Mukhtasar Muslim

Az-Zuhri says: Sa'id bin al-Musayyib, 'Urwah bin al-Zubair, 'Alqamah bin Waqqas, and 'Ubaydullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah bin Mas'ud narrated to me this hadith from Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), when those who accused her made their accusation and said what they said. Then Allah Almighty declared her innocent from their accusation. Az-Zuhri said: All of these people narrated to me a part of this hadith, and some of them remembered more of it than others, and were more precise and eloquent in their narration. I memorized from each what he narrated, and some parts of the narration confirm others. They stated that Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to travel, he would draw lots among his noble wives, and whichever woman's name was drawn, he would take her with him on the journey. Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drew lots during one of the journeys for jihad, and my name was drawn, so I went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This was after the command of hijab had been revealed. I would ride in my howdah, and when the caravan stopped, my howdah would be taken down. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the jihad and returned, and we were near Madinah, one night he gave the order to depart. When the people were informed of the departure, I stood up and walked until I was away from the army. When I finished my need and returned to my howdah, I touched my chest and realized that my necklace of Dhafar beads was missing (Dhafar is the name of a village in Yemen). I went back to look for the necklace, and searching for it delayed me. Meanwhile, the people who used to carry my howdah came, lifted it, and placed it on the camel I used to ride, thinking I was inside it. At that time, women were light (slender) because they ate little. So when they lifted the howdah and placed it on the camel, they did not notice its lightness. I was also a young girl. The people set off with the camel. I found my necklace after the whole army had left, and when I reached their camp, there was no sound or anyone to hear a sound. I decided to sit where I was, thinking that when they did not find me, they would return for me. While I was sitting there, sleep overcame me and I fell asleep. Safwan bin Mu'attal al-Sulami al-Dhakwani (may Allah be pleased with him), a man who used to stay behind the army at night for rest, came to my place in the morning. He noticed the body of a sleeping person, came to me, and recognized me as soon as he saw me, because he had seen me before the command of hijab was revealed. I woke up at his voice, and when he recognized me, he recited: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un." So I covered my face with my veil. By Allah! He did not speak to me, nor did I hear anything from him except "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un." Then he made his camel kneel, placed his foot on its knee for me to mount, and I mounted the camel. He led the camel on foot until we reached the army, who had stopped in the heat of midday. So those who perished because of suspicion in my matter, perished, and the one about whom the Qur'an says "tawalla kibrahu" (he who took the lead in it), meaning the chief instigator of the accusation, was 'Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul (the leader of the hypocrites). Eventually, we arrived in Madinah, and when I reached Madinah, I fell ill and remained sick for a month. During that time, people were discussing the words of the slanderers, but I knew nothing of it. I only noticed that during my illness, I did not see the same kindness from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as I used to see when I was sick before. During this period, he would only come in, greet me, and say, "How are you?" This made me suspicious, but I was unaware of the real issue, until after my illness, when I had become thin, I went out to Manasi' (a place outside Madinah), and with me was Umm Mistah. (Before toilets were built in people's houses, they would go out at night.) This was at a time when we did not have toilets in our houses, and we disliked building toilets near the house, as the earlier Arabs did. So I went out, and Umm Mistah was with me. She was the daughter of Abi Ruhm bin al-Muttalib bin 'Abd Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin 'Amir, who was the maternal aunt of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) (her name was Salma). Her son's name was Mistah bin Athathah bin 'Ubad bin al-Muttalib. When we had finished our need and were returning home, Umm Mistah's foot got caught in her cloak and she said, "May Mistah perish!" I said, "You have said a terrible thing! Do you abuse a man who was present at the Battle of Badr?" She replied, "O naive one! Have you not heard what Mistah has said?" I said, "What has he said?" She told me what the slanderers had said. Upon hearing this, my illness increased. When I reached home, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came in, greeted me, and said, "How are you?" I said, "Will you permit me to go to my parents?" My intention was to confirm the news from my parents. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me permission, and I went to my parents. I asked my mother, "Mother! What are people saying?" She said, "My daughter, do not worry about it, and do not take it seriously. By Allah! It is rare for a man to have a beautiful wife whom he loves, and she has co-wives, but her co-wives do not find faults in her." I said, "Subhan Allah! Have people really started saying this?" I wept all night, my tears did not stop, nor did I sleep, and I continued to weep in the morning. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called 'Ali bin Abi Talib and Usamah bin Zayd, as no revelation had come down, and consulted them about separating from me (i.e., divorcing me). Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the opinion he knew about the Messenger of Allah's wife and her innocence, and his love for her. He said, "O Messenger of Allah! She is your wife, and we know nothing about her except good." 'Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Allah has not put you in difficulty, and there are many women besides 'A'ishah. If you ask the slave-girl, she will tell you the truth." (The slave-girl referred to is Barirah, who lived with 'A'ishah.) Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Barirah and asked, "O Barirah! Have you ever seen anything in 'A'ishah that would make you doubt her chastity?" Barirah replied, "By Him Who sent you with the truth, if I had seen anything, I would have mentioned it. The only fault is that 'A'ishah is a young girl, she falls asleep and leaves the dough, and the goat comes and eats it." (Meaning, she has no fault except that she is a naive young girl and, due to her youth, cannot manage the house.) Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood on the pulpit and sought an answer from 'Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. He said on the pulpit, "O Muslims! Who will help me against a man whose hurtful words have reached me concerning my family? By Allah! I know nothing but good of my wife ('A'ishah), and the man they accuse (Safwan bin Mu'attal), I know nothing but good of him, and he never entered my house except with me." Upon hearing this, Sa'd bin Mu'adh al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), the chief of the Aws tribe, stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I will deal with him for you. If he is from our tribe, Aws, we will kill him, and if he is from our brothers, the Khazraj, command us and we will obey you." Sa'd bin 'Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him), the chief of the Khazraj tribe and a good man, stood up, but at that moment, tribal zeal overtook him, and he said, "By Allah! You are lying! You cannot kill a man from our tribe." Then Usayd bin Hudayr, the cousin of Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), stood up and said to Sa'd bin 'Ubadah, "You are wrong! By Allah! We will kill him, and you are a hypocrite, defending the hypocrites." The two tribes, Aws and Khazraj, stood up, and it was close to bloodshed, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the pulpit calming them down, until they became quiet and he also became quiet. Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I continued to weep all day, my tears did not stop, nor did I sleep, and my father thought my heart would break from weeping. My parents were sitting with me while I was crying. Then a woman from the Ansar asked permission to enter. I allowed her, and she sat down and began to weep with me. While we were in this state, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came in, greeted us, and sat down. Since the day the accusation was made against me, he had not sat with me, and a month had passed without any revelation regarding my case. Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, he recited the tashahhud and said, "As for what follows: O 'A'ishah, such-and-such has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will soon declare your innocence, but if you have committed a sin, then repent and seek forgiveness from Allah, for when a servant confesses his sin and repents, Allah forgives him." Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his speech, my tears stopped completely, not a single drop remained. I said to my father, "Answer the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on my behalf." He said, "By Allah! I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." (Subhan Allah, her father was beloved to the Messenger of Allah, but in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, he could not speak, even though it was his daughter's case.) I said to my mother, "Answer the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on my behalf." She said, "By Allah! I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." So I spoke myself, though I was a young girl and had not memorized much of the Qur'an. By Allah! I know that you have heard this story until it has settled in your hearts and you have believed it (and Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah said this out of anger, otherwise only the slanderers believed it). If I say I am innocent, and Allah knows I am innocent, you will not believe me. And if I admit to something I am innocent of, you will believe me. I find no example for myself and you except what the father of Yusuf (peace be upon him) said (she could not recall his name in her distress): "So patience is most fitting, and Allah is the one sought for help against what you describe." (Surah Yusuf) Then I turned away and lay down on my bed. By Allah! I knew I was innocent and that Allah would declare my innocence, but by Allah! I did not think that Qur'an would be revealed concerning me, which would be recited (until the Day of Judgment), for I did not consider myself worthy that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, would speak about my case in His Book to be recited. I only hoped that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would see a dream in which Allah would declare my innocence. Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: By Allah! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had not left his place, nor had anyone from the household gone out, when Allah revealed revelation to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and sent down Qur'an. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt the severity of the revelation, so much so that in the coldest of days, sweat would drip from his blessed body like pearls due to the weight of the words revealed to him (for it was the speech of the Supreme King). When this state passed (i.e., the revelation ended), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled and the first words he spoke were: "O 'A'ishah! Rejoice, for Allah has declared you innocent and pure." My mother said, "Get up and thank the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." I said, "By Allah! I will not get up to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), nor will I praise anyone except Allah, for He is the One Who revealed my innocence." Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Allah revealed: "Indeed, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather, it is good for you..." until the end of ten verses, which Allah revealed for my innocence. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to spend on Mistah due to their close kinship and his poverty, said, "By Allah! Now that he has said this about 'A'ishah, I will never give him anything." Allah revealed the verse: "Let not those among you who have virtue and wealth swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and those who migrated for the sake of Allah. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." Hibban bin Musa said that 'Abdullah bin Mubarak said: This verse is the greatest verse of hope in Allah's Book (because in it Allah promises forgiveness for maintaining ties of kinship). Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah! I wish that Allah should forgive me." So he resumed giving Mistah what he used to give him and said, "I will never stop." Umm al-Mu'mineen 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also asked Umm al-Mu'mineen Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) about me: "What do you know or what have you seen?" She replied (even though she was a co-wife), "O Messenger of Allah! I guard my hearing and my sight (i.e., I do not say anything I have not heard or seen). I know nothing but good about 'A'ishah." 'A'ishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) was the only wife among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who could rival me, and Allah protected her from the accusation because of her piety. Her sister Hamnah bint Jahsh, however, supported her sister and fought for her, so she was among those who perished (i.e., participated in the slander). Az-Zuhri said: This is the final state of those people that has reached us.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that people used to accuse a man regarding the Haram of the Prophet (i.e., the slave woman who was an umm walad of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Go and strike the neck of that man (perhaps he is a hypocrite or for some other reason deserving of death)." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went to him and saw that he was bathing in a well to cool himself. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "Come out." He gave his hand to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who pulled him out and saw that his private part was cut off. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) did not kill him and came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! He is a majboob (i.e., his private part is cut off), he has no private part." (So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) understood that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had ordered his killing on suspicion of adultery, and for this reason he did not kill him. And perhaps the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had come to know through revelation that he would not be killed. But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the order to kill him so that his condition would become apparent, and people would be ashamed of their accusation and their lie would be exposed.)