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Ayah
Word by Word
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
جَآءُو
brought
بِٱلۡإِفۡكِ
the lie
عُصۡبَةٞ
(are) a group
مِّنكُمۡۚ
among you
لَا
(Do) not
تَحۡسَبُوهُ
think it
شَرّٗا
bad
لَّكُمۖ
for you
بَلۡ
nay
هُوَ
it
خَيۡرٞ
(is) good
لَّكُمۡۚ
for you
لِكُلِّ
For every
ٱمۡرِيٕٖ
person
مِّنۡهُم
among them
مَّا
(is) what
ٱكۡتَسَبَ
he earned
مِنَ
of
ٱلۡإِثۡمِۚ
the sin
وَٱلَّذِي
and the one who
تَوَلَّىٰ
took upon himself
كِبۡرَهُۥ
a greater share of it
مِنۡهُمۡ
among them
لَهُۥ
for him
عَذَابٌ
(is) a punishment
عَظِيمٞ
great
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
جَآءُو
brought
بِٱلۡإِفۡكِ
the lie
عُصۡبَةٞ
(are) a group
مِّنكُمۡۚ
among you
لَا
(Do) not
تَحۡسَبُوهُ
think it
شَرّٗا
bad
لَّكُمۖ
for you
بَلۡ
nay
هُوَ
it
خَيۡرٞ
(is) good
لَّكُمۡۚ
for you
لِكُلِّ
For every
ٱمۡرِيٕٖ
person
مِّنۡهُم
among them
مَّا
(is) what
ٱكۡتَسَبَ
he earned
مِنَ
of
ٱلۡإِثۡمِۚ
the sin
وَٱلَّذِي
and the one who
تَوَلَّىٰ
took upon himself
كِبۡرَهُۥ
a greater share of it
مِنۡهُمۡ
among them
لَهُۥ
for him
عَذَابٌ
(is) a punishment
عَظِيمٞ
great
Translation
Indeed, those who came with falsehood1 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 thereof2 - for him is a great punishment [i.e., Hellfire].
Footnotes
1 Referring to the incident when the Prophet's wife ʿĀ’ishah was falsely accused by the hypocrites.
2 i.e., ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUbayy, leader of the hypocrites.
Tafsir
Truly those who initiated the slander, the worst calumny against 'aa'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] Hassaan ibn Thaabit, 'Abd Allaah ibn Ubayy, Mistah [ibn Uthaatha], 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 'aa'isha's innocence and [the innocence of] the one who [is supposed to have] committed it with her, namely, Safwaan [ibn al-Mu'attal]. She ['aa'isha] related: 'I accompanied the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him 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 qilaada) 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. Safwaan 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 ﷺ what looked like a person sleeping and recognised me when he [eventually] ﷺ 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' (innaa li'Llaahi wa-innaa ilayhi raaji'oon), for he had recognised me. So I concealed my face with my gown (jilbaab) - in other words, I covered it up with my wrap (mulaa'a). By God he did not so much as say a word to me, nor did I hear him say anything other than the words, 'To God we belong and to Him we shall surely return', as he brought his camel to its knees and pressed with his foot against its foreleg [for me to mount it]. I then mounted it and he set off leading me back on the camel until we reached the army which had stopped because of the extreme midday heat; some had died [searching] for me. The one who bore the greater share of it [the sinful accusation] was 'Abd Allaah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool' . her ['aa'isha's] words end here; this was reported by the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. God, exalted be He, says: Upon every man of them shall be the [onus of the] sin which he has earned, in this [affair], and as for him who bore the greater share thereof, that is, [him who] assumed most of [the responsibility for] it, having initiated it and made it public, namely, 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy: there will be an awful chastisement for him, namely, the Fire in the Hereafter.
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 .
He said:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاوُوا بِالاِْفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ
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 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. 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 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 ﷺ 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. Safwan 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 ﷺ the outline of a person sleeping. He came to me and recognized me when he ﷺ me, as he had seen me before Hijab was made obligatory for me.
When he ﷺ 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. 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 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 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 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 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 called Barirah and said,
أَيْ بَرِيرَةُ هَلْ رَأَيْتِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ يَرِيبُكِ مِنْ عَايِشَةَ
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 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 said,
يَامَعْشَرَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مَنْ يَعْذِرُنِي مِنْ رَجُلٍ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي أَذَاهُ فِي أَهْلِ بَيْتِي فَوَاللهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلاَّ خَيْرًا وَلَقَدْ ذَكَرُوا رَجُلًا مَا عَلِمْتُ عَلَيْهِ إِلاَّ خَيْرًا وَمَا كَانَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَى أَهْلِي إِلاَّ 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 standing there on the Minbar, trying to calm them down until they became quiet, then the Messenger of Allah 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 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 recited the Tashahhud when he sat down, then he said,
أَمَّا بَعْدُ يَا عَايِشَةُ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ بَلَغَنِي عَنْكِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَإِنْ كُنْتِ بَرِييَةً فَسَيُبَرِّيُكِ 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 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 on my behalf.'
He said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah.'
So I said to my mother, `Answer the Messenger of Allah on my behalf.'
She said, `I do not know what I should say to the Messenger of Allah.'
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 وَاللّهُ 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 would see a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, the Messenger of Allah 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 was smiling -- the first thing he said was,
أَبْشِرِي يَا عَايِشَةُ 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 جَاوُوا بِالاِْفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ
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,
وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُوْتُوا أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give to their kinsmen, the poor, and those who left their homes for Allah's cause. Let them pardon and forgive. 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 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 recorded 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 جَاوُوا بِالاِْفْكِ
Verily, those who brought forth the slander,
means, the lies, falsehood and fabrications.
عُصْبَةٌ
are a group,
means, a gang among you.
لَاا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم
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,
لااَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا 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 and he used to love you; he did not marry any virgin other than you, and your innocence was revealed from heaven.
لِكُلِّ امْرِيٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الاِْثْمِ
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.
وَالَّذِي 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
Disciplining the Believers for spreading the Slander
Here Allah disciplines the believers with regard to the matter of A'ishah, because some of them spread this evil talk and the slander that had been mentioned.
So Allah says:
لَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ
Why then, when you heard it,
meaning, the talk which accused the Mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her,
ظَنَّ الْمُوْمِنُونَ وَالْمُوْمِنَاتُ بِأَنفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا
the believers, men and women, think good of their own people,
means, why did they not compare what was said to themselves -- if it was not befitting for them then it was even less appropriate for the Mother of the believers, and she was more likely to be innocent.
Or it was said that this was revealed about Abu Ayub Khalid bin Zayd Al-Ansari and his wife, may Allah be pleased with them.
Imam Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated,
The wife of Abu Ayub Khalid bin Zayd Al-Ansari, Umm Ayub, said to him, `O Abu Ayub, have you heard what the people are saying about A'ishah!'
He said, `Yes, and it is all lies. Would you do that, O Umm Ayub!'
She said, `No, by Allah, I would not do that.'
He said, `And by Allah, A'ishah is better than you.'
When the Qur'an was revealed, Allah mentioned those who spoke about the evil deed among the people of the slander,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاوُوا بِالاِْفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ
(Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you). (24:11)
This refers to Hassan and his companions who said what they said.
Then Allah said,
لَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُوْمِنُونَ
Why then, did not the believers, men, when you heard it, think...
means, as Abu Ayub and his wife did.
Allah's saying:
ظَنَّ الْمُوْمِنُونَ
the believers, men think...
meaning, `why did they not think good, because the Mother of the believers is his wife and is closer to him.'
This is concerned with innermost feelings;
وَقَالُوا
and say:
means, with their tongues, verbally,
هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُّبِينٌ
This (charge) is an obvious lie.
means, a clear untruth told about the Mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her.
What happened should not have been the cause of suspicion. The fact that the Mother of the believers came openly, riding on the camel of Safwan bin Al-Mu`attal at midday, with the entire army watching and the Messenger of Allah among them, should have made it clear that there was no cause for suspicion. If there had been anything suspicious about the matter, they would not have come openly in this manner in front of so many witnesses; they would have come secretly. On this basis, what the people of the slander said accusing the Mother of the believers was an utter lie, false speech and evil foolish talk, by which people who indulged in it lost out.
Allah said
لَوْلَا جَاوُوا عَلَيْهِ بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاء
Why did they not produce four witnesses against him!
meaning, to prove that what they were saying was true.
فَإِذْ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِالشُّهَدَاء فَأُوْلَيِكَ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
Since they have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah they are the liars.
Allah has ruled that they are indeed wicked liars
The Grace of Allah towards the People of the Slander by giving Them the Opportunity to repent
Allah says,
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالاْخِرَةِ
Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you in this world and in the Hereafter,
This is addressed to those who were indulging in discussing the matter of A'ishah, informing them that Allah has accepted their repentance in this world, and forgiven them because of their faith in the Hereafter.
لَمَسَّكُمْ فِي مَا أَفَضْتُمْ فِيهِ
would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken,
with regard to the slander.
عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
a great torment.
This refers to those who had faith in Allah because of their repentance, such as Mistah, Hassan and Hamnah bint Jahsh the sister of Zaynab bint Jahsh.
As for the hypocrites who indulged in the slander, such as Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul and his like, they are not the ones who are referred to in this Ayah, because they did not have sufficient faith and righteous deeds to balance or cancel out what they had done.
By the same token, the threats that were narrated for a specific deed are bound to be carried out, if there is no repentance or sufficient righteous deeds to balance or outweigh it.
Then Allah says
إِذْ تَلَقَّوْنَهُ بِأَلْسِنَتِكُمْ
When you were propagating it with your tongues,
Mujahid and Sa`id bin Jubayr said,
Some of you were relating it to others, where one says, `I heard this from so-and-so, and so-and-so said such and such, and some of them mentioned such and such.'
Others recited the Ayah:
إِذْ تَلِقَّوْنَهُ بِأَلْسِنَتِكُمْ
When you were inventing a lie with your tongues...
In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is recorded that A'ishah recited it like that.
According to her, the meaning refers to lies which a person persists in telling.
The first recitation is preferred and more popular, and the majority recites it that way, but the second is reported from A'ishah, the Mother of the believers.
وَتَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِكُم مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِ عِلْمٌ
and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge,
means, you were speaking about something which you knew nothing about.
Then Allah says:
وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ
you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great.
means, `you said what you said about the Mother of the believers and you thought that it was a trifling and insignificant matter, but even if she was not the wife of the Prophet, it still would not be an insignificant matter -- so how about when she is the wife of the Unlettered Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets and Leader of the Messengers!'
It is a very serious matter with Allah that such a thing should be said about the wife of His Messenger! For Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, feels great fury and anger over such matters, and He would never decree such a thing for the wife of any of His Prophets. If that is the case, then how about the best of the wives of any Prophet, the wife of the best of the sons of Adam in this world and the next Allah says:
وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ
you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great.
In the Two Sahihs it is reported that:
إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مِنْ سَخَطِ اللهِ لَا يَدْرِي مَا تَبْلُغُ يَهْوِي بِهَا فِي النَّارِ أَبْعَدَ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالاَْرْضِ
A man may say a word that angers Allah without realizing how far it will go, and because of that he will be thrown into Hell a distance greater than that between heaven and earth.
According to another report:
لَاا يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالاًا
And he may not pay any attention to it.
Further Discipline
This is further discipline, in addition to the command to think well of people, i.e., if something unbefitting is mentioned about good people, then one should think well of them, and not feel towards them anything but good. Then if a person has any unsuitable thoughts about them, insinuated into his mind and imagination by Shaytan, he should not speak about that, for the Prophet said:
إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى تَجَاوَزَ لاُِمَّتِي عَمَّا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَنْفُسُهَا مَا لَمْ تَقُلْ أَوْ تَعْمَلْ
Allah will excuse my Ummah for anything that occurs to their minds, so long as they do not speak about it or act upon it.
