Al-Ḥāfiẓ also said:

“Truthful, though he makes errors.”

There, in al-Irwāʾ, I mentioned another chain from ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—through ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn ʿĀmir and another narrator who corroborated him. I deemed its chain of transmission sound on account of the two of them together. In a version from the first of the two, recorded by al-Bayhaqī and others, the female servant belonged to one of the Prophet’s wives, peace and blessings be upon him.

The wording in Abū Dāwūd (4473) is:

“Belonging to the household of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.”

Aḥmad (1/85) has similar wording:

“A female servant belonging to them committed fornication …”

I say: This is what befits the station of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: this female servant was not owned by him; rather, she belonged to one of his wives. She frequently served the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to the point that people presumed she was his servant.

What I have mentioned is further supported—and Allah knows best—by the account of the man who was accused concerning the mother of the Prophet’s child, peace and blessings be upon him. He ordered ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—to kill him, but when he saw that the man had been castrated and had no male organ, he refrained and did not kill him. He informed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said:

“Praise be to Allah, who averts harm from us, the members of the Household.”

It has already appeared, along with the account, under no. 1904 through a third chain.

His statement, “recover,” means that she was nearing recovery. The original form is “to be recovering.” It is said of an ill person that he is recovering when he is nearing recovery, as stated in al-Qāmūs.