Seerah of the Prophet: Hadithatul Ifk
(student notes Thursday, February 20, 2003)

Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) was the wife that was with the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) on his trip back to Madinah from Bani Mustaliq. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) chose Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) from his wives to accompany him on this Ghazwah. On their trip back, Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) used the bathroom at night. Using the bathroom required that they go a distance far away, and it was during this time she lost her necklace. After realizing she had lost it, she decided to look for it in the morning. In the morning, as she was looking for it, the entire caravan left but she did not know.

During this time, the women traveled in a haudaj, a small enclosed carrier that a group of men would eventually place on top of a camel. The companions did not know she was not inside her haudaj because they did not look to see what was inside it. Likewise, she was so thin that they didn’t notice the difference. The caravan then moved forth.

She kept looking for the necklace because the necklace was for her sister Asma. When she came back no one was there. Thus, she decided to wait on the path way. She did this for two reasons:
1. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to keep someone behind to oversee if anyone was left behind
2. maybe someone was like her stranded

Safwan ibn Muaqil happened to have stayed behind because he either missed the caravan or because he was the point guard left behind to check on those left behind.

It was reported by Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) in Hadith Bukhari that all Safwan said to her (radhi Allahu anha) were two statements:

1. "inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon" (To Allah we belong and to Allah we return.)
2. "the wife of the prophet Muhammad?".

He did not even tell her "We are on our way back." This is because he was a man of honor and he sought to preserve the honor of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) .

'How he recognized Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) if she was such a decent woman with proper hijab' was one of the questions the slanderers spread. Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) said he recognized her from the days before hijab.

Safwan then put his camel down so she could ride it and he walked away before she tried to ride the camel. He did this so that he would not look. He then came back to lead the camel on the journey back to Madinah.

They reach Madinah about Dhuhr time. The head of the hypocrites, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, had been waiting. At the gates of Madinah, he saw them and began to spread an indirect slander. He said to some effect "She must have done something with him and he must have done something with her."

He said it in very broad words because he was very manipulative in using the right words not to be punished but just enough to instigate evil thoughts in people’s minds. The people around him heard him and began to spread the rumor.

Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) at the time was an innocent young girl about 14 years old. She did not know what was going on for 27-28 days after the rumor had started. She was unhappy and crying even though she did not know people were talking about her. This was because the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was harsh to her, speaking to her in third person "How is she doing?"

It was very hard for the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). One of the hardest things for a man is for someone to come and talk about his wife. This is worse than insulting a man, in addition to what the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was going through with all the kuffar slandering him calling him a poet, a magician, etc.. as well as the hypocrites trying to form a coalition against him.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) went to the mimbar and told the people that there had been a rumor being spread about his wife. He asked who would take care of the situation and Usaid ibn hudayr came forth. He said "Oh prophet if this man is from the Aws we will take care of him. If he is from the Khazraj, they will take care of it."

At this time everyone was already tense because of the Prophet Muhammad's (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) announcement. But, Saad ibn Ubadah became defensive and said "Oh you hypocrite! Do not say that! The only reason you are saying that is because you know that the person you are talking about is from the Khazraj. (meaning, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy because he is from them)."

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) calmed them down and advised them to be quiet.

Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) still did not know what was going on. At night she went with her older friend Umm Mustah to use the bathroom outside. They had to walk a distance. Umm Mustah tripped over her dress and almost fell. Umm Mustah said "May Allah (azza wajal) curse Mustah. (her son)" Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) was surprised and asked her why she did that. Umm Mustah eventually revealed the rumor to Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) and said her son was a part of the slander.

For two nights and one day, it was reported that Aisha's (radhi Allahu anha) tears would not stop falling from her cheeks. It was also narrated that she said she thought her internal organs would explode.

On the 30th night, Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) , Abu Bakr, and her mother faced the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) . The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) told her "If you did something tell me so you can repent. If you did it do tawbah so you meet Allah (azza wajal) repenting." Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) looked at her father and told him she did not do any of this. And her father, Abu Bakr, reiterated what the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said. She then looked at her mother for help and her mother said the same thing as the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said. Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) became angry and her tears dried with her heart becoming hard. She said "The only thing I am going to tell you is the same thing Abu Yusuf (Yaqoob) told his sons when Yusuf was taken away… ‘fa sabroon jameel wallahul musta’anu ala matasifoon .’ "With good patience, Allah is the one who aids me in that which you are accusing me.. ."

She was narrated to have said that after saying those words she felt relieved and knew that Allah (azza wajal) would declare her innocent. She was finally able to sleep. She said that she no longer worried about her situation but instead the situation of her parents because she thought they would die from worrying about the slander.

Shortly thereafter, Allah (azza wajal) revealed her innocence.

"And had it not been for the Grace of Allah (azza wajal) and His Mercy on you (He would have hastened the punishment upon you)! And that Allah (azza wajal) is the One Who accepts repentance, the All-Wise." (Surah An-Nur: 10)

Our duty as Muslims, if we have not seen solid proof, is that we should not discuss rumors. It has no benefit. Some spread the rumor and some kept to themselves such as Abu Ayub al Ansari and his wife.

Abu Ayub said to his wife, "Do you know what is going on in Madinah today? If you were alone in the desert with Safwan, would you have done something wrong?" She said "No." He said "Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) is better than you, she would not have done anything." Then his wife asked him "If you were alone with Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) in the desert would you have done anything?" He said "No." She said "Oh Safwan is better than you. It never happened."