This was reported in the Two Sahihs.
Allah's saying:
وَلَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَذَا
And why did you not, when you heard it, say:It is not right for us to speak of this.
meaning, we should not talk about it or mention it to anyone.
سُبْحَانَكَ هَذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ
Glory be to You (O Allah)! This is a great lie.
means, glory be to Allah that such a thing should be said about the wife of His Prophet and close Friend.
Then Allah says
يَعِظُكُمُ اللَّهُ أَن تَعُودُوا لِمِثْلِهِ أَبَدًا
Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever,
meaning, Allah is forbidding you and warning you from doing anything like this again in the future.
Allah says,
إِن كُنتُم مُّوْمِنِينَ
if you are believers.
meaning, if you believe in Allah and His Laws, and you respect His Messenger.
As for those who are described as disbelievers, a different ruling applies in their case.
Then Allah says
وَيُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الاْيَاتِ
And Allah makes the Ayat plain to you,
meaning, He makes clear to you the rulings of Shariah and His divine decrees.
وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
means, He knows what is right for His servants and He is Wise in His Laws and decrees
Disciplining Those Who like that Illegal Sexual Intercourse should be circulated among the Believers
This is a third instance of discipline directed at those who hear evil talk, believe it to some extent, and start to spread it; they should not spread such talk or pass it on to others.
Allah says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ امَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Verily, those who like that Fahshah should be circulated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment,
meaning, those who like to see evil talk about them (the believers) appear,
لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا
they will have a painful torment in this world,
means, because of the prescribed punishment,
وَالاْاخِرَةِ
and in the Hereafter,
because of the torment in Hell.
وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَاا تَعْلَمُونَ
And Allah knows and you know not.
means, return the matter to Him and you will be guided.
Imam Ahmad recorded from Thawban that the Prophet said:
لَاا تُوْذُوا عِبَادَ اللهِ وَلَاا تُعَيِّرُوهُمْ وَلَاا تَطْلُبُوا عَوْرَاتِهِمْ
فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ طَلَبَ عَوْرَةَ أَخِيهِ الْمُسْلِمِ طَلَبَ اللهُ عَوْرَتَهُ حَتَّى يَفْضَحَهُ فِي بَيْتِهِ
Do not annoy the servants of Allah, nor abuse them, nor seek their hidden shortcomings.
Whoever seeks out the faults of his Muslim brother, Allah will expose his faults and degrade him, even if he is hiding in his house
A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning against following the Footsteps of Shaytan
Allah says:
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّه رَوُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, and that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful.
meaning, if it were not for this, it would have been another matter altogether, but He, may He be exalted, is full of kindness towards His servants and Merciful towards them. He accepts the repentance of those who repent to Him from this sin, and purifies those among them who are purified by the prescribed punishment carried out on them.
Then Allah says
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا لَاا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ
O you who believe! Follow not the Khutuwat of Shaytan.
meaning, his ways and paths and what he commands,
وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ
And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily, he commands immorality and the evil deeds.
This is a warning given in the most concise and eloquent manner.
Ali bin Abi Talhah recorded from Ibn Abbas that
خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ
(the Khutuwat of Shaytan),
means his deeds.
Ikrimah said that:
it means his evil whispers.
Qatadah said:
Every sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan.
Abu Mijlaz said:
Vowing to commit sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan.
Then Allah says:
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا
And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins.
meaning, if He did not help whomever He wills to repent and come back to Him and be purified from Shirk, evil and sin, and whatever bad characteristics each person has according to his nature, no one would ever attain purity and goodness.
وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء
But Allah purifies whom He wills,
means, among His creation, and He sends astray whomever He wills, leaving him to be doomed in his misguidance and sin.
وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ
and Allah is All-Hearer,
means, He hears what His servants say,
عَلِيمٌ
All-Knower.
of who deserves to be guided and who deserves to be misguided
Urging Those Who have been blessed with Wealth to give and to be tolerant
Allah says,
وَلَا يَأْتَلِ
And let not swear,
meaning, make an oath,
أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ
those among you who are blessed with graces,
means, those who have the means to give charity and do good,
وَالسَّعَةِ
and wealth,
means, good fortune,
أَن يُوْتُوا أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
to give to their kinsmen, the poor, and those who left their homes for Allah's cause.
means, do not swear that you will not uphold the ties of kinship with your relatives who are needy or who migrated for the sake of Allah, which is the ultimate act of kindness in the area of upholding kinship ties.
Allah says,
وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا
Let them pardon and forgive.
past insults and bad treatment.
This is part of the patience, generosity and kindness of Allah towards His creation, despite the fact that they wrong themselves.
This Ayah was revealed concerning As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, when he swore that he would not help Mistah bin Uthathah after he said what he said about A'ishah, as we have already seen in the Hadith.
When Allah revealed the innocence of the Mother of the believers, A'ishah, and the believers were happy and content with the outcome of this incident, and those believers who had talked about the matter repented, and the prescribed punishment had been carried out upon those on whom it was carried out, then Allah started to soften the heart of As-Siddiq towards his relative Mistah bin Uthathah.
Mistah was the cousin of As-Siddiq, the son of his maternal aunt, and he was a poor man with no wealth except whatever Abu Bakr spent on him. He was one of those who had migrated for the sake of Allah. He had invented the lies and the slander, but then Allah accepted his repentance from that and the prescribed punishment was carried out on him.
As-Siddiq was known for his generosity and he did favors to his relatives and strangers alike. When this Ayah was revealed:
أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
Do you not love that Allah should forgive you,
which shows that the reward fits the action, and that `if you forgive others, you will be forgiven,' then As-Siddiq said,
Of course, by Allah, we love -- O our Lord -- that You should forgive us.
Then he resumed his spending on Mistah and said, By Allah I will never stop spending on him.
This was to counteract what he had said previously, By Allah I will never spend on him.
This proves that he deserved to be called As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him and his daughter.
وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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Interconnection of verses
As has been mentioned earlier, the major part of Surah An-Nur is in connection with those injunctions which are related with protection and security of chastity and continence. Diametrically to that, any attempt to debase the chastity and honour would be in violation of the injunction, for which the punishment in the world and the torment in the Hereafter are enjoined. In this connection, first the maximum punishment of adultery (حد زنا), then the punishment for false accusation (حد قذف) and after that the process of li'an have already been described. False accusation of adultery against a chaste woman, without the support of four eyewitnesses, is held to be a great sin, and for such a person the punishment of eighty stripes is prescribed. This injunction is in regard to common chaste Muslim women. But the case of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ was quite different and grave, when the hypocrites fabricated a false slander against her in 6th Hijra, and some Muslims also indulged in mentioning it. Indeed it was a much serious and grave situation than for an ordinary chaste Muslim woman, hence Allah Ta’ ala revealed ten verses at that point exonerating her from the accusation and to project her purity and chastity. These verses announce the exoneration of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ on one hand and a warning of severe punishment to all those who were involved in the slander in any way. This incident of imputation is called the episode of ifk (false imputation) in the Qur'an and Hadith. The word Ifk means worst type of lie, imputation or slander. In order to understand the explanation of these verses it is necessary to know the background of the incident of Ifk. Therefore, it will be in order to give a brief account of this episode to begin with.
The incident of Ifk and the slander
This incident has been narrated with extra ordinary details in the Sahihs and other books of Hadith. However its brief version is as follows: When the Holy Prophet ﷺ went for the battle (بنی المصطلق ) of Bani Mustaliq, also known as battle (مُریسیع) of Muraisi', in the 6th Hijra, Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، amongst the mothers of believers, was also accompanying him. The common practice was that first she would sit in her litter and then it was placed on the back of the camel. It was because by that time the injunction in regard to hijab had been revealed. After the battle was over and the caravan was returning to Madinah it stopped for camping to spend the night. Towards the end of the night an announcement was made to the effect that the caravan would soon be departing, so that people should get ready after completing the necessities. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ felt the call of nature and went out to ease herself. There the string of her necklace was broken and it fell down. It took her some time to locate it, so she got a little late. By the time she returned to the camp, the caravan had departed. As for her camel, her litter was mounted on its back without realizing that she was not sitting in it. This happened because she was so young and frail at that time that her absence from the litter was not noticed; and also because the litter was covered. On her return to the camp when she did not find the caravan there, she did not panic nor ran helter-skelter to locate it. Instead, she acted very prudently and sat down at the camping place after wrapping herself. She did this knowing the Holy Prophet ﷺ very well that when he will not find her in her litter (ھودج) he will send out men to locate her at the camping place, and if she were gone some other place to locate them, it will only complicate things for the searching party. So, it was best to wait for them there, at the camp. Since it was still dark and she was tired, she fell asleep.
On the other hand, it so happened that Sayyidna Safwan Ibn Mu` attal ؓ ، whom the Holy Prophet ﷺ had assigned the duty to stay behind the caravan and pick up things if forgotten by anyone in a hurry, reached the camp at dawn. He ﷺ someone sleeping. So he went there and recognized Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ whom he had seen before the injunction of hijab was revealed. Seeing her there like that, he was extremely dismayed and uttered إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. On hearing his voice she was awakened, and covered her face. Then Sayyidna Safwan ؓ brought his camel near her and made it sit down. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ sat on the camel's back and rode on, while he was holding the string of the camel and walking in front. ` Abdullah Ibn Ubbayy was a very wicked hypocrite and enemy of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He got hold of this news and the wretched man fabricated shameless imputation against her. Unfortunately, some naive Muslims also narrated the gossip on hearsay; for instance Sayyidna Hassan and Mistah ؓ among the males and Sayyidah Hamnah ؓ from the females. (Tafsir Ad-Durr-al-Manthur has reported this version with reference to Ibn Marduwaih on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ -۔ اعانہ ای عبداللہ ابن اُبّی حسان و مسطح و حمنہ)
When this slander of the hypocrite was publicized, the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself was also very hurt. As for Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، it was but obvious to get hurt extremely. Even ordinary Muslims were also extremely pained on the spread of this totally false and fabricated slander. This went on for about a month, but at last Allah Ta’ ala revealed these verses to exonerate her and condemn those who were involved in its fabrication or spread, in any way. The commentary on these verses will follow soon.
In accordance with the Qur'anic injunction, which has been detailed above under the heading of punishment for false accusation (حدّ القذف) those who were involved in the spread of false slander were asked to produce the evidence in support of their accusation. Since that was a totally unfounded accusation, they could not produce any evidence whatsoever. As a consequence, the Holy Prophet ﷺ awarded the punishment of false accusation (حدّ القذف) to them, and each one of them was flogged with eighty stripes. Bazzar and Ibn Marduwaih have reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ awarded the punishment to three Muslims, namely, Mistah, Hamnah and Hassan ؓ ، while Tabarani has reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had awarded double the punishment of false accusation to ` Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, the hypocrite, who had fabricated this slander. After that the Muslims repented, but the hypocrites remained as they were. (Bayan ul Qur’ an)
Commentary
Unique proficiency of Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ ، and the remaining part of the incident of Ifk
The enemies of the Holy Prophet ﷺ did their best to harm him, and did everything they could possibly think to afflict him. Amongst all the afflictions which were perpetrated by the infidels, perhaps the most severe and emotionally torturous was to pass slander on the most exalted, proficient, learned, and respected mother of the believers amongst all his pure wives. With the contemptible false slander the respected name of Sayyidna Safwan Ibn Mu'attal ؓ was also maligned by the hypocrite ` Abdulalh Ibn Ubayy. The hypocrites gave the slander different colours and then spread it. The most distressful thing in this episode was that some simple Muslims were carried away by the unfortunate slander and started narrating it as well. The unfounded slander would have been exposed by the truth in a few days time, but for compensating the emotional torture inflicted on Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ and on the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself by it and for exonerating her, Allah Ta’ ala did not rest just at hinting at the episode in a revelation, but revealed almost two ruku's for her exoneration. Not only that, but all those who had fabricated this slander, and those who had participated in narrating it, were warned to face the torment in this world and in the Hereafter. Perhaps never such warnings were revealed on any occasion.
