Surah An Nur ayat 11 Tafsir Quran 24:11

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ ۚ لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم ۖ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۚ لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ ۚ وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾
[ النور: 11]

24:11 Indeed, those who came with falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather it is good for you. For every person among them is what [punishment] he has earned from the sin, and he who took upon himself the greater portion thereof - for him is a great punishment.

Truly those who initiated the slander the worst calumny against ‘Ā’isha — mother of the believers may God be pleased with her — accusing her of fornication are a band from among yourselves a group from among the believers. She said that these were Hassān b. Thābit ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy Mistah b. Uthātha and Hamna bt. Jahsh. Do not suppose O you believers other than the mentioned band that it is bad for you; rather it is good for you for God will reward you for it and reveal ‘Ā’isha’s innocence and the innocence of the one who is supposed to have committed it with her namely Safwān b. al-Mu‘attal. She ‘Ā’isha related ‘I accompanied the Prophet s during a raid and this was after the requirement to wear the veil had been revealed. When he was through with it the raid he headed back to the campsite and one night having drawn close to Medina he announced that all should march off home. So I walked a distance away from the campsite and relieved myself. But when I came back to the campsite I realised that my necklace ‘iqd meaning qilāda had snapped. So I went back to look for it. In the meantime they had strapped my litter’ — in which one rides — ‘thinking that I was inside for in those days women were slight and ate very small portions ‘ulqa. Finally I found my necklace but when I went back to where I had been staying overnight they had already departed. I sat in the place where I had camped; I assumed that the group would notice my absence and come back for me. But my eyes were overcome by drowsiness and I fell asleep. Safwān had pitched camp behind the army to rest for some of the night ‘arrasa then set off while it was still night until he reached the site of the camp. He saw what looked like a person sleeping and recognised me when he eventually saw me having seen me on numerous occasions before the requirement of the veil. I woke up to the sound of him saying ‘To God we belong and to Him we shall surely return’ innā li’Llāhi wa-innā ilayhi rāji‘ūn for he had recognised me. So I concealed my face with my gown jilbāb — in other words I covered it up with my wrap mulā’a.

Indeed, those who have invented the lie -to defame the virtuous woman- are a group of people among you. Do not consider the incident a misfortune that has befallen you, on the contrary, it is to your advantage that it came out to light instead of being whispered about with bated breath. Every one of those involved in discrediting the faith shall be requited with what is commensurate with his share in the falsified incident. As to him whose spirit has moved him to lead the imprudent move* he shall suffer the torment laid upon the damned

