Ayesha reported,

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 was selected would accompany him."She continued, "He drew lots among us before a military expedition, and my lot was drawn, so I went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This was after the verse of the veil had been revealed, so I would be carried in my howdah and set down in it. We traveled until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished that expedition and turned back. As we drew near Medina on our return, he announced one night that we would be moving on. When the order to depart was given, I rose and walked beyond the army until I had attended to my needs. When I returned to my mount, I felt for my necklace, made of Zafar onyx beads, and discovered that it had broken. So I went back to search for it, and the search delayed me.Meanwhile, the men assigned to load my howdah came forward, lifted it, and placed it on the camel I had been riding, assuming I was inside. Women in those days were light, not weighed down by flesh, for they ate only small portions of food. So the men did not notice the lightness of the howdah when they raised it. I was a young girl at the time. They drove the camel on and set off. I found my necklace after the army had moved on, and when I came to where they had camped, there was no one to call out to and no one to answer.So I made for the place where I had been, thinking they would notice my absence and come back for me. While I sat there, my eyes overcame me and I fell asleep. Now Safwan bin Muattal al-Sulami, then al-Zakwani, had been traveling behind the army and had set out at the end of the night. He reached my resting place by morning and saw the dark form of a sleeping person. He came up to me and recognized me, for he had seen me before the veil was prescribed. I awoke at his uttering, 'We belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return,' 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 any word from him beyond his utterance of that phrase. He made his camel kneel and stepped on its foreleg, and I mounted it. Then he led the mount along until we reached the army after they had halted in the heat of midday.Then perished those who perished, and the one who took the lead in spreading the slander was Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. We arrived in Medina, and after our return I fell ill for a month. The people meanwhile were absorbed in the talk of those who spread the slander, while I knew nothing of it. What troubled me during my illness was that I did not sense from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the tenderness I used to receive from him whenever I was unwell. He would only come in, greet, then ask, 'How is that one of yours?' and then leave. That is what disturbed me, but I had no awareness of the wrong being done.When I had begun to recover, I went out, and Umm Mistah went out with me toward al-Manasi, which was the place we relieved ourselves. We would go out only at night, and this was before we had latrines close to our houses. Our practice in this matter resembled that of the early Arabs, who would go out into the open country, and we found it bothersome to have latrines near our homes. So I set out with Umm Mistah, who was the daughter of Abu Ruhm bin Abdul Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr bin Amir, the maternal aunt of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and her son was Mistah bin Uthatha. After Umm Mistah and I had finished our errand and were heading back toward my house, Umm Mistah stumbled in her cloak and exclaimed, 'May Mistah perish!'I said to her, 'What an evil thing to say! Are you cursing a man who fought at Badr?'She said, 'My dear, have you not heard what he said?'I asked, 'And what did he say?'So she informed me of the talk of the slanderers, and my illness grew worse. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in and greeted me, then said, 'How is that one of yours?'I said, 'Will you permit me to go to my parents?' I wanted at that moment to verify the news from them.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave me permission, so I went to my parents and said to my mother, 'Mother, what are people talking about?'She said, 'Dear daughter, take it lightly. By Allah, scarcely is there a beautiful woman with a husband who loves her and who has co-wives but they will speak much against her.'I said, 'Glory be to Allah! Have people really been speaking of this?'I wept that night until morning, my tears never ceasing, and sleep never coming to my eyes. I continued to weep into the morning.Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zayd, when revelation had been delayed, to consult them about parting from his wife. As for Usama bin Zayd, he advised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in accordance with what he knew of the innocence of his family and the affection he held for them. He said, 'Messenger of Allah, she is your wife, and we know nothing but good of her.'Ali bin Abu Talib, however, said, 'Messenger of Allah, Allah has not put you in difficulty, and there are many women besides her. Ask the maidservant, and she will tell you the truth.'So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called Barirah and said, 'Barirah, have you ever seen anything that aroused your suspicion about her?'Barirah replied, 'No, by the One who sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything in her that I could find fault with, except that she is a young girl who falls asleep over her family's dough so that the household lamb comes and eats it.'Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up and on that day asked for support against Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said while standing on the pulpit, "Muslims, who will defend me against a man whose harmful talk concerning my family has reached me? By Allah, I know nothing but good of my family, and they have mentioned a man of whom I know nothing but good, and he has never entered upon my family except in my company."Saad bin Muaz al-Ansari stood up and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I will defend you against him. If he is from the Aws, I will strike his neck, and if he is from our brothers the Khazraj, give us the order and we will carry it out.'Then Saad bin Ubada stood up, and he was the chief of the Khazraj. He had been a righteous man before that, but tribal partisanship overcame him, and he said to Saad, 'You have lied, by the eternal life of Allah! You shall not kill him, nor will you be able to kill him.'So Usayd bin Hudayr, the cousin of Saad bin Muaz, stood up and said to Saad bin Ubada, 'You have lied, by the eternal life of Allah! We shall surely kill him, for you are a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites.'The two tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, became roused against one another until they were on the verge of fighting, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood on the pulpit. He continued to calm them until they were silent, and he too fell silent.I wept that day, my tears never ceasing and sleep never coming to my eyes. My parents stayed with me, and I had wept for two nights and a day, sleep not coming to my eyes and my tears not stopping, until they thought weeping would split my liver.While they were sitting with me and I was crying, a woman of the Ansar asked permission to enter, and I admitted her. She sat weeping with me. While we were in that state, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to us, greeted, and sat down. He had not sat with me since the talk had begun, and a month had passed without revelation coming to him concerning my matter.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the testimony of faith when he sat, then said, "To proceed, Ayesha, such and such has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will declare your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then seek Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance, for when a servant confesses his sin and then turns to Allah in repentance, Allah turns to him in mercy."When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had finished his words, my tears ceased entirely until I no longer felt a single drop. I said to my father, "Answer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ regarding what he said."He replied, "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."She said, "I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."So I said, though I was a young girl who did not recite 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 you something which Allah knows I am innocent of, you will believe me. By Allah, I find no parable for you and me except the words of the father of Yusuf, when he said, 'So patience is most fitting, and Allah is the One whose help is sought against what you describe' [Yusuf 12:18]."Then I turned away and lay down on my bed. I knew at the time that I was innocent, and that Allah would clear me by my innocence, but by Allah, I never thought that Allah would send down concerning my matter a revelation that would be recited. I considered myself too insignificant for Allah to speak about me with words to be recited. I had only hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ might see a vision in his sleep through which Allah would clear me.By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had not yet left his place, nor had any member of the household departed, when revelation came down upon him. He was overcome by the heaviness that used to overtake him, until drops like pearls poured down from him in perspiration, though it was a winter day, from the weight of the words being sent down upon him. When the state passed from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he was smiling, and the first words he spoke were, "Ayesha, as for Allah , He has declared you innocent."My mother said, "Get up and go to him."I said, "No, by Allah, I will not get up to him, and I will praise no one but Allah ." Allah sent down, "Indeed, those who came with the falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it..." [Nur 24:11]: the ten verses in their entirety.When Allah revealed this concerning my innocence, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq , who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha because of his kinship and his poverty, said, "By Allah, I will never spend anything on Mistah after what he said about Ayesha." So Allah revealed, "Let not those of virtue and abundance among you swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and the emigrants in the cause of Allah. Let them pardon and overlook. Would you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" [Nur 24:22].Abu Bakr said, "Yes, by Allah, I do love that Allah should forgive me." So he restored to Mistah the support he had been giving him and said, "By Allah, I will never withhold it from him."Ayesha said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would also ask Zaynab bint Jahsh about my case. He said, 'Zaynab, what do you know or what have you seen?'She replied, 'Messenger of Allah, I guard my hearing and my sight. I know nothing but good.' She was the one among the wives of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who used to vie with me, but Allah protected her through her piety. Her sister Hamna, however, took up the fight on her behalf and so perished among those who perished among the slanderers."

