English translation
4141. Narrated 'Aishah رضي الله عنها: Whenever Allāh's Messenger ﷺ intended to go on a journey, he used to draw lots amongst his wives, and Allāh's Messenger ﷺ used to take with him the one on whom the lot fell. He drew lots amongst us during one of the Ghazawāt which he fought. The lot fell on me and I proceeded with Allāh's Messenger ﷺ after Allāh had decreed the use of Hijāb (veil). I was carried (on the back of a camel) in a Hawdaj and dismounted while still in it (when we came to a halt). So we went on till Allāh's Messenger ﷺ had finished from his (that) Ghazwā and returned. (We camped) as we approached near the city of Al-Madīna. Then he announced for departure at night. I got up when they announced the departure, and went away from the army camps, and after finishing from the call of nature, I came back to my riding animal. I touched my chest to find that my necklace which was made of Zifar beads (i.e., Yemenite beads partly black and partly white) was missing. So I returned to look for my necklace and my search for it detained me. (In the meanwhile) the people who used to carry me on my camel, came and took my Hawdaj and put it on the back of my camel on which I used to ride, as they considered that I was in it. In those days women were light in weight for they did not get fat, and flesh did not cover their bodies in abundance as they used to eat only a little food. So, those people did not feel the difference in the heaviness of the Hawdaj while lifting it, and they put it near the camel. At that time I was still a young lady. They made the camel rise and all of them left (along with it). I found my necklace after the army had gone. Then I came to their camping place to find no call maker of them, nor one who would respond to the call. So, I intended to go to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and come back to me (in my search). While I was sitting in my resting place, I was overwhelmed by sleep and slept. Ṣaṣwān bin Al-Muʿtāṭal As-Sulāmī, Adh-Dhākwanī was behind the army. When he reached my place in the morning, he saw the figure of a sleeping person and he recognized me on seeing me as he had seen me before the order of compulsory veiling (was prescribed). So I woke up when he recited Istirjāʾ (i.e., Innā lillāhi wa innā ilaihi rājiʿūn)(1) as soon as he recognized me. I veiled my face with my head cover at once, and by Allāh, we did not speak a single word, and I did not hear him saying any word besides his Istirjāʾ. He dismounted from his camel and made it kneel down, putting his leg on its front legs and then I got up and rode on it. Then he set out leading the camel that was carrying me till we overtook the army in the extreme heat of midday while they were at a halt (taking a rest). (Because of the event) some people brought destruction upon themselves(2) and the one who spread the Ifk (i.e., slander) more, was 'Abdullāh bin Ubāi Ibn Salūl. [Urwa said, "The people propagated the slander and talked about it in his (i.e., 'Abdullāh's) presence and he confirmed it and listened to it and asked about it to let it prevail." Urwa also added, "None was mentioned as members of the slanderous group besides ('Abdullāh) except Ḥassān bin Thābit and Miṣṭāḥ bin Uthātha and Ḥamna bint Jahsh along with others about whom I have no knowledge, but they were a group as Allāh تعالى said: 'And as for him who has the greater share therein' (V.24:11) (the slander) was 'Abdullāh bin Ubāi bin Salūl." Urwa added, "'Aishah disliked to have Ḥassān abused in her presence and she used to say, 'It was he who said: My father and his (i.e., my father's) father and my honour are all for the protection of Muhammad's honour from you.'"] 'Aishah added, "After we returned to Al-Madina, I became ill for a month. The people were propagating the forged statements of the slanderers while I was unaware of anything of all that, but I felt that in my present ailment, I was not receiving the usual kindness from Allāh's Messenger ﷺ which I used to receive when I got sick. (But now) Allāh's Messenger ﷺ would only come, greet me and say, 'How is that (lady)?' and leave. That roused my doubts, but I did not discover the evil (i.e., slander) till I recovered from my ailment and I went out with Umm Miṣṭāḥ to Al-Manāṣī' where we used to answer the call of nature, and we used not to go out (to answer the call of nature) except at night, and that was before we had latrines near our houses. And this habit of our, was similar to the habits of the old Arabs living in the open country (or away from houses), for it would be troublesome for us to take latrines near