In fact this incident of Ifk has brought into the open and highlighted the excellence of Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ superior wisdom and intelligence along with her chastity and sanctity. That is why in the very first of the above quoted verses Allah Ta’ ala has asked not to consider this incident as bad for her, rather it was a blessing. What could be a greater blessing than this, that Allah Ta’ ala has confirmed her purity in no less than ten verses, which will be recited until the Dooms Day. Sayyidah 'A'ishah ؓ had herself said that she was quite confident that Allah Ta’ ala would exonerate her and clarify her position through a Wahy (message to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ), but did not consider herself to be so fortunate that Qura'nic verses would be revealed referring to her person, which will be recited forever. At this point it will help the readers to know some details about the incident for understanding the verses. So, they are briefly narrated here:
On return from that journey Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ got involved in her household affairs, and was not the least aware of the rumor that was circulated by the hypocrites about her. Sahih of Bukhari has narrated on the authority of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ herself that after the return from the journey she fell slightly sick, the main cause of which was that she did not notice the favour and grace from the Holy Prophet ﷺ towards her, which was his norm. Instead, she noticed during that period that when he would come home, he would only inquire about her health after the salutation and go back. Since she did not know at all anything about the rumor that was being circulated about her, hence she could not understand the cause of his attitude towards her, but took the grief to heart, which started telling on her health. One day she went out in the open to ease herself, as there used to be no latrines in the houses in those days. Because she was not keeping well she took along Mistah's mother with her. When they were returning home after she had eased herself, the foot of Mistah's mother got entangled in her sheet and she fell down. As she fell down she uttered the phrase تَعِسَ مِسطَح . This phrase is normally used by Arabs while cursing someone. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ was taken aback on hearing this phrase from Mistah's mother for her own son , and said to her that it was very bad that she was cursing her own son, who was such a gentleman and who had participated in the battle of Badr. On that Mistah's mother asked her ` My dear girl, don't you know, this son of mine, what has he been saying around?' Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ inquired as to what had he been saying around. Then Mistah's mother told her the whole story of Ifk fabricated by the people, and how her son was involved in its spreading. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to say that on hearing this her sickness was doubled. When she returned home and the Holy Prophet ﷺ came and inquired about her health after salutation as usual, she asked his permission whether she could go to her parent's house. He consented to her going to their house. The idea was to take them in confidence and have consultation. So she consulted her mother, who consoled her and said that there were people who were jealous of women like her, and spread rumors like that. So, she need not worry about it. Things would get alright on their own. On that she retorted ` Allah is Pure / Subhan Allah! People have been talking about that. How can I be patient?' Then the whole night she cried, and did not sleep a wink. On the other hand the Holy Prophet ﷺ was extremely grieved on the spread of this false story, more so, because he did not receive any revelation on the incident during that period. Therefore, he called Sayyidna ` Ali and Usamah Ibn Zaid ؓ ، who were both members of his household, and consulted them as to what should he do under the circumstances. Sayyidna Usamah Ibn Zaid said very emphatically that on the basis of his information he had no misgivings about Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing, which could point toward any mistrust. Hence he need not pay any heed to such rumors. Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ advised him (in order to bring him out of his grief and anxiety) that Allah Ta’ ala had not put any restriction on him, hence if he had any unpleasant feelings about Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، because of the rumors, then there are many other women. Moreover he suggested another alternative to remove his unpleasant feelings, and advised him to make inquiries about her from Barirah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا who was the slave girl working for Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ . Hence, the Holy Prophet ﷺ made inquiries from Barirah ؓ ، who submitted that she did not see anything unbecoming in Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ except that sometimes, because of her young age, she would leave the dough in the open and go to sleep, and the goat would eat up the dough. (After this the Hadith narrates the address of the Holy Prophet ﷺ from the rostrum in great detail in which he had complained about those who had fabricated the accusation and those who had spread the slander. A brief account of what happened next is as follows).
Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to say "I cried the whole day and the second night also continuously. My parents had also come to me, as they feared that I would break down with grief. While my parents were sitting with me the Holy Prophet ﷺ came in and sat down alongside me. He had not sit with me before ever since this incident had started. Then he recited the khutbah of shahadah and said ` 0, ` A'ishah, I have received this information about you. If you are free from blame, then Allah will definitely exonerate you (that is express exoneration through revelation), but if you have slipped, then beg for Allah's pardon with repentance, because when the servant invokes His mercy after admitting his sin then Allah Ta’ ala accepts his repentance'. After the Holy Prophet ﷺ had completed his discourse, my tears dried up completely. There was not a drop in my eyes. I requested my father, Abu Bakr ؓ ، to give an answer to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but he excused himself saying what could he say. Then I asked my mother to give an answer, and she too excused herself saying as to what could she say. Then per force I had to speak. I was only a young girl, and by then had not learnt much even the Qur'an". In such a perplexing condition of grief and distress that she was in, even extremely learned and intelligent persons would have found it very difficult to express themselves in a balanced manner, but what Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ said at that time is a piece of highly intellectual and scholarly discourse. Her wordings are reproduced verbatim below:
و اللہ لقد عرفت لقد سمعتم ھٰذا الحدیث حتّٰی استقرَّ فی انفسکم وصدقتم بہ، ولیٔن قلت لکم : انّی بریٔۃ، واللہ یعلم انّی بریٔۃ، لا تصدّقونی ولیٔن اعترفت لکم بامر، واللہ یعلم انی منہ بریٔۃ، لتصدقونی ، واللہ لا اجد لی ولکم مثلا الا کما قال ابو یوسف : فصبر جمیل واللہ المستعان علی ما تصفون
"By God, I fully realize that you listened to this talk and kept on listening until it made inroads into your heart, and you have confirmed this (by your actions). Now if I say that I am free from this blame, as Allah knows well that I am in reality, then you will not verify my statement. And if I make admission of the accusation, of which Allah knows I am free, then you will agree with my admission. Wallah, now I do not see any example on the issue between you and me, except the one which the father of Yusuf (علیہ السلام), said after hearing the wrong statement of his sons that ` So patience is best. And it is Allah whose help is sought against what you describe."
Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ 'related further that "After having said so I went away and lied down on my bed. I was confident that since I was free from the blame in reality, Allah Ta’ ala would surely exonerate me by sending down a revelation. But I did not have the slightest idea or expectation that in my case Qur'anic verses will be revealed, which will be recited forever. It was because I considered my position to be much lower than that. All I had expected was that probably my exoneration will be revealed to him in his dream". Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ goes on to narrate that "the Holy Prophet ﷺ had not got up from that company yet, nor anyone from the household had got up, when he was overtaken by the condition which he used to experience at the time of revelation of the Qur'an. In this condition he used to perspire profusely on the forehead. When this condition was over, then the Holy Prophet ﷺ got up smiling, and the very first thing that he said was ابشری یا عایٔشہ اما اللہ فقد ابرأکِ that is "0 ` A'ishah, listen the good tiding . As for Allah Ta’ ala, He has exonerated you". Then my mother said to me "Get up and go to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . I replied, "I do not feel obliged to anyone in this case, except Allah, nor would I get up. I am thankful to my Lord, and it is He who has exonerated me".
Few distinctions of Sayyidah Siddiqah ؓ
While explaining these verses Imam Baghawi (رح) has said that there were some distinctions of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ which no woman other than her could get, and Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، also used to relate them with a sense of pride (as honorable gift). First, that before the marriage with the Holy Prophet ﷺ Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) had brought to him her image wrapped in a silk cloth, and said to him ` she is your wife', (As reported by At-Tirmidhi - from ` A'ishah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا) while some other versions say that Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) had brought this image in his palm.
Second, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ did not marry any maiden girl other than her.
Third, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ died in her lap.
Fourth, that he was buried in her house.
Fifth, that he ﷺ had received revelation even at that time also when he used to be with Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ under the same quilt. None other wives was granted this distinction ever.
Sixth, that her ؓ ، exoneration was sent down from the Heaven.
Seventh, that she was the daughter of the caliph of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and was herself a Siddiqah ؓ and was among those whom Allah Ta’ ala had promised forgiveness and bountiful sustenance even during their lifetime. (Mazhari)
After seeing Sayyidah ` A'ishah's ؓ scholarly research, understanding of jurisprudence and eloquent expression, Sayyidna Musa Ibn Talhah ؓ commented that he had never come across a person more eloquent than her. (Tirmidhi)
Tafsir al-Qurtubi has related that when Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was falsely accused, Allah Ta’ ala exonerated him through the evidence of a baby by granting him speech, and when Sayyidah Maryam (علیہا السلام) was falsely accused, Allah Ta’ ala exonerated her through the evidence of her son, ` Isa (علیہ السلام) but when false accusation was leveled against Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، then Allah Ta’ ala sent down ten verses of the Holy Qur'an to declare her exoneration, which has further enhanced her respect and stature.
Now the specific sentences of these verses will be discussed and elaborated:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ
Those who have come up with the false imputation are a gang among you. 24:11.
Literal meaning of Ifk (اِفک) is to turn over, reverse or to change. The worst type of lie which turns the truth to falsehood and the false as truth, and labels the pious and God fearing as sinner, and the sinner as pious and God fearing, also falls under the connotation of Ifk. ` Usbah عُصبَہ means a group of ten to forty persons, but is also used for less or more persons. The word مِنکُم (among you) in the verse refers to Muslims. Although the actual fabricator of the slander was ` Abdullah Ibn 'Ubayy, who was a hypocrite and not a Muslim, but since the hypocrites used to claim themselves as Muslims, he too has been included within the fold of (مِنکُم). Among the Muslims two men and one woman got involved in the spread of slander, who were awarded the punishment of false accusation by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، after the revelation of these verses. But all Muslims felt penitence and their repentance was accepted by Allah Ta’ ala. Among them were Sayyidna Hassan and Mistah ؓ ، who had both participated in the battle of Badr, and for whom Allah Ta’ ala has declared forgiveness in the Qur'an. For this very reason Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ used to dislike if anyone would speak ill of Sayyidna Hassan ؓ before her, although he was one of those two men who were punished for false accusation. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ used to say that Hassan ؓ was the one who had defended the Holy Prophet ﷺ in his poetry against the infidels. Hence, no one should speak ill of him. Whenever he used to visit Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ she would make him sit with dignity and respect. (Mazhari etc.)
لَا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّا لَّكُم
Do not think it is bad for you - 24:11.
This sentence is addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، Safwan ؓ and all the Muslims, who were hurt by the spread of this rumor. The purport of the sentence is that you should not feel bad about this incident, because after the exoneration declared in the Qur'an by Allah Ta’ ala her esteem has been raised further, and those who were involved in rumor-mongering were warned strongly in the Qur'an, which will be recited until the Dooms Day.
لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُم مَّا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ
Everyone of them is liable for what he earned of the sin - 24:11.
It means that whoever had taken part in the spread of this slander, his sin has been recorded exactly in the same proportion as was his share in the spread of the slander, and he will be punished accordingly. The one who had fabricated this rumor, which will be dealt later, deserves the most severe punishment, and the one who endorsed the rumor when it reached him, a little less than that, and the one who kept quiet after hearing it, still less than that.
وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
And the one who undertook the major part of it, for him there is a mighty punishment - 24:11.
The word means big, large or great. Here it means that the one who has taken big part in the slander, that is who fabricated it and passed on to others, for him is the great punishment. The indication is toward ` Abdullah Ibn 'Ubayy (Baghawi etc.).
Not yet available. It requires resources to add this interpretation.
Tafsir Surat An-Nur: 11
Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa berita bohong itu adalah dari golongan kalian juga. Janganlah dikira bahwa berita bohong itu buruk bagi kalian, bahkan ia baik bagi kalian. Masing-masing mereka mendapat balasan dari dosa yang dikerjakannya. Dan siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian terbesar dalam penyiaran berita bohong itu, maka baginya azab yang besar.
