Ayesha reported,

...the slanderers said about her what they said, and Allah declared her innocent. Each of them related to me a portion of her account, some of them retaining it better than others and more precise in setting it out, and I committed to memory what each one of them narrated to me, and parts of their reports confirm the rest.They said that Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, said, "Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to set out on a journey, he would draw lots among his wives, and whichever of them drew the winning lot would go with him."Ayesha continued, "He drew lots among us for one of his campaigns, and my lot came out, so I went with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This was after the command of the veil had been revealed, so I was carried in my litter and set down in it as we travelled. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had finished the campaign and turned back, and we drew near to Madinah, he gave the order one night to move on. When they announced the departure I got up and walked out until I had gone past the army, and when I had relieved myself I came back to the caravan. I felt my chest and found that a necklace of onyx from Zafar had broken off. So I went back and searched for my necklace, and the search kept me there. Meanwhile the men who used to load my litter came along, lifted it, and fastened it onto the camel I rode, thinking I was inside it."She said, "Women in those days were light, not heavy or fleshy, for they ate only small portions of food, so the men noticed nothing unusual about the weight of the litter when they loaded it and raised it up. Besides, I was only a young girl. So they drove the camel forward and went on. I found my necklace after the army had moved off, and I came to their camping place, but there was no one there to call out to and no one to answer. So I made for the spot where I had been, thinking that the party would miss me and come back for me. While I was sitting there, my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep."Safwan bin Muattal Sulami, of the Dhakwan clan, had stopped to rest behind the army and had then set out in the last part of the night. He reached my position at daybreak and saw the dark shape of a sleeping person. He came over to me and recognized me when he saw me, for he had seen me before the veil was imposed on me. I woke at the sound of him saying, 'There is no power except with Allah,' when he recognized me, and I covered my face with my outer garment. By Allah, he did not speak a single word to me, nor did I hear anything from him except those words, until he made his mount kneel and stepped on its foreleg so that I could mount. Then he set off leading the animal with me on it, until we reached the army after they had halted in the fierce heat of midday."Then those who were ruined were ruined over my affair, and the one who spread it most was Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. When we arrived in Madinah I fell ill for a month, and the people were circulating the talk of the slanderers, while I knew nothing of it. What troubled me during my illness was that I did not see in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the tenderness I used to see from him whenever I was unwell. He would only come in, greet us, and then ask, 'How is she?' That troubled me, though I suspected no evil."Then, once I had begun to recover, I went out, and Umm Mistah went with me towards Manasi, which was where we relieved ourselves. We would go out only at night, and return by night, for this was before we had lavatories built close to our houses. Our practice was that of the early Arabs, going out into the open, and we found it offensive to have lavatories next to our homes."So I set out with Umm Mistah, who was the daughter of Abu Rahm bin Muttalib bin Abd Manaf, and whose mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin Amir, the maternal aunt of Abu Bakr Siddiq. Her son was Mistah bin Uthatha bin Abbad bin Muttalib. When we had finished, the daughter of Abu Rahm and I turned back towards my house. Umm Mistah stumbled over her woolen wrapper and said, 'May Mistah perish!'"I said to her, 'That is an evil thing to say. Do you curse a man who was present at Badr?'"She said, 'My dear, have you not heard what he has said?'"I said, 'And what has he said?'"Then she told me the talk of the slanderers, and my illness grew worse upon my illness. When I returned to my house, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to me, greeted us, and then asked, 'How is she?'"I said, 'Will you permit me to go to my parents?'"She said, "At that moment I wanted to verify the news from them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me leave, so I went to my parents and said to my mother, 'Mother, what are the people saying?'"She said, 'My dear child, take it lightly. By Allah, there has hardly ever been a beautiful woman loved by her husband, with rival wives beside her, but that they gossiped much about her.'"I said, 'Glory be to Allah! Have people really been talking about this?'"She said, "I wept that night until morning, my tears never stopping and sleep never touching my eyes, and I was still weeping when morning came."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called for Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zayd when the revelation was delayed, in order to consult them about parting from his wife. Usama bin Zayd advised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ according to what he knew of the innocence of his household and the affection he felt in his own heart for them, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, they are your family, and we know nothing but good of her.'"Ali bin Abu Talib said, 'Allah has not placed you under any constraint. There are plenty of women besides her. And if you question the maidservant, she will tell you the truth.'"So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Barirah and said, 'Barirah, have you ever seen anything from Ayesha that raised your suspicions?'"Barirah said to him, 'By Him who sent you with the truth, I have never seen a single fault in her that I could hold against her, except that she is a young girl who falls asleep over her family's dough, so the household sheep comes and eats it.'"Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up and sought redress concerning Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul." She said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, while he was on the pulpit, 'Muslims, who will grant me satisfaction against a man whose harm against my family has reached me? By Allah, I know nothing but good of my wife, and they have named a man of whom I know nothing but good, and who never entered upon my wife except with me.'"Saad bin Muaz Ansari stood up and said, 'I will grant you satisfaction against him, Messenger of Allah. If he is from the Aws, we will strike off his neck, and if he is from our brothers of the Khazraj, then command us and we will carry out your order.'"She said, "Then Saad bin Ubada stood up, and he was the chief of the Khazraj and a righteous man, but tribal zeal made him act foolishly, and he said to Saad bin Muaz, 'By the life of Allah, you will not kill him, nor are you capable of killing him.'"So Usayd bin Hudayr, the cousin of Saad bin Muaz, stood up and said to Saad bin Ubada, 'You lie! By the life of Allah, we will certainly kill him. You are a hypocrite, arguing on behalf of the hypocrites.'"The two tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, were roused until they were on the verge of fighting one another, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood on the pulpit. He kept calming them until they fell silent, and he too was silent."She said, "I wept all that day, my tears never stopping and sleep never touching my eyes, and I wept through the following night as well, my tears never stopping and sleep never touching my eyes, while my parents thought the weeping would split my liver open."While the two of them were sitting with me and I was weeping, a woman of the Ansar asked permission to come in. I let her in, and she sat weeping with me. While we were like that, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to us, greeted us, and sat down."She said, "He had not sat with me since the talk about me began, and a month had passed with nothing revealed to him concerning my affair."She said, "When he sat down, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pronounced the testimony of faith and then said, 'Now then, Ayesha, such and such has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will declare your innocence. But if you have committed a sin, then ask Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance, for when a servant confesses a sin and repents, Allah accepts his repentance.'"She said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished speaking, my tears dried up entirely, until I did not feel a single drop."I said to my father, 'Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf about what he has said.'"He said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'"So I said to my mother, 'Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my behalf.'"She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'"She said, "So I said, and I was a young girl who had not read much of the Quran, 'By Allah, I know that you have heard this talk until it has settled in your hearts and you have believed it. If I tell you that I am innocent, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you will not believe me, and if I confess to something to you, while Allah knows that I am innocent, you will believe me. By Allah, I find no example for myself and for you except the words of Yusuf's father, "So patience is beautiful, and Allah is the One whose help is sought against what you describe" [Yusuf 12:18].'"She said, "Then I turned away and lay down on my bed. By Allah, at that moment I knew that I was innocent and that Allah would clear me by my innocence, but by Allah, I never imagined that revelation would be sent down about my affair to be recited. My own case seemed to me too insignificant for Allah to speak about it in words that would be recited. I only hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would see a dream in his sleep by which Allah would clear me."She said, "By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had not left his seat, nor had anyone of the household gone out, when Allah sent down revelation to His Prophet. The intense strain that used to come over him at the time of revelation took hold of him, until drops of sweat like pearls came pouring off him, on a winter's day, from the weight of the words being sent down upon him."She said, "When that state passed from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he was laughing, and the first words he spoke were, 'Rejoice, Ayesha. Allah has declared you innocent.'"My mother said to me, 'Get up and go to him.'"I said, 'By Allah, I will not get up and go to him, and I will praise no one but Allah , for it is He who has sent down my exoneration.'"So Allah revealed, 'Indeed, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you' [Nur 24:11], ten verses in all. Allah sent down these verses declaring my innocence."She said, "Abu Bakr, who used to support Mistah financially because of their kinship and Mistah's poverty, said, 'By Allah, I will never spend anything on him again after what he said about Ayesha.' So Allah revealed, 'And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear off' [Nur 24:22], up to His words, 'Would you not like that Allah should forgive you?' [Nur 24:22]. Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, I would indeed like Allah to forgive me,' and he restored to Mistah the support he used to give him and said, 'I will never withhold it from him.'"Ayesha said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had also asked Zaynab bint Jahsh, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, about my case, saying, 'What do you know, or what have you seen, or what has reached you?'"She said, 'Messenger of Allah, I guard my hearing and my sight. I know nothing but good.'"Ayesha said, "She was the one among the wives of the Prophet ﷺ who vied with me, yet Allah protected her through her piety. But her sister Hamna bint Jahsh went on fighting on her behalf, and so she was ruined among those who were ruined."Ibn Shihab said, "This is what has reached us about the affair of these people."

