Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that while relating the incident of Ifk (the slander), she said: By Allah! It never occurred to me that revelation would be sent down concerning me. I considered my matter too insignificant for Allah, the Exalted, to speak about it Himself, and then for that speech to be recited. Yes, I did hope that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would see a dream about me, through which Allah would declare my innocence. By Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not moved from his seat, nor had any of the household gone outside, when Allah, the Exalted, sent down revelation upon His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Due to the heaviness of the revelation, sweat began to pour from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and even on a cold day, when revelation would descend, sweat would drip from his forehead like pearls, due to the weight of the revelation that was being sent down upon him. When the state of revelation ended for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was smiling. The first thing he said after the revelation was: O Aisha! Rejoice, for Allah has declared your innocence. Upon hearing this, my mother said: Aisha! Stand up and thank the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But I said: I will not stand up to thank him; I will praise my Allah, Who has sent down my exoneration. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: {إِنَّ الَّذِینَ جَائُ وْا بِالْإِفْکِ عُصْبَۃٌ مِنْکُمْ} [النور: ۱۱] These were a total of ten verses. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to spend on Mistah because he was poor and also a relative. He too had spoken about the slander concerning Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), so Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will not spend on him anymore; he has gone this far. But Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: {وَلَا یَاْتَلِ اُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْکُمْ وَالسَّعَۃِ اَنْ یُّؤْتُوْٓا اُولِی الْقُرْبٰی وَالْمَسٰکِیْنَ وَالْمُہٰجِرِیْنَ فِیْ سَبِیْلِ اللّٰہِ وَلْیَعْفُوْا وَلْیَصْفَحُوْا اَلَا تُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ یَّغْفِرَ اللّٰہُ لَکُمْ وَاللّٰہُ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِیْمٌ۔} … And let not those among you who possess virtue and wealth swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah; and let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. Upon hearing this verse, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I love that Allah should forgive me. So he resumed the expenditure he used to give to Mistah and said: Now I will never stop it. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyida Zainab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) about my matter, “What do you know about this? Or what do you think? Or what has reached you?” She said: O Messenger of Allah! I wish to protect my ears and eyes from this! By Allah, to my knowledge, there is only good in Aisha. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: It was Sayyida Zainab alone among the Mothers of the Believers who used to compete with me, but Allah, the Exalted, protected her through piety from getting involved in this matter. And her sister, Sayyida Hamna bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), supported her sister out of partisanship and became one of those who were ruined. Ibn Shihab says: This is all we know about this group.