This is why Allah (azza wajal) revealed in Surah An-Nur: "Why then, did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of their own people and say: "This (charge) is an obvious lie?"

When we hear something like this, we should think good of others. Unless there is solid proof and there is benefit in discussing it, we should think of Muslims in a good light.

When her mother woke Aisha (radhi Allahu anhu) up and told her of her innnocence as being declared by Allah (azza wajal), her mother advised her to thank the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) refused and said the only one she will thank is Allah (azza wajal) because Allah (azza wajal) declared her innocence in the Qur‘an.

Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) said she knew that Allah (azza wajal) would declare her innocence but she did not expect that it would be in the Qur’an and for all to know until the day of judgment. In her honor, we have ten verses in the Qur’an.

When innocence was declared, the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had three people were whipped.
Mustah ibn Uthathah (Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) ’s friend’s son)
Hamanah bint Jahsh (sister in law of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) )
Hassan ibn Thabit (the poet of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) )

As we know in Islam, 80 lashes is the punishment for those who accuses a woman of adultery. Four just and known to be honest people are needed. If three people come forward, all three will be whipped even if they told the truth. If four people come forward, and one of them is a known liar, they will all be whipped. If four people come forward and have seen two people naked inside a house, it is not adultery and if they were to come forth, they would all be whipped. The actual sexual intercourse must be witnessed. This is how islam protects the honor of this Umm ah. Insufficient witness and evidence will risk the accuser of being whipped and his future testimonies will not be accepted. Allah (azza wajal) says: "Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah they are the liars." (Surah An-Nur: 13)

This is not something to defame the Sahabah about. It was a mistake they committed and Allah (azza wajal) forgave them.

There were four people who spread the rumor but only three were whipped. Abdullah ibn Ubayy was the one that was not whipped. According to the scholars, the reasons as to why he was not whipped was:

1. To the Muslims Abdullah was seen as a hypocrite, but to the outsiders he was seen as a Muslim. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not want outsiders to see that he killed his own people. For the same reason, the scholars say the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not whip Abdullah.

2. Allah (azza wajal) said in Surah An-Nur "Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) h (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet ) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment." (Surah An-Nur: 11)

The whipping in this life rectifies the sin they have committed like what was done to the three companions, but Abdullah Ibn Ubayy will have his punishment in the Hereafter.

3. Abdullah Ibn Ubayy did not directly say the two committed adultery.

After this event, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy was exposed and became a loner. In context of Umar (radhi Allahu anhu) wanting to chop his head off at Bani Mustaliq, the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used this event to teach Umar (radhi Allahu anhu) some wisdom. He taught Umar the wisdom that if they had killed the hypocrite there would have been a comotion and people would rally behind Abdullah Ibn Ubayy. After this event, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy was no longer credible.

"And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you (He would have hastened the punishment upon you)! And that Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, the All-Wise. Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) h (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet ) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment. Why then, did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of their own people and say: "This (charge) is an obvious lie?" Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah they are the liars. Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken. When you were propagating it with your tongues, and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah (azza wajal) it was very great. 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." Allah (azza wajal) forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers. And Allah makes the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) plain to you, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Verily, those who like that (the crime of) illegal sexual intercourse should be propagated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you know not. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah (azza wajal) and His Mercy on you, (Allah) would have hastened the punishment upon you). And that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Surah An-Nur: 10-20)

We thank Allah (azza wajal) for this event because of the good derived from this. One of them was the declaration of Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) ’s innocence until the day of judgment. Another one was that Allah (azza wajal) warns us not to return to slandering Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) and the Sahabah, or anything similar to this. This applies to the shia’a who accuse the sahabah of all evil.

Imam Malik was narrated to have said in minhaj al Sunnah by Ibn Taymiyyah "anyone who slanders Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) or any of the sahabah is a kafir." (based on the previous ayah)

Attacking the Sahabah’s character means elimination of the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) since they were the ones who narrated them.

Most of the hadith about the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was narrated from Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) . Thus, Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) was a special woman. She had a nephew named Urwa bin Zubair. (Zubair ibn Awam and Asma (Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) ’s sister) had a son named Urwa bin Zubair.) Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) took care of him and he reported much information about Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) from poetry to scholarship. One of them was how Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) knew medicine. He reported that Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) reported that when Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was sick she would learn from the many people who would come from different places to cure him.

When the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked who the most beloved was to him. He told them Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) . Then he told them second to Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) was her father Abu Bakr.

Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) was given ten important characteristics:

1. Angel Jibril came in her physical appearance.
2. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) never married a virgin but her.
3. Both her parents were muhajireen.
4. Allah (azza wajal) brought revelations declaring her innocence.
5. Revelations came down to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) while sleeping in bed next to her.
6. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and her used shower together in the same bath tub.
7. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to pray while she was laying down in front of him. One narration was that he he pinched her to move her leg because he could not make sujood.
8. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) died with his head on her chest.
9. He died in Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) ’s house.
10. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was buried in her own house.

When the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was dying, Aisha (radhi Allahu anha) ’s brother Abdullah walked in and he had a miswak in his mouth. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was too sick to talk. He looked at Abdullah and she knew he had wanted Abdullah’s miswak. She took the miswak and chewed the side Abdullah was not using. Then she gave it to the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) . Thus, the last saliva in his mouth was hers.

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