حدثنا عبد الرزاق قال حدثنا معمر عن الزهري قال أخبرني سعيد بن المسيب وعروة بن الزبير وعلقمة بن وقاص وعبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة بن مسعود

عن حديث عائشة زوج النبي ﷺ حين قال

لها أهل الإفك ما قالوا فبرأها الله عز وجل وكلهم حدثني بطائفة من حديثها وبعضهم كان أوعى لحديثها من بعض وأثبت اقتصاصا وقد وعيت عن كل واحد منهم الحديث الذي حدثني وبعض حديثهم يصدق بعضا ذكروا أن عائشة زوج النبي ﷺ قالت كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا أراد أن يخرج سفرا أقرع بين نسائه فأيتهن خرج سهمها خرج بها رسول الله ﷺ معه قالت عائشة فأقرع بيننا في غزوة غزاها فخرج فيها سهمي فخرجت مع رسول الله ﷺ وذلك بعدما أنزل الحجاب فأنا أحمل في هودجي وأنزل فيه مسيرنا حتى إذا فرغ رسول الله ﷺ من غزوه وقفل ودنونا من المدينة آذن ليلة بالرحيل فقمت حين آذنوا بالرحيل فمشيت حتى جاوزت الجيش فلما قضيت شأني أقبلت إلى الرحل فلمست صدري فإذا عقد من جزع ظفار قد انقطع فرجعت فالتمست عقدي فاحتبسني ابتغاؤه وأقبل الرهط الذي كانوا يرحلون بي فحملوا هودجي فرحلوه على بعيري الذي كنت أركب وهم يحسبون أني فيه قالت كانت النساء إذ ذاك خفافا لم يهبلهن ولم يغشهن اللحم إنما يأكلن العلقة من الطعام فلم يستنكر القوم ثقل الهودج حين رحلوه ورفعوه وكنت جارية حديثة السن فبعثوا الجمل وساروا فوجدت عقدي بعدما استمر الجيش فجئت منازلهم وليس بها داع ولا مجيب فيممت منزلي الذي كنت فيه وظننت أن القوم سيفقدوني فيرجعوا إلي فبينما أنا جالسة في منزلي غلبتني عيني فنمت وكان صفوان بن المعطل السلمي ثم الذكواني قد عرس وراء الجيش فأدلج فأصبح عند منزلي فرأى سواد إنسان نائم فأتاني فعرفني حين رآني وقد كان يراني قبل أن يضرب علي الحجاب فاستيقظت باسترجاعه حين عرفني فخمرت وجهي بجلبابي فوالله ما كلمني كلمة ولا سمعت منه كلمة غير استرجاعه حتى أناخ راحلته فوطئ على يدها فركبتها فانطلق يقود بي الراحلة حتى أتينا الجيش بعدما نزلوا موغرين في نحر الظهيرة فهلك من هلك في شأني وكان الذي تولى كبره عبد الله بن أبي ابن سلول فقدمت المدينة فاشتكيت حين قدمنا شهرا والناس يفيضون في قول أهل الإفك ولم أشعر بشيء من ذلك وهو يريبني في وجعي أني لا أعرف من رسول الله ﷺ اللطف الذي كنت أرى منه حين أشتكي إنما يدخل رسول الله ﷺ فيسلم ثم يقول كيف تيكم فذاك يريبني ولا أشعر بالشر حتى خرجت بعدما نقهت وخرجت معي أم مسطح قبل المناصع وهو متبرزنا ولا نخرج إلا ليلا إلى ليل وذلك قبل أن تتخذ الكنف قريبا من بيوتنا وأمرنا أمر العرب الأول في التنزه وكنا نتأذى بالكنف أن نتخذها عند بيوتنا وانطلقت أنا وأم مسطح وهي بنت أبي رهم بن المطلب بن عبد مناف وأمها