The Book of the Kind Treatment of Women

Ibrahim ibn Yunus ibn Muhammad, known by the nickname Harami, informed me; he said: My father narrated to us; he said: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had a slave woman with whom he had sexual relations. ʿAishah and Hafsah kept pressing him until he declared her forbidden to himself. Then Allah, Mighty and Sublime, revealed: ‘O Prophet, why do you forbid for yourself what Allah has made lawful for you?’—to the end of the verse.

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from Yahya—meaning Ibn Saʿid al-Ansari—from ʿUbadah ibn al-Walid ibn ʿUbadah ibn al-Samit, that ʿAishah said: I sought the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and ran my hand through his hair. He said: ‘Your devil has come to you.’ I said: ‘Do you have a devil too?’ He replied: ‘Yes, but Allah helped me against him, and he submitted.’

Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan al-Miqsami informed me, from Hajjaj, from Ibn Jurayj, from ʿAtaʾ, who said: Ibn Abi Mulaykah informed me, from ʿAishah, who said: One night I could not find the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. I thought he had gone to one of his other wives, so I searched for him and found him bowing or prostrating, saying: ‘Glory and praise be to You; there is no god but You.’ I said: ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You were occupied with one matter, while I was occupied with another.’

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us; he said: ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us; he said: Ibn Jurayj [from ʿAtaʾ] said: Ibn Abi Mulaykah informed me that ʿAishah said: One night I could not find the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. I thought he had gone to one of his other wives, so I searched for him. Then I returned, and there he was, bowing or prostrating and saying: ‘Glory and praise be to You; there is no god but You.’ I said: ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You were occupied with one matter, while I was occupied with another.’

Sulayman ibn Dawud reported to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Jurayj informed me, from ʿAbdullah ibn Kathir, who heard Muhammad ibn Qays say: I heard ʿAishah say: ‘Shall I tell you about the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and myself?’ We said: ‘Yes.’ She said: ‘On the night that was my turn, he returned, placed his sandals by his feet, set aside his cloak, and spread his waist-wrapper on the bed. He stayed only as long as he thought I had fallen asleep. Then he put on his sandals slowly, picked up his cloak slowly, opened the door quietly, went out, and quietly closed it behind him. I put my outer garment over my head, veiled myself, wrapped my waist-wrapper around me, and followed him until he reached al-Baqiʿ. He raised his hands three times and stood there for a long time. Then he turned back, and I turned back; he walked faster, and I walked faster; he broke into a trot, and I trotted; then he ran, and I ran. I got ahead of him and went inside. I had only just lain down when he entered and said: “What is the matter, ʿAishah? Are you breathing hard?” Sulayman said: I think the narrator said “short of breath.” He said: “You must tell me, or the All-Kind, the All-Aware will tell me.” I said: “Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you,” and I told him what had happened. He said: “Were you the dark figure I saw in front of me?” I said: “Yes.”’

She said: ‘He gave me a painful nudge in the chest and said: “Did you think Allah and His Messenger would treat you unjustly?”’ She said: ‘Whatever people conceal, Allah, Mighty and Sublime, knows it.’ He said: ‘Yes. Jibril, peace be upon him, came to me when you saw me. He did not enter upon you because you had taken off your clothes. He called me quietly, and I answered him quietly so that you would not hear. I thought you had fallen asleep; I did not want to wake you, and I feared you might feel lonely. He instructed me to go to the people of al-Baqiʿ and ask forgiveness for them.’ Hajjaj ibn Muhammad differed from Ibn Wahb; he narrated it from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from Muhammad ibn Qays.

Yusuf ibn Saʿid ibn Muslim al-Missisi narrated to us; he said: Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj; ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Mulaykah informed me that he heard Muhammad ibn Qays ibn Makhramah say: I heard ʿAishah relate: ‘Shall I tell you about myself and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him?’ We said: ‘Yes.’ She said: ‘On the night that was my turn with him, he came in, placed his sandals by his feet, set aside his cloak, and spread the edge of his waist-wrapper on the bed. He stayed only until he thought I had fallen asleep. Then he put on his sandals quietly, picked up his cloak quietly, opened the door quietly, went out, and closed it quietly behind him. I put my outer garment over my head, veiled myself, wrapped my waist-wrapper around me, and followed him until he reached al-Baqiʿ. He raised his hands three times and stood for a long time. Then he turned away, and I turned away; he hurried, and I hurried; he trotted, and I trotted; then he ran, and I ran. I got ahead of him and entered the house. I had only just lain down when he came in and said: “What is the matter, ʿAishah? You are panting.” She said: “Nothing.” He said: “You must tell me, or the All-Kind, the All-Aware will tell me.” I said: “Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you,” and told him what had happened. He said: “So you were the dark figure I saw in front of me?” She said: “Yes.”’

She said: ‘He gave me a painful nudge in the chest, then said: “Did you think Allah and His Messenger would treat you unjustly?” She replied: “Whatever people conceal, Allah knows it.” He said: “Yes. Jibril, peace be upon him, came to me when you saw me. He did not enter upon you because you had taken off your clothes. He called me quietly, and I answered him quietly, concealing it from you. I thought you had fallen asleep, and I feared you might feel lonely. He instructed me to go to the people of al-Baqiʿ and ask forgiveness for them.”’ ʿAsim narrated it from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmir, from ʿAishah, with wording different from this.

ʿAli ibn Hujr reported to us; he said: Sharik informed us, from ʿAsim, from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmir ibn Rabiʿah, from ʿAishah, who said: ‘I missed him one night,’ and the narrator continued with the rest of the hadith.