I covered my face with my outer garment. By Allah, we did not exchange a single word, nor did I hear from him anything other than his saying, “Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.” He then brought his camel to its knees and stepped on its foreleg. I went over to it and mounted it, and he set off leading the camel with me upon it until we reached the army at the height of the midday heat, while they were encamped.

She said: Thus, those who were doomed were doomed. The one who took upon himself the greatest share of the slander was Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Urwah said: I was informed that it was circulated and discussed in his presence, and that he approved of it, listened to it, and eagerly sought it out.

Urwah also said: Among the people of the slander, no one else was named except Hassan ibn Thabit, Mistah ibn Uthathah, and Hamnah bint Jahsh, along with other people of whom I have no knowledge, except that they were a group, as Allah Most High says: “And whoever took upon himself its greatest share.” He said: This was Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Urwah said: Aishah disliked that Hassan should be insulted in her presence, and she would say: “For indeed my father, my mother, and my honor are a shield against you for Muhammad’s honor.”

Aishah said: We arrived in Medina, and when we arrived, I fell ill for a month. Meanwhile, the people were engrossed in the claims of the slanderers, though I was unaware of any of it. What troubled me during my illness was that I did not see from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, the tenderness I had previously known from him whenever I was ill. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, would merely come in, greet me, and say, “How is she?” Then he would leave. This troubled me, though I remained unaware of the evil until I had begun to recover and went out with Umm Mistah toward al-Manasi, which was where we relieved ourselves. We would go out only at night, once every few nights. This was before we had privies built near our houses. Our practice was that of the early Arabs, who went out to open places to relieve themselves; we found it unpleasant 36/b to have privies near our homes.

She said: Umm Mistah and I set out. She was the daughter of Abu Ruhm ibn al-Muttalib ibn Abd Manaf; her mother was the daughter of Sakhr ibn Amir, the maternal aunt of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Her son was Mistah ibn Uthathah ibn Abbad ibn al-Muttalib. When Umm Mistah and I were returning toward my house after finishing what we had gone out for, Umm Mistah stumbled over her cloak and said, “May Mistah perish!” I said to her, “What an evil thing you have said! Do you insult a man who witnessed Badr?” She said, “O dear one (1), have you not heard what he said?” She said: I asked, “What did he say?” So she told me what the people of the slander were saying. My illness then grew worse. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, came in and said, “How is she?” I said to him, “Will you permit me to go to my parents?” I wished to ascertain the news from them. So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, gave me permission. I said to my mother, “Mother, what are the people saying?” She said, “My daughter, take it lightly. By Allah, there is scarcely ever a woman cherished by a man who loves her, while he has other wives, except that they speak much against her (2).” I said, “Glory be to Allah! Have people really been saying this?” Then I wept.