our houses. So, I and Umm Mīṣṭāḥ who was the daughter of Abū Ruhm bin Al-Muṭṭalib bin 'Abd Manāf, whose mother was the daughter of Ṣakhṛ bin 'Āmir and the aunt of Abū Bakr Aṣ-Ṣiddīq and whose son was Mīṣṭāḥ bin Uṭḥāṭha bin 'Abbād bin Al-Muṭṭalib, went out. I and Umm Mīṣṭāḥ returned to my house after we finished answering the call of nature. Umm Mīṣṭāḥ stumbled by getting her foot entangled in her covering sheet and on that she said, 'Let Mīṣṭāḥ be ruined!' I said, 'What a miserable word you have said. Do you abuse a man who took part in (the battle of) Badr?' On that she said, 'O Hantāḥ (you there)! Didn't you hear what he (i.e., Mīṣṭāḥ) said?' I said, 'What did he say?' Then she told me the slander of the people of Iṭk. So my ailment was aggravated, and when I reached my home, Allāh's Messenger ﷺ came to me, and after greeting me, said, 'How is that (lady)?' I said, 'Will you allow me to go to my parents?' as I wanted to be sure about the news through them. Allāh's Messenger ﷺ allowed me (and I went to my parents) and asked my mother, 'O mother! What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry, for scarcely is there a charming woman who is loved by her husband and whose husband has other wives besides herself, that they (i.e., women) would find faults with her.' I said, 'Subḥān Allāh! Are the people really talking in this way?' I kept on weeping that night till dawn, I could neither stop weeping nor sleep, then in the morning again, I kept on weeping. (When the Divine Revelation was delayed), Allāh's Messenger ﷺ called 'Ali bin Abī Ṭālib and Usāma bin Zaid to ask and consult them about divorcing me. Usāma bin Zaid said what he knew of my innocence, and the respect he had for me. Usāma said, '(O Allāh's Messenger!) She is your wife, and we do not know anything except good about her.' 'Ali bin Abī Ṭālib said, 'O Allāh's Messenger! Allāh does not put you in difficulty, and there are plenty of women other than she, yet, ask the maid servant ('Aishah's slave-girl) who will tell you the truth.' On that Allāh's Messenger called Barīra (i.e., the maid servant) and asked, 'O Barīra! Did you ever see anything which aroused your suspicion?' Barīra said to him, 'By Him Who has sent you with the Truth. I have never seen anything in her (i.e., 'Aishah) which I would conceal, except that she is a young girl who sleeps leaving the dough of her family exposed so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' So, on that day, Allāh's Messenger ﷺ got up on the pulpit and complained about 'Abdullāh bin Ubāi (bin Salūl) before his Companions, saying, 'O you Muslims! Who will relieve me from that man who has hurt me with his evil statement about my family? By Allāh, I know nothing except good about my family and they have blamed a man about whom I know nothing except good and he never used to enter my home except in my company.' Sa'd bin Mu'ādḥ, the brother of Banū 'Abd-Al-Ashhal got up and said, 'O Allāh's Messenger! I will relieve you from him; if he is from the tribe of Al-Aūs, then I will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, i.e., Al-Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfil your order.' On that, a man from Al-Khazraj got up. Umm Ḥassān, was his cousin sister and he was from his branch-tribe, and he was Sa'd bin 'Ubāda, chief of Al-Khazraj. Before this incident, he was a pious man, but his love for his tribe goaded him into saying to Sa'd (bin Mu'ādḥ), 'By Allāh, you have told a lie; you shall not and cannot kill him. If he belonged to your people, you would not wish him to be killed.' On that, Usaid bin Ḥuḏair who was the cousin of Sa'd (bin Mu'ādh) got up and said to Sa'd bin 'Ubāda, 'By Allāh! You are a liar! We will surely kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of hypocrites.' On this, the two tribes of Al-Aūs and Al-Khazraj got so much excited that they were about to fight while Allāh's Messenger ﷺ was standing on the pulpit. Allāh's Messenger ﷺ kept on quietening them till they became silent and so did he. All that day I kept on weeping, neither my tears ceased nor I could sleep. In the morning, my parents were with me and I wept for two nights and a day, neither my tears ceased nor I could sleep till I thought that my liver would burst from weeping. While my parents were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Anṣārī woman asked my permission to enter, and I allowed her to come in. She came in, and sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allāh's Messenger ﷺ came, greeted us and sat down. He had never sat with me since that day of the slander. A month had elapsed and no Divine