who were awarded the punishment of false accusation by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، after the revelation of these verses. But all Muslims felt penitence and their repentance was accepted by Allah Ta’ ala. Among them were Sayyidna Hassan and Mistah ؓ ، who had both participated in the battle of Badr, and for whom Allah Ta’ ala has declared forgiveness in the Qur'an. For this very reason Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ used to dislike if anyone would speak ill of Sayyidna Hassan ؓ before her, although he was one of those two men who were punished for false accusation. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ used to say that Hassan ؓ was the one who had defended the Holy Prophet ﷺ in his poetry against the infidels. Hence, no one should speak ill of him. Whenever he used to visit Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ she would make him sit with dignity and respect. (Mazhari etc.)

لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّ‌ا لَّكُم

Do not think it is bad for you - 24:11.

This sentence is addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، Safwan ؓ and all the Muslims, who were hurt by the spread of this rumor. The purport of the sentence is that you should not feel bad about this incident, because after the exoneration declared in the Qur'an by Allah Ta’ ala her esteem has been raised further, and those who were involved in rumor-mongering were warned strongly in the Qur'an, which will be recited until the Dooms Day.

لِكُلِّ امْرِ‌ئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ

Everyone of them is liable for what he earned of the sin - 24:11.

It means that whoever had taken part in the spread of this slander, his sin has been recorded exactly in the same proportion as was his share in the spread of the slander, and he will be punished accordingly. The one who had fabricated this rumor, which will be dealt later, deserves the most severe punishment, and the one who endorsed the rumor when it reached him, a little less than that, and the one who kept quiet after hearing it, still less than that.

وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَ‌هُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

And the one who undertook the major part of it, for him there is a mighty punishment - 24:11.

The word means big, large or great. Here it means that the one who has taken big part in the slander, that is who fabricated it and passed on to others, for him is the great punishment. The indication is toward ` Abdullah Ibn 'Ubayy (Baghawi etc.).

(11)

Al-Ifk (the Slander)

The next ten Ayat were all revealed concerning `A'ishah, the mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, when the people of slander and falsehood among the hypocrites made their accusations against her and spread lies about her. Allah became jealous on her behalf and on behalf of His Prophet , and revealed her innocence to protect the honor of the Messenger of Allah . He said:

(Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you.) meaning they were not one or two, but a group. Foremost among this group was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, who fabricated the lie and whispered it to others, until some of the Muslims started to believe it, and others thought it might be possible and began to talk about it. This is how matters remained for almost a month, until Qur'an was revealed. This is reported in Sahih Hadiths. Imam Ahmad recorded that Az-Zuhri said: Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, `Alqamah bin Waqqas and `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Utbah bin Mas`ud told me about the story of `A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet , when the people of the slander said what they said about her, and Allah declared her innocence. Each of them told something about the story, and some of them knew more details than others or had memorized more than others. I learned the story from each of them, who had heard it from `A'ishah herself, and what one told me confirmed what the others said. They mentioned that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet , said: "When the Messenger of Allah wanted to go on a journey, he would cast lots among his wives, and the one whose lot was drawn would go with him." `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "So he drew lots among us with regard to a campaign he was going out on, and mine was drawn, so I went out with the Messenger of Allah . This was after the commandment of Hijab had been revealed, so I traveled in my howdah and stayed in it when we camped. We traveled until the Messenger of Allah completed his campaign, then we returned. As we were approaching Al-Madinah, we paused for a while, then they announced that the journey was to be resumed. When I heard this, I walked quickly away from the army to answer the call of nature, then I came back to my howdah. Then I put my hand to my chest and noticed that a necklace of mine that was made of onyx and cornelian had broken, so I went back and looked for it, and was delayed because of that. In the meantime, the people who used to lift my howdah onto my camel came along and put it on the camel, thinking that I was inside. In those times women were more slender and not so heavy, they only ate mouthfuls of food. So the people did not think anything of the howdah being so light when they lifted it up, as I was a young woman. They set off, and I found my necklace after the army had moved on. Then I came back to the place where we had stopped, and I saw no one to call or answer. So I went to the place where I had been, thinking that the people would miss me and come back for me. While I was sitting there, I fell asleep. tSafwan bin Al-Mu`attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani had rested during the night behind the army. Then he set out just before daybreak and reached the place where I was in the morning, where he saw the outline of a person sleeping. He came to me and recognized me when he saw me, as he had seen me before Hijab was made obligatory for me. When he saw me and said `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' I woke up, and covered my face with my Jilbab (outer garment). By Allah, he did not speak a word to me and I did not hear him say anything except `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' until he brought his camel and made it kneel so that I could ride upon it, then he set out leading the camel until we caught up with the army at Zuhr time.

