“O Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, I came to my wife at night and found a man with her. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, disliked what Hilal had brought to him, and it weighed heavily upon him, so much so that it could be seen on his face.

Hilal said, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I can see from your face how displeased you are by what I have brought to you. Yet Allah knows that I am telling the truth and that I have spoken nothing but the truth. I hope that Allah will grant me relief.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was about to have him flogged. The Ansar gathered and said, “We have been afflicted by what Sa‘d spoke of: Hilal will be flogged, and his testimony will be invalidated.”

While they were thus occupied, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was intending to order that he be flogged, revelation descended upon him. His Companions ceased speaking to him when they realized that revelation had come down to him. When it had ended, Allah revealed: “And those who accuse their wives...” to the end of the verses.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Rejoice, Hilal, for Allah has granted you relief.” He said, “I had indeed hoped for that from Allah.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Send for her.” So she came. When the two of them were gathered before the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, she denied his accusation.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah knows that one of you is lying. So will either of you repent?” Hilal said, “O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, I have spoken the truth and have said nothing but the truth.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Have them take the oaths of mutual imprecation.”

Hilal was told, “Testify.” So he testified four times by Allah that he was indeed telling the truth. At the fifth oath, he was told, “O Hilal, fear Allah. The punishment of this world is lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter, and Allah’s punishment is more severe than the punishment of people. This fifth oath is the decisive one that makes punishment binding upon you.”

Hilal said, “By Allah, Allah will not punish me for it, just as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not flog me for it.” So he gave the fifth testimony: that the curse of Allah be upon him if he was lying.

Then he said to the woman, “Testify.” She testified four times by Allah that he was indeed lying. At the fifth oath, he stopped her and said, “Fear Allah, for the fifth is decisive, and Allah’s punishment is more severe than the punishment of people.” She hesitated for a while and was about to confess, but then said, “By Allah, I will not disgrace my people.” So she gave the fifth testimony: that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he was telling the truth.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then separated them (1) and ruled that the child belonged to her: no father was to be ascribed to him, nor was her child to be accused. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If she gives birth to a child with such-and-such features, then he belongs to her husband; but if she gives birth to a child with such-and-such features, then he belongs to the man concerning whom the accusation was made.” She gave birth to a boy resembling a dark-grey camel, bearing the objectionable resemblance. He later became a governor in Egypt, not knowing who his father was.

Ibn Abbas, in the other narrations, and Muqatil related: When the verse was revealed, “And those who accuse chaste women...,” the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited it from the pulpit on a Friday. Then Asim ibn Adi al-Ansari stood and said, “May Allah make me your ransom! If one of us sees a man with his wife and reports what he saw, he will be flogged eighty lashes, the Muslims will call him an evildoer, and his testimony will never again be accepted. So how are we to obtain witnesses, when, by the time we have sought witnesses, the man will have finished what he was doing and departed?”

This Asim had a cousin named Uwaymir, whose wife was called Khawlah bint Qays ibn Mihsan,