Question:
What is the ruling on those who accuse the Mother of the Believers, Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), of adultery regarding the incident of Ifk?
Answer:
When the hypocrites accused Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) of adultery, Allah Almighty declared her chastity in the Quranic texts. After Allah’s clarification, if anyone accuses Sayyida of the incident of Ifk regarding adultery, then he is a disbeliever, and the Ummah agrees on this.
Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
أنزل الله براءتك من فوق سبع سماوات
“Allah has revealed your innocence from above the seven heavens.”
Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared this narration authentic, and Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) has agreed with him.
❀ One narration states:
نزل عذرك من السماء
“Your innocence has been revealed from the heavens.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
“Allah Almighty made Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) because she was chaste, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the most chaste among all humans. If Sayyida were unchaste, she would not be legally his wife, nor would she be worthy of him. That is why Allah Almighty said: ﴿أُولَئِكَ مُبَرَّءُونَ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ﴾ ‘These beings are free from the accusations of people.’ This means they are far removed from the claims of the people of Ifk and their enemies.”
❀ Allah Almighty’s command is:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْغَافِلَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ لُعِنُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾
“Those who accuse chaste, unaware believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and for them is a great punishment prepared.”
❀ The scholar of the Ahl al-Bayt, Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said:
نزلت فى عائشة خاصة
“This verse was revealed specifically about Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).”
❀ Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) has clarified that this verse
was revealed regarding those who accuse Sayyida Aisha and the other Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them), because it is, in fact, an insult to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). An accusation against a wife is distressing for the husband, just as it is for a son, because it indicates his lowliness and baseness. If a wife commits adultery, it is a disgrace for the husband. It is quite possible that if a person is accused himself, it may not be as disgraceful as the accusation against his wife.”
❀ The consensus of the Abbasid scholars is:
من سب سيدتنا عائشة رضي الله عنها فلا حظ له فى الإسلام
“Whoever speaks ill of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has no share in Islam.”
❀ Allama Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
قد أجمع المسلمون على عموم آية القذف وإن كانت نزلت فى شأن عائشة رضي الله عنها خاصة
“The consensus of the Muslims is that the verse regarding accusation is general, although it was revealed specifically about Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).”
❀ Allama Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The command of Allah Almighty: ﴿يَعِظُكُمُ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَعُودُوا لِمِثْلِهِ أَبَدًا﴾
refers to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), because equality can only be established when similar statements are made about someone or they are on par with the pure wives. Because this causes humiliation and distress to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the Ahl al-Bayt, and this is an act of disbelief.”
❀ Qadi Abu Ya’la Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
من قذف عائشة بما برأها الله منه كفر بلا خلاف
“Whoever accused Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) of the same accusation from which Allah Almighty has declared her innocent, there is no disagreement about his disbelief.”
❀ Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“Many scholars have transmitted consensus on this, and numerous imams have also explicitly stated this ruling.”
❀ Allama Ibn Juzayy al-Gharnati (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“In the incident of Ifk, there were five aspects of goodness; the Mother of the Believers was declared innocent, Allah Almighty revealed a revelation in honor of Sayyida, she received a great reward for her patience regarding this false accusation, the believers were given admonition and advice, and revenge was taken against those who made false accusations.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
هي ردة تامة، وتكذيب لله تعالى فى قطعه ببراءتها
“Accusing Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is complete apostasy and is to deny Allah’s definitive declaration of her innocence.”
❀ Allama Abdul Khaliq bin Isa Hashimi Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“Whoever made that accusation against Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), from which Allah Almighty has declared her innocent, has exited the religion (become a disbeliever). His marriage to a Muslim woman will not be valid unless he publicly repents.”
❀ Allama Ibn Arabi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
إن أهل الإفك رموا عائشة المطهرة بالفاحشة، فبرأها الله، فكل من سبها بما برأها الله منه فهو مكذب لله، ومن كذب الله فهو كافر
“The people of Ifk accused the chaste Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) of wrongdoing, so Allah Almighty declared her innocent. Therefore, whoever accused Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) of that accusation from which Allah Almighty declared her innocent is a denier of Allah, and whoever denies Allah is a disbeliever.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
من قذفها بما برأها الله منه فقد كفر بالله العظيم
“Whoever accused Sayyida of that accusation from which Allah Almighty declared her innocent has committed disbelief against Allah the Almighty.”
❀ Hafiz Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The innocence of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has been established in the incident of Ifk; this innocence is definitive, which is supported by Quranic text. Therefore, may Allah forgive! Whoever doubts this, the consensus of Muslims is that he is a disbeliever and an apostate.”
❀ Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
إياك يا رافضي أن تلوح بقذف أم المؤمنين بعد نزول النص فى براءتها، فتجب لك النار
“O Rafidi! Refrain from accusing the Mother of the Believers, Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), after the text of her innocence has been revealed, otherwise Hell will become obligatory upon you.”
❀ Allama Ibn Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
اتفقت الأمة على كفر قاذفها
“The Ummah agrees on the disbelief of the one who accuses Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The consensus of all scholars is that the person who speaks ill of her after the declaration of her innocence and accuses her with the same accusation after these verses were revealed is a clear enemy of the Quran.”
❀ Allama Zarkashi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
إن من قذفها فقد كفر لتصريح القرآن الكريم ببراءتها
“Whoever accused Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is a disbeliever, because her innocence has been explicitly stated in the Holy Quran.”
❀ Hafiz Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The innocence of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has been established in the incident of Ifk; this innocence is definitive, which is supported by Quranic text. Therefore, may Allah forgive! Whoever doubts this, the consensus of Muslims is that he is a disbeliever and an apostate.”
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“This hadith is evidence that doubting the innocence of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is forbidden.”
❀ Hafiz Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The blessed verse: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاؤُوا بِالْإِفْكِ﴾ ‘Those who have brought forth a great slander’ was revealed regarding the accusation against Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). The scholars say: Accusing Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is disbelief, because when Allah Almighty mentioned this accusation, He declared His purity, saying: ﴿سُبْحَانَكَ هَذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾ ‘Allah is pure; this is a great slander.’ When the polytheists affirmed for Allah a wife and children, even then Allah Almighty declared His purity and sanctity.”
❀ Allama Bahru Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The hadith of Ifk is about the declaration of innocence of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). This innocence is definitive, and it is supported by the Quranic text, to the extent that if anyone doubts the innocence of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), he is unanimously a disbeliever.”
❀ Allama Ibn Najim Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) (970ه) states:
“Accusing Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) makes a person a disbeliever.”
❀ Allama Ibn Abidin Shami (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“If anyone accuses Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), there is no doubt about his disbelief.”
❀ He also states:
“There is no doubt about the disbelief of the one who accuses Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).”
❀ The unanimous fatwa of the Hanafi scholars is:
“Whoever accused Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) of adultery has committed disbelief against Allah.”
❀ Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him)
states:
“The one who accuses the pure and chaste wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in this world and the Hereafter is from the lineage of the leader of the hypocrites, Abdullah ibn Ubayy, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is saying: O Muslims! Who will help me against the one who harms my wife? The command of Allah Almighty is:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا، وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُّبِينًا﴾
Those who harm Allah and His Messenger are cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and for them is a humiliating punishment prepared. And those who unjustly harm believing men and women carry a burden of slander and clear sin. Where are the helpers of Allah’s religion? Who will say: O Messenger of Allah! We will defend you.”