بنت صخر بن عامر خالة أبي بكر الصديق وابنها مسطح بن أثاثة بن عباد بن المطلب وأقبلت أنا وبنت أبي رهم قبل بيتي حين فرغنا من شأننا فعثرت أم مسطح في مرطها فقالت تعس مسطح فقلت لها بئسما قلت تسبين رجلا قد شهد بدرا قالت أي هنتاه أولم تسمعي ما قال قلت وماذا قال فأخبرتني بقول أهل الإفك فازددت مرضا إلى مرضي فلما رجعت إلى بيتي فدخل علي رسول الله ﷺ فسلم ثم قال كيف تيكم قلت أتأذن لي أن آتي أبوي قالت وأنا حينئذ أريد أن أتيقن الخبر من قبلهما فأذن لي رسول الله ﷺ فجئت أبوي فقلت لأمي يا أمتاه ما يتحدث الناس فقالت أي بنية هوني عليك فوالله لقلما كانت امرأة قط وضيئة عند رجل يحبها ولها ضرائر إلا كثرن عليها قالت قلت سبحان الله أوقد تحدث الناس بهذا قالت فبكيت تلك الليلة حتى أصبحت لا يرقأ لي دمع ولا أكتحل بنوم ثم أصبحت أبكي ودعا رسول الله ﷺ علي بن أبي طالب وأسامة بن زيد حين استلبث الوحي ليستشيرهما في فراق أهله قالت فأما أسامة بن زيد فأشار على رسول الله ﷺ بالذي يعلم من براءة أهله وبالذي يعلم في نفسه لهم من الود فقال يا رسول الله هم أهلك ولا نعلم إلا خيرا وأما علي بن أبي طالب فقال لم يضيق الله عز وجل عليك والنساء سواها كثير وإن تسأل الجارية تصدقك قالت فدعا رسول الله ﷺ بريرة قال أي بريرة هل رأيت من شيء يريبك من عائشة قالت له بريرة والذي بعثك بالحق إن رأيت عليها أمرا قط أغمصه عليها أكثر من أنها جارية حديثة السن تنام عن عجين أهلها فتأتي الداجن فتأكله فقام رسول الله ﷺ فاستعذر من عبد الله بن أبي ابن سلول فقالت قال رسول الله ﷺ وهو على المنبر يا معشر المسلمين من يعذرني من رجل قد بلغني أذاه في أهل بيتي فوالله ما علمت على أهلي إلا خيرا ولقد ذكروا رجلا ما علمت عليه إلا خيرا وما كان يدخل على أهلي إلا معي فقام سعد بن معاذ الأنصاري فقال لقد أعذرك منه يا رسول الله إن كان من الأوس ضربنا عنقه وإن كان من إخواننا من الخزرج أمرتنا ففعلنا أمرك قالت فقام سعد بن عبادة وهو سيد الخزرج وكان رجلا صالحا ولكن اجتهلته الحمية فقال لسعد بن معاذ لعمر الله لا تقتله ولا تقدر على قتله فقام أسيد بن حضير وهو ابن عم سعد بن معاذ فقال لسعد بن عبادة كذبت لعمر الله لنقتلنه فإنك منافق تجادل عن المنافقين فثار الحيان الأوس والخزرج حتى هموا أن يقتتلوا ورسول الله ﷺ قائم على المنبر فلم يزل رسول الله ﷺ يخفضهم حتى سكتوا وسكت قالت وبكيت يومي ذاك لا يرقأ لي دمع ولا أكتحل بنوم ثم بكيت ليلتي المقبلة لا يرقأ لي دمع ولا أكتحل بنوم وأبواي يظنان أن البكاء فالق كبدي قالت فبينما هما جالسان عندي وأنا أبكي استأذنت علي امرأة من الأنصار فأذنت لها فجلست تبكي معي فبينما نحن على ذلك دخل علينا رسول الله ﷺ فسلم ثم جلس قالت ولم يجلس