WHO WAS AISHA (RA)?She was the Prophet Muhammad’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص most beloved wife. Abu-Bakr’s(RA) favorite daughter. She had a brilliant mind, and a remarkable memory . She was the authority for 2210 Ahadeeth Her wisdom and knowledge regarding matters of the Fiqh and Shari'ah, made her a highly trustworthy source of knowledge.

HONOR OF AISHA (RA)It is narrated that, remarkably, Jibrīl (AS) would extend his salutations to her. She was a scholar from the Companions who they turned to over and over again for guidance in matters of faith after the death of the Prophet (SAW)She narrated one quarter of the hadith regarding rulings

SHE WAS RAISED BY PIOUS PARENTSWith Abu Bakr and Umm Ruman ( عنهما الله ,as her parents (رضيone would expect no less. The Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is quoted to have said as narrated by Ibn Abbas “Indeed if I was to take a friend from my nation, I would take Abu Bakr”. Likewise, he ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is quoted to have said of Umm Ruman- “Whoever wants to see a woman from the women of Paradise, then let that person look at Umm RumanParents form the foundation of their child’s future- their akhlaaq (mannerisms), priorities, and their practices, which often manifest in the child as they grow older.

AKHLÂQ OF AISHA (RA)Her character was majorly sculpted by her parents and the household in which she was brought upShe had great devotion to the Deen and a passion for learning, with her amazing akhlâqOn the authority of Imam al-Bukhari, ‘Aisha ( عنها الله is (رضيreported to have said “And there was not a day except our family would be visited by Rasulullah (SAW) in the morning and in the evening”.

MOST HONORED WIFE OF THE PROPHET (SAW)

Aisha(RA) is the wife of the Prophet (SAW) in the hereafter as she was his wife in this world. She is the only wife under whose covers the Prophet (SAW) would receive revelation. The Prophet (SAW) spent his final days in her apartment and breathed his last in her arms. She was the best of women chosen for the best of men, as Allāh states in Sūrah al-Nūr:Good women are for good men, and good men for good women

MOST BELOVED TO THE PROPHET (SAW)ʿAmr b. Al-ʿĀs (RA) narrates:I came to the Prophet and said, ‘Who do you love the most?’ He replied, ‘Aisha.’ I said, ‘From amongst the men?’ He replied, ‘Her father (Abū Bakr)’. (Bukhari)

THE HAADITHATUL IFK OR INCIDENCE OF SLANDER

The Incident of Ifk is the slander by Abdullah b. Ubay, the leader of the munafiqs, against Aisha (RA). Unfortunately some of the Muslims also became involved in it. This was one of the most traumatic periods in the life of Prophet Mohammad (SAW)It softens our hearts to the extent that we can even feel the pain and anguish which the Prophet (SAW), Aisha (RA), her father Abu Bakr (RA) and the Sahaba experiencedIt is especially relevant in today’s time when there is much slander against Islam & Muslims.

ACTUAL INCIDENCEAisha (RA)) once accompanied the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on a campaign (Ghazwa Bani Mustaliq) and was travelling with a caravan. She accidentally got separated from the caravan during the journey and was stranded in the desert. Safwan bin Mu`attal (RA), who was travelling separately happened to get to the same place where she was and seeing her stranded, brought his camel and made it kneel so that she could ride upon it. Then he set out leading the camel until they caught up with the army

CAMPAIGN OF SUSPICION, RUMORS AND FALSE ACCUSATION STARTEDAbdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites, started suspicion, rumors and false allegations against Aisha (RA) Other hypocrites participated in spreading these lies. Some of the Muslims started to believe it, and began to talk about their suspicionsThese Muslims included Hassan bin Thabit, Mistah bin Usasah, Hamnah bint Jahash

AISHA(RA) REPORTED IT IN HER OWN WORDSWhen we arrived in Madinah, I fell ill with a fever for a whole month. People were talking about the slander, but I did not know anything about it. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) and my parents had also heard about it but they did not say anything to me about it. I was concerned due to the fact that I did not see the affection I used to see from the Prophet (SAW) while I was sick. He would enter upon us and ask, “How is the patient?”

HOW AND FROM WHOM DID AISHA(RA) LEARN ABOUT THE SLANDER?