Al-Ifk ( the Slander ) The next ten Ayat were all revealed concerning `A'ishah, the mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, when the people of slander and falsehood among the hypocrites made their accusations against her and spread lies about her.
Allah became jealous on her behalf and on behalf of His Prophet , and revealed her innocence to protect the honor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
He said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. ) meaning they were not one or two, but a group.
Foremost among this group was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, who fabricated the lie and whispered it to others, until some of the Muslims started to believe it, and others thought it might be possible and began to talk about it.
This is how matters remained for almost a month, until Qur'an was revealed.
This is reported in Sahih Hadiths.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Az-Zuhri said: Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, `Alqamah bin Waqqas and `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Utbah bin Mas`ud told me about the story of `A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet , when the people of the slander said what they said about her, and Allah declared her innocence.
Each of them told something about the story, and some of them knew more details than others or had memorized more than others.
I learned the story from each of them, who had heard it from `A'ishah herself, and what one told me confirmed what the others said.
They mentioned that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet , said: "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wanted to go on a journey, he would cast lots among his wives, and the one whose lot was drawn would go with him." `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "So he drew lots among us with regard to a campaign he was going out on, and mine was drawn, so I went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
This was after the commandment of Hijab had been revealed, so I traveled in my howdah and stayed in it when we camped.
We traveled until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ completed his campaign, then we returned.
As we were approaching Al-Madinah, we paused for a while, then they announced that the journey was to be resumed.
When I heard this, I walked quickly away from the army to answer the call of nature, then I came back to my howdah.
Then I put my hand to my chest and noticed that a necklace of mine that was made of onyx and cornelian had broken, so I went back and looked for it, and was delayed because of that.
In the meantime, the people who used to lift my howdah onto my camel came along and put it on the camel, thinking that I was inside.
In those times women were more slender and not so heavy, they only ate mouthfuls of food.
So the people did not think anything of the howdah being so light when they lifted it up, as I was a young woman.
They set off, and I found my necklace after the army had moved on.
Then I came back to the place where we had stopped, and I saw no one to call or answer.
So I went to the place where I had been, thinking that the people would miss me and come back for me.
While I was sitting there, I fell asleep.
tSafwan bin Al-Mu`attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani had rested during the night behind the army.
Then he set out just before daybreak and reached the place where I was in the morning, where he saw the outline of a person sleeping.
He came to me and recognized me when he saw me, as he had seen me before Hijab was made obligatory for me.
When he saw me and said `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' I woke up, and covered my face with my Jilbab ( outer garment ).
By Allah, he did not speak a word to me and I did not hear him say anything except `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' until he brought his camel and made it kneel so that I could ride upon it, then he set out leading the camel until we caught up with the army at Zuhr time. There are people who are doomed because of what happened to me, and the one who had the greater share therein was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul.
When we came back to Al-Madinah, I was ill for a month, and the people were talking about what the people of the slander were saying, and I knew nothing about it.
What upset me when I was ill was that I did not see the kindness I used to see on the part of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
When I was ill; he would just come in and say,
«كَيْفَ تِيكُمْ؟»
( How is that (lady )) That is what upset me.
I did not feel that there was anything wrong until I went out after I felt better, and Umm Mistah went out with me, walking towards Al-Manasi`, which is where we used to go to relieve ourselves, and we would not go out for that purpose except at night.
This was before we had lavatories close to our houses; our habit was similar to that of the early Arabs in that we went out into the deserts to relieve ourselves, because we considered it troublesome and harmful to have lavatories in our houses.
So I went out with Umm Mistah, who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin `Abd Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin `Amir, the paternal aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.
Her son was Mistah bin Uthathah bin `Abbad bin Al-Muttalib.
When we finished what we had to do, the daughter of Abu Ruhm Umm Mistah and I came back towards my house.
Umm Mistah stumbled over her apron and said, `May Mistah be ruined!' I said to her, `What a bad thing you have said! Are you abusing a man who was present at Badr' She said, `Good grief, have you not heard what he said' I said, `What did he say' So she told me what the people of the slander were saying, which made me even more ill.
When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to me and greeted me, then he said,
«كَيْفَ تِيكُمْ؟»
( How is that (lady )) I said to him, `Will you give me permission to go to my parents' At that time I wanted to confirm the news by hearing it from them.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me permission, so I went to my parents and asked my mother, `O my mother, what are the people talking about' My mother said, `Calm down, for by Allah, there is no beautiful woman who is loved by her husband and has co-wives but those co-wives would find fault with her.' I said, `Subhan Allah! Are the people really talking about that' I wept throughout the whole night until morning.
My tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all, and morning came while I was still weeping.
Because the revelation had ceased, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usamah bin Zayd, and consulted with them about divorcing his wife.
As for Usamah bin Zayd, he told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about what he knew of his wife's innocence and his fondness for her.
He said, `O Messenger of Allah, she is your wife, and we do not know anything about her but good.' But `Ali bin Abi Talib said, `O Messenger of Allah, Allah has not imposed restrictions on you, and there are plenty of other women besides her.
If you ask her servant girl, she will tell you the truth.' So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Barirah and said,
«أَيْ بَرِيرَةُ هَلْ رَأَيْتِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ يَرِيبُكِ مِنْ عَائِشَةَ؟»
( O Barirah, have you ever seen anything that might make you suspicious about `A'ishah ) Barirah said to him, `By the One Who sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything for which I could blame her, apart from the fact that she is a young girl who sometimes falls asleep and leaves her family's dough unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' So then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ got up and ( addressed the people ) and asked who could sort out `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul for him.
While he was standing on the Minbar, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«يَامَعْشَرَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَنْ يَعْذِرُنِي مِنْ رَجُلٍ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَذَاهُ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي، فَوَاللهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلَّا خَيْرًا، وَلَقَدْ ذَكَرُوا رَجُلًا مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا خَيْرًا، وَمَا كَانَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلَّا مَعِي»
( O Muslims, who will help me against a man who has hurt me by slandering my family By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and the people are blaming a man of whom I know nothing except good, and he has never entered upon my family except with me. ) Sa`d bin Mu`adh Al-Ansari stood up and said, `O Messenger of Allah, by Allah I will deal with him for you.
