The Slander against Aisha (RA)

[SIslamK]

The Slander against Aisha (RA) - Shakh Hamza Yusuf

(11) It was a group from among you that concocted the lie (b) --do not consider it a bad thing for you [people]; it was a good thing----and every one of them will be charged with the sin he has earned. He who took the greatest part in it will have a painful punishment. (12) When you heard the lie, why did believing men and women not think well of their own people and declare, 'This is obviously a lie'? (13) And why did the accusers not bring four witnesses to it? If they cannot produce such witnesses, they are the liars in God's eyes. (14) If it were not for God's bounty and mercy towards you in this world and the next, you would already have been a?icted by terrible su?ering for indulging in such talk. (15) When you took it up with your tongues, and spoke with your mouths things you did not know [to be true], you thought it was trivial but to God it was very serious. (16) When you heard the lie, why did you not say, 'We should not repeat this---- God forbid!---- It is a monstrous slander'? (17) God warns you never to do anything like this again, if you are true believers. (18) God makes His messages clear to you: God is all knowing, all wise. (19) A painful punishment waits in this world and the next for those who like indecency to spread among the believers: God knows and you do not. (20) If it were not for God's bounty and mercy and the fact that He is compassionate and merciful . . .! (21) Believers, do not follow in Satan's footsteps---- if you do so, he will urge you to indecency and evil. If it were not for God's bounty and mercy towards you, not one of you would ever have attained purity. God puri?es whoever He will: God is all hearing, all seeing. (Surat An-Nur, V.11-21, The Qur'an, M. A. S. Abdel Haleem)


(b) This alludes to the accusation made against Aisha, the Prophet's wife


This talk is from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Seerah Class. Titled: The Life of Prophet Muhammad.

 

[zindabad.Pakistan]

ام المومنین سیدنا عائشہ رض کی گواہی خود اللہ پاک نے قران پاک میں دی ہے ۔ اس کے بعد کسی گواہی کی ضرورت نہیں۔

 

[mediator]

This post summarizes the slander that the hypocrites during Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) levied against mother of the believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). This was an important event in Islamic history that also led the revelation of important verses in Surah Nour in which Allah vindicated her.

Ayesha (May Allah be pleased with her – RadiaAllahu Anha (RA)) once accompanied the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) on a campaign and was travelling with a caravan. She accidentally got separated from the caravan during the journey and was stranded in the desert. Safwan bin Mu`attal, who was travelling separately happened to get to the same place where she was and seeing her stranded, brought his camel and made it kneel so that she could ride upon it. Then he set out leading the camel until they caught up with the army. This gave rise not just to suspicion, but allegations against them, with Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, being the foremost in spreading them. He fabricated the lie and whispered it to others, until some of the Muslims started to believe it, and began to talk about their suspicions. As for Ayesha (RA), as she was ill during those days, she did not know about the slander that the people were indulging in. What upset her when she was ill was that she observed the Prophet’s behavior to have changed toward her. On inquiry, when she finally came to know about the slander from another lady, she sought the Prophet’s permission and went to her parents’ home. She said: "Rumours about this slander went on spreading in the city for about a month, which caused a great distress and anguish to the Holy Prophet. I cried due to helplessness and my parents were sick with mental agony.”

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) remained in great anxiety with regard to Aisha (RA) for one whole month. At last one day he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) visited her and her parents. He sat near her (which she says he had not done since the slander had started). Feeling that something decisive was going to happen that day, Abu Bakr and Umm Ruman (Ayesha (RA)’s parents) also sat near them. The Holy Prophet gently said: “Ayesha, I have heard this about you. If you are innocent, I expect that Allah will declare your innocence. But if you have committed the sin, you should offer repentance, and ask for Allah’s forgiveness; when a servant (of Allah) confesses his guilt and repents, Allah forgives him."

Hearing these words, tears dried in her eyes, as Ayesha (RA) reported. She looked up to her father expecting that he would say something in her defense, but he said, `Daughter, I do not know what I should say.’ Then she turned to her mother, but she also did not know what to say. At last Ayesha (RA) replied, “You have all heard something about me and believed it. Now if I say that I am innocent – and Allah is my witness that I am innocent – you will not believe me; and if I confess something which I never did – and Allah knows that I never did it – you will believe me. I cannot but repeat the words which the father of Prophet Yousuf (Joseph) had spoken: ‘fa-sabrun jamil’: I will bear this patiently with good grace.”

