Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (2/159)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—when revelation descended upon him.

The familiar, intense state that would overcome him during revelation seized him, so that beads of sweat, glistening like pearls, ran down from him on a cold day because of the weight of the words being revealed. When the burden was lifted from him (1) and he was smiling, the first words he spoke were: “O ʿĀʾishah, by Allah (2), Allah has declared you innocent.”

My mother said, “Stand up to him.” I replied, “By Allah, I will not rise to him, and I will praise none but Allah.”

Then Allah—Exalted is He—revealed: “Indeed, those who produced the fabrication are a band among you” (Q 24:11), the complete set of ten verses.

When Allah sent down these verses affirming my innocence, Abu Bakr—who had been supporting Mistah because of their kinship and his poverty—said, “By Allah, I will never again provide anything for Mistah after what he said about ʿĀʾishah.”

Thereupon the verse was revealed: “Let not those among you who possess bounty and plenty swear that they will no longer give to relatives, the needy, and those who have emigrated for the sake of Allah. Let them pardon and overlook. Would you not love that Allah should forgive you?” (Q 24:22).

He said, “Yes—by Allah—I do indeed wish that Allah forgive me,” and he restored the allowance he had been giving Mistah, saying, “By Allah, I shall never withhold it from him again.”

She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to ask Zaynab bint Jahsh about me, and she would answer, “I guard my hearing and my sight; I know nothing about her except good.” She was the one who used to vie with me (3) among the Prophet’s wives, yet Allah protected her through piety. Her sister Ḥamnah, however, began to champion her cause (4) and perished among those who perished in the affair of the slander (5).

(1) In the version preserved by al-Bukhari: “When the Messenger of Allah regained composure, he did so smiling.” (2) Al-Bukhari, Muslim and the Musnad record the wording: “As for Allah, He has already declared you innocent.” (3) The term tasamini means “to seek to equal or surpass me,” derived from sama (to rise or ascend); that is, she hopes to attain the same prestige and favour with the Prophet as I do. (4) That is, she argues passionately on her sister’s behalf, echoing the statements of the slanderers so that Aisha’s status will be lowered and her sister Zaynab’s rank raised. (5) Reported in full by al-Bukhari, vol. 5, pp. 198, 201, Book of Testimonies, chapter “Women attesting to one another’s reliability.”

حَتَّى نَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الوَحْيُ. فَأَخَذَهُ مَا كَانَ يَأْخُذُهُ مِنَ البُرَحَاءِ، حَتَّى إِنَّهُ لَيَتَحَدَّرُ مِنْهُ مِثْلُ الجُمَانِ مِنَ العَرَقِ، وَهُوَ فِي يَوْمٍ شَاتٍ، مِنْ ثِقَلِ القَوْلِ الَّذِي يَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ. فَلَمَّا سُرِّيَ عَنْهُ (١) وَهُوَ يَضْحَكُ، كَانَ أَوَّلَ كَلِمَةٍ تَكَلَّمَ بِهَا: (يَا عَائِشَةُ، أَمَا -وَاللهِ (٢) - لَقَدْ بَرَّأَكِ اللهُ) . فَقَالَتْ أُمِّي: قُوْمِي إِلَيْهِ. فَقُلْتُ: وَاللهِ لاَ أَقُوْمُ إِلَيْهِ، وَلاَ أَحْمَدُ إِلاَّ اللهَ. وَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ -تَعَالَى -: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ جَاؤُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُم﴾ [النُّوْرُ: ١١] العَشْرُ الآيَاتُ كُلُّهَا. فَلَمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللهُ هَذَا فِي بَرَاءتِي، قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ - وَكَانَ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى مِسْطَحٍ لِقَرَابَتِهِ وَفَقْرِهِ -: وَاللهِ لاَ أُنْفِقُ عَلَى مِسْطَحٍ شَيْئاً أَبَداً بَعْدَ الَّذِي قَالَ لِعَائِشَةَ. فَأُنْزِلَتْ: ﴿وَلاَ يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُو الفَضْلِ مِنْكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَنْ يُؤْتُوا أُوْلِي القُرْبَى وَالمَسَاكِيْنَ وَالمُهَاجِرِيْنَ فِي سَبِيْلِ اللهِ، وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا، أَلاَ تُحِبُّوْنَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللهُ لَكُمْ﴾ [النُّوْرُ: ٢٢] . قَالَ: بَلَى -وَاللهِ- إِنِّي لأُحِبُّ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللهُ لِي. فَرَجَعَ إِلَى مِسْطَحٍ النَّفَقَةَ الَّتِي كَانَ يُنْفِقُ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ: وَاللهِ لاَ أَنْزِعُهَا مِنْهُ أَبَداً. قَالَتْ: وَكَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ يَسْأَلُ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتَ جَحْشٍ عَنِ أَمْرِي، فَقَالَتْ: أَحْمِي سَمْعِي وَبَصَرِي، مَا عَلِمْتُ إِلاَّ خَيْراً، وَهِيَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تُسَامِيْنِي (٣) مِنْ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَعَصَمَهَا اللهُ بِالوَرَعِ، وَطَفِقَتْ أُخْتُهَا حَمْنَةُ تُحَارِبُ لَهَا (٤) ، فَهَلَكَتْ فِيْمَنْ هَلَكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الإِفْكِ (٥) .

(١) في رواية البخاري: فلما سري عن رسول الله ﷺ، سري عنه وهو يضحك. (٢) في البخاري ومسلم والمسند: أما الله عزوجل، فقد برأك. (٣) تساميني: تعاليني، من السمو وهو العلو والارتفاع، أي: تطلب من العلو والرفعة والحظوة عند النبي ﷺ ما أطلب. (٤) أي: تجادل لها وتتعصب، وتحكي ما قال أهل الافك لتنخفض منزلة عائشة، وتعلو مرتبة أختها زينب. (٥) أخرجه بطوله البخاري ٥ / ١٩٨، ٢٠١ في الشهادات: باب تعديل النساء بعضهن بعضا، =