If he is from ( the tribe of ) Al-Aws, then I will cut off his head, and if he is from our brothers of ( the tribe of ) Al-Khazraj, tell us what to do and we will do it.' Then Sa`d bin `Ubadah stood up.
He was the leader of Al-Khazraj, and he was a righteous man, but he was overwhelmed with tribal chauvinism.
He said to Sa`d bin Mu`adh, `By Allah, you will not kill him and you will never be able to kill him.' Then Usayd bin Hudayr, who was the cousin of Sa`d bin Mu`adh, stood up and said to Sa`d bin `Ubadah, `You are lying! By Allah, we will kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites!' Then the two groups, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, started to get angry and were about to come to blows, with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ standing there on the Minbar, trying to calm them down until they became quiet, then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also fell silent.
On that day I kept on weeping so much, my tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all.
My parents thought that my liver would burst from all that weeping.
While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, a woman of the Ansar asked for permission to see me.
I let her in, and she sat and wept with me.
While we were in that state, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in, greeted us and sat down.
He had never sat with me since the rumors began, and a month had passed by without any revelation coming to him concerning my case.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited the Tashahhud when he sat down, then he said,
«أَمَّا بَعْدُ، يَا عَائِشَةُ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي عَنْكِ كَذَا وَكَذَا،فَإِنْ كُنْتِ بَرِيئَةً فَسَيُبَرِّئُكِ اللهُ، وَإِنْ كُنْتِ أَلْمَمْتِ بِذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرِي اللهَ ثُمَّ تُوبِي إِلَيْهِ، فَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا اعْتَرَفَ بِذَنْبِهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ، تَابَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ»
( Thereafter, O `A'ishah, I have been told such and such a thing about you, and if you are innocent, then Allah will reveal your innocence, but if you have committed a sin, then seek Allah's forgiveness and turn in repentance to Him, for when a servant confesses his sin and repents to Allah, He accepts his repentance. ) When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished what he had to say, my tears stopped completely and I not longer felt even one drop.
Then I said to my father, `Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf.' He said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' So I said to my mother, `Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf.' She said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' So even though I was just a young girl who had not memorized much of the Qur'an, I said: `By Allah, I know that you have heard so much of this story that it has become planted in your minds and you believe it.
So now 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 to you -- and Allah knows that I am innocent -- you will believe me.
By Allah, I cannot find any example to give you except for that which the Prophet Yusuf's father said, فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ ( So (for me ) patience is most fitting.
And it is Allah Whose help can be sought against that ( lie ) which you describe) 12:18.
Then I turned my face away and lay down on my bed.
By Allah, at that point I knew I was innocent and that Allah would prove my innocence because I was innocent, but by Allah, I did not think that Allah would reveal Qur'an that would be forever recited concerning my situation, because I thought of myself as too insignificant for Allah to reveal anything concerning me.
But I hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would see a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not move from where he was sitting and no one left the house before Allah sent down revelation to His Prophet , and he was overtaken by the state that always overtook him when the revelation came upon him, until drops of sweat like pearls would run down him, even on a winter's day; this was because of the heaviness of the words which were being revealed to him.
When that state passed -- and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was smiling -- the first thing he said was,
«أَبْشِرِي يَا عَائِشَةُ، أَمَّا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَقَدْ بَرَّأَكِ»
( Be glad O `A'ishah, Allah has declared your innocence. ) My mother said to me, `Get up and go to him.' I said, `By Allah, I will not go to him and I will not give praise to anyone except Allah, may He be glorified, for He is the One Who has proven my innocence.' So Allah revealed: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. ), until the ten Ayat.
Allah revealed these Ayat concerning my innocence.
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who used to spend on Mistah bin Uthathah because he was a close relative and because he was poor, said, `By Allah, I will never spend anything on him again after what he has said about `A'ishah.
' Then Allah revealed, وَلاَ يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُواْ الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُواْ أُوْلِى الْقُرْبَى ( And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give to their kinsmen. ) until His saying: أَلاَ تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ( Do you not love that Allah should forgive you And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful ) 24:22.
So Abu Bakr said, `By Allah, certainly I love that Allah should forgive me.' So he resumed spending on Mistah as he had spent on him before, and he said, `By Allah, I shall never stop spending on him.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Zaynab bint Jahsh about my situation, and said,
«يَا زَيْنَبُ مَاذَا عَلِمْتِ أَوْ رَأَيْتِ؟»
( O Zaynab, what do you know and what have you seen ) She said, `O Messenger of Allah, may Allah protect my hearing and my sight.
By Allah, I know nothing but good.' She is the one who used to compete with me among the wives of the Prophet , but Allah protected her ( from telling lies ) because of her piety.
But her sister Hamnah bint Jahsh kept on fighting on her behalf, so she was doomed along with those who were doomed." Ibn Shihab said, "This is as much as we know about this group of people." It was also by Al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs from the Hadith of Az-Zuhri, and by Ibn Ishaq also from Az-Zuhri.
He also said: "Yahya bin `Abbad bin `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr told me from his father, from `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad bin `Amr bin Hazm Al-Ansari told me from `Amrah, from `A'ishah, ( a report ) similar to that quoted above.
And Allah knows best.
Allah's saying: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander ) means, the lies, falsehood and fabrications. عُصْبَةٌ ( are a group ) means, a gang among you. لاَ تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرّاً لَّكُمْ ( Consider it not a bad thing for you. ) O family of Abu Bakr, بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ( Nay, it is good for you. ) means, in this world and the Hereafter, honorable mention in this world and raised status in the Hereafter.
Allah demonstrated the esteem with which He regarded the family of Abu Bakr when He defended `A'ishah the Mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, by revealing her innocence in the Qur'an, لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ( Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it.
.. ) 41:42.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, entered upon her when she was dying, he said to her, "Rejoice, for you are the wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he used to love you; he did not marry any virgin other than you, and your innocence was revealed from heaven." لِكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ مِّنْهُمْ مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الإِثْمِ ( Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, ) means, each of those who spoke about this matter and accused the Mother of the believers `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, of any immoral action, will have a great share of punishment. وَالَّذِى تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ ( and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, ) It was said that this referred to the one who initiated the rumors, or that it was the one who collected rumors and spread them among the people. لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ( his will be a great torment. ) means, for that.
He was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, may Allah disfigure him and curse him.