Saying this she lay down thinking that Allah was aware of her innocence, and He would certainly reveal the truth. At that moment, suddenly the state of receiving the Divine Revelation appeared on the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), when pearl-like drops of perspiration used to gather on his face even in severe winter. The revelation vindicated her stand and proved her innocence. When it was over, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was overjoyed. The first words he spoke were: “Congratulations, Ayesha (RA), Allah has sent down proof of your innocence”, and then he recited the following ten verses of Sura An-Noor that had her vindication:


(Quran, Sura An-Noor:11-21): source

An-Noor | 64 verses | The Light |Recitation | Topics سورة النور Sura #24 | Madina

	11 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ ۚ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم ۖ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۚ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ ۚ وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 11: 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.
	Urdu 11: بے شک جو لوگ یہ طوفان لائے ہیں تم ہی میں سے ایک گروہ ہے تم سے اپنے حق میں برا نہ سمجھو بلکہ وہ تمہارے لیے بہتر ہے ان میں سے ہر ایک کے لیے بقدرِ عمل گناہ ہے اور جس نے ان میں سے سب سے زیادہ حصہ لیا اس کے لیے بڑا عذاب ہے
	12 لَّوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا وَقَالُوا هَـٰذَا إِفْكٌ مُّبِينٌ
	Yusuf Ali 12: Why did not the believers - men and women - when ye heard of the affair,- put the best construction on it in their own minds and say, "This (charge) is an obvious lie"?
	Urdu 12: جب تم نے یہ بات سنی تھی تو مسلمان مردوں اور مسلمان عورتوں نے اپنے لوگوں کے ساتھ نیک گمان کیوں نہ کیا او رکیو ں نہ کہا کہ یہ صریح بہتان ہے
	13 لَّوْلَا جَاءُوا عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ ۚ فَإِذْ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِالشُّهَدَاءِ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
	Yusuf Ali 13: Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses, such men, in the sight of Allah, (stand forth) themselves as liars!
	Urdu 13: یہ لوگ اس پرچار گواہ کیو ں نہ لائے پھر جب وہ گواہ نہ لائے تو الله کے نزدیک وہی جھوٹے ہیں
	14 وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِي مَا أَفَضْتُمْ فِيهِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 14: Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that ye rushed glibly into this affair.
	Urdu 14: اور اگر تم پر الله کا فضل اور دنیا اور آخرت میں اس کی رحمت نہ ہوتی تو اس چرچا کرنے میں تم پر کوئی بڑی آفت پڑتی
	15 إِذْ تَلَقَّوْنَهُ بِأَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَتَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِكُم مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 15: Behold, ye received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah.
	Urdu 15: جب تم اسے اپنی زبانوں سے نکالنے لگے اور اپنے مونہوں سے وہ بات کہنی شروع کر دی جس کا تمہیں علم بھی نہ تھا اور تم نے اسے ہلکی بات سمجھ لیا تھا حالانکہ وہ الله کے نزدیک بڑی بات ہے
	16 وَلَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَـٰذَا سُبْحَانَكَ هَـٰذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 16: And why did ye not, when ye heard it, say? - "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Allah! this is a most serious slander!"
	Urdu 16: اور جب تم نے اسے سنا تھا تو کیوں نہ کہہ دیا کہ ہمیں تو اس کا منہ سے نکالنا بھی لائق نہیں سبحان الله یہ بڑا بہتان ہے
	17 يَعِظُكُمُ اللَّهُ أَن تَعُودُوا لِمِثْلِهِ أَبَدًا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
	Yusuf Ali 17: Allah doth admonish you, that ye may never repeat such (conduct), if ye are (true) Believers.
	Urdu 17: الله تمہیں نصیحت کرتا ہے کہ پھر کبھی ایسا نہ کرنا اگر تم ایمان دار ہو
	18 وَيُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 18: And Allah makes the Signs plain to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.
	Urdu 18: اور الله تمہارے لیے آیتیں بیان کرتا ہے اور الله جاننے والا حکمت والا ہے
	19 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
	Yusuf Ali 19: Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers, will have a grievous Penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: Allah knows, and ye know not.
	Urdu 19: بے شک جو لوگ چاہتے ہیں کہ ایمانداروں میں بدکاری کا چرچا ہو ان کے لیے دنیا اور آخرت میں دردناک عذاب ہے اور الله جانتا ہے اور تم نہیں جانتے
	20 وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 20: Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, and that Allah is full of kindness and mercy, (ye would be ruined indeed).
	Urdu 20: اور اگرتم پر الله کا فضل اوراس کی رحمت نہ ہوتی اوریہ کہ الله نرمی کرنے والا مہربان ہے (تو کیا کچھ نہ ہوتا)
	21 ۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 21: O ye who believe! follow not Satan's footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong: and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure: but Allah doth purify whom He pleases: and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).
	Urdu 21: اے ایمان والو شیطان کے قدموں پر نہ چلو اورجو کوئی شیطان کے قدموں پرچلے گا سو وہ تو اسے بے حیائی اور بری باتیں ہی بتائے گا اوراگر تم پر الله کا فضل اوراس کی رحمت نہ ہوتی تو تم میں سے کوئی کبھی بھی پاک صاف نہ ہوتا اورلیکن الله جسے چاہتا ہے پاک کر دیتا ہے اور الله سننے والا جاننے والا ہے

