2507 — “Now then, O Aisha, I have heard such-and-such concerning you. [You are but one of Adam’s daughters.] If you are innocent, Allah will declare your innocence; but if you have fallen into a sin, then seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him. For when a servant confesses his sin and then repents to Allah, Allah accepts his repentance.” In another version: “Repentance from sin is remorse.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhari (8/363–364, Fath), Muslim (8/116), and Ahmad (6/196); the other version is also narrated by Ahmad (6/364), Abu Ya‘la (3/1208 and 1218), al-Tabari in his Exegesis (18/73 and 75), and al-Baghawi (6/74), on the authority of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, in her lengthy account of the incident of the slander and of the Quranic revelation declaring her innocence in verses from Surah al-Nur: “Indeed, those who came with the slander are a group among you ...”—verses 11–20.

The addition placed between the brackets is reported by Abu ‘Awanah in his Sahih and by al-Tabarani in his Mu‘jam, as cited in Fath (8/344 and 364).

Regarding his words, “if you have fallen into a sin,” al-Hafiz said: that is, if something occurred from you contrary to what is customary; this is the literal sense of ilmam. An example is the line: “She came upon us while the night was letting down its coverings.”

Al-Dawudi said: “He instructed her to confess and did not urge her to conceal it, because of the difference between the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and other women. His wives must disclose to him whatever occurs from them and must not conceal it from him, for it is not lawful for a prophet to retain a woman from whom such a thing occurs, unlike other women, who are urged to keep it concealed.”