(24:11) Those who have invented the slander, *8 are some of your own people. *9 You should not, however, regard this matter as evil for it has good in it for you. *10 Whoso took any part in this, he earned his share of the sin accordingly, and the one, who had the greatest share of responsibility in it, *11 shall have a terrible punishment.

Indeed, those who came with falsehood are meaning

*8) This is an allusion to the slander against Hadrat `A'ishah.
Allah has Himself described it as Ifk ( false accusation, calumny ) which implies its total refutation
From here begins the mention of the incident which provided the occasion of this Surah's revelation.
We have reproduced the initial part of it in the Introduction as related by Hadrat `A' ishah herself; the rest of it is reproduced below.
She says:
" Rumours about this slander went on spreading in the city for about a month, which caused great distress and anguish to the Holy Prophet.
I cried due to helplessness and my parents were sick with mental agony.
At last one day the Holy Prophet visited us and he sat near me, which he had not done since the slander had staved.
Feeling that something decisive was going to happen that day, Hadrat Abu Bakr and Umm Ruman ( Hadrat `A'ishah's mother ) also sat near us.
The Holy Prophet started the conversation, saying: `A'ishah, I have heard this and this about you: if you are innocent, I expect that Allah will declare your innocence.
But it u you have committed a sin, you should offer repentance and ask for Allah's forgiveness; when a servant ( of Allah ) confesses his guilt and repents, Allah forgives him.' Hearing these words, tears dried in my eyes.
I looked up to my father expecting that he would reply to the Holy Prophet, but he said, `Daughter, I do not knave what I should say.' Then I turned to my mother, but she also did not know what to say.
At last I said, `You have all heard something about me and believed it.
Now if I say that I am innocent-and Allah is my witness that I am innocent-you will not believe me; and if I confess something which I never didand Allah knows that I never did it-you will believe me.' At that time I tried to call to memory the name of Prophet Jacob but could not recall it.
Therefore in view of the predicament that I was placed in, I said, ' `I cannot but repeat the words which the father of Prophet Joseph had spoken: fa-sabrun jamil: I will bear this patiently with good grace.' ( XII: 83 ).
Saying this I lay down and turned to the other side.
I was thinking that Allah was aware of my innocence, and He would certainly reveal the truth, but I could never imagine that Divine Revelation would come down in my defense, which the people will read and recite till the Last Day.
What I thought probable was that the Holy Prophet would see a dream in which Allah would indicate my innocence.
But in the meantime suddenly, the state of receiving Revelation appeared on the Holy Prophet, when pearl-like drops of perspiration used to gather on his face even in severe winter.
We all held our breath and sat silent.
As for me I was fearless, but my parents seemed to be struck with fear; they did not know what the Divine Revelation would be.
When the Revelation was over, the Holy Prophet seemed to be very pleased.
Overjoyed with happiness the first words he spoke were: `Congratulations, `A'ishah, Allah has sent down proof of your innocence' and then he recited these ten verses ( 11-21 ).
At this my mother said to me, `Get up and thank the Holy Prophet.' I said, 'I shall neither thank him nor you two, but thank Allah Who has sent down my absolution.
You did not even so, much as contradict the charge against me.' ( This is not the translation of any one tradition, but the substance of many traditions which are found in the books of Hadith in connection with the incident of the slander against Hadrat `A'ishah ).

One subtle point to be understood here is that before mentioning the absolution of Hadrat 'A'ishah, a full section of verses has been devoted to the Commandments pertaining to zina, qazf and li'an by which Allah means to admonish that zina is not a slight matter which may be used as a means of entertaining the people in a gathering.
It is very serious.'If the accuser is right in his accusation he should produce witnesses, and get a most horrible punishment inflicted upon the adulterer and the adulteress.
If the accuser is false, he deserves to be given 80 stripes, so that nobody may dare to bring a false charge against the other person.
And if the accuser is a husband, he will have to exercise /i an in a court of law to settle the matter.
So, none who utters such an accusation will have peace.
The Islamic society which has been brought about for the purpose of establishing goodness and piety in the world, can neither tolerate zina as a means of entertainment nor endure loose talk about it as a diversion and amusement.


*9) Only a few persons have been mentioned in traditions, who were spreading the rumours.
They were: `Abdullah bin Ubayy, Zaid bin Rifa'ah ( who was probably the son of Rifa'ah bin Zaid, the Jewish hypocrite ), Mistah bin Uthathah, Hassan bin _Thabit, and Hamnah bint Jahsh.
The first two of these were hypocrites, and the other three Muslims, who had been involved in the mischief due to misunderstanding and weakness.
Names of the other People who were more or less involved in the mischief have not been mentioned in the books of Hadith and life of the Holy Prophet.