Ayat ini hingga sembilan ayat berikutnya yang jumlah seluruhnya adalah sepuluh ayat diturunkan berkenaan dengan Siti Aisyah Ummul Mukminin r.a. ketika ia dituduh berbuat serong oleh sejumlah orang yang menyiarkan berita bohong dari kalangan orang-orang munafik, padahal berita yang mereka siarkan itu bohong dan dusta belaka serta buat-buatan mereka sendiri.
Peristiwa tersebut membuat Allah cemburu (murka) demi Siti Aisyah dan Nabi-Nya. Maka Allah ﷻ menurunkan wahyu yang membersihkan kehormatan Siti Aisyah demi memelihara kehormatan Rasulullah ﷺ. Untuk itu Allah ﷻ berfirman:
“Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa berita bohong itu adalah dari segolongan kalian juga.” (An-Nur: 11).
Yakni sejumlah orang dari kalangan kalian sendiri; bukan satu atau dua orang, melainkan segolongan orang. Orang yang pertama menyebar isu keji ini adalah Abdullah ibnu Ubay ibnu Salul, pemimpin kaum munafik. Dialah orang yang mempunyai prakarsa menyebarkan isu bohong itu sehingga ada sebagian dari kalangan kaum muslim yang termakan dan terhasut oleh isu yang disebarkannya, yang akhirnya menjadi bahan pergunjingan mereka. Sedangkan sebagian kaum muslim lainnya tidak mempunyai tanggapan apa pun terhadap peristiwa itu.
Keadaan ini berlanjut sampai hampir satu bulan lamanya. Akhirnya turunlah ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an yang menjelaskan duduk perkara yang sebenarnya. Keterangan mengenai kisah ini secara rinci didapat di dalam hadis-hadis sahih.
Imam Ahmad mengatakan, telah menceritakan kepada kami Abdur Razzaq, telah menceritakan kepada kami Ma'mar, dari Az-Zuhri, telah menceritakan kepadaku Sa'id ibnul Musayyab dan Urwah ibnu Zubair, Alqamah ibnu Waqqas, serta Ubaidillah ibnu Abdullah ibnu Atabah ibnu Mas'ud tentang kisah Aisyah istri Nabi ﷺ saat para penyebar berita bohong melemparkan tuduhan mereka terhadapnya, lalu Allah membersihkan nama Siti Aisyah r.a. melalui wahyu-Nya.
Perawi mengatakan bahwa semua sumber menceritakan kepadaku sejumlah hadis mengenai kisah Siti Aisyah ini. Tetapi sebagian dari mereka ada yang lebih rinci dalam mengemukakan kisahnya dan lebih kuat daripada yang lainnya. Aku telah menghafal semua hadis yang diriwayatkan masing-masing dari mereka yang bersumber dari Siti Aisyah. Pada garis besarnya sebagian dari kisah mereka membenarkan sebagian lainnya.
Mereka mengisahkan bahwa Siti Aisyah r.a. istri Nabi ﷺ pernah mengatakan bahwa Rasulullah ﷺ apabila hendak bepergian terlebih dahulu melakukan undian di antara para istrinya. Maka siapa pun di antara mereka yang keluar namanya dalam undian itu, Rasulullah ﷺ membawanya pergi. Aisyah r.a. menceritakan bahwa lalu Rasul ﷺ melakukan undian di antara kami untuk menentukan siapa yang akan menemaninya di antara kami dalam peperangan yang akan dilakukannya. Maka keluarlah bagianku, lalu aku berangkat bersama Rasulullah ﷺ. Itu terjadi sesudah diturunkan ayat hijab; dan aku dibawa di atas sekedupku dan beristirahat di dalamnya.
Maka kamipun berangkat, dan ketika Rasulullah ﷺ telah menyelesaikan tugasnya dalam perang itu, kamipun kembali pulang. Ketika di suatu malam kami berada di dekat Madinah, beliau menyerukan kepada rombongan untuk berangkat. Ketika seruan berangkat telah dikumandangkan aku bangkit dan berjalan sampai melewati barisan pasukan, namun terpaksa memisahkan diri karena aku ingin buang hajat. Setelah kupenuhi hajatku, maka aku kembali ke sekedupku dan aku memegang dadaku, ternyata kalung manik-manikku telah terputus dan terjatuh, maka aku kembali ke tempat aku buang hajat dalam rangka mencari kalung itu, sehingga aku terlambat karena mencarinya.
Lalu datanglah rombongan yang membawaku dan mereka langsung mengangkat sekedupku lalu menaikkannya ke punggung unta yang menjadi kendaraanku, sedang mereka mengira bahwa aku berada di dalamnya. Aisyah mengatakan, bahwa kaum wanita pada saat itu bertubuh kurus-kurus, tidak berat dan tidak gemuk karena daging, mereka hanya makan sedikit. Maka orang-orang yang mengangkat sekedupku tidak merasa aneh dengan keringanan sekedupku ketika mereka mengangkatnya dan menaikkannya ke punggung unta. Sedang aku adalah seorang wanita yang berusia sangat muda yang tentu saja berat badannya sangat ringan. Mereka langsung memberangkatkan untaku dan melanjutkan perjalanannya.
Aku baru menemukan kalungku setelah pasukan melanjutkan perjalanannya, dan aku mendatangi tempat mereka, yang ternyata sudah kosong, tiada seorangpun yang tertinggal. Maka aku menuju ke tempat aku beristirahat dengan harapan bahwa rombongan akan merasa kehilanganku lalu akan kembali menjemputku. Ketika aku sedang duduk di tempat peristirahatanku itu tiba-tiba mataku mengantuk akhirnya aku tertidur. Dan tersebutlah bahwa Safwan ibnul Mu'attal Az-Zakwani beristirahat di belakang pasukan, dan dia melanjutkan perjalanannya di malam hari, lalu ia sampai ke tempat aku berada, dan dia melihat sosok manusia yang sedang tidur dalam kegelapan malam.
Ia mendatangiku dan mengenalku ketika dia melihatku, karena dia pernah melihatku sebelum diturunkan ayat yang memerintahkan berhijab, dan aku terbangun ketika mendengar ucapan istirja'-nya (kalimat Inna lillahi wainna ilaihi raji'un) begitu ia mengenalku. Maka dengan segera aku tutup wajahku dengan kain jilbabku; demi Allah dia tidak berkata kepadaku barang sepatah katapun dan aku tidak pernah mendengar ucapan yang keluar darinya selain dari bacaan istirja'-nya tadi saat dia merundukkan unta kendaraannya, dan unta kendaraannya merundukkan kaki depannya lalu aku menaikinya.
Safwan berangkat seraya menuntun unta kendaraannya hingga kami sampai ke tempat pasukan berada sesudah mereka turun untuk istirahat di waktu tengah hari, maka binasalah orang yang binasa berkenaan dengan peristiwa yang kualami itu. Dan orang yang menjadi sumber berita bohong itu adalah Abdullah ibnu Ubay ibnu Salul, dialah yang berperan bagi tersiarnya berita tersebut. Kami tiba di Madinah dan saya sakit selama kurang lebih satu bulan sejak kedatangan saya itu, sedangkan orang-orang ramai membicarakan tentang isu yang disebarkan oleh para penyiar berita bohong, dan saya sendiri tidak merasakan adanya berita bohong itu.
Dalam sakit itu saya merasakan bahwa Rasulullah ﷺ berbeda dengan kebiasaannya. Saya tidak melihat lagi kasih sayang beliau saat saya sedang sakit. Melainkan beliau hanya masuk dan bersalam serta mengucapkan, 'Bagaimanakah keadaanmu sekarang?'' Sikap tersebut membuat saya curiga dan saya tidak merasakan adanya berita buruk yang ditujukan terhadap diri saya. Dan ketika saya telah sembuh dari sakit, saya keluar bersama Ummu Mistah menuju ke arah Manasi tempat kami biasa membuang hajat.
Kami tidak keluar ke tempat itu melainkan hanya malam hari. Itu terjadi sebelum kami membuat kakus di dekat rumah-rumah kami. Saat itu keadaan kami sama dengan keadaan orang-orang Arab dahulu dalam hal membuang hajat, yaitu di tempat yang jauh dari keramaian manusia, karena kami merasa terganggu dengan adanya kakus di dekat rumah kami. Saya berangkat bersama Ummu Mistah.
Dia adalah binti Abu Rahm ibnul Muttalib ibnu Abdu Manaf, sedangkan ibunya adalah anak perempuan Sakhr ibnu Amir, bibi Abu Bakar As-Siddiq. Ia mempunyai seorang anak laki-laki yang bernama Mistah ibnu Asasah ibnu Abbad ibnu Abdul Muttalib. Ketika aku bersama dengan anak perempuan Abu Rahm alias Ummu Mistah kembali menuju ke rumahku setelah kami selesai dari urusan kami, tiba-tiba dalam perjalanan kembali itu Ummu Mistah kain kerudungnya tersangkut.
Maka ia berkata, ''Celakalah Mistah.'' Saya berkata kepadanya, ''Alangkah buruknya ucapanmu itu, kamu berani mencaci seorang lelaki yang ikut dalam Perang Badar.'' Ummu Mistah menjawab, ''Wahai saudariku, tidakkah engkau mendengar apa yang telah dikatakannya?'' Aku bertanya, ''Apakah yang telah dikatakan oleh Mistah?'' Maka Ummu Mistah menceritakan kepada saya isu yang disebarkan oleh para penyiar berita bohong itu, sehingga sakit saya kambuh lagi dan bertambah parah.
Ketika saya sampai di rumah, Rasulullah ﷺ masuk menemui saya dan mengucapkan salam serta bersabda, ''Bagaimanakah keadaanmu?'' Maka saya berkata kepadanya, ''Izinkanlah saya menemui kedua orang tua saya.'' Saya bermaksud mengecek berita tersebut dari kedua orang tua saya, dan Rasulullah ﷺ mengizinkan saya menemui mereka. Ketika sampai di rumah kedua orang tua saya, saya bertanya kepada ibu saya, "Wahai ibuku, mengapa orang-orang ramai membicarakan perihal berita bohong itu?'' Ibu saya berkata, ''Wahai anakku, tenangkanlah dirimu. Demi Allah, tidak sekali-kali ada seorang wanita yang cantik menjadi istri seorang lelaki yang sangat mencintainya, sedangkan lelaki itu mempunyai istri-istri yang lainnya, melainkan istri-istrinya yang lain pasti banyak mempergunjingkan tentangnya.'' Lalu saya berkata, ''Subhanallah, orang-orang ternyata ramai membicarakannya.'' Maka malam itu saya menangis terus hingga pagi harinya tanpa tidur, dan pada pagi harinya saya menangis lagi.
Rasulullah ﷺ memanggil Ali ibnu Abu Talib dan Usamah ibnu Zaid saat wahyu datang terlambat dengan maksud meminta pendapat dan saran keduanya tentang menceraikan istrinya. Usamah ibnu Zaid hanya mengisyaratkan kepada Rasulullah ﷺ menurut apa yang diketahuinya, bahwa istri beliau adalah wanita yang bersih dari apa yang dituduhkan oleh mereka. Dia adalah orang yang menyukai keluarga Rasulullah ﷺ. Usamah mengatakan, ''Wahai Rasulullah, mengenai istrimu, sepanjang pengetahuanku baik-baik saja.'' Sedangkan Ali mengatakan ''Wahai Rasulullah, Allah tidak mempersempit dirimu, wanita selain dia banyak. Dan jika engkau tanyakan kepada si pelayan wanita itu, tentulah dia akan membenarkan berita itu.'' Maka Rasulullah ﷺ memanggil Barirah dan bersabda kepadanya, ''Hai Barirah, apakah kamu melihat sesuatu yang mencurigakan pada diri Aisyah?'' Barirah menjawab, ''Demi Tuhan yang mengutusmu dengan hak, saya tidak mempunyai pendapat lain tentangnya yang saya sembunyi-sembunyikan, melainkan dia adalah seorang wanita muda yang masih berusia remaja, dia tertidur lelap melupakan adonan roti suaminya, lalu datanglah seseorang yang lapar dan langsung memakannya.'' Maka hari itu Rasulullah ﷺ bangkit untuk menyangkal berita dari Abdullah ibnu Ubay ibnu Salul.
