Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (6/22)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

Then he was killed in the path of Allah (1).

Muhammad ibn Ismail also narrated it from Yahya ibn Bukayr, who said: Al-Layth informed us from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, with a similar chain of transmission. He said: “If you have fallen into a sin, then seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him, for when a servant admits his sin and then repents, Allah accepts his repentance,” up to her words: “Thus she was ruined along with those among the people of the slander who were ruined” (2).

Abu Usamah also narrated it from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, from Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, came to my house and asked my servant about me. She said, “No, by Allah, I have known no fault in her, except that she would sleep until a sheep came in and ate her leavened dough, or her dough.” Some of his Companions rebuked her and said, “Tell the Messenger of Allah the truth,” pressing her hard. But she said, “Glory be to Allah! By Allah, I have known nothing against her any more than a goldsmith could find in a nugget of pure red gold.”

In this version, she also said: Revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, and then the state was lifted from him. I could see the joy on his face as he wiped his forehead and said, “Rejoice, O Aishah, for Allah has sent down your declaration of innocence.” My parents said to me, “Get up and go to him.” But I said, “No, by Allah, I will not get up and go to him, nor will I praise him or anyone else. Rather, I praise Allah, who has declared me innocent. You heard it, yet you neither denounced it nor changed it” (3).

As for the explanation of His saying, “Indeed, those who came with the slander”: that is, with a lie. Slander is the worst kind of lie. It is called ifk because it is diverted from the truth, as in the expression, “He turned something over,” meaning that he turned it away from its proper orientation. Aishah deserved praise because of her chastity and honor; whoever accused her of evil had turned the matter upside down. “A group among you” means a body of people, including Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, Mistah ibn Uthathah, Hassan ibn Thabit, Hamnah bint Jahsh—the wife of Talhah ibn Ubayd Allah—and others. “Do not think it evil for you,” O Aishah and O Safwan. It is also said that the address is to Aishah, her parents, the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, and Safwan—that is, do not regard the slander as evil for you. “Rather, it is good for you,” because Allah will reward you for it and make your innocence manifest.

“For every person among them”—that is, among that lying group—“is what he has earned of sin”: namely, the recompense for the sin he committed, in proportion to the extent of his involvement in it. “And the one who took upon himself its greatest share”: that is, the one who bore its greatest burden and initiated the discussion of it. Yaqub recited it as kubruhu, with a dammah on the kaf, while the majority recited it with a kasrah. Al-Kisa’i said: They are two dialectal forms. Al-Dahhak said: He was the one who spread the report, and he was Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul.

(1) Reported by al-Bukhari in The Book of Military Expeditions, chapter “The Hadith of al-Ifk (the Slander Incident),” 7:431-435; in the exegesis of Surat al-Nur, 8:452-455; and in The Book of Testimonies, 5:269-272, as well as elsewhere. It was also reported by Muslim in The Book of Repentance, chapter “The Hadith of al-Ifk and the Acceptance of the Repentance of the Qadhif (one who falsely accuses another of adultery),” no. 2770, 4:2129-2136. The author also cited its beginning in Sharh al-Sunnah, 9:153. (2) Reported by Muslim in The Book of Exegesis, Surat al-Nur, 8:452-455. (3) In al-Bukhari’s narration, cited muallaq (without a complete chain) in a definitive form, in the chapter “Indeed, those who love immorality to spread...,” 8:488; and also by Muslim in The Book of Repentance, 4:2137-2138.