*10) That is, "You should not lose heart.
Though the hypocrites, according to their own presumptions, have made the worst attack on you, it will eventually bring misfortune on them, and will prove to be a blessing in disguise for you."
As mentioned in the Introduction above, the hypocrites had planned to inflict a defeat on the Muslims on the moral front, which was their real field of superiority and responsible for their victory on every other front against the opponents.
But Allah turned this mischief into a means of strength for the Muslims.
On this occasion, the conduct and attitude adopted by the Holy Prophet, Hadrat Abu Bakr and his family, and the Muslims at large proved beyond any doubt that they were the purest people morally, tolerant and just in nature, noble and forbearing in character.
If the Holy Prophet had wished he could have got the people responsible for the attack on his honour beheaded immediately.
But he bore everything with patience for a whole month.
And when Divine injunction came down from Allah, he enforced the punishment for qazf only on those three Muslims whose guilt was established, and even spared the hypocrites.
Hadrat Abu Bakr's own relative, whose whole family he had been supporting all along, continued heaping disgrace on him publicly, but that noble man neither severed his family relations with him nor stopped monetary help to him and his family.
None of the wives of the Holy Prophet took the least part in the slander nor even expressed the slightest approval of it.
So much so that Hadrat Zainab ( a wife of the Holy Prophet ), for whose sake her real sister, Hamnah bint Jahsh, was taking part in the slander, did not utter anything about her rival ( Hadrat `A'ishah ) except good words.
According to Hadrat `A'ishah, herself: "Zainab among the wives of the Holy Prophet was my strongest rival, but when in connection with the incident of the slander, the Holy Prophet asked her opinion of me, she said, `O Messenger of Allah, I swear by God that I have perceived nothing in her except piety'." Hadrat `A'ishah's own nobility of character can be judged by this that though Hassan bin _Thabit had played a prominent role in the campaign of slander against her, she continued to treat him with due honour and esteem.
When the people reminded her that he was the man who had slandered her, she retorted, `No, he it was who used to rebut the anti-Islamic poets on behalf of the Holy Prophet and Islam.' Such was the conduct and attitude of those people who were directly affected by the slander.
As for the other Muslims, their attitude can be judged from one instance.
When Hadrat Abu Ayyub Ansari's wife mentioned before him the rumours of the slander, he said, "Mother of Ayyub, if you had been there in place of `A'ishah, would you have done that?" She replied, "By God, I would never have done it." Hadrat Ayyub then said, "Well, `A'ishah is a much better woman than you.
As for myself.
if I had been in place of Safwan, I could never have entertained such an evil thought and Safwan is a better Muslim than I.
' Thus, the result of the mischief engineered by the hypocrites was contrary to what they had planned to achieve, and the Muslims emerged out of this test morally stronger than before.

Then there was more good to come from this.
The incident became the cause of some very important additions to the social law and injunctions of Islam.
Through these the Muslims received such Commandments from Allah by which the Muslim society can be kept clean and protected against the creation and propagation of moral evils, and if at all they arise, they can be corrected promptly.

Furthermore, there was another aspect of goodness in it also.
The Muslims came to understand fully that the Holy Prophet ( may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him ) had no knowledge of the unseen.
He knew only that which Allah taught him.
Beside that his knowledge was the same as that of a common man.
For one full month he remained in great anxiety with regard to Hadrat `A'ishah.
He would sometimes make enquiries from the maid-servant, sometimes from his other wives, and sometimes from Hadrat `Ali and Hadrat Usamah.
At last when he spoke to Hadrat `A'ishah, he spoke only this: " If you have committed the sin, you should offer repentance, and if you are innocent, I expect that Allah will declare your innocence. " Had' he possessed any knowledge of the unseen, he would not have felt so upset' nor would have made enquiries, nor counselled repentance.
However, when Divine Message revealed the truth, he received that knowledge which he had not possessed for more than a month.
Thus Allah arranged to safeguard the Muslims, through direct experience and observation, against exaggerated notions in which people generally get involved in regard to their religious leaders on account of excessive blind faith.
Perhaps this was the reason why Allah withheld Revelation for a month, for if Revelation had been sent down on the very first day, it could not have had any beneficial effect.