More than twenty nights had passed after my illness. I had got over the illness and I was in the period of recuperation.One night, I went out with the mother of Mistah b. Uthatha to Manasi to relieve ourselves. When she tripped by stepping on her covering, she said, ‘May Mistah fall,’ or ‘Damn Mistah!’ I said,I said, ‘O Umm Mistah! Why do you curse your son? How can you curse a person who was present in the Battle of Badr? She replied, ‘I curse him due to what he said against you.’I asked, ‘What did he say about me?’Thereupon, Umm Mistah told me what the slanderers had said. I cried so much that I thought my lungs would break into pieces.”

AISHA(RA) IS IN HER MOTHER’S HOMEAisha (RA) was ill, Umm Ruman, her mother, looked after her.One day, the Prophet (SAW) entered the house, greeted them and asked, “How is your patient?” without mentioning Aisha’s name. He did not say anything else.Aisha RA) said, ‘O Messenger of God! I have been suffering so much. Will you let me go to my Mother’s house? I can be looked after there.’He replied, ‘You may go!’My mum asked, ‘O my daughter! Why did you come?’

AISHA (RA) IN HER MOTHER’S HOMEI said, ‘Mum! People have been talking against me but you did not mention anything to me.’I asked, ‘Does my father know about it?’ She said,‘Yes, I asked, ‘Does the Messenger of God know about it?’ She said, ‘Yes’ I could not help crying.My father was reading the Quran upstairs. When he heard my voice, he came downstairs. He asked Mum, ‘What is wrong with her?’Mum said, ‘She heard about the rumors against him.’My father started to cry too.I cried and cried until the morning came

THE PROPHET (SAW) CONSULTS HIS COMPANIONSWhen revelation regarding the issue was delayed, he talked to his Companions and asked them about their views.Umar (RA) said, “O Messenger of God! This is a big slander. I definitely know that it is a lie of the munafiqs. God protects you even from flies. Is it possible that God, who protects your body from flies that land on dirt and keeps them away from your body, will not protect your family from such disgrace?”

UTHMAN’S (RA) VIEW“O Messenger of God! God protects your shadow from being on the ground so that people will not step on it or dirt will not land on it. Is it possible that God, who does not let anybody step on your shadow, will let anybody blemish the honor of your family?”

ALI’S (RA) VIEW“O Messenger of God! Once, you were leading the prayer. You took off your shoes. We took off our shoes following you. When you finished the prayer, you asked us why we had taken off our shoes. We said we had taken them off to follow you. Thereupon, you said, ‘Gabriel ordered me to take them off because they were not clean.’ Is it possible that you were informed about the dirt that polluted your shoes and you were ordered to take them off but you would not be ordered to remove something that blemished your honor?”

VIEW OF BARIRA (RA) AISHA’S (RA) MAID, “O Messenger of God! I swear by God, who has sent you as the true prophet that I have not seen anything from her but goodness. I can only say one thing that can be regarded as a fault about her: one thing. She was a young girl. She sometimes used to fall asleep when she was kneading the dough; and when she fell asleep, the lamb would come and eat the dough

ZAYNAB’S (RA) VIEWZaynab (RA) regarded herself equal to Aisha(RA) among the wives of the Prophet in terms of her beauty and position; she always competed with her. However, she did not have any negative thoughts about Aisha (RA). When the Messenger of God asked her about her view, she said, “O Messenger of God! I protect my ears from saying, ‘I heard’ what I did not hear and my eyes from saying, ‘I saw’ what I did not see. I do not know anything but goodness about her.”

THE PROPHET’S (SAW) SPEECHProphet (SAW) knew very well that Aisha (RA), his wife, was free from such slander; however, he was depressed that such treacherous, sly and planned slander spread among peopleThe speech that he made in the mosque expressed it clearly: “Oh gathering of Muslims! Who will help me against a person who has hurt me with slander about my wife? By God, I only know good about my wife. And they have mentioned a man with her concerning whom I only know good of as well.”

PROPHET (SAW) TALKS TO AISHA(RA)A few days after his speech in the mosque, the Prophet went to Abu Bakr’s (RA) house. After greeting them, he sat next to Aisha (RA) and said, “O Aisha! I have heard such and such things about you. If you are free and away from those accusations, God will state that you are free and away from them. If you have committed such a sin, ask forgiveness from God and repent to Him. When a slave confesses his/her sin and repents, God treats him/her with mercy.”

