He replied, “Glory be to Allah! Yes. The very first person who raised this question was so-and-so son of so-and-so. He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, suppose one of us finds his wife committing adultery—what should he do? If he speaks out, he utters something momentous, and if he keeps silent, he conceals something equally momentous.’ The Prophet ﷺ remained silent and gave him no answer.

Some time later the man returned and said, ‘The situation I asked you about has actually happened to me.’ Thereupon Allah revealed the verses in Sūrat al-Nūr: ‘And those who accuse their wives…’ (24:6–9). The Prophet ﷺ recited them to him, admonished him, reminded him, and told him that the punishment of this world is lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter. The man declared, ‘By the One Who sent you with the truth as a prophet, I have not lied about her.’

The Prophet ﷺ then summoned the wife, admonished her likewise, and informed her that the punishment of this world is lighter than that of the Hereafter. She said, ‘By the One Who sent you with the truth as a prophet, he is lying.’

The Prophet ﷺ began with the husband: he testified four times by Allah that he was telling the truth, and on the fifth he invoked Allah’s curse upon himself if he were lying. Then the wife testified four times by Allah that he was indeed lying, and on the fifth she invoked Allah’s wrath upon herself if he was telling the truth. The Prophet ﷺ then separated them.