Accordingly, when Maʿiz ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) confessing that he had committed adultery, the Prophet turned away from him. Maʿiz returned a second time and said, “I have committed adultery,” and again the Prophet turned aside. He came a third time with the same admission, and once more the Prophet averted his face, wanting him to repent privately so that Allah might accept his repentance. When he came the fourth time, the Prophet began to examine him.

He asked, “Are you insane?” Maʿiz replied, “No, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Do you know what adultery is?” He answered, “Yes—adultery is when a man approaches a woman unlawfully in the same way he lawfully approaches his wife.” The Prophet then said—dispensing with euphemism, for truth is not something from which one should shy away—“Did you actually have intercourse with her?” Maʿiz replied, “Yes.” The Prophet continued, “Did your organ disappear into hers as the kohl-stick disappears into its case, and the bucket-rope into the well?” He answered, “Yes.”

This is a matter people are normally embarrassed to speak about, yet when the issue is one of establishing the truth, no shame is warranted.

On another occasion Umm Sulaym came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, Allah does not shy away from the truth: is a woman required to perform ghusl (a full ritual bath) if she…"