حدثنا يحيى بن بكير حدثنا الليث عن يونس عن ابن شهاب قال أخبرني عروة بن الزبير وسعيد بن المسيب وعلقمة بن وقاص وعبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة بن مسعود عن حديث

عائشة رضي الله عنها زوج النبي ﷺ حين قال

لها أهل الإفك ما قالوا فبرأها الله مما قالوا وكل حدثني طائفة من الحديث وبعض حديثهم يصدق بعضا وإن كان بعضهم أوعى له من بعض الذي حدثني عروة عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن عائشة رضي الله عنها زوج النبي ﷺ قالت كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا أراد أن يخرج أقرع بين أزواجه فأيتهن خرج سهمها خرج بها رسول الله ﷺ معه قالت عائشة فأقرع بيننا في غزوة غزاها فخرج سهمي فخرجت مع رسول الله ﷺ بعدما نزل الحجاب فأنا أحمل في هودجي وأنزل فيه فسرنا حتى إذا فرغ رسول الله ﷺ من غزوته تلك وقفل ودنونا من المدينة قافلين آذن ليلة بالرحيل فقمت حين آذنوا بالرحيل فمشيت حتى جاوزت الجيش فلما قضيت شأني أقبلت إلى رحلي فإذا عقد لي من جزع ظفار قد انقطع فالتمست عقدي وحبسني ابتغاؤه وأقبل الرهط الذين كانوا يرحلون لي فاحتملوا هودجي فرحلوه على بعيري الذي كنت ركبت وهم يحسبون أني فيه وكان النساء إذ ذاك خفافا لم يثقلهن اللحم إنما تأكل العلقة من الطعام فلم يستنكر القوم خفة الهودج حين رفعوه وكنت جارية حديثة السن فبعثوا الجمل وساروا فوجدت عقدي بعدما استمر الجيش فجئت منازلهم وليس بها داع ولا مجيب فأممت منزلي الذي كنت به وظننت أنهم سيفقدوني فيرجعون إلي فبينا أنا جالسة في منزلي غلبتني عيني فنمت وكان صفوان بن المعطل السلمي ثم الذكواني من وراء الجيش فأدلج فأصبح عند منزلي فرأى سواد إنسان نائم فأتاني فعرفني حين رآني وكان رآني قبل الحجاب فاستيقظت باسترجاعه حين عرفني فخمرت وجهي بجلبابي ووالله ما كلمني كلمة ولا سمعت منه كلمة غير استرجاعه حتى أناخ راحلته فوطئ على يديها فركبتها فانطلق يقود بي الراحلة حتى أتينا الجيش بعدما نزلوا موغرين في نحر الظهيرة فهلك من هلك وكان الذي تولى الإفك عبد الله بن أبي ابن سلول فقدمنا المدينة فاشتكيت حين قدمت شهرا والناس يفيضون في قول أصحاب الإفك لا أشعر بشيء من ذلك وهو يريبني في وجعي أني لا أعرف من رسول الله ﷺ اللطف الذي كنت أرى منه حين أشتكي إنما يدخل علي رسول الله ﷺ فيسلم ثم يقول كيف تيكم ثم ينصرف فذاك الذي يريبني ولا أشعر بالشر حتى خرجت بعدما نقهت فخرجت معي أم مسطح قبل المناصع وهو متبرزنا وكنا لا نخرج إلا ليلا إلى ليل وذلك قبل أن نتخذ الكنف قريبا من بيوتنا وأمرنا أمر العرب الأول في التبرز قبل الغائط فكنا نتأذى بالكنف أن نتخذها عند بيوتنا فانطلقت أنا وأم مسطح وهي ابنة أبي رهم بن عبد مناف وأمها بنت صخر بن عامر خالة أبي بكر الصديق وابنها مسطح بن أثاثة فأقبلت أنا وأم مسطح قبل بيتي وقد فرغنا من شأننا فعثرت أم مسطح في مرطها فقالت تعس مسطح فقلت لها بئس ما قلت أتسبين رجلا شهد بدرا قالت أي هنتاه أولم تسمعي ما قال قالت قلت وما قال فأخبرتني بقول أهل الإفك فازددت مرضا على مرضي فلما رجعت إلى بيتي ودخل علي رسول الله ﷺ تعني سلم ثم قال كيف تيكم فقلت أتأذن لي أن آتي أبوي قالت وأنا حينئذ أريد أن أستيقن الخبر من قبلهما قالت فأذن لي رسول الله ﷺ فجئت أبوي فقلت لأمي يا أمتاه ما يتحدث الناس قالت يا بنية هوني عليك فوالله لقلما كانت امرأة قط وضيئة عند رجل يحبها ولها ضرائر إلا كثرن عليها قالت فقلت سبحان الله أولقد تحدث الناس بهذا قالت فبكيت تلك الليلة حتى أصبحت لا يرقأ لي دمع ولا أكتحل بنوم حتى أصبحت أبكي فدعا رسول الله ﷺ علي بن أبي طالب وأسامة بن زيد رضي الله عنهما حين استلبث الوحي يستأمرهما في فراق أهله قالت فأما أسامة بن زيد فأشار على رسول الله ﷺ بالذي يعلم من براءة أهله وبالذي يعلم لهم في نفسه من الود فقال يا رسول الله أهلك ولا نعلم إلا خيرا وأما علي بن أبي طالب فقال يا رسول الله لم يضيق الله عليك والنساء سواها