Ayesha reported,

When what was said about me was being said, and I knew nothing of it, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up to address the people. He bore witness to faith, praised Allah and extolled Him as He deserves, then said, "Now then, advise me concerning some people who have slandered my wife. By Allah, I have known nothing but good of my wife, and they have slandered a man about whom, by Allah, I have never known anything but good. He never entered my house unless I was present, nor was I absent on any journey except that he was absent with me."Saad bin Muaz stood up and said, "Give me permission, Messenger of Allah, to strike off their heads."Then a man from the Khazraj stood up. The mother of Hassan bin Thabit was from the clan of that man. He said, "You lie. By Allah, if they had been from the Aws, you would not have wanted their heads to be struck off."It nearly came to violence between the Aws and the Khazraj in the mosque, and I knew nothing of it.That evening, I went out to relieve myself, and Umm Mistah was with me. She stumbled and said, "May Mistah perish."I said, "Mother, do you curse your own son?"She fell silent. Then she stumbled a second time and said, "May Mistah perish."I said to her, "Do you curse your own son?"Then she stumbled a third time and said, "May Mistah perish."I scolded her, and she said, "By Allah, I do not curse him except on your account."I asked, "On what account of mine?"So she laid the whole story bare for me.I said, "Has this really happened?"She said, "Yes, by Allah."I returned to my house feeling as if the need I had gone out for had vanished entirely. I was overcome with fever and said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "Send me to my father's house."He sent the boy with me, and I entered the house. I found Umm Ruman downstairs and Abu Bakr on the upper floor reciting.My mother said, "What has brought you, my daughter?"I told her and recounted the story. It turned out that what had affected me had not affected her in the same way.She said, "My daughter, take it lightly. By Allah, rarely is there a beautiful woman married to a man who loves her, with co-wives, except that they envy her and things are said about her."What had reached her had not affected her the way it had affected me.I said, "And does my father know of it?"She said, "Yes."I said, "And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"She said, "Yes, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."I burst into tears and wept. Abu Bakr heard my voice from the upper floor where he was reciting. He came down and said to my mother, "What is the matter with her?"She said, "She has heard what has been said about her."His eyes filled with tears, and he said, "I adjure you, my daughter, to return to your house."So I returned. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had come to my house and asked my maidservant about me. She said, "No, by Allah, I have known no fault in her, except that she would fall asleep until the sheep came in and ate her dough or her flour."Some of his companions rebuked her and said, "Tell the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the truth," until they made her acknowledge the matter outright.She said, "Glory be to Allah. By Allah, I know nothing about her except what a goldsmith knows about a piece of pure red gold."The matter reached the man about whom this had been said, and he said, "Glory be to Allah. By Allah, I have never uncovered the garment of any woman."Ayesha said, He was later killed as a martyr in the cause of Allah.She said, My parents stayed with me until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came in to me, after he had performed the afternoon prayer. He entered while my parents flanked me on my right and left. He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said, "Now then, Ayesha, if you have committed any wrong or done injustice, repent to Allah, for Allah accepts repentance from His servants."A woman from the Ansar had come and was sitting at the door. I said, "Have you no shame before this woman, that she might mention something?"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued his admonition. I turned to my father and said, "Answer him."He said, "What should I say?"I turned to my mother and said, "Answer him."She said, "What should I say?"When neither of them answered him, I bore witness to faith, praised Allah and extolled Him as He deserves, then said, "Now then, by Allah, if I tell you that I did not do it, and Allah bears witness that I am truthful, that will not benefit me with you, for you have spoken of it and your hearts have been steeped in it. And if I say that I did do it, while Allah knows that I did not, you will say she has admitted it against herself. By Allah, I find no parable for myself and you," and I tried to recall the name of Yaqub but could not, "except 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].Revelation came down upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at that very moment, so we fell silent. When it lifted from him, I could see joy on his face, and he was wiping his brow and saying, "Rejoice, Ayesha, for Allah has revealed your innocence."I was at the height of anger. My parents said to me, "Get up and go to him."I said, "By Allah, I will not get up and go to him, nor will I praise him, nor will I praise either of you. Rather, I will praise Allah, who has revealed my innocence. You heard it, and you neither denounced it nor refuted it."Ayesha used to say, As for Zaynab bint Jahsh, Allah safeguarded her by her religion, so she said nothing but good. But as for her sister Hamna, she perished among those who perished. Those who spoke of the matter were Mistah, Hassan bin Thabit, and the hypocrite Abdullah bin Ubayy, who was the one who used to stir it up and gather it. He and Hamna were the ones who took the greatest share in it.She said, Abu Bakr swore that he would never again give Mistah any benefit. So Allah revealed, "And let not those of virtue among you swear..." until the end of the verse, meaning Abu Bakr, "and abundance, that they should give to relatives and the needy" meaning Mistah, up to His words, "Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" [Nur 24:22].At that, Abu Bakr said, "Yes, by Allah, our Lord, we do love that You should forgive us." And he resumed providing for him as he had been doing.

