Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 7840

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: When this verse was revealed: "And those who accuse chaste women and then do not bring four witnesses, flog them eighty lashes and never accept their testimony; it is they who are the transgressors," Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the chief of the Ansar, said, "O Messenger of Allah! Is this how it has been revealed?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O company of the Ansar! Do you hear what your chief is saying?" The people said, "O Messenger of Allah! Do not blame him; he is a man of great protective jealousy. By Allah! He has always married only a virgin woman, and whenever he divorced a woman, none of us dared to marry her. This is because of the intensity of his temperament." Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O Messenger of Allah, by Allah! I know that this is the truth and that it is from Allah Almighty, but I am amazed that if I find a man has gone near my wife, I am not to alarm him or move him until I first bring four witnesses. By Allah! By the time I bring four witnesses, he will have fulfilled his need." The narrator says: Then, after only a short while, Hilal bin Umayyah came, who was one of the three people whose repentance was accepted. He had returned from his land at night and found a man with his wife. He saw this with his own two eyes and heard it with his own two ears, but he did not confront the man until morning came. The next day he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I came to my wife at night and found a man with her. I saw this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears." The news he brought displeased the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it weighed heavily on him. The Ansar gathered and said, "Now we have been put to trial because of what Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will have Hilal bin Umayyah flogged and will declare his testimony void among the Muslims." Hilal said, "By Allah! I hope that Allah Almighty will make a way out of this for me." Hilal said, "O Messenger of Allah! I see that the news I have brought has weighed heavily on you, but by Allah! I am truthful." The narrator says: By Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had resolved to order that he be flogged, when revelation began to come down to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When revelation began to come down to him, the people would recognise it by the change in the colour of his skin, so the people held back until, when the revelation ended, this verse was revealed: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves." After this the narrator mentioned the complete hadith. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The hadith reported from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is recorded in the Sahih in abridged form.
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and this wording is his. Ahmad recorded it from him (the Companion) in abridged form. Its chains revolve around a narrator, Abbad bin Mansur, and he is da'if (weak).