كثير وإن تسأل الجارية تصدقك قالت فدعا رسول الله ﷺ بريرة فقال أي بريرة هل رأيت من شيء يريبك قالت بريرة لا والذي بعثك بالحق إن رأيت عليها أمرا أغمصه عليها أكثر من أنها جارية حديثة السن تنام عن عجين أهلها فتأتي الداجن فتأكله فقام رسول الله ﷺ فاستعذر يومئذ من عبد الله بن أبي ابن سلول قالت فقال 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 يا رسول الله أنا أعذرك منه إن كان من الأوس ضربت عنقه وإن كان من إخواننا من الخزرج أمرتنا ففعلنا أمرك قالت فقام سعد بن عبادة وهو سيد الخزرج وكان قبل ذلك رجلا صالحا ولكن احتملته الحمية فقال لسعد كذبت 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 فتثاور الحيان الأوس والخزرج حتى هموا أن يقتتلوا ورسول الله ﷺ قائم على المنبر فلم يزل رسول الله ﷺ يخفضهم حتى سكتوا وسكت قالت فبكيت يومي ذلك لا يرقأ لي دمع ولا أكتحل بنوم قالت فأصبح أبواي عندي وقد بكيت ليلتين ويوما لا أكتحل بنوم ولا يرقأ لي دمع يظنان أن البكاء فالق كبدي قالت فبينما هما جالسان عندي وأنا أبكي فاستأذنت علي امرأة من الأنصار فأذنت لها فجلست تبكي معي قالت فبينا نحن على ذلك دخل علينا رسول الله ﷺ فسلم ثم جلس قالت ولم يجلس عندي منذ قيل ما قيل قبلها وقد لبث شهرا لا يوحى إليه في شأني قالت فتشهد رسول الله ﷺ حين جلس ثم قال أما بعد يا عائشة فإنه قد بلغني عنك كذا وكذا فإن كنت بريئة فسيبرئك الله وإن كنت ألممت بذنب فاستغفري الله وتوبي إليه فإن العبد إذا اعترف بذنبه ثم تاب إلى الله تاب الله عليه قالت فلما قضى رسول الله ﷺ مقالته قلص دمعي حتى ما أحس منه قطرة فقلت لأبي أجب رسول الله ﷺ فيما قال قال والله ما أدري ما أقول لرسول الله ﷺ فقلت لأمي أجيبي رسول الله ﷺ قالت ما أدري ما أقول لرسول الله ﷺ قالت فقلت وأنا جارية حديثة السن لا أقرأ كثيرا من القرآن إني والله لقد علمت لقد سمعتم هذا الحديث حتى استقر في أنفسكم وصدقتم به فلئن قلت لكم إني بريئة والله يعلم أني بريئة لا تصدقوني بذلك ولئن اعترفت لكم بأمر والله يعلم أني منه بريئة لتصدقني والله ما أجد لكم مثلا إلا قول أبي يوسف قال {فصبر جميل والله المستعان على ما تصفون} قالت ثم تحولت فاضطجعت على فراشي قالت وأنا حينئذ أعلم أني بريئة وأن الله مبرئي ببراءتي ولكن والله ما كنت أظن أن الله منزل في شأني وحيا يتلى ولشأني في نفسي كان أحقر من أن يتكلم الله في بأمر يتلى ولكن كنت أرجو أن يرى رسول الله ﷺ في النوم رؤيا يبرئني الله بها قالت فوالله ما رام رسول الله ﷺ ولا خرج أحد من أهل البيت حتى أنزل عليه فأخذه ما كان يأخذه من البرحاء حتى إنه ليتحدر منه مثل الجمان من العرق وهو في يوم شات من ثقل القول الذي ينزل عليه قالت فلما سري عن رسول الله ﷺ سري عنه وهو يضحك فكانت أول كلمة تكلم بها يا عائشة أما الله عز وجل فقد برأك فقالت أمي قومي إليه قالت فقلت لا والله لا أقوم إليه ولا أحمد إلا الله عز وجل فأنزل الله عز وجل {إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة منكم لا تحسبوه} العشر الآيات كلها فلما أنزل الله هذا في براءتي قال أبو بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه وكان ينفق على مسطح بن أثاثة لقرابته منه وفقره والله لا أنفق على مسطح شيئا أبدا بعد الذي قال لعائشة ما قال فأنزل الله {ولا يأتل أولو الفضل منكم والسعة أن يؤتوا أولي القربى والمساكين والمهاجرين في سبيل الله وليعفوا وليصفحوا ألا تحبون أن يغفر الله لكم والله غفور رحيم} قال أبو بكر بلى والله إني أحب أن يغفر الله لي فرجع إلى مسطح النفقة التي كان ينفق عليه وقال والله لا أنزعها منه أبدا قالت عائشة وكان رسول الله ﷺ يسأل زينب ابنة جحش عن أمري فقال يا زينب ماذا علمت أو رأيت فقالت يا رسول الله أحمي سمعي وبصري ما علمت إلا خيرا قالت وهي التي كانت تساميني من أزواج رسول الله ﷺ فعصمها الله بالورع وطفقت أختها حمنة تحارب لها فهلكت فيمن هلك من أصحاب الإفك