ثُمَّ قُتِلَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (١) . وَرَوَاهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا اللَّيْثُ عَنْ يُونُسَ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ بِإِسْنَادٍ مِثْلِهِ، وَقَالَ: وَإِنْ كُنْتِ أَلْمَمْتِ بِذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرِي اللَّهَ وَتُوبِي إِلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا اعْتَرَفَ بِذَنْبِهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: فَهَلَكَتْ فِيمَنْ هَلَكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْإِفْكِ (٢) . وَرَوَاهُ أَبُو أُسَامَةَ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ: وَلَقَدْ جَاءَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بَيْتِي فَسَأَلَ عَنِّي خَادِمَتِي، فَقَالَتْ: لَا وَاللَّهِ مَا عَلِمَتُ عَلَيْهَا عَيْبًا إِلَّا أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ تَرْقُدُ حَتَّى تَدْخُلَ الشَّاةُ فَتَأْكُلُ خَمِيرَهَا أَوْ عَجِينَهَا، فَانْتَهَرَهَا بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِهِ، فَقَالَ: اصْدُقِي رَسُولَ اللَّهِ حَتَّى أَسْقَطُوا لَهَابَهُ، فَقَالَتْ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهِ مَا عَلِمَتُ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا مَا يَعْلَمُ الصَّائِغُ عَلَى تِبْرِ الذَّهَبِ الْأَحْمَرِ، وَفِيهِ قَالَتْ: وَأُنْزِلَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَرُفِعَ عَنْهُ وَإِنِّي لَأَتَبَيَّنُ السُّرُورَ فِي وَجْهِهِ وَهُوَ يَمْسَحُ جَبِينَهُ وَيَقُولُ: أَبْشِرِي يَا عَائِشَةُ فَقَدْ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ بَرَاءَتَكِ فَقَالَ لِي أَبَوَايَ: قُومِي إِلَيْهِ فَقُلْتُ: لَا وَاللَّهِ لَا أَقُومُ إِلَيْهِ وَلَا أَحْمَدُهُ وَلَا أَحْمَدُ أَحَدًا وَلَكِنْ أَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي بَرَّأَنِيَ لَقَدْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ فَمَا أَنْكَرْتُمُوهُ وَلَا غَيَّرْتُمُوهُ (٣) . أَمَّا تَفْسِيرُ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالْإِفْكِ﴾ بِالْكَذِبِ، وَالْإِفْكُ: أَسْوَأُ الْكَذِبِ، سُمِّيَ إِفْكًا لِكَوْنِهِ مَصْرُوفًا عَنِ الْحَقِّ، مِنْ قَوْلِهِمْ: أَفَكَ الشَّيْءَ إِذَا قَلَبَهُ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ عَائِشَةَ كَانَتْ تَسْتَحِقُّ الثَّنَاءَ لِمَا كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَصَانَةِ وَالشَّرَفِ فَمَنْ رَمَاهَا بِالسُّوءِ قَلَبَ الْأَمْرَ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ، ﴿عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ﴾ أَيْ: جَمَاعَةٌ مِنْهُمْ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أُبَيٍّ بن سَلُولَ، وَمِسْطَحُ بْنُ أُثَاثَةَ، وَحَسَّانُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ، وَحَمْنَةُ بِنْتُ جَحْشٍ، زَوْجَةُ طَلْحَةَ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، وَغَيْرُهُمْ، ﴿لا تَحْسَبُوهُ شَرًّالَكُمْ﴾ يَا عَائِشَةُ وَيَا صَفْوَانُ، وَقِيلَ: هُوَ خِطَابٌ لِعَائِشَةَ وَلِأَبَوَيْهَا وَلِلنَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَلِصَفْوَانَ، يَعْنِي: لَا تَحْسَبُوا الْإِفْكَ شَرًّا لَكُمْ، ﴿بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ﴾ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْجُرُكُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَيُظْهِرُ بَرَاءَتَكُمْ. ﴿لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِنْهُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي مِنَ الْعُصْبَةِ الْكَاذِبَةِ ﴿مَا اكْتَسَبَ مِنَ الْإِثْمِ﴾ أَيْ: جَزَاءُ مَا اجْتَرَحَ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا خَاضَ فِيهِ، ﴿وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّى كِبْرَهُ﴾ أَيْ: تَحَمَّلَ مُعْظَمَهُ فَبَدَأَ بِالْخَوْضِ فِيهِ، قَرَأَ يَعْقُوبُ "كُبْرَهُ" بِضَمِّ الْكَافِ، وَقَرَأَ الْعَامَّةُ بِالْكَسْرِ، قَالَ الْكِسَائِيُّ: هُمَا لُغَتَانِ. قَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ: قَامَ بِإِشَاعَةِ الْحَدِيثِ، وَهُوَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أُبَيِّ بن سَلُولَ.

(١) أخرجه البخاري في المغازي، باب حديث الإفك: ٧ / ٤٣١-٤٣٥، وفي تفسير سورة النور: ٨ / ٤٥٢-٤٥٥، وفي الشهادات: ٥ / ٢٦٩-٢٧٢ وفي مواضع أخرى. وأخرجه مسلم في التوبة، باب في حديث الإفك وقبول توبة القاذف برقم (٢٧٧٠) : ٤ / ٢١٢٩-٢١٣٦ وأخرج المصنف أوله في شرح السنة: ٩ / ١٥٣. (٢) أخرجه مسلم في كتاب التفسير، سورة النور: ٨ / ٤٥٢-٤٥٥. (٣) في رواية البخاري معلقا بصيغةالجزم، باب "إن الذين يحبون أن تشيع الفاحشة.." ٨ / ٤٨٨، ومسلم في التوبة أيضا: ٤ / ٢١٣٧-٢١٣٨.