عندي منذ قيل لي ما قيل وقد لبث شهرا لا يوحى إليه في شأني شيء قالت فتشهد رسول الله ﷺ حين جلس ثم قال أما بعد يا عائشة فإنه قد بلغني عنك كذا وكذا فإن كنت بريئة فسيبرئك الله عز وجل وإن كنت ألممت بذنب فاستغفري الله ثم توبي إليه فإن العبد إذا اعترف بذنب ثم تاب تاب الله عليه قالت فلما قضى رسول الله ﷺ مقالته قلص دمعي حتى ما أحس منه قطرة فقلت لأبي أجب عني رسول الله ﷺ فيما قال فقال ما أدري والله ما أقول لرسول الله ﷺ فقلت لأمي أجيبي عني رسول الله ﷺ فقالت والله ما أدري ما أقول لرسول الله ﷺ قالت فقلت وأنا جارية حديثة السن لا أقرأ كثيرا من القرآن إني والله قد عرفت أنكم قد سمعتم بهذا حتى استقر في أنفسكم وصدقتم به ولئن قلت لكم إني بريئة والله عز وجل يعلم أني بريئة لا تصدقوني بذلك ولئن اعترفت لكم بأمر والله عز وجل يعلم أني بريئة تصدقوني وإني والله ما أجد لي ولكم مثلا إلا كما قال أبو يوسف {فصبر جميل والله المستعان على ما تصفون} قالت ثم تحولت فاضطجعت على فراشي قالت وأنا والله حينئذ أعلم أني بريئة وأن الله عز وجل مبرئي ببراءتي ولكن والله ما كنت أظن أن ينزل في شأني وحي يتلى ولشأني كان أحقر في نفسي من أن يتكلم الله عز وجل في بأمر يتلى ولكن كنت أرجو أن يرى رسول الله ﷺ في النوم رؤيا يبرئني الله عز وجل بها قالت فوالله ما رام رسول الله ﷺ من مجلسه ولا خرج من أهل البيت أحد حتى أنزل الله عز وجل على نبيه وأخذه ما كان يأخذه من البرحاء عند الوحي حتى إنه ليتحدر منه مثل الجمان من العرق في اليوم الشاتي من ثقل القول الذي أنزل عليه قالت فلما سري عن رسول الله ﷺ وهو يضحك فكان أول كلمة تكلم بها أن قال أبشري يا عائشة أما الله عز وجل فقد برأك فقالت لي أمي قومي إليه فقلت والله لا أقوم إليه ولا أحمد إلا الله عز وجل هو الذي أنزل براءتي فأنزل الله عز وجل {إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة منكم} عشر آيات فأنزل الله عز وجل هذه الآيات براءتي قالت فقال أبو بكر وكان ينفق على مسطح لقرابته منه وفقره والله لا أنفق عليه شيئا أبدا بعد الذي قال لعائشة فأنزل الله عز وجل {ولا يأتل أولو الفضل منكم والسعة} إلى قوله {ألا تحبون أن يغفر الله لكم} فقال أبو بكر والله إني لأحب أن يغفر الله لي فرجع إلى مسطح النفقة التي كان ينفق عليه وقال لا أنزعها منه أبدا قالت عائشة وكان رسول الله ﷺ سأل زينب بنت جحش زوج النبي ﷺ عن أمري وما علمت أو ما رأيت أو ما بلغك قالت يا رسول الله أحمي سمعي وبصري وأنا ما علمت إلا خيرا قالت عائشة وهي التي كانت تساميني من أزواج النبي ﷺ فعصمها الله عز وجل بالورع وطفقت أختها حمنة بنت جحش تحارب لها فهلكت فيمن هلك قال قال ابن شهاب فهذا ما انتهى إلينا من أمر هؤلاء الرهط