Sahih al-Bukhari 2661

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abu al-Rabiʿ, Sulayman ibn Dawud, narrated to us; Ahmad explained part of it to me: Fulayh ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, from ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab, ʿAlqama ibn Waqqas al-Laythi, and ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUtba, from ʿAisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the Prophet’s wife, concerning what the people of the slander said about her, from which Allah declared her innocent. Al-Zuhri said: Each of them narrated to me a portion of her account; some retained more of it than others and related it more fully. I retained from each of them the account he narrated to me from ʿAisha, and parts of their reports corroborate one another. They related that ʿAisha said:

Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to travel, he drew lots among his wives; whichever one’s lot came out, he took with him. He drew lots among us for one of his campaigns, and my lot came out, so I went with him after the command of the veil had been revealed. I was carried in a howdah and set down in it. We traveled until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had finished that campaign, returned, and we were near Medina. One night he announced that we would depart. I got up when they announced the departure and walked beyond the army. When I had taken care of my need, I returned to the riding place and felt at my chest; my necklace of black beads from Dhafar had broken. I went back looking for it, and searching for it delayed me. The men who used to load my howdah came and lifted it, placed it on the camel I rode, and set off, thinking I was inside it. Women at that time were light: they had not grown heavy, nor had flesh accumulated on them; they ate only a little food. So the people did not notice the howdah’s weight when they lifted and carried it. I was a young girl. They sent the camel on and traveled. After the army had gone, I found my necklace. I came to their stopping place and found no one there. I went to the place where I had been and thought they would notice I was missing and return for me. As I sat there, my eyes overcame me and I fell asleep. Safwan ibn al-Muʿattal al-Sulami, then al-Dhakwani, had been behind the army. In the morning he came to where I was staying and saw the dark outline of a sleeping person. He came to me; he had seen me before the veil was prescribed. I awoke when he said, “We belong to Allah and to Him we return,” as he made his mount kneel. He put his foot on its foreleg, and I mounted. He then led the mount until we caught up with the army after they had stopped to rest at midday. Whoever was to perish, perished. The one who took charge of the slander was ʿAbdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul.

We arrived in Medina, where I was ill for a month, while people repeated the words of those who spread the slander. During my illness, what troubled me was that I did not see from the Prophet ﷺ the kindness I used to see from him when I was sick. He would only come in, greet me, and say, “How are you?” I sensed none of the rumors until I had recovered. Then I went out with Umm Mistah toward al-Manasiʿ, our place for relieving ourselves; we used to go out only at night, before we had built latrines near our houses. Our practice was like that of the early Arabs in the open country. Umm Mistah—her mother was the daughter of Abu Ruhm—and I were walking when she tripped over her wrap and said, “May Mistah perish!” I said to her: “What a bad thing to say! Do you revile a man who was present at Badr?” She said: “You poor thing, have you not heard what they have been saying?” Then she told me what the slanderers were saying, and my illness grew worse. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in, greeted me, and said: “How are you?” I said: “Give me permission to go to my parents.” I wanted then to make sure of the news from them, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me permission. I went to my parents and said to my mother: “What are people saying?” She said: “My dear daughter, take it lightly. By Allah, it is rare for a beautiful woman who is loved by her husband and has co-wives not to have them speak against her.” I said: “Glory be to Allah! Are people really talking about this?” I spent that night until morning with tears that would not stop and without a wink of sleep.

The next morning, when the revelation had been delayed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called ʿAli ibn Abi Talib and Usama ibn Zayd to consult them about separating from his wife. Usama advised him according to the affection he knew in his heart for his family, saying: “They are your family, Messenger of Allah, and by Allah we know nothing but good.” ʿAli ibn Abi Talib said: “Messenger of Allah, Allah has not restricted you; there are many women besides her. Ask the servant girl and she will tell you the truth.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Barira and said: “Barira, have you seen anything in her that gives you cause for doubt?” Barira said: “No, by the One who sent you with the truth. I have seen nothing in her that I would criticize, except that she is a young girl who falls asleep while dough is left, then a domestic animal comes and eats it.”

