—peace and blessings be upon him—was safeguarded along with the sanctity of his household; all of that is sheer good.

“Each one of them will bear what he has earned of sin, and the one who took upon himself the greatest share of it shall have a tremendous punishment” (Q 24:11). Everyone who spoke about the matter shoulders the sin he personally acquired, but the most sinful of all is the one who led this trial and fanned its flames—Allah’s refuge is sought.

Allah then continued the passage until His words: “When you passed it from tongue to tongue and uttered with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, thinking it a trivial matter, while in Allah’s sight it is enormity itself” (Q 24:15).

True piety would have required them to keep silent and to ask themselves: Where did this story originate? From the hypocrites, the most deceitful of Allah’s servants.

The hypocrites are the greatest liars; lying is one of the unmistakable signs of hypocrisy. Listen to the Almighty’s statement: “When the hypocrites come to you they say, ‘We testify that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah.’ Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, yet Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are surely liars” (Q 63:1). Two testimonies stand opposed: theirs—“We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah”—and Allah’s—“Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars.” There is no doubt that Allah’s word is the truer; He Himself bears witness that “the hypocrites are liars” in what they say: “We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah.”

This vile slander was spread by the hypocrites, at their head ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl. The wretch avoided speaking outright; instead he would approach people and say, “Have you not heard what is being said about ʿĀʾishah? Such and such has been alleged.” Some believers also repeated the story openly, among them Miṣṭaḥ ibn