Beliau bersabda di atas mimbarnya: ''Hai kaum muslim, siapakah yang mau membelaku dari sikap seorang lelaki yang telah menyakiti diriku melalui istriku. Demi Allah, aku tidak mengetahui perihal istriku melainkan hanya baik-baik saja. Dan sesungguhnya mereka menyebutkan perihal seorang lelaki yang sepanjang pengetahuanku tiada lain dia adalah orang yang baik-baik saja; dia tidak pernah masuk menemui istriku, melainkan selalu bersamaku.''
Maka Sa'd ibnu Mu'az Al-Ansari r.a. berdiri dan berkata, ''Wahai Rasulullah, akulah yang membelamu terhadap dia. Jika dia dari kalangan kabilah Aus, kami akan penggal kepalanya. Dan jika dia dari kalangan saudara-saudara kami kabilah Khazraj, engkau perintahkan saja kepada kami, kami pasti melakukan apa yang engkau perintahkan.''
Siti Aisyah r.a. melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa maka berdirilah Sa'd ibnu Ubadah, pemimpin orang-orang Khazraj. Dia adalah seorang yang saleh, tetapi karena terdorong oleh rasa hamiyyah (fanatik)nya, maka ia berkata kepada Sa'd ibnu Mu'az, "Kamu bohong. Demi Allah kamu tidak akan dapat membunuhnya, dan kamu tidak akan mampu membunuhnya. Seandainya dia berasal dari golonganmu, saya tidak suka ia dibunuh." Usaid ibnu Hudair (anak paman Sa'd ibnu Mu'az) berdiri, lalu berkata kepada Sa'd ibnu Ubadah, "Kamu bohong. Demi Allah, kami benar-benar akan membunuhnya, sesungguhnya kamu orang munafik yang medebat orang munafik." Kedua golongan besar Madinah itu yakni kabilah Aus dan kabilah Khazraj perang mulut, sehingga hampir saja mereka perang fisik, sedangkan Rasulullah ﷺ berdiri di atas mimbarnya seraya terus-menerus melerai kedua golongan itu, hingga akhirnya mereka diam dan Rasulullah ﷺ diam pula. Siti Aisyah r.a. melanjutkan kisahnya, "Pada hari itu sepenuhnya aku menangis terus tanpa berhenti dan tanpa tidur, sehingga kedua orang tuaku menduga bahwa tangisanku akan menyebabkan hatiku pecah.
Ketika kedua orang tuaku sedang duduk di dekatku, sedangkan aku masih tetap menangis, tiba-tiba masuklah Rasulullah ﷺ menemui kami, lalu bersalam dan duduk. Sejak tersiarnya berita bohong itu Rasulullah ﷺ tidak pernah duduk, dan sudah selama sebulan wahyu tidak datang kepadanya mengenai perihal diriku." Siti Aisyah r.a. melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa setelah duduk Rasulullah ﷺ membaca syahadat dan bersabda, "Amma ba'du. Hai Aisyah, sesungguhnya telah sampai kepadaku berita tentang dirimu yang menyatakan anu dan anu. Maka jika engkau bersih, tentulah Allah akan membersihkanmu. Dan jika engkau merasa berbuat dosa, maka mohonlah ampun kepada Allah dan bertobatlah kepada-Nya. Karena sesungguhnya seorang hamba itu apabila mengakui dosanya dan bertobat, niscaya Allah akan menerima tobatnya." Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, "Setelah Rasulullah ﷺ menyelesaikan sabdanya, barulah air mataku mengering sehingga aku tidak merasakan setetes air mata pun yang keluar.
Lalu aku berkata kepada ayahku, 'Jawablah Rasulullah sebagai ganti dariku.' Ayahku berkata, 'Demi Allah, aku tidak mengetahui apa yang harus kukatakan kepada Rasulullah.' Aku berkata kepada ibuku, 'Jawablah Rasulullah sabagai ganti dariku.' Ibuku menjawab, 'Demi Allah, saya tidak mengetahui apa yang harus saya katakan kepada Rasulullah’."
Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa ia mengatakan, "Aku adalah seorang wanita yang berusia masih terlalu muda, dan masih banyak bagian Al-Qur'an yang belum kuhafal. Demi Allah, aku merasa yakin bahwa kalian telah mendengar berita tersebut, sehingga sempat mempengaruhi diri kalian dan kalian mempercayainya. Jika aku katakan kepada kalian bahwa sesungguhnya diriku bersih dari berita bohong itu, dan Allah mengetahui bahwa diriku bersih, tentulah kalian tidak mempercayaiku. Dan seandainya aku mengakui sesuatu hal yang Allah mengetahui bahwa diriku bersih dari perbuatan tersebut, tentulah kalian akan mempercayainya. Demi Allah, aku tidak menemukan perumpamaan bagi diriku dan kalian kecuali seperti apa yang dikatakan oleh ayah Nabi Yusuf, yang disitir oleh firman-Nya: ‘Maka kesabaran yang baik itulah (kesabaranku). Dan Allah sajalah yang dimohon pertolongan-Nya terhadap apa yang kalian ceritakan.' (Yusuf: 18).
Kemudian aku berbaring di atas peraduanku seraya memalingkan tubuhku. Sedangkan aku saat itu, demi Allah, merasa yakin bahwa diriku bersih dari tuduhan tersebut, dan bahwa Allah pasti akan membersihkan diriku dari berita bohong itu. Akan tetapi, demi Allah, aku tidak berharap bahwa akan ada wahyu yang diturunkan mengenai diriku, karena menurut anggapanku diriku ini terlalu rendah untuk disebutkan oleh Allah ﷻ dalam wahyu yang dibaca. Tetapi saya berharap semoga diperlihatkan oleh Allah kepada Rasul-Nya dalam mimpi, hal yang dapat membersihkan diriku dari berita bohong tersebut.
Demi Allah, saat itu Rasulullah ﷺ masih belum meninggalkan tempat duduknya dan tiada seorang pun dari keluarganya yang keluar dari rumahnya, hingga turunlah wahyu kepadanya. Maka sebagaimana biasanya bila sedang menerima wahyu, beliau kelihatan payah, hingga tubuhnya mengucurkan keringat seperti mutiara yang berjatuhan, padahal saat itu sedang musim dingin. Hal itu terjadi karena beratnya wahyu yang sedang diturunkan kepadanya.
Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa setelah wahyu selesai diturunkan kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, beliau tersenyum. Kalimat yang mula-mula diucapkannya ialah: “Bergembiralah, hai Aisyah, sesungguhnya Allah telah membersihkan dirimu.” Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa lalu ibunya berkata kepada-nya, "Mendekatlah kamu kepadanya." Aku menjawab, "Demi Allah, aku tidak mau mendekat kepadanya dan aku tidak mau memuji kecuali hanya kepada Allah ﷻ yang telah menurunkan pembersihan diriku." Allah menurunkan firman-Nya yang berbunyi: “Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa berita bohong itu adalah dari golongan kalian juga.” (An-Nur: 11), hingga akhir ayat 21.
Setelah Allah ﷻ menurunkan ayat yang membersihkan namaku ini, maka Abu Bakar r.a. yang tadinya biasa memberikan nafkah kepada Mistah ibnu Asasah karena masih kerabatnya dan termasuk orang miskin mengatakan, "Demi Allah, aku tidak akan memberinya lagi nafkah barang sedikit pun selama-lamanya sesudah apa yang ia katakan terhadap Aisyah." Maka Allah ﷻ menurunkan firman-Nya: “Dan janganlah orang-orang yang mempunyai kelebihan dan kelapangan di antara kalian bersumpah bahwa mereka (tidak) akan memberi (bantuan) kepada kaum kerabat(nya). (An-Nur: 22) sampai dengan firman Allah ﷻ: “Apakah kalian tidak ingin bahwa Allah mengampuni kalian? Dan Allah adalah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang.” (An-Nur: 22). Maka Abu Bakar berkata, "Tidak, demi Allah, sesungguhnya sekarang aku suka bila diampuni oleh Allah." Maka ia kembali memberikan nafkahnya kepada Mistah sebagaimana biasanya. Dan Abu Bakar berkata, "Demi Allah, aku tidak akan mencabut nafkahku (kepadanya) untuk selama-lamanya."
Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, "Sebelum itu Rasulullah ﷺ pernah bertanya kepada Zainab binti Jahsy yang juga istri beliau tentang perihal diriku. Rasulullah ﷺ bersabda, 'Hai Zainab, apakah yang kamu ketahui dan yang kamu lihat (tentang Aisyah)?' Zainab menjawab, 'Wahai Rasulullah, aku memelihara pendengaran dan penglihatanku. Demi Allah, aku tidak mengetahui kecuali hanya kebaikan saja'."
Siti Aisyah r.a. melanjutkan kisahnya, "Zainab-lah di antara istri Nabi ﷺ yang setara denganku, maka Allah memeliharanya dengan sifat wara'." Akan tetapi, saudara perempuannya yang bernama Hamnah binti Jahsy bersikap oposisi terhadap Siti Aisyah, maka ia binasa bersama orang-orang yang binasa. Ibnu Syihab mengatakan, "Demikianlah kisah yang sampai kepada kami tentang mereka."
Imam Bukhari dan Imam Muslim mengetengahkannya di dalam kitab sahih masing-masing melalui hadis Az-Zuhri. Hal yang sama telah diriwayatkan oleh Ibnu Ishaq dari Az-Zuhri.
Ibnu Ishaq mengatakan pula, telah menceritakan pula kepadaku Yahya ibnu Abbad ibnu Abdullah ibnuz Zubair, dari ayahnya, dari Aisyah r.a. Dan telah menceritakan kepadaku Abdullah ibnu Abu Bakar ibnu Muhammad ibnu Amr ibnu Hazm Al-Ansari, dari Amrah, bahwa ayahnya telah menceritakan kepadanya dari Siti Aisyah hadis yang serupa dengan hadis di atas.
Kemudian Imam Bukhari mengatakan bahwa Abu Usamah telah meriwayatkan dari Hisyam ibnu Urwah, dari ayahnya, dari Siti Aisyah r.a. yang mengatakan, "Setelah perihal diriku menjadi buah bibir, sedangkan aku sendiri masih belum mengetahuinya, Rasulullah ﷺ berdiri di kalangan para sahabatnya seraya berkhotbah.
Mula-mula beliau membaca syahadat, lalu diiringi dengan puji dan sanjungan kepada Allah, setelah itu baru bersabda: 'Amma ba'du. Hai kalian semua, berilah saya saran tentang orang-orang yang telah menuduh tidak baik terhadap keluarga (istri)ku. Demi Allah, tiada yang kuketahui tentang keluargaku melainkan yang baik-baik saja, dan tiada suatu keburukan pun yang kuketahui ada pada keluargaku, lalu dengan siapakah mereka menuduhnya berbuat tidak baik? Demi Allah, tiada suatu keburukan pun yang kuketahui darinya, dia tidak pernah masuk ke dalam rumahku melainkan aku selalu ada. Dan tidak pernah ia pergi dalam suatu perjalanan melainkan selalu bersamaku.'