Lessons that we can learn


This event provided many key lessons. Let’s review some of them below.

The Prophet’s ordeal and challenge until the verses were revealed

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)’s conduct and attitude proved beyond any doubt his moral purity, nobility, fairness, tolerance and forbearance. If he had wished, he could have punished the people responsible for the attack severely. But he bore everything with patience until the Divine injunction came down from Allah. Later, he enforced the punishment only on those three Muslims whose guilt was established, and spared the hypocrites who were responsible for spreading the mischief.

Perseverance of Ayesha (RA) and her reaction after the fact was known

The incident also highlights Ayesha (RA)’s magnanimity. She did not allow the slander against her to color her judgment of the people circulating it. Hassan bin Thabit had played a prominent role in the campaign of slander against her, yet she continued to treat him with due honor and esteem. When people reminded her that he was the man who had slandered her, she replied, `…he it was who used to rebut the anti-Islamic poets on behalf of the Holy Prophet and Islam’,and thus she acknowledged his service to Islam more than his role in her slander. Thus, she didn’t allow the dictates of her ego to supersede her objective judgment.

Ayesha (RA)’s family’s response

Abu Bakr and his family responded to the slander against their daughter with dignified silence in spite of being convinced of their daughter’s moral character and the falsity of the accusation. Abu Bakr’s own relative, Mistah bin Uthatha, whose whole family he had supported all along, continued heaping disgrace on Abu Bakr (RA) publicly, yet Abu Bakr (RA) neither severed his family relations with him nor stopped monetary help to him and his family.

After the revelation of verses 11-21 of Surah Nour absolving her from the accusation, Abu Bakr swore that he would no longer support Mistah bin Uthatha. This was because the man had shown no regard for the relationship nor for the favors that Abu Bakr had all along been showing him and his family. At this verse 22 of Surah Noor was revealed:

An-Noor | 64 verses | The Light |Recitation | Topics سورة النور Sura #24 | Madina

	22 وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُولُو الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا أُولِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا ۗ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
	Yusuf Ali 22: Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah's cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
	Urdu 22: اور تم میں سے بزرگی اور کشائش والے اس بات پر قسم نہ کھائیں کہ رشتہ داروں اور مسکینوں اور الله کی راہ میں ہجرت کرنے والوں کو نہ دیا کریں گے اور انہیں معاف کرنا اور درگذر کرنا چاہیے کیا تم نہیں چاہتے کہ الله تمہیں معاف کر دے اور الله بخشنے والا نہایت رحم والا ہے

On hearing this verse, Abu Bakr immediately said: "By God! We do want that Allah should forgive us." And he again started helping Mistah in a more liberal manner than before. His example was followed by some other companions who had also sworn that they would discontinue helping those who had taken an active part in the slander. All of them revoked their oaths, wiping out the ill-will that had been created by the mischief.