*11) That is, `Abdullah bin Ubayy, who was the real author of the false accusation and mischief.
In some traditions it has been wrongly claimed that this verse refers to Hadrat Hassan bin _Thabit; this is actually due to a misunderstanding of the narrators themselves.
As a matter of fact, Hadrat Hassan bin Thabit's only weakness was that he became involved in the mischief engineered by the hypocrites.
Hafiz Ibn Kathir has rightly observed that if this tradition had not been included in Bukhari, it would not have deserved any notice.
The greatest falsehood, rather a calumny, in this connection is the assertion by the Umayyads that it was Hadrat `AIi who had been referred to in this verse.
A saying of Hisham bin `Abdul Malik has been cited in Bukhari, Tabarani and Baihaqi to the effect: " The one who had the greatest share of responsibility in it " refers to `Ali bin Abi Talib.
The fact, however, is that Hadrat `Ali had no hand whatever in this mischief.
The truth is that when Hadrat `Ali saw the Holy Prophet in a perturbed state of mind and the Holy Prophet asked for his counsel, he said: " Allah in this matter has not laid any restriction on you: suitable women are plenty: you may if you like divorce `A'ishah and marry another woman. " But this did not at all mean that Hadrat `Ali had supported the accusation against Hadrat `A'ishah.
His object was only to allay the Holy Prophet's mental anguish.

 

