to be matters for which the people concerned had an excuse; some are matters of which they are known to have repented; and some are matters known to be outweighed by their good deeds. Whoever follows the path of Ahl al-Sunnah will speak soundly and be among the people of truth, uprightness, and moderation. Otherwise, he will fall into ignorance, falsehood (1), and contradiction, as is the case with these misguided people.

As for his statement:

“She divulged the secret of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—”

there is no doubt that Allah Most High says:

“And when the Prophet confided a matter to one of his wives, then she disclosed it, and Allah made it known to him, he made part of it known and overlooked part. When he informed her of it, she asked, ‘Who informed you of this?’ He replied, ‘The All-Knowing, the All-Aware informed me.’”

[Surah al-Tahrīm: 3].

It is established in the Sahīh [on the authority of Umar] (2) that the two women (3) were Aisha and Hafsa (4).

The response is as follows:

First, these people turn (5) to Quranic texts that mention manifest sins and acts of disobedience expressly reported (6) concerning earlier figures; [they subject those texts to all manner of interpretations, whereas Ahl al-Sunnah say: Rather, those who committed the sins] (7) repented of them, and Allah raised their ranks through repentance.