The response of the other wives of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)

Despite the jealousy that existed in the hearts of some of the other wives of the prophet, none of them took the least part in the slander nor even expressed the slightest approval of it. Even Zainab, for whose sake her real sister, Hamnah bint Jahsh, was taking part in the slander, did not utter anything about her rival (Ayesha (RA)) except good words. According to Ayesha (RA) herself: "Zainab among the wives of the Holy Prophet was my strongest rival, but when in connection with the incident of the slander, the Holy Prophet asked her opinion of me, she said, `O Messenger of Allah, I swear by God that I have perceived nothing in her except piety’."
Zainab (RA) depicted an admirable quality in adhering to the truth about Ayesha (RA), refuting the false charge by declaring that she’d seen nothing except good in Ayesha (RA). She did not allow any feelings of jealousy to cloud the truth. By declaring the truth and not staying silent, she prevented any doubts to surface about Ayesha (RA).

The evils of slandering

The incident became the cause of some very important additions to the social law and injunctions of Islam. Through these, the Muslims received Commandments from Allah which ensured that the Muslim society could be kept clean and protected against the creation and propagation of moral evils.

“Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah they are the liars.” (Quran, Sura An-Noor:13).
This verse draws our attention to the fact that none of the accusers had actually witnessed what they were accusing the innocent about. The only basis of the accusation was that Ayesha (RA) had been left behind and Safwan bin Mu`attal had brought her to the camp on his camel.
The general principle laid down was that all dealings in the Islamic society must be based on `good faith’. The question of a bad opinion should arise only when there is definite and concrete basis for it. Every person should, as a matter of principle, be considered innocent unless there are sound reasons to hold him guilty or suspect. Every person should be considered as truthful unless there are strong grounds for holding him unreliable.

And why did you not, when you heard it, say: "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You (O Allah)! This is a great lie."(24:16).

Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) admonishes people regarding their response to the slander. The lady being accused was no other than the wife of the Holy Prophet of Allah, whom every Muslim esteemed higher than his own mother, and whom Allah Himself had forbidden for every Muslim just like his own mother. The man being accused was not only a follower of the same caravan, a soldier of the same army, and an inhabitant of the same city, but also a Muslim, who believed in the lady’s husband to be the Messenger of Allah and his religious leader and guide. He had even followed him and fought in the most dangerous battle at Badr. As such, the slander was an even greater sin.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had no knowledge of the unseen

The Muslims came to understand that the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had no absolute knowledge of the unseen. He knew from the unseen and other knowledge only that which Allah had taught him. For a month he was upset and would make inquiries from the maid-servant, from his other wives, and sometimes from Ali and Usamah. Had he possessed any knowledge of the unseen, he wouldn’t have felt so upset, or made inquiries, nor counseled repentance. However, when the Divine Message revealed the truth, he happily received that knowledge and made it known to all. Thus Allah arranged to safeguard the Muslims, through direct experience and observation, against exaggerated notions which people tend to entertain regarding their religious leaders. Perhaps this was the reason why Allah withheld revelation for a month and Allah knows best.

Trust in Allah and obedience leads to receiving Blessings from Allah

The hypocrites had planned to inflict a defeat on the Muslims on the moral front. But Allah turned this mischief into a means of strength for the Muslims. The incident brought out the best in the conduct and attitude of the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr and his family, and even other Muslims. Nobility and forbearance stood out as their forte. For example, when Abu Ayyub Ansari’s wife mentioned before him the rumors of the slander, he said, "Mother of Ayyub, if you had been there in place of Aayesha (RA), would you have done that?" She replied, "By God, I would never have done it." Ayyub then said, "Well, Aayesha (RA) is a much better woman than you. As for myself if I had been in place of Safwan, I could never have entertained such an evil thought and Safwan is a better Muslim than I.”
Thus, the result of the mischief engineered by the hypocrites was contrary to what they had planned to achieve, and the Muslims emerged out of this test morally stronger than before.

Eventually we should never forget that truth always prevails and shows itself when Allah’s Help is sought and His way is adopted. Anger and vindictiveness rarely leads to any good, which can only be achieved through patience and adherence to the straight path.

References: (1) Quran interpretation (Tafsir) by Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi, (2) Tafsir Ibn Kathir

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