There are people who are doomed because of what happened to me, and the one who had the greater share therein was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. When we came back to Al-Madinah, I was ill for a month, and the people were talking about what the people of the slander were saying, and I knew nothing about it. What upset me when I was ill was that I did not see the kindness I used to see on the part of the Messenger of Allah . When I was ill; he would just come in and say,

(How is that (lady)) That is what upset me. I did not feel that there was anything wrong until I went out after I felt better, and Umm Mistah went out with me, walking towards Al-Manasi`, which is where we used to go to relieve ourselves, and we would not go out for that purpose except at night. This was before we had lavatories close to our houses; our habit was similar to that of the early Arabs in that we went out into the deserts to relieve ourselves, because we considered it troublesome and harmful to have lavatories in our houses. So I went out with Umm Mistah, who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin `Abd Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin `Amir, the paternal aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. Her son was Mistah bin Uthathah bin `Abbad bin Al-Muttalib. When we finished what we had to do, the daughter of Abu Ruhm Umm Mistah and I came back towards my house. Umm Mistah stumbled over her apron and said, `May Mistah be ruined!' I said to her, `What a bad thing you have said! Are you abusing a man who was present at Badr' She said, `Good grief, have you not heard what he said' I said, `What did he say' So she told me what the people of the slander were saying, which made me even more ill. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah came in to me and greeted me, then he said,

(How is that (lady)) I said to him, `Will you give me permission to go to my parents' At that time I wanted to confirm the news by hearing it from them. The Messenger of Allah gave me permission, so I went to my parents and asked my mother, `O my mother, what are the people talking about' My mother said, `Calm down, for by Allah, there is no beautiful woman who is loved by her husband and has co-wives but those co-wives would find fault with her.' I said, `Subhan Allah! Are the people really talking about that' I wept throughout the whole night until morning. My tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all, and morning came while I was still weeping. Because the revelation had ceased, the Messenger of Allah called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usamah bin Zayd, and consulted with them about divorcing his wife. As for Usamah bin Zayd, he told the Messenger of Allah about what he knew of his wife's innocence and his fondness for her. He said, `O Messenger of Allah, she is your wife, and we do not know anything about her but good.' But `Ali bin Abi Talib said, `O Messenger of Allah, Allah has not imposed restrictions on you, and there are plenty of other women besides her. If you ask her servant girl, she will tell you the truth.' So the Messenger of Allah called Barirah and said,

(O Barirah, have you ever seen anything that might make you suspicious about `A'ishah) Barirah said to him, `By the One Who sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything for which I could blame her, apart from the fact that she is a young girl who sometimes falls asleep and leaves her family's dough unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' So then the Messenger of Allah got up and (addressed the people) and asked who could sort out `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul for him. While he was standing on the Minbar, the Messenger of Allah said,

(O Muslims, who will help me against a man who has hurt me by slandering my family By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and the people are blaming a man of whom I know nothing except good, and he has never entered upon my family except with me.) Sa`d bin Mu`adh Al-Ansari stood up and said, `O Messenger of Allah, by Allah I will deal with him for you. If he is from (the tribe of) Al-Aws, then I will cut off his head, and if he is from our brothers of (the tribe of) Al-Khazraj, tell us what to do and we will do it.' Then Sa`d bin `Ubadah stood up. He was the leader of Al-Khazraj, and he was a righteous man, but he was overwhelmed with tribal chauvinism. He said to Sa`d bin Mu`adh, `By Allah, you will not kill him and you will never be able to kill him.' Then Usayd bin Hudayr, who was the cousin of Sa`d bin Mu`adh, stood up and said to Sa`d bin `Ubadah, `You are lying! By Allah, we will kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites!' Then the two groups, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, started to get angry and were about to come to blows, with the Messenger of Allah standing there on the Minbar, trying to calm them down until they became quiet, then the Messenger of Allah also fell silent. On that day I kept on weeping so much, my tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all. My parents thought that my liver would burst from all that weeping. While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, a woman of the Ansar asked for permission to see me. I let her in, and she sat and wept with me. While we were in that state, the Messenger of Allah came in, greeted us and sat down. He had never sat with me since the rumors began, and a month had passed by without any revelation coming to him concerning my case. The Messenger of Allah recited the Tashahhud when he sat down, then he said,