AISHA’S (RA) ANSWERSAisha (RA) requested her father and mother to reply but they excused themselves. After uttering kalima shahada and praising God Almighty, she said, “By God, I know that you have heard these rumors, and you look as if you have believed them. So, if I were to tell you that I am not guilty, – God knows that I am not – you would not believe me. And if I were to tell you I did something bad, – God knows that I did not – you would readily believe me! So, all I can say to you for my and your situation is the story of Jacob (AS) with his sons. At that time, he said, ‘(For me) patience is most fitting: against that which ye assert, it is God (alone) whose help can be sought

VERSES OF SURAH NOOR REVEALED DECLARING AISHA’S (RA) INNOCENCE

Prophet (SAW) showed the signs of receiving revelation like sweating due to intensity of the revelationWhen the state of revelation ended, the Prophet (SAW) was smiling happily. He said to Aisha (RA), “Glad tidings O Aisha! God acquitted you and stated that you were free and clear from that slander.”Abu Bakr (RA) became very happy. He stood up and kissed her daughter’s head.

SURAH NOOR VERSES REVEALED

“Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not to be an evil to you: on the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned and to him who took on himself the lead among them will be a Penalty grievous.Why did not Believers, men and women when ye heard of the affair― put the best construction on it in their own minds and say "This (charge) is an obvious lie"?

SURAH NOORWhy did they not bring four witnesses, to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses such men in the sight of God, (stand forth) themselves as liars!Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that ye rushed glibly into this affair.Behold ye received it on your tongues and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God.

SURAH NOORWere it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, and that God is full of kindness and mercy, (ye would be ruined indeed).”

ABDULLAH B. ABBAS (RA) EXPLAINS

“God acquitted four people of four things and freed them from the slanders:1) He acquitted Yusuf (AS)through the tongue of a witness from the family of Zulaykha.2) He acquitted Moses (AS) of the rumors of the Jews through the stone that took his clothes.3) He acquitted Maryam (AS) by making the baby on her lap say, ‘I am a slave of God’.4) He acquitted Aisha (RA) through the magnificent verses of the glorious Quran, which will be preserved until the Doomsday; this last acquittal has had no match. Look and see the difference between this acquittal and the others.God did it only to show the highness of the degree of His Messenger.”

THE SLANDERERS WERE PUNISHEDAfter the revelation regarding the issue was sent down, Prophet (SAW) recited a sermon and then he read the verses to the people.After that, he ordered Mistah b. Uthatha, Hassan b. Thabit and Hamna bint Jahsh, who worked hard with their tongues to spread the rumor, to be punished. The slanderers were whipped 80 lashes

LESSONS FROM THIS INCIDENCEEvil of spreading gossip and rumors. Prophet (SAW) said:Riba has seventy-three types of levels. The lowest level of riba is equivalent to having intercourse with your mother. And the worst type of riba is to speak about the honor of your Muslim brother.

EVIL OF GHEEBAH, NAMEEMAH AND IFKGheebah is to backbite a fellow Muslim. If it entails relating the truth about him to someone else, it is still gheebah. If it is told to his face, then this is bad character. Nameemah is to spread gossip, tales and lies. So it could entail spreading either the truth or falsehood. Nameemah often has the effect of destroying friendships, and is worse that gossip because the Prophet (SAW) said that the one who engages in nameemah will not enter paradise. This is because the damage caused by gheebah is limited in comparison. Ifk is pure slander and lies, and this is what happened to Aisha (RA).

ALLAH (SWT)WILL TEST HIS SERVANTSThe Prophet of Allah (SAW) was the most beloved to Allah, and Aisha (RA) was the most beloved wife to the Prophet (SAW), yet Allah tested both of them immensely. But whenever there is a period of difficulty, whenever Allah tests you, it will be followed by ease and peace. So our responsibility during these trials is to be patient and not to lose track of what’s right and wrong, and to be certain that we will be granted victory thereafter.

PRACTICE OF HAYA AND HIJĀB AMONGST THE MUSLIMS IS A NORM

Hijāb is not merely a scarf that the Muslim women covers her hair with, but a conduct of honor which is maintained between the genders at all times. Safwān (RA) woke up the Mother of the Believers with the most honorable of addresses and proceeded to walk in front of the camel while she rode behind him so as to avert his gaze from her. Indeed Aisha (RA) states that at the moment of hearing Safwān’s voice, ‘I woke up, and covered my face with my JilbabThe picture that emerges is one of dignity and respect which governs the interaction of the genders

TO PROMOTE PROMISCUITY IN THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IS CONDEMNED

Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allāh knows and you do not knowImām at-Tabari explains this verse by saying: ‘Those that love to see fornication spread and amongst the believers will have a painful punishment – a portion in this world by way of the hadd of lashing for accusing a married woman or man of adultery without proof Moreover in the hereafter they will have the punishment of the Hellfire, if they die without repenting’

AL IFKImām ash-Shawkāni explains that ‘al-ifk’ referred to in verse 11 means the most grievous type of lie as It is defined as saying the complete opposite of the truth. It relates to the slander against ʿĀ’isha by consensus of the Muslims and hence Allāh called it ‘al-ifk’ She was in reality far removed from such and the complete opposite of it.

