Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (144) | The story of Al-Fak

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 Muhammad is the Messenger.

0:13 A Concise Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah)

0:17 Authored by Shaykh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azmi,

0:22 May Allah preserve him.

0:25 The Incident of the Slander (Al-Ifk)

0:30 During this expedition, the Incident of the Slander took place,

0:35 which was fabricated by Ibn Salul—may Allah render him hideous—

0:39 and the hypocrites who were with him,

0:41 targeting the Mother of the Believers, the pure 'A'ishah, daughter of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with them both).

0:48 And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed ten verses from Surah Al-Nur regarding this matter,

0:54 where He Almighty says:

0:55 “Lo! they who spread the slander are a gang among you. Deem it not a bad thing for you; nay, it is good for you. Unto every man of them (will be paid) that which he hath earned of the sin; and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be an awful doom.” (24:11)

1:02 “Lo! they who spread the slander are a gang among you. Deem it not a bad thing for you; nay, it is good for you. Unto every man of them (will be paid) that which he hath earned of the sin; and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be an awful doom.” (24:11)

1:07 "Every person among them will bear the sin he earned from this slander..."

1:12 “Lo! they who spread the slander are a gang among you. Deem it not a bad thing for you; nay, it is good for you. Unto every man of them (will be paid) that which he hath earned of the sin; and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be an awful doom.” (24:11)

1:18 ...to the end of the verses.

1:21 Imam Al-Qurtubi said:

1:23 "The reason for the revelation of these verses

1:25 is what the Imams narrated from the lengthy hadith of the Slander

1:29 regarding the story of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).

1:33 It is an authentic and widely famous report,

1:35 whose renown renders its full repetition unnecessary."

1:38 Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:

1:40 "These ten verses

1:42 were all revealed regarding 'A'ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her),

1:48 when the people of slander and falsehood among the hypocrites accused her

1:52 with pure lies and fabrications—

1:55 a matter over which Allah Almighty manifested His jealous protective indignation for her

1:58 and for His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

2:02 So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent down her exoneration,

2:05 preserving the honor of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

2:09 Thus He said: 'Indeed, those who came forward with the slander are a band among you.'

2:16 Meaning, a group among you;

2:18 that is, it was not merely one or two individuals,

2:21 but rather a whole group.

2:23 The leader in incurring this curse was

2:25 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the chief of the hypocrites.

2:30 For he used to actively spread and instigate it,

2:33 until it penetrated the minds of some Muslims,

2:37 who then spoke of it,

2:39 while others among them deemed it possible.

2:41 This state of affairs persisted for nearly a month,

2:45 until the Qur'an was revealed;

2:47 and its full context is detailed in the authentic hadiths."

2:52 The Arrival of the Urayniyyin

2:56 There arrived before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Medina

3:00 a party from the tribes of 'Ukl and 'Uraynah,

3:03 and that was in Shawwal of the sixth year of the Hijrah.

3:07 They outwardly professed Islam

3:09 and swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

3:13 However, they found the climate of Medina unhealthy,

3:15 and their bodies grew sick,

3:17 their bellies became bloated,

3:19 and their limbs became wasted.

3:22 Al-Hafiz said in *Fath al-Bari*:

3:24 "It appears that they arrived already suffering from illness.

3:27 When they recovered from that ailment,

3:30 they came to dislike residing in Medina due to its unwholesome climate.

3:34 As for the sickness they had,

3:36 it was extreme emaciation and exhaustion from severe hunger."

3:40 In Abu 'Awanah's collection, from the narration of Ghaylan

3:44 on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him):

3:46 "They were suffering from severe emaciation."

3:49 And in his collection, from the narration of Ibn Sa'd on his authority:

3:52 "Their complexions had turned pale yellow."

3:54 Imam Al-Bukhari narrated in his *Sahih*

3:57 on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

4:00 "Some people from 'Ukl and 'Uraynah

4:03 came to Medina to see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

4:07 and spoke the profession of Islam,

4:10 saying: 'O Prophet of Allah,

4:12 we were herdsmen who lived off livestock,

4:14 and we were never agricultural town-dwellers.'

4:17 They found the climate of Medina unwholesome,

4:19 so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered for them

4:22 a herd of camels and a shepherd,

4:24 and instructed them to go out with them

4:26 and drink from their milk and urine.

4:30 So they set out until, when they reached the direction of Al-Harrah,

4:34 they disbelieved after having accepted Islam,

4:36 murdered the shepherd of the Prophet (peace be upon him),

4:40 and drove away the herd of camels.

4:42 News of this reached the Prophet (peace be upon him),

4:45 so he dispatched a search party in their pursuit.

4:48 He then issued orders regarding them:

4:50 their eyes were branded with hot irons, their hands were cut off,

4:53 and they were left in a tract of Al-Harrah

4:56 until they died in that state."

4:59 In another wording in the two *Sahih*s

5:02 on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

5:05 "So they went out and drank from their urine and milk,

5:09 and they recovered their health.

5:10 Then they murdered the shepherd and drove off the camels.

5:13 When that reached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),

5:18 he sent pursuers after them.

5:20 They were overtaken and brought back,

5:23 whereupon he ordered punishment for them:

5:24 their hands and feet were amputated on alternate sides,

5:27 their eyes were branded,

5:29 and they were then cast out in the sun until they died."

5:32 Imam Muslim narrated in his *Sahih*

5:35 on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

5:38 "The Prophet (peace be upon him) only branded the eyes of those individuals

5:43 because they had branded the eyes of the shepherds."

5:46 Abu Qilabah said:

5:48 "Thus, these people committed theft and murder,

5:51 disbelieved after having believed,

5:53 and waged war against Allah and His Messenger."

5:56 Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:

5:59 "What was done to them was an act of equal retaliation (qisas), and Allah knows best."

6:03 Abu Dawud narrated in his *Sunan*,

6:06 as did Al-Tahawi in *Sharh Mushkil al-Athar* with an authentic chain of transmission,

6:10 on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

6:13 "So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed concerning that:

6:16 “The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom;” (5:33)

6:21 '...and who strive throughout the land causing corruption...'"

6:24 Imam Al-Qurtubi said:

6:26 "Scholars differed regarding the reason for the revelation of this verse.

6:29 The opinion held by the majority of scholars

6:32 is that it was revealed concerning the Urayniyyin."

6:35 Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:

6:37 "The correct view is that this verse is general in application,

6:40 encompassing the polytheists and others who commit these offenses."

6:47 Among the fiqh benefits derived from the story of the Urayniyyin,

6:51 Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:

6:53 "In it there are matters of fiqh, including:

6:55 the permissibility of drinking the urine of camels;

6:58 the ritual purity of the urine of animals whose meat is permissible to eat;

7:01 combining penalties for a highway robber if he seizes property and commits murder—

7:05 combining the amputation of his hand and foot with his execution;

7:09 and that an offender may be subjected to the exact same harm he inflicted,

7:12 for since they gouged out the eyes of the shepherd,

7:15 he gouged out their eyes.

7:17 It has thus become clear that this ruling is decisive and unrepealed,

7:21 and even if it occurred before the prescribed legal punishments (hudud) were revealed,

7:24 the hudud were revealed to confirm its principle, not to invalidate it;

7:28 and Allah knows best."

7:31 A Concise Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah)

7:35 Though longing between creation may stretch far and deep,

7:42 longing for you knows no bound or limit.

7:49 May Allah send blessings upon you whenever the caller raises the call to prayer,

7:56 and whenever lips move

8:02 with the enduring words of remembrance.

Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (144) | The story of Al-Fak

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