(Thereafter, O `A'ishah, I have been told such and such a thing about you, and if you are innocent, then Allah will reveal your innocence, but if you have committed a sin, then seek Allah's forgiveness and turn in repentance to Him, for when a servant confesses his sin and repents to Allah, He accepts his repentance.) When the Messenger of Allah finished what he had to say, my tears stopped completely and I not longer felt even one drop. Then I said to my father, `Answer the Messenger of Allah on my behalf.' He said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah.' So I said to my mother, `Answer the Messenger of Allah on my behalf.' She said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah.' So even though I was just a young girl who had not memorized much of the Qur'an, I said: `By Allah, I know that you have heard so much of this story that it has become planted in your minds and you believe it. So now if I tell you that I am innocent -- and Allah knows that I am innocent -- you will not believe me; but if I admit something to you -- and Allah knows that I am innocent -- you will believe me. By Allah, I cannot find any example to give you except for that which the Prophet Yusuf's father said,

(So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah Whose help can be sought against that (lie) which you describe) 12:18. Then I turned my face away and lay down on my bed. By Allah, at that point I knew I was innocent and that Allah would prove my innocence because I was innocent, but by Allah, I did not think that Allah would reveal Qur'an that would be forever recited concerning my situation, because I thought of myself as too insignificant for Allah to reveal anything concerning me. But I hoped that the Messenger of Allah would see a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah did not move from where he was sitting and no one left the house before Allah sent down revelation to His Prophet , and he was overtaken by the state that always overtook him when the revelation came upon him, until drops of sweat like pearls would run down him, even on a winter's day; this was because of the heaviness of the words which were being revealed to him. When that state passed -- and the Messenger of Allah was smiling -- the first thing he said was,

(Be glad O `A'ishah, 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 give praise to anyone except Allah, may He be glorified, for He is the One Who has proven my innocence.' So Allah revealed:

(Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you.), until the ten Ayat. Allah revealed these Ayat concerning my innocence. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who used to spend on Mistah bin Uthathah because he was a close relative and because he was poor, said, `By Allah, I will never spend anything on him again after what he has said about `A'ishah. ' Then Allah revealed,

(And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give to their kinsmen.) until His saying:

(Do you not love that Allah should forgive you And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) 24:22. So Abu Bakr said, `By Allah, certainly I love that Allah should forgive me.' So he resumed spending on Mistah as he had spent on him before, and he said, `By Allah, I shall never stop spending on him.' The Messenger of Allah asked Zaynab bint Jahsh about my situation, and said,

(O Zaynab, what do you know and what have you seen) She said, `O Messenger of Allah, may Allah protect my hearing and my sight. By Allah, I know nothing but good.' She is the one who used to compete with me among the wives of the Prophet , but Allah protected her (from telling lies) because of her piety. But her sister Hamnah bint Jahsh kept on fighting on her behalf, so she was doomed along with those who were doomed." Ibn Shihab said, "This is as much as we know about this group of people." It was also by Al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs from the Hadith of Az-Zuhri, and by Ibn Ishaq also from Az-Zuhri. He also said: "Yahya bin `Abbad bin `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr told me from his father, from `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad bin `Amr bin Hazm Al-Ansari told me from `Amrah, from `A'ishah, (a report) similar to that quoted above. And Allah knows best. Allah's saying:

(Verily, those who brought forth the slander) means, the lies, falsehood and fabrications.

(are a group) means, a gang among you.

(Consider it not a bad thing for you.) O family of Abu Bakr,

(Nay, it is good for you.) means, in this world and the Hereafter, honorable mention in this world and raised status in the Hereafter. Allah demonstrated the esteem with which He regarded the family of Abu Bakr when He defended `A'ishah the Mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, by revealing her innocence in the Qur'an,

(Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it. ..) 41:42. Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, entered upon her when she was dying, he said to her, "Rejoice, for you are the wife of the Messenger of Allah and he used to love you; he did not marry any virgin other than you, and your innocence was revealed from heaven."

(Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin,) means, each of those who spoke about this matter and accused the Mother of the believers `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, of any immoral action, will have a great share of punishment.

(and as for him among them who had the greater share therein,) It was said that this referred to the one who initiated the rumors, or that it was the one who collected rumors and spread them among the people.

(his will be a great torment.) means, for that. He was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, may Allah disfigure him and curse him.

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