That day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood and sought redress concerning ʿAbdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. He said: “Who will excuse me concerning a man whose harm against my family has reached me? By Allah, I know nothing but good of my family. They have also mentioned a man of whom I know nothing but good, and he has never entered upon my family except when I was with him.” Saʿd ibn Muʿadh stood and said: “Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I will excuse you from him. If he is from the Aws, we will strike his neck; and if he is one of our brothers of the Khazraj, command us, and we will carry out your order concerning him.” Saʿd ibn ʿUbada, the chief of the Khazraj, stood. He had previously been a righteous man, but partisan zeal overcame him. He said: “By the life of Allah, you lie! You will not kill him, and you are not able to do so.” Usayd ibn Hudayr stood and said: “By the life of Allah, you lie! By Allah, we will kill him; you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites.” The two clans, the Aws and the Khazraj, became agitated and nearly fought while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was on the pulpit. He came down and calmed them until they fell silent, and he fell silent too. I cried throughout that day, with tears that would not stop and without sleep. The next morning my parents were with me. I had cried for two nights and a day, until I thought the crying would split my liver. While they sat with me and I was crying, a woman of the Ansar asked permission to enter. I let her in, and she sat crying with me. While we were like that, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered and sat down. Since the day people had begun saying what they said about me, he had not sat with me before then. A month had passed without revelation concerning me.

ʿAisha continued: He bore witness to the testimony of faith, then said: “ʿAisha, this-and-that has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will soon declare you innocent; but if you have fallen into something, then seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him. When a servant acknowledges a sin and then repents, Allah accepts his repentance.” When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished speaking, my tears dried up until I no longer felt a single drop. I said to my father: “Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for me.” He said: “By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” I said to my mother: “Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for me about what he said.” She said: “By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” I was a young girl who had not learned much of the Qur’an, so I said: “By Allah, I know that you have heard what people are saying; it has settled in your hearts and you have believed it. If I tell you that I am innocent—and Allah knows that I am innocent—you will not believe me. But if I admit something, while Allah knows that I am innocent, you will believe me. By Allah, I can find no example for me and you except the father of Joseph, when he said: ‘So beautiful patience; Allah is the One whose help is sought against what you describe.’” Then I turned over on my bed, hoping Allah would declare me innocent. But by Allah, I did not think that revelation would come down concerning me. I considered myself too insignificant for the Qur’an to speak about my affair. I had only hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ might see a dream in which Allah would declare me innocent. By Allah, he had not moved from his place, nor had anyone left the household, when revelation came to him. The severe state that used to overtake him came over him, and sweat streamed from him like pearls, even though it was a cold day.

When that state had passed from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he was smiling. The first words he said to me were: “ʿAisha, praise Allah, for Allah has declared you innocent.” My mother said to me: “Get up and go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” I said: “No, by Allah; I will not get up to go to him, and I will praise none but Allah.” Then Allah Most High revealed: “Indeed, those who brought the slander are a group among you …” When Allah revealed this about my innocence, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, who used to support Mistah ibn Uthatha because of their kinship, said: “By Allah, I will never spend anything on Mistah after what he said about ʿAisha.” Then Allah Most High revealed: “Let not those of virtue and abundance among you swear …” up to His words, “Forgiving, Merciful.” Abu Bakr said: “Indeed, by Allah, I love that Allah should forgive me.” He resumed giving Mistah the support he had given him before.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also asked Zaynab bint Jahsh about my affair: “Zaynab, what have you known and what have you seen?” She said: “Messenger of Allah, I guard my hearing and my sight; by Allah, I know nothing but good of her.” ʿAisha added: She was the one who competed with me, yet Allah protected her through her piety. Fulayh also narrated it from Hisham ibn ʿUrwa, from ʿUrwa, from ʿAisha and ʿAbdullah ibn al-Zubayr, with a similar report. He also narrated it from Rabiʿa ibn Abi ʿAbd al-Rahman and Yahya ibn Saʿid, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, with a similar report.