وقال أبو أسامة عن هشام بن عروة، قال أخبرني أبي،

عن عائشة، قالت

لما ذكر من شأني الذي ذكر وما علمت به قام رسول الله ﷺ في خطيبا، فتشهد فحمد الله وأثنى عليه بما هو أهله، ثم قال أما بعد أشيروا على في أناس أبنوا أهلي، وايم الله ما علمت على أهلي من سوء، وأبنوهم بمن والله ما علمت عليه من سوء قط، ولا يدخل بيتي قط إلا وأنا حاضر، ولا غبت في سفر إلا غاب معي. فقام سعد بن معاذ فقال ائذن لي يا رسول الله أن نضرب أعناقهم، وقام رجل من بني الخزرج، وكانت أم حسان بن ثابت من رهط ذلك الرجل، فقال كذبت، أما والله، أن لو كانوا من الأوس ما أحببت أن تضرب أعناقهم. حتى كاد أن يكون بين الأوس والخزرج شر في المسجد، وما علمت فلما كان مساء ذلك اليوم خرجت لبعض حاجتي ومعي أم مسطح. فعثرت وقالت تعس مسطح. فقلت أى أم تسبين ابنك وسكتت ثم عثرت الثانية فقالت تعس مسطح، فقلت لها تسبين ابنك ثم عثرت الثالثة فقالت تعس مسطح. فانتهرتها، فقالت والله ما أسبه إلا فيك. فقلت في أى شأني قالت فبقرت لي الحديث فقلت وقد كان هذا قالت نعم والله، فرجعت إلى بيتي كأن الذي خرجت له لا أجد منه قليلا ولا كثيرا، ووعكت فقلت لرسول الله ﷺ أرسلني إلى بيت أبي. فأرسل معي الغلام، فدخلت الدار فوجدت أم رومان في السفل وأبا بكر فوق البيت يقرأ. فقالت أمي ما جاء بك يا بنية فأخبرتها وذكرت لها الحديث، وإذا هو لم يبلغ منها مثل ما بلغ مني، فقالت يا بنية خفضي عليك الشأن، فإنه والله، لقلما كانت امرأة حسناء عند رجل يحبها، لها ضرائر، إلا حسدنها وقيل فيها. وإذا هو لم يبلغ منها ما بلغ مني، قلت وقد علم به أبي قالت نعم. قلت ورسول الله ﷺ قالت نعم ورسول الله ﷺ واستعبرت وبكيت، فسمع أبو بكر صوتي وهو فوق البيت يقرأ، فنزل فقال لأمي ما شأنها قالت بلغها الذي ذكر من شأنها. ففاضت عيناه، قال أقسمت عليك أى بنية إلا رجعت إلى بيتك، فرجعت ولقد جاء رسول الله ﷺ بيتي، فسأل عني خادمتي فقالت لا والله ما علمت عليها عيبا إلا أنها كانت ترقد حتى تدخل الشاة فتأكل خميرها أو عجينها. وانتهرها بعض أصحابه فقال اصدقي رسول الله ﷺ حتى أسقطوا لها به فقالت سبحان الله، والله ما علمت عليها إلا ما يعلم الصائغ على تبر الذهب الأحمر. وبلغ الأمر إلى ذلك الرجل الذي قيل له، فقال سبحان الله والله ما كشفت كنف أنثى قط. قالت عائشة فقتل شهيدا في سبيل الله. قالت وأصبح أبواى عندي، فلم يزالا حتى دخل على رسول الله ﷺ وقد صلى العصر، ثم دخل وقد اكتنفني أبواى عن يميني وعن شمالي، فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال أما بعد يا عائشة، إن كنت قارفت سوءا أو ظلمت، فتوبي إلى الله، فإن الله يقبل التوبة من عباده. قالت وقد جاءت امرأة من الأنصار فهى جالسة بالباب فقلت ألا تستحي من هذه المرأة أن تذكر شيئا. فوعظ رسول الله ﷺ فالتفت إلى أبي فقلت أجبه. قال فماذا أقول فالتفت إلى أمي فقلت أجيبيه. فقالت أقول ماذا فلما لم يجيباه تشهدت فحمدت الله وأثنيت عليه بما هو أهله، ثم قلت أما بعد فوالله لئن قلت لكم إني لم أفعل. والله عز وجل يشهد إني لصادقة، ما ذاك بنافعي عندكم، لقد تكلمتم به وأشربته قلوبكم، وإن قلت إني فعلت. والله يعلم أني لم أفعل، لتقولن قد باءت به على نفسها، وإني والله ما أجد لي ولكم مثلا والتمست اسم يعقوب فلم أقدر عليه إلا أبا يوسف حين قال {فصبر جميل والله المستعان على ما تصفون} وأنزل على رسول الله ﷺ من ساعته فسكتنا، فرفع عنه وإني لأتبين السرور في وجهه وهو يمسح جبينه ويقول أبشري يا عائشة، فقد أنزل الله براءتك. قالت وكنت أشد ما كنت غضبا فقال لي أبواى قومي إليه. فقلت والله لا أقوم إليه، ولا أحمده ولا أحمدكما، ولكن أحمد الله الذي أنزل براءتي، لقد سمعتموه، فما أنكرتموه ولا غيرتموه، وكانت عائشة تقول أما زينب ابنة جحش فعصمها الله بدينها، فلم تقل إلا خيرا، وأما أختها حمنة فهلكت فيمن هلك، وكان الذي يتكلم فيه مسطح وحسان بن ثابت والمنافق عبد الله بن أبى، وهو الذي كان يستوشيه ويجمعه، وهو الذي تولى كبره منهم هو وحمنة قالت فحلف أبو بكر أن لا ينفع مسطحا بنافعة أبدا، فأنزل الله عز وجل {ولا يأتل أولو الفضل منكم} إلى آخر الآية يعني أبا بكر {والسعة أن يؤتوا أولى القربى والمساكين} يعني مسطحا إلى قوله {ألا تحبون أن يغفر الله لكم والله غفور رحيم} حتى قال أبو بكر بلى والله يا ربنا إنا لنحب أن تغفر لنا، وعاد له بما كان يصنع.