Maka berdirilah Sa'd ibnu Mu'az Al-Ansari, lalu berkata, ‘Wahai Rasulullah, berilah kami izin untuk memenggal kepala mereka.' Kemudian berdiri pulalah seorang lelaki dari kabilah Khazraj, suatu kabilah yang berasal darinya ibu sahabat Hassan ibnu Sabit, lalu lelaki itu berkata, 'Kamu bohong. Demi Allah, seandainya mereka dari kalangan kabilah Aus, aku tidak suka bila kamu memenggal kepala mereka'."
Siti Aisyah mengatakan, "Situasi menghangat sehingga hampir saja terjadi keributan di antara kabilah Aus dan kabilah Khazraj di dalam masjid, sedangkan aku tidak merasakan adanya peristiwa tersebut. Pada petang harinya aku keluar untuk menunaikan hajatku bersama Ummu Mistah yang menemaniku. Di tengah jalan Ummu Mistah tersandung, lalu berkata, 'Celakalah Mistah!' Maka aku bertanya kepadanya, 'Hai Ummu Mistah, mengapa engkau mencaci anakmu sendiri?' Ummu Mistah diam, dan tersandung lagi, maka ia mengatakan, 'Celakalah Mistah! Aku beranya, 'Hai Ummu Mistah, mengapa engkau mencaci maki anakmu sendiri?' Kemudian tersandung lagi untuk yang ketiga kalinya dan mengatakan, 'Celakalah, si Mistah!' Maka aku menghardiknya supaya jangan mencaci lagi, tetapi Ummu Mistah menjawab, 'Demi Allah, aku tidak memakinya melainkan demi membela kamu.' Aku bertanya, 'Mengapa engkau membelaku, apakah yang telah kulakukan?'
Ummu Mistah menceritakan kisah tersebut dengan panjang lebar kepadaku, dan aku bertanya menegaskan, 'Apakah memang betul?' Ummu Mistah menjawab, 'Ya, demi Allah' Maka aku pulang ke rumah dengan perasaan yang tidak menentu, lalu aku jatuh sakit, dan aku berkata kepada Rasulullah, 'Pulangkanlah aku ke rumah ayahku.' Maka Nabi ﷺ mengirimkan aku bersama seorang budak sebagai temanku.
Ketika aku masuk, kujumpai Ummu Ruman (ibuku) berada di lantai bawah, sedangkan Abu Bakar berada di lantai atas sedang membaca Al-Qur'an. Ummu Ruman bertanya, 'Ada keperluan apakah, hai anak perempuanku hingga kamu datang ke sini?' Maka kuceritakan kepadanya kisah tersebut. Ternyata kisah tersebut belum sampai kepadanya seperti yang telah sampai kepadaku. Maka Ummu Ruman berkata, 'Tenangkanlah dirimu, hai anakku. Demi Allah, jarang sekali ada seorang wanita cantik istri seorang lelaki yang mencintainya, sedangkan lelaki itu mempunyai istri-istri yang lain, melainkan mereka iri terhadapnya dan selalu mempergunjingkannya.'
Maka aku bertanya, 'Apakah ayahku telah mengetahui kisah ini?' Ummu Ruman menjawab, 'Ya.' Aku bertanya, 'Begitu pula Rasulullah?' Ummu Ruman menjawab, 'Ya, Rasulullah pun telah mengetahuinya.' Maka mataku berkaca-kaca, lalu aku menangis, dan Abu Bakar mendengar suara tangisanku, sedangkan ia berada di lantai atas sedang membaca Al-Qur'an, lalu ia turun.
Abu Bakar bertanya kepada ibuku (Ummu Ruman), 'Mengapa dia menangis?' Ummu Ruman menjawab, 'Dia telah mendengar kisah dirinya yang menjadi buah bibir orang-orang banyak.' Maka Abu Bakar menangis dan berkata, 'Saya mohon kepadamu, hai anak perempuanku, agar kembali ke rumahmu.' Maka aku pulang ke rumahku, sedangkan Rasulullah ﷺ telah berada di rumah, lalu beliau bertanya kepada pelayan perempuanku tentang diriku, maka pelayan perempuanku menjawab, 'Wahai Rasulullah, tidak. Demi Allah, saya tidak mengetahui adanya suatu aib pun pada dirinya. Hanya, ketika ia sedang tertidur, datanglah kambing, lalu kambing itu memakan adonan rotinya.'
Salah seorang sahabat Nabi ﷺ menghardiknya seraya berkata, 'Berkata jujurlah kamu kepada Rasulullah!', hingga pelayan perempuanku itu takut karenanya. Maka berkatalah ia sekali lagi, 'Maha Suci Allah, demi Allah tiadalah yang kuketahui tentangnya melainkan seperti apa yang diketahui oleh seorang tukang kemasan tentang emas batangan merah (yang ada di hadapannya).'
Kemudian kisah tersebut sampai kepada lelaki yang dituduh terlibat dalam kejadian itu. Ia berkata, 'Maha Suci Allah. Demi Allah, aku tidak pernah membuka kemaluan seorang wanita pun.' Siti Aisyah mengatakan bahwa lelaki itu gugur mati syahid dalam medan perang sebagai syuhada.
Sejak itu kedua orang tuaku tetap berada denganku menemaniku, hingga datanglah Rasulullah ﷺ dan masuk menemuiku. Seusai salat Asar beliau masuk menemuiku, sedangkan kedua orang tuaku mengapit diriku dari sisi kanan dan sisi kiriku. Nabi ﷺ mengucapkan puja dan puji kepada Allah ﷻ, lalu bersabda: 'Amma ba'du. Hai Aisyah, jika engkau melakukan suatu keburukan atau berbuat aniaya, maka bertobatlah kepada Allah, karena sesungguhnya Allah menerima tobat hamba-hamba-Nya'.
Siti Aisyah melanjutkan kisahnya, "Datanglah seorang wanita dari kalangan Ansar, lalu ia duduk di dekat pintu. Maka aku berkata, ‘Tidakkah engkau malu terhadap wanita ini bila engkau menyebutkan sesuatu (yang terdengar olehnya)?' Maka Rasulullah ﷺ mengalihkan pembicaraannya kepada nasihat-nasihat. Aku menoleh kepada ayahku dan kukatakan kepadanya, 'Jawablah Rasulullah ﷺ sebagai ganti dariku' Ayahku menjawab, 'Apakah yang harus kukatakan kepadanya?' Aku menoleh kepada ibuku dan berkata kepadanya, 'Jawablah Rasulullah sebagai ganti dariku.' Ibuku menjawab, 'Apakah yang harus kukatakan kepadanya?' Keduanya tidak mau menjawab.
Maka aku membaca syahadat dan memuji kepada Allah serta menyanjung-Nya dengan puja dan puji yang layak bagi-Nya, kemudian kukatakan, 'Amma ba'du. Demi Allah, jika kukatakan kepada kalian bahwa diriku tidak melakukannya, dan Allah menyaksikan bahwa sesungguhnya aku adalah orang yang benar, tentulah hal tersebut tidak berguna bagiku dalam tanggapan kalian, karena kalian telah membicarakannya dan isu tersebut telah meresap ke dalam hati kalian. Dan jika aku katakan kepada kalian bahwa sesungguhnya aku melakukannya, sedangkan Allah mengetahui bahwa aku tidak melakukannya, tentulah kalian mengatakan bahwa itu memang salah dan dosaku. Sesungguhnya, demi Allah, aku tidak menemukan suatu perumpamaan pun bagi diriku dan kalian selain dari apa yang telah dialami oleh Nabi Ya'qub ayah Yusuf. Ketika ia mengatakan seperti yang disitir oleh firman-Nya: 'Maka kesabaran yang baik itulah (kesabaranku). Dan Allah sajalah yang dimohon pertolongan-Nya terhadap apa yang kalian ceritakan' (Yusuf: 18).
Pada saat itu Allah menurunkan wahyu-Nya kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, maka kami diam. Setelah wahyu selesai darinya, tampak jelas tanda kegembiraan mewarnai wajah Rasulullah ﷺ. Lalu beliau bersabda seraya mengusap keringat dari dahinya: 'Bergembiralah engkau, hai Aisyah, sesungguhnya Allah telah menurunkan wahyu yang membersihkan namamu'.
Siti Aisyah mengatakan bahwa saat itu ia dalam keadaan sangat marah, maka ayah dan ibunya berkata kepadanya, "Mendekatlah kamu kepadanya!" Maka aku menjawab, "Tidak, demi Allah, aku tidak mau mendekat kepadanya, dan aku tidak mau memujinya, serta aku tidak mau memuji kamu berdua, melainkan hanya memuji kepada Allah yang telah menurunkan wahyu tentang pembersihan namaku. Sesungguhnya kalian telah mendengar berita bohong itu, tetapi kalian tidak mengingkarinya dan tidak pula berupaya untuk mengubahnya."
Siti Aisyah mengatakan, "Adapun Zainab binti Jahsy, ia adalah seorang yang dipelihara oleh Allah berkat agamanya, karena itu ia tidak mengatakan kecuali kebaikan. Sedangkan saudara perempuannya (yaitu Hamnah binti Jahsy), ia binasa bersama orang-orang yang binasa. Dan orang yang gencar membicarakan berita bohong itu adalah Mistah, Hassan ibnu Sabit, dan seorang munafik (yaitu Abdullah ibnu Ubay ibnu Salul). Dialah yang membubuhi asam dan garam berita bohong ini dan yang mempunyai peran penting dalam menyiarkan berita bohong ini. Yang lainnya adalah Hamnah."
Siti Aisyah r.a. melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa Abu Bakar bersumpah tidak akan memberikan nafkahnya lagi kepada Mistah selama-lamanya. Maka Allah menurunkan firman-Nya: “Dan janganlah orang-orang yang mempunyai kelebihan dan kelapangan di antara kalian bersumpah bahwa mereka (tidak) akan memberi (bantuan) kepada kaum kerabatnya), orang-orang miskin.” (An-Nur: 22) (Yang dimaksud dengan seseorang di antara kalian adalah sahabat Abu Bakar, sedangkan yang dimaksud dengan kerabat dan orang miskin adalah Mistah.) sampai dengan firman-Nya: “Apakah kalian tidak ingin bahwa Allah mengampuni kalian? Dan Allah adalah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang.” (An-Nur: 22) Maka Abu Bakar berkata, "Tidak, demi Allah, wahai Tuhan kami, sesungguhnya kami benar-benar menginginkan agar Engkau mengampuni kami." Lalu ia kembali memberikan nafkahnya kepada Mistah seperti semula.
Hal yang sama telah diriwayatkan oleh Imam Bukhari melalui jalur ini secara ta'liq, tetapi dengan teks yang jazm (pasti) dari Abu Usamah, yaitu Hammad ibnu Usamah, salah seorang Imam yang tsiqah. Ibnu Jarir meriwayatkannya di dalam kitab tafsir, dari Sufyan ibnu Waki' secara panjang lebar dengan sanad yang sama dan lafaz yang serupa atau mendekatinya. Ibnu Abu Hatim meriwayatkannya melalui Abu Sa'id Al-Asyaj, dari Abu Usamah sebagiannya.
Imam Ahmad mengatakan: Telah menceritakan kepada kami Hasyim, telah menceritakan kepada kami Umar ibnu Abu Salamah, dari ayahnya, dari Siti Aisyah r.a. yang berkata, "Ketika diturunkan ayat yang membebaskan diriku dari langit, Nabi ﷺ datang kepadaku dan menyampaikannya kepadaku. Maka aku berkata kepada Nabi ﷺ, 'Saya memuji Allah dan tidak memujimu'."
Imam Ahmad mengatakan: Telah menceritakan kepada kami Ibnu Abu Adi, dari Muhammad ibnu Ishaq, dari Abdullah ibnu Abu Bakar, dari Amrah, dari Siti Aisyah yang mengatakan, "Setelah diturunkan wahyu yang membersihkan diriku, Rasulullah ﷺ berdiri, lalu menceritakan hal tersebut dan beliau membacakannya. Setelah turun (dari mimbarnya) beliau memerintahkan agar menangkap dua orang laki-laki dan seorang wanita, kemudian mereka dijatuhi hukuman dera sebagai had mereka."