Revelation came to him about my case. Allāh's Messenger ﷺ then recited Tashahhud (i.e., Lā ilāha illallāh wa anna Muḥammad-ur-Raṣūl Allāh - none has the right to be worshipped but Allāh and Muḥammad is Allāh's Messenger) and then said, 'Ammā Ba'du, O 'Aishah! I have been informed such and such about you; if you are innocent, then soon Allāh will reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allāh and ask Him for forgiveness, for when a person confesses his sins and asks Allāh for forgiveness, Allāh accepts his repentance.' When Allāh's Messenger ﷺ finished his speech, my tears ceased flowing completely and there remained not even a single drop of it. I said to my father, 'Reply to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ on my behalf concerning what he has said.' My father said, 'By Allāh, I do not know what to say to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ'. Then I said to my mother, 'Reply to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ on my behalf concerning what he has said.' She said, 'By Allāh, I do not know what to say to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ'. In spite of the fact that I was a young girl and had a little knowledge of the Qur'an, I said, 'By Allāh, no doubt I know that you heard this (slanderous) speech so that it has got fixed up in your minds and you have taken it as a truth. Now, if I tell you that I am innocent, you will not believe me, and if I confessed to you falsely that I am guilty, and Allāh knows that I am innocent, you will surely believe me. By Allāh, I find no similitude for me and you except that of Yūsuf's (Joseph's) father when he said: "So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allāh (Alone) Whose Help can be sought against that (lie) which you describe." (V.12:18). Then I turned to the other side of my bed; hoping that Allāh would prove my innocence. By Allāh, I never thought that Allāh would reveal Divine Revelation in my case, as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of in the Qur'an. I had hoped that Allāh's Messenger ﷺ might have a dream in which Allāh would prove my innocence. By Allāh, Allāh's Messenger ﷺ had not got up and nobody had left the house before the Divine Revelation came to Allāh's Messenger ﷺ. So, there overtook him the same state which used to overtake him, (when he used to be inspired Divinely). The sweat was dropping from his body like pearls, though it was a (cold) wintry day and that was because of the weighty statement which was being revealed to him. When that state of Allāh's Messenger ﷺ was over, he got up smiling, and the first word he said was, 'O 'Āishah! Allāh has declared your innocence!' Then my mother said to me, 'Get up and go to him (i.e., Allāh's Messenger ﷺ).' I replied, 'By Allāh, I will not go to him, and will not thank but Allāh'. So Allāh revealed the ten Verses: 'Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Āishah رضي الله عنها are a group among you...' (V.24:11-21) Allāh revealed those Qur'anic Verses to declare my innocence. Abū Bakr Aṣ-Ṣiddīq who used to provide for Mīṣṭāh bin Uṭḥātha because of his relationship to him and his poverty, said, 'By Allāh, I will never give to Mīṣṭāh bin Uṭḥātha anything after what he has said about 'Āishah.' But Allāh later revealed: 'And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, Al-Masākin (the poor) and those who left their homes for Allāh's sake. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allāh should forgive you? And Allāh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.' (V.24:22) Abū Bakr Aṣ-Ṣiddīq said, 'Yes, by Allāh, I do love that Allāh should forgive me.' And resumed giving Mīṣṭāh the money he used to give him before. He also added, 'By Allāh, I will never deprive him of it at all.' 'Āishah further said: "Allāh's Messenger ﷺ also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e., his wife) about me saying, 'What do you know and what did you see?' She replied, 'O Allāh's Messenger! I refrain to claim hearing or seeing what I have not heard or seen. By Allāh, I know nothing except good (about 'Āishah).' From amongst the wives of the Prophet ﷺ Zainab was my peer (in beauty and in the love she received from the Prophet ﷺ) yet Allāh protected her (from being malicious) for she had piety. Her sister Ḥamna, started struggling on her behalf(1) and she was destroyed along with those who were destroyed. The man who was blamed said, 'Subhān Allāh! By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, I have never uncovered the cover (i.e., veil) of any female.'(2) Later on the man was martyred in Allāh's Cause."