Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Asbab al-Nuzul
he had toward her. He said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, she is your wife and we know nothing but good about
her’. On the other hand, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said: ‘Allah, exalted is He, has not constricted you; there are
plenty other women. If you ask her slave-girl, she will surely tell you the truth’. The Messenger of Allah,
Allah bless him and give him peace, summoned Barirah and said to her: ‘O Barirah, did you see anything
suspicious from ‘A’ishah’ Barirah said: ‘By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I have never found
fault with her regarding any matter more than the fact that she is a young lady who sometimes sleeps
while looking after her family’s dough and domesticated animals come and eat it’. The Messenger of Allah,
Allah bless him and give him peace, went and asked to be excused if he should harm ‘Abd Allah ibn
Ubayy ibn Salul. He said while on the pulpit: ‘O Muslims, who would give me leave to punish a man who
has hurt me regarding my wife. By Allah, I know nothing but good about my wife, and they have mentioned
a man about whom I also know nothing but good; this man never entered in on my wife except
with me’. Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh stood up and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I give you leave; if this man is of the
Aws, I will behead him; and if he is of our brothers the Khazraj, you command us to do with him as you
see fit’. Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah, who was a righteous man but stirred up by tribal solidarity, stood up and said:
‘You lie, by Allah, you will not kill him nor will you be able to do so!’ Usayd ibn Hudayr, the cousin of
Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh, said to Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah: ‘You lie, by Allah, we will kill him. You are but a hypocrite
arguing on behalf of the hypocrites’. The two tribes of Aws and Khazraj erupted and were on the verge of
fighting each other while the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was still standing
on the pulpit. He kept trying to be quiet until they all stopped talking and then he went silent himself. I
cried all that day and could not sleep. My parents thought that crying would eventually kill me. As they
were sitting with me while I was crying, a woman from the Helpers asked permission to come in to see
me. She came in and sat down, crying with me. As we were in this state, the Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, entered in on us and sat down. He had not sat with me since I was slandered.
Since then, one month had elapsed and he still did not receive any revelation concerning me.
When he sat down, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, uttered the testification
of faith and then said: ‘O ‘A’ishah, I was told such-and-such a thing about you. If you are innocent, Allah
will clear you. But If you have committed a sin, then you should ask forgiveness from Allah and repent
to Him, for when a slave acknowledges his sins and then repents, Allah will accept his repentance’. When
the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, had finished what he wanted to say, my tears
receded such that I could not feel even a drop of it coming out. I said to my father: ‘Answer the Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, on my behalf ’. He said: ‘By Allah, I do not know what
to say to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace’. I said to my mother: ‘Answer the
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, on my behalf ’. She said: ‘By Allah, I do not know
what to say to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace’. I said, [keeping in mind that]
I was then a very young lady who did not read much of the Qur’an: ‘By Allah, I know that you heard this
[slander] and since it has already been established in your mind, you have believed it. If I were to tell you
I am innocent — and Allah knows that I am innocent — you will not believe me; and if I were to confess
something from which Allah knows I am innocent, you would believe me. By Allah, I cannot find anything
to describe the like of me and you, except what the father of Joseph said: ((My course is) comely
patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought in that (predicament) which ye describe) [12:18]’. I
turned away and lied down on my couch. By Allah, I knew I was innocent and I also knew that Allah will
clear me of this slander. However, by Allah, I did not think that a recited revelation would be sent down
regarding me. I thought myself to be too insignificant for Allah to speak about me something recited. I
was merely hoping that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, would see a dream
vision in which Allah, exalted is He, would clear me of the slander. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah,
Allah bless him and give him peace, did not leave his position nor did anyone of the household go out
until Allah, exalted is He, sent down a revelation to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him
peace. He was seized by the fever that usually seizes him upon receiving revelation, such that he sweated
profusely even in rainy days, as a result of the heaviness of the speech revealed to him. The Messenger of
Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was smiling when he relaxed again. The first thing he said
was: ‘Good news for you, O ‘A’ishah! By Allah, Allah has declared your innocence’. My mother said: ‘Go
to him’, but I said: ‘By Allah, I will not, nor will I thank anyone but Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for
it is Him Who has cleared me of the slander’. Allah, glorious and exalted is He, revealed (Lo! they who
spread the slander are a gang among you) and the following ten verses. When Allah, exalted is He, revealed
these verses regarding my innocence, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq who used to spend on Mistah because
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