Para pemilik kitab sunan yang empat orang telah meriwayatkan hadis ini, selanjutnya Imam Turmuzi (salah seorang dari mereka) menilai bahwa hadis ini hasan. Dalam teks hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Imam Abu Daud disebutkan nama mereka yang dihukum dera itu, yaitu Hassan ibnu Sabit, Mistah ibnu Asasah, dan Hamnah binti Jahsy.
Demikianlah jalur-jalur yang meriwayatkan hadis ini melalui berbagai sumber dari Siti Aisyah Ummul Muminin r.a. yang terdapat di dalam kitab-kitab musnad, kitab-kitab sahih, kitab-kitab sunan, dan kitab-kitab hadis lainnya. Telah diriwayatkan pula melalui hadis ibunya, yaitu Ummu Ruman r.a. Untuk itu Imam Ahmad mengatakan:
Telah menceritakan kepada kami, Ali ibnu Asim, telah menceritakan kepada kami Husain, dari Abu Wa-il, dari Masruq, dari Ummu Ruman yang mengatakan bahwa ketika kami berada di dalam rumah Aisyah, tiba-tiba masuklah ke rumah Aisyah seorang wanita dari kalangan Ansar, lalu wanita itu berkata, "Semoga Allah membalas putranya (keponakannya) dengan pembalasan yang setimpal." Maka Aisyah bertanya, "Mengapa?" Wanita itu berkata, "Sesungguhnya dia termasuk orang yang mempergunjingkan berita bohong tersebut." Siti Aisyah bertanya, "Cerita tentang apa?" Wanita itu menerangkan segala sesuatunya kepada Aisyah.
Lalu Aisyah bertanya, "Apakah berita itu telah sampai juga kepada Rasulullah?" Wanita Ansar itu menjawab, "Ya." Aisyah bertanya lagi, "Dan sampai pula kepada Abu Bakar?" Wanita itu menjawab, "Ya." Maka Aisyah jatuh terjungkal dalam keadaan pingsan, dan tidaklah ia sadar dari pingsannya kecuali badannya dalam keadaan demam dan menggigil. Ummu Ruman melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa lalu ia bangkit dan menyelimuti tubuh putrinya itu.
Kemudian datanglah Nabi ﷺ, dan Nabi ﷺ bertanya, "Ada apa dengan dia?" Ummu Ruman menjawab, "Wahai Rasulullah, dia terkena demam dan badannya menggigil." Nabi ﷺ bersabda, "Barangkali setelah dia mendengar berita yang dipergunjingkan mengenai dirinya." Ummu Ruman melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa Siti Aisyah bangkit duduk, lalu berkata "Demi Allah, seandainya aku bersumpah kepada kalian (untuk membela diriku), kalian tidak akan percaya kepadaku. Dan seandainya aku meminta maaf kepada kalian, maka kalian tidak akan memaafkanku. Maka perumpamaanku dan perumpamaan kalian adalah sama dengan Ya'qub dan anak-anaknya saat dia mengatakan kepada mereka seperti yang disitir oleh firman-Nya: 'Maka kesabaran yang baik itulah (kesabaranku). Dan Allah sajalah yang dimohon pertolongan-Nya terhadap apa yang kalian ceritakan'." (Yusuf: 18).
Ummu Ruman kembali melanjutkan kisahnya, bahwa lalu Rasulullah ﷺ keluar dan Allah menurunkan wahyu yang membersihkan kehormatan Aisyah. Kemudian Rasulullah ﷺ kembali dengan ditemani oleh Abu Bakar, maka Rasulullah ﷺ masuk (menemui Aisyah) dan bersabda, "Sesungguhnya Allah telah menurunkan wahyu yang membersihkan kehormatanmu, hai Aisyah." Aisyah berkata, "Saya akan memuji Allah dan tidak akan memujimu." Maka Abu Bakar berkata, "Beraninya kamu berkata demikian kepada Rasulullah ﷺ?" Siti Aisyah menjawab, "Ya."
Tersebutlah bahwa di antara mereka yang membicarakan berita bohong itu adalah seorang lelaki yang penghidupannya dijamin oleh Abu Bakar, maka Abu Bakar bersumpah tidak akan bersilaturahmi lagi dengannya. Maka Allah menurunkan firman-Nya: “Dan janganlah orang-orang yang mempunyai kelebihan dan kelapangan di antara kalian bersumpah.” (An-Nur: 22), hingga akhir ayat. Lalu Abu Bakar berkata, "Benar." Maka Abu Bakar kembali bersilaturahmi dengan lelaki itu.
Hadis ini diriwayatkan oleh Imam Bukhari secara tunggal tanpa Imam Muslim melalui jalur Husain. Imam Bukhari telah meriwayatkannya pula melalui Musa ibnu Isma'il, dari Abu Uwanah dan dari Muhammad ibnu Salam, dari Muhammad ibnu Fudail; keduanya dari Husain dengan sanad yang sama. Di dalam teks hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Abu Uwanah disebutkan bahwa Ummu Ruman telah menceritakan kepadaku. Hal ini secara jelas menunjukkan bahwa Masruq mendengar hadis ini langsung darinya. Akan tetapi, hal ini disangkal oleh sejumlah huffaz (ahli hadis yang hafal) yang antara lain ialah Al-Khatib Al-Bagdadi. Demikian itu karena pernyataan yang dikatakan oleh ahli tarikh (sejarah) bahwa Ummu Ruman meninggal dunia di masa Nabi ﷺ (sedangkan Masruq adalah seorang tabi'in yang ada sesudah Nabi ﷺ wafat).
Al-Khatib mengatakan bahwa Masruq adalah orang yang me-mursal-kan hadis ini; dia mengatakan bahwa Ummu Ruman pernah ditanya, lalu ia menyebutkan hadis ini hingga selesai. Barangkali seseorang dari mereka menulis suilat (ditanya) dengan memakai alif sehingga menjadi sa-altu (aku bertanya). Lalu orang yang menerima hadis ini menduga bahwa lafaz tersebut adalah sa-altu (aku bertanya) sehingga ia menduganya berpredikat muttasil. Al-Khatib mengatakan juga bahwa Imam Bukhari telah meriwayatkannya pula seperti itu dan dia tidak menyadari kealpaannya. Demikianlah apa yang dikutip dari perkataan Al-Khatib, hanya Allah-lah Yang Maha Mengetahui. Sebagian dari mereka meriwayatkan hadis ini melalui Masruq, dari Abdullah ibnu Mas'ud, dari Ummu Ruman.Hanya Allah-lah Yang Maha Mengetahui.
Firman Allah ﷻ: “Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa berita bohong itu.” (An-Nur: 11).
Yakni kedustaan, kebohongan, dan berita buat-buatan itu.
“Segolongan orang.” (An-Nur: 11).
Maksudnya sejumlah orang dari kalian.
“Janganlah kalian kira bahwa berita bohong itu buruk bagi kalian.” (An-Nur: 11) wahai keluarga Abu Bakar.
“Bahkan ia adalah baik bagi kalian.” (An-Nur: 11)
Yaitu mengandung kebaikan bagi kalian di dunia dan akhirat; di dunia membuktikan kejujuran lisan kalian, dan di akhirat kalian akan memperoleh kedudukan yang tinggi. Sekaligus menonjolkan kehormatan mereka karena Aisyah memperoleh perhatian dari Allah ﷻ saat Allah ﷻ menurunkan wahyu yang membersihkan dirinya di dalam Al-Qur'an yang mulia. “Yang tidak datang kepadanya (Al-Qur'an) kebatilan, baik dari depan maupun dari belakangnya.” (Fushshilat: 42), hingga akhir ayat.
Karena itulah ketika Siti Aisyah sedang menjelang ajalnya, kemudian Ibnu Abbas masuk menjenguknya, maka Ibnu Abbas berkata menghibur hatinya, "Bergembiralah kamu, sesungguhnya kamu adalah istri Rasulullah ﷺ dan beliau sangat mencintaimu. Beliau belum pernah kawin dengan seorang perawan selain engkau, dan pembersihan namamu diturunkan dari langit."
Ibnu Jarir mengatakan di dalam kitab tafsirnya, telah menceritakan kepadaku Muhammad ibnu Usman Al-Wasiti, telah menceritakan kepada kami Ja'far ibnu Aun, dari Al-Ma'la ibnu Irfan, dari Muhammad ibnu Abdullah ibnu Jahsy yang mengatakan bahwa Aisyah dan Zainab saling membanggakan diri. Zainab berkata, "Aku adalah wanita yang perintah pernikahanku diturunkan dari langit." Aisyah berkata, "Aku adalah wanita yang pembersihan namaku termaktub di dalam Kitabullah saat Safwan ibnul Mu'attal membawaku di atas kendaraannya." Zainab berkata, "Hai Aisyah, apakah yang kamu katakan ketika kamu menaiki unta kendaraannya?" Siti Aisyah menjawab, "Aku ucapkan, 'Cukuplah Allah bagiku, Dia adalah sebaik-baik Pelindung'." Zainab berkata, "Engkau telah mengucapkan kalimat orang-orang mukmin."
Firman Allah ﷻ: “Masing-masing dari mereka mendapat balasan dari dosa yang dikerjakannya.” (An-Nur: 11), hingga akhir ayat.
Yakni setiap orang dari mereka yang membicarakan peristiwa itu dan menuduh Ummul Mukminin Siti Aisyah r.a. berbuat keji (zina) akan mendapat bagian dari azabnya yang besar.
“Dan siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian yang terbesar dalam penyiaran berita bohong itu.” (An-Nur: 11).
Menurut suatu pendapat, makna ayat ialah orang yang mulai mencetuskan berita bohong. Menurut pendapat yang lain ialah orang yang menghimpunnya, membubuhi asam garamnya, dan menyiarkan serta menenarkannya.
“Baginya azab yang besar.” (An-Nur: 11) sebagai pembalasan dari perbuatannya itu. Menurut kebanyakan ulama, yang dimaksud oleh ayat ini tiada lain adalah Abdullah ibnu Ubay ibnu Salul; semoga Allah menghukum dan melaknatnya. Dialah orang yang disebutkan di dalam teks hadis yang telah disebutkan di atas. Pendapat ini dikatakan oleh Mujahid dan lain-lainnya yang bukan hanya seorang.
Menurut pendapat lainnya, yang dimaksud adalah Hassan ibnu Sabit, tetapi pendapat ini garib (asing). Seandainya tidak disebutkan di dalam kitab Sahih Bukhari sesuatu yang menunjukkan ke arah itu, tentulah penyebutannya di antara orang-orang yang terlibat dalam peristiwa ini tidak mengandung faedah yang besar. Karena sesungguhnya Hassan ibnu Sabit adalah seorang sahabat yang memiliki banyak keutamaan di antara sahabat-sahabat lainnya yang mempunyai keutamaan, sepak terjang yang terpuji, dan rekam jejak yang baik. Dia adalah seorang yang membela Rasulullah ﷺ melalui syairnya, dan dialah orang yang Rasulullah ﷺ bersabda kepadanya: “Balaslah cacian mereka, dan Jibril mendukungmu.”
Al-A'masy meriwayatkan dari Abud Duha, dari Masruq yang mengatakan bahwa ketika ia sedang berada di rumah Siti Aisyah r.a., tiba-tiba masuklah Hassan ibnu Sabit. Lalu Siti Aisyah memerintahkan agar disediakan bantal duduk untuknya. Setelah Hassan keluar, aku berkata kepada Aisyah, "Mengapa engkau bersikap demikian?" Yakni membiarkan dia masuk menemuimu.