Al-Ifk ( the Slander ) The next ten Ayat were all revealed concerning `A'ishah, the mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, when the people of slander and falsehood among the hypocrites made their accusations against her and spread lies about her.
Allah became jealous on her behalf and on behalf of His Prophet , and revealed her innocence to protect the honor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
He said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. ) meaning they were not one or two, but a group.
Foremost among this group was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, who fabricated the lie and whispered it to others, until some of the Muslims started to believe it, and others thought it might be possible and began to talk about it.
This is how matters remained for almost a month, until Qur'an was revealed.
This is reported in Sahih Hadiths.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Az-Zuhri said: Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, `Alqamah bin Waqqas and `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Utbah bin Mas`ud told me about the story of `A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet , when the people of the slander said what they said about her, and Allah declared her innocence.
Each of them told something about the story, and some of them knew more details than others or had memorized more than others.
I learned the story from each of them, who had heard it from `A'ishah herself, and what one told me confirmed what the others said.
They mentioned that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet , said: "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wanted to go on a journey, he would cast lots among his wives, and the one whose lot was drawn would go with him." `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "So he drew lots among us with regard to a campaign he was going out on, and mine was drawn, so I went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
This was after the commandment of Hijab had been revealed, so I traveled in my howdah and stayed in it when we camped.
We traveled until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ completed his campaign, then we returned.
As we were approaching Al-Madinah, we paused for a while, then they announced that the journey was to be resumed.
When I heard this, I walked quickly away from the army to answer the call of nature, then I came back to my howdah.
Then I put my hand to my chest and noticed that a necklace of mine that was made of onyx and cornelian had broken, so I went back and looked for it, and was delayed because of that.
In the meantime, the people who used to lift my howdah onto my camel came along and put it on the camel, thinking that I was inside.
In those times women were more slender and not so heavy, they only ate mouthfuls of food.
So the people did not think anything of the howdah being so light when they lifted it up, as I was a young woman.
They set off, and I found my necklace after the army had moved on.
Then I came back to the place where we had stopped, and I saw no one to call or answer.
So I went to the place where I had been, thinking that the people would miss me and come back for me.
While I was sitting there, I fell asleep.
tSafwan bin Al-Mu`attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani had rested during the night behind the army.
Then he set out just before daybreak and reached the place where I was in the morning, where he saw the outline of a person sleeping.
He came to me and recognized me when he saw me, as he had seen me before Hijab was made obligatory for me.
When he saw me and said `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' I woke up, and covered my face with my Jilbab ( outer garment ).
By Allah, he did not speak a word to me and I did not hear him say anything except `Truly, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return,' until he brought his camel and made it kneel so that I could ride upon it, then he set out leading the camel until we caught up with the army at Zuhr time. There are people who are doomed because of what happened to me, and the one who had the greater share therein was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul.
When we came back to Al-Madinah, I was ill for a month, and the people were talking about what the people of the slander were saying, and I knew nothing about it.
What upset me when I was ill was that I did not see the kindness I used to see on the part of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
When I was ill; he would just come in and say, «كَيْفَ تِيكُمْ؟» ( How is that (lady )) That is what upset me.
I did not feel that there was anything wrong until I went out after I felt better, and Umm Mistah went out with me, walking towards Al-Manasi`, which is where we used to go to relieve ourselves, and we would not go out for that purpose except at night.
This was before we had lavatories close to our houses; our habit was similar to that of the early Arabs in that we went out into the deserts to relieve ourselves, because we considered it troublesome and harmful to have lavatories in our houses.
So I went out with Umm Mistah, who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Al-Muttalib bin `Abd Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin `Amir, the paternal aunt of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.
Her son was Mistah bin Uthathah bin `Abbad bin Al-Muttalib.
When we finished what we had to do, the daughter of Abu Ruhm Umm Mistah and I came back towards my house.
Umm Mistah stumbled over her apron and said, `May Mistah be ruined!' I said to her, `What a bad thing you have said! Are you abusing a man who was present at Badr' She said, `Good grief, have you not heard what he said' I said, `What did he say' So she told me what the people of the slander were saying, which made me even more ill.
When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to me and greeted me, then he said, «كَيْفَ تِيكُمْ؟» ( How is that (lady )) I said to him, `Will you give me permission to go to my parents' At that time I wanted to confirm the news by hearing it from them.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me permission, so I went to my parents and asked my mother, `O my mother, what are the people talking about' My mother said, `Calm down, for by Allah, there is no beautiful woman who is loved by her husband and has co-wives but those co-wives would find fault with her.' I said, `Subhan Allah! Are the people really talking about that' I wept throughout the whole night until morning.
My tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all, and morning came while I was still weeping.
Because the revelation had ceased, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called `Ali bin Abi Talib and Usamah bin Zayd, and consulted with them about divorcing his wife.
As for Usamah bin Zayd, he told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about what he knew of his wife's innocence and his fondness for her.
He said, `O Messenger of Allah, she is your wife, and we do not know anything about her but good.' But `Ali bin Abi Talib said, `O Messenger of Allah, Allah has not imposed restrictions on you, and there are plenty of other women besides her.
If you ask her servant girl, she will tell you the truth.' So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Barirah and said, «أَيْ بَرِيرَةُ هَلْ رَأَيْتِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ يَرِيبُكِ مِنْ عَائِشَةَ؟» ( O Barirah, have you ever seen anything that might make you suspicious about `A'ishah ) Barirah said to him, `By the One Who sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything for which I could blame her, apart from the fact that she is a young girl who sometimes falls asleep and leaves her family's dough unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it.' So then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ got up and ( addressed the people ) and asked who could sort out `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul for him.
While he was standing on the Minbar, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «يَامَعْشَرَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَنْ يَعْذِرُنِي مِنْ رَجُلٍ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَذَاهُ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي، فَوَاللهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلَّا خَيْرًا، وَلَقَدْ ذَكَرُوا رَجُلًا مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا خَيْرًا، وَمَا كَانَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلَّا مَعِي» ( O Muslims, who will help me against a man who has hurt me by slandering my family By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and the people are blaming a man of whom I know nothing except good, and he has never entered upon my family except with me. ) Sa`d bin Mu`adh Al-Ansari stood up and said, `O Messenger of Allah, by Allah I will deal with him for you.
If he is from ( the tribe of ) Al-Aws, then I will cut off his head, and if he is from our brothers of ( the tribe of ) Al-Khazraj, tell us what to do and we will do it.' Then Sa`d bin `Ubadah stood up.
He was the leader of Al-Khazraj, and he was a righteous man, but he was overwhelmed with tribal chauvinism.
He said to Sa`d bin Mu`adh, `By Allah, you will not kill him and you will never be able to kill him.' Then Usayd bin Hudayr, who was the cousin of Sa`d bin Mu`adh, stood up and said to Sa`d bin `Ubadah, `You are lying! By Allah, we will kill him, and you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites!' Then the two groups, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, started to get angry and were about to come to blows, with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ standing there on the Minbar, trying to calm them down until they became quiet, then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also fell silent.