REPRIMAND TO THE BELIEVERSWhy, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of themselves and say, ‘This is an obvious falsehood’?Imām at-Tabari explains that this verse is a reprimand from Allāh to the believers about what they thought when confronted with this lie, and that they should have assumed good about those accused

EXAMPLE OF ABU AYYUB AL-ANSARI(RA) Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (RA) called it an outright lie at the moment he found out about the accusation from his wifeHe asked her if she could do such a dreadful thing. When she said she could not, he put it to her that Aisha (RA) was better than her. The good thoughts referred to in this verse would have been to assume that a believer could never commit fornication with his mother, nor a mother, commit fornication with her own son.All of the wives of the Prophet (SAW) are mothers to the believers.

PRINCIPAL FOR THE PRESERVATION OF INTEGRITY OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Imam al-Qurtubi explains:Allah has commanded the believers that if they hear of a man being accused of fornication and only the contrary is known about him, they should immediately seek to deny it This is in line with the principle that a believer’s honor and reputation remains intact up until substantial proof is shown to the contrary.

GOOD COMES OUT OF BAD SITUATIONThe great lie was in fact good for them and not bad for them as they perceived. Allah declared the innocence and honor of Aisha with verses that would be recited over and over again until the Day of Judgement. Generation after generation would pay homage to the purity and nobility of Aisha (RA) long after her accusers had perished. Any anguish they suffered only served to expiate their sins.

ALWAYS TRUST IN ALLAH IN MOST DIFFICULT SITUATIONSDespite her overwhelming grief, Aisha(RA) never abandoned her trust in Allah(SWT), even in the most intense moments of this trialAisha (RA) describes how her mother said (when verses of Noor were revealed) to, ‘Get up and go to the Prophet.’ But she responded:‘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.’

ONE PROFOUND LESSON – EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP OF PROPHET (SAW)

We see his justice, wisdom, foresight and restraintHe was a man with the greatest sense of ghira (sense of honor over his wives), yet he did not allow the impulse of revenge and retribution to cloud his judgement as a leader of the communityHe investigated the matter thoroughlyHe did maintain some degree of distance and impartiality while he investigated the accusations.He asked those closest to the accused and took their counsel.

PROPHET’S (SAW) CONCERN FOR AKHIRAH WAS SUPREME

A Muslim leader’s primary concern is the salvation in the hereafter of their followers, not their personal revulsion at the sins they may have committed. So he said:O ʿ Aisha!, I have been told such and such 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.

TRUST IN ALLAH, FORTITUDE AND PATIENCE OF A SIDDIQAH IN HER RESPONSE

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, ‘So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah whose help can be sought against that which you describe.’

REMARKABLE FORESIGHT AND RESTRAINT IN PRESERVING THE UNITY OF THE MUSLIMS

When the minor dispute had broken out between the Muhajirūn and the Ansar during the expedition of Banī Mustaliq, and the flames of tribal loyalty had been fanned by the hypocrites, the Prophet (SAW) forced the companions to march on without stopping for rest through the intense heat of the day. The ensuing fatigue caused the Companions to totally forget about their early dispute and be consumed by the hardships of the journey

DANGERS THE HYPOCRITES POSE IN FRACTURING THE COMMUNITY

We must remain vigilant against the treacheries of hypocrites amongst us. Guard against their malicious rumors. Even lending an ear to them empowers them and can undermine the foundations of trust that bind the community together. We learn about the expansive mercy of this religion which never closes the door of repentance The critical role the hudūd play as a deterrent and as a means of purification in the hereafter

THE GREAT STATUS OF AISHA(RA)Ibn Kathir quotes a consensus of apostasy against the person who persists in accusing Aisha (RA) in open defiance of the Qur’ān. We learn from her example how to nurture social interactions between the genders and create a blessed and honorable environment which preserves the sanctity of our religion.

REFERENCESBukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 154.Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 310-311; Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 8, p. 113-114.Tabari, Tafsir, Vol. 18, p. 89.al-Ahzab, 6, 53.Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 332-333.Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 624-625.an-Nur, 11-20.