, peace and blessings be upon him, mention that?” She replied: “No!” Yet Lady Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, most certainly heard this from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and others narrated this from her in the previously cited hadith of the cushion (122). At its conclusion, she said: “Then he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘The angels do not enter a house containing images.’”
It might be said that Aisha denied having heard the wording reported to her from Abū Talha—namely, the version that also mentions “a dog.” The answer is that she also heard it from him, peace and blessings be upon him, with this addition. Muslim narrated (6/155–156) from Aisha that she said:
“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, arranged with Gabriel, peace be upon him, that he would come to him at a certain hour. That hour arrived, but Gabriel did not come. The Messenger of Allah had a staff in his hand, so he cast it aside and said: ‘Allah does not break His promise, nor do His messengers.’ He then turned and saw a puppy beneath his bed. He asked: ‘Aisha, when did this dog enter here?’ She replied: ‘By Allah, I did not know.’ He ordered that it be removed, and it was taken outside. Gabriel then came, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘You arranged to meet me, so I sat waiting for you, but you did not come.’ Gabriel replied: ‘The dog that was in your house prevented me. We do not enter a house containing a dog.’”
Abū Awāna also narrated it (8/253–1/254), as did al-Tahāwī in Mushkil al-Āthār (1/377) and Ahmad (6/142–143).
Once this is clear, there can be no doubt that whoever attributed to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the statement that she had not heard the hadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was mistaken. No one in its chain is more likely to have been responsible for this error than Suhayl ibn Abī Sālih, given the criticism of him mentioned above.
(Note) The hadith of Aisha cited by the author establishes two matters. The first is that hanging images is prohibited. This is shown by the Prophet’s ripping down the patterned cloth. It is well known that tearing it down constitutes destruction of property, which is permissible only where something prohibited is involved, as a deterrent and warning. The second is that it is disliked to drape walls with curtains, even when they bear no images, because he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Allah has not commanded us to clothe stones and clay.” This is what immediately suggests itself upon the slightest reflection on the hadith, and this is what