Menurut riwayat lain dikatakan kepada Aisyah, "Apakah engkau mengizinkan orang ini (Hassan) masuk menemuimu? Padahal Allah ﷻ telah berfirman: 'Dan siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian terbesar dalam penyiaran berita bohong itu, maka baginya azab yang besar.' (An-Nur: 11). Siti Aisyah menjawab, "Azab apa lagi yang lebih berat daripada kebutaan?" Sedangkan saat itu kedua mata Hassan ibnu Sabit telah buta, barangkali hal itulah yang dijadikan azab yang hebat baginya oleh Allah ﷻ. Kemudian Siti Aisyah berkata," Sesungguhnya dia pernah membela Rasulullah ﷺ melalui syairnya."
Menurut riwayat yang lain, ketika Hassan hendak masuk menemuinya, ia mendendangkan sebuah bait syair yang memuji Siti Aisyah, yaitu: “Wanita yang anggun yang tidak patut dicurigai, tetapi pada pagi harinya haus dengan mempergunjingkan wanita-wanita yang terhormat lagi dalam keadaan lalai.” Selanjutnya Hassan mengatakan, "Adapun engkau tidak demikian." Menurut riwayat lain Hassan berkata, "Tetapi engkau tidaklah demikian."
Ibnu Jarir mengatakan: Telah menceritakan kepada kami Al-Hasan ibnu Quza'ah, telah menceritakan kepada kami Salamah ibnu Alqamah, telah menceritakan kepada kami Daud, dari Amir, dari Aisyah, bahwa ia pernah berkata, "Aku belum pernah mendengar suatu syair pun yang lebih baik daripada syair Hassan, dan tidak sekali-kali saya mendendangkannya melainkan saya berdoa semoga dia memperoleh surga, yaitu ucapannya kepada Abu Sufyan ibnul Haris ibnu Abdul Muttalib: ‘Engkau telah mengejek Muhammad, maka aku menjawabmu sebagai ganti darinya, dan hanya berharap pahala dari sisi Allah sajalah aku lakukan ini. Dan sesungguhnya ayahku dan anaknya serta kehormatanku kukorbankan demi membela kehormatan Muhammad dari ejekanmu. Apakah engkau mencacinya, sedangkan engkau tidak sepadan dengannya? Sebenarnya orang yang terburuk di antara kamu berdua menjadi tebusan bagi orang yang terbaik di antara kamu. Lisanku cukup tajam, tidak pernah tercela, dan lautku tidak akan kering oleh banyaknya timba (yang mengambili airnya).’
Ketika dikatakan kepada Siti Aisyah, "Hai Ummul Mu'minin, bukankah ini namanya perkataan yang tidak berguna?" Siti Aisyah menjawab, "Tidak, sesungguhnya yang dikatakan perkataan yang tidak berguna ialah syair-syair yang membicarakan tentang wanita." Ketika dikatakan kepadanya bahwa bukankah Allah ﷻ telah berfirman: “Dan siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian terbesar dalam penyiaran berita bohong itu, maka baginya azab yang besar.” (An-Nur: 11). Siti Aisyah menjawab, "Bukankah kedua matanya telah buta dan dilukai oleh pukulan pedang?" Maksudnya pukulan pedang yang dilakukan oleh Safwan ibnul Mu'attal As-Sulami terhadapnya saat Safwan mendengar berita bahwa Hassan ibnu Sabit membicarakan tentang berita bohong mengenai dirinya itu. Lalu Safwan memukulnya dengan pedang dan hampir membunuhnya.
Beralih dari penjelasan hukum li''n, Allah lalu mengisahkan salah satu kasus yang menimpa keluarga Nabi, yang lazim disebut 'ad' al-Ifk (berita bohong). Ayat ini mengecam mereka yang tanpa bukti menuduh 'Aisyah berbuat zina dengan 'afw'n bin Mu'a''al. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa dan dengan sengaja menyebarluaskan berita bohong itu adalah dari golongan kamu juga. Janganlah kamu mengi-ra berita bohong itu buruk bagi kamu, bahkan itu baik bagi kamu karena kamu dapat membedakan siapa yang munafik dan siapa mukmin sejati. Setiap orang dari mereka yang menyebarkan berita bohong tersebut akan mendapat balasan sesuai kadar dari dosa yang diperbuatnya. Dan barang siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian terbesar dari dosa yang diperbuatnya, yakni orang yang menjadi sumber utama berita bohong itu, dia mendapat azab yang besar di akhirat nanti. 12. Ketika isu itu merebak, sebagian kaum muslim tidak percaya berita tersebut dan meyakini kesucian 'Aisyah. Sebagian yang lain terdiam, tidak membenarkan dan tidak pula membantah'nya. Di satu sisi ayat ini mengecam mereka yang diam seakan membenarkan isu itu, dan di sisi lain menganjurkan mereka bersikap proaktif dan mengambil langkah positif. Mengapa orang-orang mukmin dan mukminat ketika mendengar berita bohong itu tidak berbaik sangka terhadap saudara-saudara me-reka yang dicemarkan namanya, padahal orang itu adalah bagian dari diri mereka sendiri, yakni sesama muslim; dan mengapa juga saat kamu mendengar berita bohong itu kamu tidak berkata, 'Ini adalah berita bohong yang nyata. '.
Ayat ini menerangkan bahwa orang-orang yang membuat-buat berita bohong atau fitnah mengenai rumah tangga Rasulullah itu adalah dari kalangan kaum Muslimin sendiri. Sumbernya dari Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, pemuka kaum munafik di Medinah, shafw?n bin Muaththal, keponakan Nabi, dan Hassan bin sabit.
Allah menghibur hati mereka, agar mereka jangan menyangka bahwa peristiwa itu buruk dan merupakan bencana bagi mereka, tetapi pada hakikatnya kejadian itu adalah suatu hal yang baik bagi mereka karena dengan kejadian itu, mereka akan memperoleh pahala besar dan kehormatan dari Allah dengan diturunkannya ayat-ayat yang menyatakan kebersihan mereka dari berita bohong itu, suatu bukti autentik yang dapat dibaca sepanjang masa. Setiap orang yang menyebarkan berita bohong itu akan mendapat balasan, sesuai dengan usaha dan kegiatannya tentang tersiar luasnya berita bohong itu. Sedang orang yang menjadi sumber pertama dan menyebarluaskan berita bohong ini, ialah Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, sebagai seorang tokoh munafik yang tidak jujur, di akhirat kelak akan diazab dengan azab yang pedih.
Propokasi
Kemenangan-kemenangan dan kejayaan perjuangan Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. menegakkan masyarakat Islam di Madinah, .adalah tegak di atas kesetIsan sahabat-sahabatnya dan keberician musuh-musuhnya. Orang besar selalu diuji oleh pujaan dan celaan. Di samping orang-orang sebagai Abu Bakar as-Shiddiq, Umar bin Khalhab, Usman bin Affan dan Ali bin Abu Thaiib yang menyediakan jiwa-raganya dan hartabenda biar sama hilang sama timbul dengan Nabi, ada juga musuh-musuh besar yang dalam memusuhi itu pun mereka “besar" pula. Musuh demikian dihartapi Nabi ketika beliau di Makkah, di antaranya ialah Abu Jahat yang terkenal menentang Nabi terang-terangan secara jantan. Tetapi setelah Nabi s.a.w. pindah ke Madinah, dan masyarakat Islam mulai berdiri, beliau menghadapi musuh yang bukan satria, orang berjiwa kecil yang hanya berani membuat fitnah, menghasut, menggunjing, berbicara di belakang, sedang pada lahinya dia bermulut mania menyatakan setuju. Dan apabila ada jalan buat memasukkan jarum dengki dan bericinya, dimulainyalah memainkan jarum itu, walaupun di balik pembelakangan.
Itulah yang dinamai golongan munafiqin yang dipimpin oleh seorang yang mengaku kawan padahal lawan, yaitu Abdullah bin Ubay. Kalau ada musuh
(Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membawa berita bohong) kedustaan yang paling buruk yang dilancarkan terhadap Siti Aisyah r.a. Umulmukminin, ia dituduh melakukan zina (adalah dari golongan kalian juga) yakni segolongan dari kaum Mukmin. Siti Aisyah mengatakan, bahwa mereka adalah Hissan bin Tsabit, Abdullah bin Ubay, Misthah dan Hamnah binti Jahsy. (Janganlah kalian kira bahwa berita bohong itu) hai orang-orang Mukmin selain dari mereka yang melancarkan tuduhan itu (buruk bagi kalian, tetapi hal itu mengandung kebaikan bagi kalian) dan Allah akan memberikan pahalanya kepada kalian. Kemudian Allah ﷻ menampakkan kebersihan Siti Aisyah r.a. Dan orang yang telah menolongnya yaitu Shofwan. Sehubungan dengan peristiwa ini Siti Aisyah r.a. telah menceritakan, sebagai berikut, "Aku ikut bersama Nabi ﷺ dalam suatu peperangan, yaitu sesudah diturunkannya ayat mengenai hijab bagi kaum wanita. Setelah Nabi ﷺ menunaikan tugasnya, lalu ia kembali dan kota Madinah sudah dekat. Pada suatu malam setelah istirahat Nabi ﷺ menyerukan supaya rombongan melanjutkan perjalanan kembali. Aku pergi dari rombongan untuk membuang hajat besarku. Setelah selesai, aku kembali ke rombongan yang sedang bersiap-siap untuk berangkat, akan tetapi ternyata kalungku putus/jatuh, lalu aku kembali lagi ke tempat buang hajat tadi untuk mencarinya. Mereka mengangkat sekedupku ke atas unta kendaraanku, karena mereka menduga bahwa aku telah berada di dalamnya. Karena kaum wanita pada saat itu beratnya ringan sekali, disebabkan mereka hanya makan sedikit. Aku menemukan kembali kalungku yang hilang itu, lalu aku datang ke tempat rombongan, ternyata mereka telah berlalu. Lalu aku duduk di tempat semula, dengan harapan bahwa rombongan akan merasa kehilangan aku, lalu mereka kembali ke tempatku. Mataku mengantuk sekali, sehingga aku tertidur; sedangkan Shofwan pada waktu itu berada jauh dari rombongan pasukan karena beristirahat sendirian. Kemudian dari tempat istirahatnya itu ia melanjutkan kembali perjalanannya menyusul pasukan. Ketika ia sampai ke tempat pasukan, ia melihat ada seseorang sedang tidur, lalu ia langsung mengenaliku, karena ia pernah melihatku sebelum ayat hijab diturunkan. Aku terbangun ketika dia mengucapkan Istirja', 'yaitu kalimat Innaa Lillaahi Wa Innaa Ilaihi RaaJi'uuna'. Aku segera menutup wajahku dengan kain jilbab. Demi Allah, sepatah kata pun ia tidak berbicara denganku, terkecuali hanya kalimat Istirja'nya sewaktu ia merundukkan hewan hendaraannya kemudian ia turun dengan berpijak kepada kaki depan untanya. Selanjutnya aku menaiki unta kendaraannya dan ia langsung menuntun kendaraannya yang kunaiki, hingga kami dapat menyusul rombongan pasukan, yaitu sesudah mereka beristirahat pada siang hari yang panasnya terik. Akhirnya tersiarlah berita bohong yang keji itu, semoga binasalah mereka yang membuat-buatnya. Sumber pertama yang menyiarkannya adalah Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul." Hanya sampai di sinilah kisah siti Aisyah menurut riwayat yang dikemukakan oleh Imam Bukhari dan Imam Muslim. Selanjutnya Allah berfirman, ("Tiap-tiap seseorang dari mereka) akan dibalas kepadanya (dari dosa yang dikerjakannya) mengenai berita bohong ini. (Dan siapa di antara mereka yang mengambil bagian yang terbesar dalam penyiaran berita bohong itu) maksudnya orang yang menjadi biang keladi dan berperanan penting dalam penyiaran berita bohong ini, yang dimaksud adalah Abdullah bin Ubay (baginya azab yang besar") yakni neraka kelak di akhirat.
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