three times. Then he turned away, and I turned away. He quickened his pace, and I quickened mine; he jogged, and I jogged; he ran, and I ran. I reached home before him and went inside. I had barely lain down when he said, ‘What is the matter with you, Ā’ishah, panting and out of breath?’

She said: “I replied, ‘Nothing.’

“He said, ‘You must tell me, or the Subtle, the All-Aware will surely tell me.’

“I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be your ransom!’ Then I told him.

“He said, ‘So you were the dark figure I saw ahead of me?’

“I said, ‘Yes.’ Then he gave me a shove in the chest that hurt me and said, ‘Did you think that Allah and His Messenger would treat you unjustly?’

“I said, ‘Does Allah know whatever people conceal?’

“He said, ‘Yes.’ Then he said, ‘Gabriel—peace be upon him—came to me at the time you saw me and called to me—without letting you hear. I answered him without letting you hear. He would not enter while you had taken off your clothes. I thought you had fallen asleep and did not wish to wake you, and I feared that you would feel lonely. He said, “Your Lord commands you to go to the people of al-Baqīʿ and ask forgiveness for them.”’

“I said, ‘What should I say, O Messenger of Allah?’

“He said, ‘Say: “Peace be upon the inhabitants of these dwellings, the believers and Muslims. May Allah have mercy on those of us who have gone before and those who come after. We shall, if Allah wills, join you.”’”

Here was Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, asking the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—whether Allah knows everything that people conceal. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—answered her, “Yes.” This indicates that she had not known this. Before learning that Allah knows everything people conceal, she was not a disbeliever, even though affirming this