On that day I kept on weeping so much, my tears never ceased and I did not sleep at all.
My parents thought that my liver would burst from all that weeping.
While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, a woman of the Ansar asked for permission to see me.
I let her in, and she sat and wept with me.
While we were in that state, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in, greeted us and sat down.
He had never sat with me since the rumors began, and a month had passed by without any revelation coming to him concerning my case.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited the Tashahhud when he sat down, then he said, «أَمَّا بَعْدُ، يَا عَائِشَةُ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي عَنْكِ كَذَا وَكَذَا،فَإِنْ كُنْتِ بَرِيئَةً فَسَيُبَرِّئُكِ اللهُ، وَإِنْ كُنْتِ أَلْمَمْتِ بِذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرِي اللهَ ثُمَّ تُوبِي إِلَيْهِ، فَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا اعْتَرَفَ بِذَنْبِهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ، تَابَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ» ( Thereafter, O `A'ishah, I have been told such and such a thing about you, and if you are innocent, then Allah will reveal your innocence, but if you have committed a sin, then seek Allah's forgiveness and turn in repentance to Him, for when a servant confesses his sin and repents to Allah, He accepts his repentance. ) When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished what he had to say, my tears stopped completely and I not longer felt even one drop.
Then I said to my father, `Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf.' He said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' So I said to my mother, `Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf.' She said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' So even though I was just a young girl who had not memorized much of the Qur'an, I said: `By Allah, I know that you have heard so much of this story that it has become planted in your minds and you believe it.
So now 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 to you -- and Allah knows that I am innocent -- you will believe me.
By Allah, I cannot find any example to give you except for that which the Prophet Yusuf's father said, فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ ( So (for me ) patience is most fitting.
And it is Allah Whose help can be sought against that ( lie ) which you describe) 12:18.
Then I turned my face away and lay down on my bed.
By Allah, at that point I knew I was innocent and that Allah would prove my innocence because I was innocent, but by Allah, I did not think that Allah would reveal Qur'an that would be forever recited concerning my situation, because I thought of myself as too insignificant for Allah to reveal anything concerning me.
But I hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would see a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not move from where he was sitting and no one left the house before Allah sent down revelation to His Prophet , and he was overtaken by the state that always overtook him when the revelation came upon him, until drops of sweat like pearls would run down him, even on a winter's day; this was because of the heaviness of the words which were being revealed to him.
When that state passed -- and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was smiling -- the first thing he said was, «أَبْشِرِي يَا عَائِشَةُ، أَمَّا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَقَدْ بَرَّأَكِ» ( Be glad O `A'ishah, Allah has declared your innocence. ) My mother said to me, `Get up and go to him.' I said, `By Allah, I will not go to him and I will not give praise to anyone except Allah, may He be glorified, for He is the One Who has proven my innocence.' So Allah revealed: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنْكُمْ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. ), until the ten Ayat.
Allah revealed these Ayat concerning my innocence.
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who used to spend on Mistah bin Uthathah because he was a close relative and because he was poor, said, `By Allah, I will never spend anything on him again after what he has said about `A'ishah.
' Then Allah revealed, وَلاَ يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُواْ الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُواْ أُوْلِى الْقُرْبَى ( And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give to their kinsmen. ) until His saying: أَلاَ تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ( Do you not love that Allah should forgive you And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful ) 24:22.
So Abu Bakr said, `By Allah, certainly I love that Allah should forgive me.' So he resumed spending on Mistah as he had spent on him before, and he said, `By Allah, I shall never stop spending on him.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Zaynab bint Jahsh about my situation, and said, «يَا زَيْنَبُ مَاذَا عَلِمْتِ أَوْ رَأَيْتِ؟» ( O Zaynab, what do you know and what have you seen ) She said, `O Messenger of Allah, may Allah protect my hearing and my sight.
By Allah, I know nothing but good.' She is the one who used to compete with me among the wives of the Prophet , but Allah protected her ( from telling lies ) because of her piety.
But her sister Hamnah bint Jahsh kept on fighting on her behalf, so she was doomed along with those who were doomed." Ibn Shihab said, "This is as much as we know about this group of people." It was also by Al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs from the Hadith of Az-Zuhri, and by Ibn Ishaq also from Az-Zuhri.
He also said: "Yahya bin `Abbad bin `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr told me from his father, from `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad bin `Amr bin Hazm Al-Ansari told me from `Amrah, from `A'ishah, ( a report ) similar to that quoted above.
And Allah knows best.
Allah's saying: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَآءُوا بِالإِفْكِ ( Verily, those who brought forth the slander ) means, the lies, falsehood and fabrications. عُصْبَةٌ ( are a group ) means, a gang among you. لاَ تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرّاً لَّكُمْ ( Consider it not a bad thing for you. ) O family of Abu Bakr, بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ( Nay, it is good for you. ) means, in this world and the Hereafter, honorable mention in this world and raised status in the Hereafter.
Allah demonstrated the esteem with which He regarded the family of Abu Bakr when He defended `A'ishah the Mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, by revealing her innocence in the Qur'an, لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ( Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it.
.. ) 41:42.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, entered upon her when she was dying, he said to her, "Rejoice, for you are the wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he used to love you; he did not marry any virgin other than you, and your innocence was revealed from heaven." لِكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ مِّنْهُمْ مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الإِثْمِ ( Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, ) means, each of those who spoke about this matter and accused the Mother of the believers `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, of any immoral action, will have a great share of punishment. وَالَّذِى تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ ( and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, ) It was said that this referred to the one who initiated the rumors, or that it was the one who collected rumors and spread them among the people. لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ( his will be a great torment. ) means, for that.
He was `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, may Allah disfigure him and curse him.

( Lo! they who spread the slander ) those who spread the lie ( are a gang among you ) this was revealed about ’Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul, the hypocrite, and Hassan Ibn Thabit al-Ansari, and Mistah Ibn Uthathah, the cousin of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and ’Ubadah Ibn ’Abd al-Muttalib and Hamnah Bint Jahsh al-Asadiyyah who slandered ’A’ishah and Safwan Ibn al-Mu’attal. ( Deem it not ) deem not the slandering of ’A’ishah and Safwan ( a bad thing for you ) in the Hereafter; ( say, it is good for you ) in terms of reward. ( Unto every man of them ) who engaged in slandering ’A’ishah and Safwan Ibn al-Mu’attal ( will be paid that which he hath earned of the sin ) in accordance to his engagement in the slander; ( and as for him among them who had the greater share therein ) the one who spread the matter and uttered abominable things concerning this matter, i.e. ’Abdullah Ibn Ubayy ( his will be an awful doom ) in this worldly life by imposing the legal punishment on him and in the Hereafter by being cast in hell.

Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against 'Aishah, the wife of the Prophet SAW) 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.

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