Miṣṭaḥ ibn Uthāthah, as well as Ḥassān ibn Thābit—may Allah be pleased with him—and Ḥamnah bint Jaḥsh. They repeated the rumor because they were, after all, human. Abu Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—then swore that he would no longer spend on Miṣṭaḥ ibn Uthāthah, his maternal cousin. He made that oath not simply because Miṣṭaḥ had spoken against his daughter, but because he had spoken words unworthy of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

So what did Allah say about the matter? The Exalted revealed: “Let not those among you who possess bounty and plenty swear to withhold assistance from their relatives, the poor, and those who have emigrated for the sake of Allah” (Q 24:22).

“Let not … swear” means: let them not take an oath; and the one intended here is Abu Bakr. The words “their relatives, the poor, and the emigrants in the path of Allah” refer, in this instance, to Miṣṭaḥ. People of virtue like Abu Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—should not withhold their support from relatives, the needy, and the emigrants, even if those recipients have erred in certain matters.

Allah continues: “Do you not wish that Allah forgive you? Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Q 24:22). When this verse was revealed, Abu Bakr said, “Indeed, by Allah, we do wish that Allah forgive us,” and he reinstated Miṣṭaḥ’s allowance.

Such was his magnificent obedience! A man had spoken against his own daughter—and even against the Messenger of Allah—yet Abu Bakr submitted to Allah’s command in this remarkable way. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then ordered that Miṣṭaḥ, Ḥassān, and Ḥamnah each receive eighty lashes, the ḥadd (legal punishment) for slander. He did not order the flogging of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubay, however, because the wretch never spoke openly, and the ḥadd is a purification for the one punished, whereas ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubay was unfit for purification—he was vile, impure, despicable.

In sum, true piety requires a person to speak only about matters of which he has knowledge, and this