Our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
“As for ‘A’ishah, Allah has declared your innocence.”
The people most severely tested are the prophets, then those most like them, and then those most like them.
Our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was tested with various trials, yet he remained patient.
Among the most difficult of these for him personally
was the slander against the honor of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
which lasted for a full month during which no revelation was sent down to him.
Then, Allah revealed the innocence of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, in the Qur’an, to be recited until the Day of Resurrection.
This trial is known as the Incident of the Slander (al-Ifk).
If we were to discuss this incident in detail, it would require more than one session.
However, we shall extract only the final portion of it,
and conclude the "O ‘A’ishah" series with it,
in the hope of meeting you in another series,
if Allah grants us and you life until the coming Ramadan, insha’Allah.
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says in her narration of the story of the Incident of the Slander:
“My parents were with me,
and they had not yet left when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered.
He had already prayed the ‘Asr prayer.
Then he entered,
while my parents were sitting on my right and left.
He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said:
‘To proceed:
O ‘A’ishah,
if you have committed a fault or done wrong, then repent to Allah,
for Allah accepts repentance from His servants.’
She said:
‘A woman from the Ansar had come,
and she was sitting at the door.
I said,
“Do you not feel ashamed before this woman to mention such a thing?”’
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, exhorted me.
I turned to my father
and said to him, ‘Answer him.’
He said,
‘What should I say?’
I turned to my mother
and said, ‘Answer him.’
She said,
‘What should I say?’
When they did not answer him,
I testified, praised Allah, and extolled Him as He deserves,
then I said,
‘To proceed:
By Allah, if I were to tell you that I did not do it—
and Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, bears witness that I am truthful—
that would not benefit me with you.
You have spoken of it, and your hearts have become filled with it.
And if I were to tell you that I did do it—
and Allah knows that I did not do it—
you would surely say, “She has confessed to it herself.”
By Allah, I find no example for myself and for you
except for the father of Yusuf (Jacob), when he said:
“So patience is most fitting.”’
I could not recall his name.
[The verse: ﴾So patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe.﴿]
“And they came with false blood on his shirt. He said: Nay, but your minds have beguiled you into something. (My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought in that (predicament) which ye describe.” (12:18)
Then, revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at that very moment.
We remained silent until it was lifted from him.
I could see the joy on his face
as he wiped his forehead and said,
‘Rejoice, O ‘A’ishah!
For Allah has revealed your innocence.’
She said:
‘I was at the height of my anger.
My parents said to me,
“Go to him.”
I said,
“No, by Allah, I will not go to him,
nor will I praise him, nor will I praise you both.
Rather, I praise Allah, who has revealed my innocence.”
You heard it,
yet you neither denied it nor changed it.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
The Incident of the Slander contains many lessons.
Scholars have written dedicated works on it,
and the scholars of hadith have explained it in the books of hadith,
and the exegetes in the books of Tafsir.
The occasion does not allow for mentioning all the benefits contained in this incident,
but perhaps we can conclude these articles with some of its benefits.
The first benefit:
“You have spoken of it, and your hearts have become filled with it.”
When rumors spread in society
and everyone talks about them without verification,
this rumor turns into a perceived reality in people's souls
due to its frequent circulation and the lack of anyone denying it.
This is what ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, pointed to with this statement,
because she was certain of her innocence,
and she assumed that everyone who heard the news would be certain of her innocence.
We have a lesson in this:
we must not believe news that attacks the honor of people,
even if it spreads throughout society.
We must verify what we hear,
for the enemies of Islam are keen to spread lies about the callers to Islam
and about the scholars to tarnish their image and turn people away from them,
and to pressure them to stop speaking the truth.
The danger of these rumors to individual Muslims lies
in their believing them due to hearing them frequently without denial,
until they settle in their hearts,
causing them to think ill of the scholars of the Ummah and its callers,
and they contribute to attacking their honor without realizing it.
The second benefit:
The saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
“Rejoice, O ‘A’ishah!
For Allah has revealed your innocence.”
In another narration by al-Bukhari:
“O ‘A’ishah,
as for Allah, He has declared your innocence.”
Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, declared her innocent of what people were saying.
“Allah! There is no Allah save Him. He gathereth you all unto a Day of Resurrection whereof there is no doubt. Who is more true in statement than Allah?” (4:87)
“But as for those who believe and do good works We shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. It is a promise from Allah in truth; and who can be more truthful than Allah in utterance?” (4:122)
So, whoever attacks her honor after that
is only calling Allah a liar regarding what He declared her innocent of.
Therefore, scholars have ruled that whoever attacks the honor of ‘A’ishah
after Allah has declared her innocent
is a disbeliever, because he is denying the word of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, in the Noble Qur’an,
which He revealed to His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
through Jibril the Trustworthy.
The third benefit:
The saying of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her:
“No, by Allah, I will not go to him,
nor will I praise him, nor will I praise you both.
Rather, I praise Allah, who has revealed my innocence.”
“You heard it, yet you neither denied it nor changed it.”
‘A’ishah was in a state of extreme anger
because of this heinous accusation made against her,
and the silence of her parents regarding her innocence and their failure to defend her.
So when Allah declared her innocent from above seven heavens,
and her mother asked her to thank the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
for her innocence,
‘A’ishah said these words.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not get angry with her
for this statement of hers;
rather, he excused her for what she said,
for she had recognized the truth for its rightful owner,
and directed her praise to Allah, who had revealed her innocence.
Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Her excuse for saying that
was what she mentioned regarding the anger that had overcome her
because they did not hasten to deny the one who said about her what he said,
despite their certainty of her good character.”
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
“She only said that
out of coquetry, just as a beloved acts toward her lover.”
It was also said:
“She pointed to the oneness of Allah, the Exalted, by her saying,
‘He is the one who revealed my innocence,’
so it was appropriate to single Him out with praise at that moment,
and it does not necessitate abandoning praise thereafter.”
It is also possible that she adhered to the literal meaning of his saying, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to her:
“Praise Allah.”
She understood from it a command to single out Allah, the Exalted, with praise,
so she said that.
As for the other words she added,
they were prompted by anger.
This stance of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in excusing her for what she said
is part of his beautiful character, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his kind treatment of his family.
He sought an excuse for her,
for she was the one whose honor was attacked,
people spoke against her,
and even those closest to her did not defend her,
despite their knowledge of her good conduct and the purity of her heart.
The fourth benefit:
It is a great honor for ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
that Allah revealed verses about her to be recited until the Day of Resurrection,
declaring her innocence of what was attributed to her.
Muslims continue to recite these verses in their prayers,
so the innocence of ‘A’ishah echoes in their ears,
softening their hearts,
and raising the status of ‘A’ishah in their souls.
Whoever does not benefit from what Allah revealed in the Qur’an
and persists in attacking her honor,
then Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will take vengeance upon him in this world and the Hereafter.
The continuation of attacks on the honor of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
is a continuation of her reward,
so that it does not cease with her death.
This is a great virtue not granted to everyone.
So praise be to Allah who revealed the innocence of ‘A’ishah in His Book,
and praise be to Allah who declared her innocent Himself,
and praise be to Allah who made her the wife of our Prophet,
and praise be to Allah who guided us to love her,
and praise be to Allah who facilitated the writing of this series about her in this blessed month,
and praise be to Allah who made us among those who love the family of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and defend them.
I ask Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
to gather us with our Prophet and his family in the highest Paradise,
and to accept from us our love for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his family, from his wives and his descendants,
and to place that in the scale of our good deeds.
And our final prayer is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Our Mother ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.