Hadith 1
ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) related that a certain man—So-and-so ibn So-and-so—said, “Messenger of Allah, suppose one of us were to find his wife committing a shameful act: what should he do? If he speaks, he speaks of something grave; but if he keeps silent, he must keep silent about something equally grave.”
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, remained silent and did not answer him.
Some time later the man returned and said, “The very matter I asked you about—I have now been tested with it.” Thereupon Allah revealed these verses in Sūrah al-Nūr: “And those who accuse their wives….” He recited them to the man, admonished him, reminded him, and informed him that the punishment of this world is lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter.
The man declared, “No—by the One who sent you with the truth as a prophet—I have not lied against her.”
The Prophet then summoned the woman, admonished her, and informed her that the punishment of this world is lighter than that of the Hereafter.
She replied, “No—by the One who sent you with the truth—he is indeed lying.”
The Prophet began with the man, who testified four times by Allah that he was telling the truth, and on the fifth said, “May the curse of Allah be upon me if I am lying.”
He then turned to the woman, who testified four times by Allah that he was lying, and on the fifth said, “May the wrath of Allah be upon me if he is telling the truth.” He then separated the two of them.
After that he said, “Allah knows that one of you is lying. Will either of you repent?”—and he said this three times.
In another wording he said, “You have no claim over her.” The man asked, “Messenger of Allah, what about my wealth?”
He replied, “You have no financial claim. If you were truthful about her, the bridal gift you gave her was in return for the lawful intimacy you enjoyed. But if you lied against her, it is even further removed from you.”
Overall meaning:
The man in this story seems to have sensed something suspicious about his wife and feared she might commit indecency. He was bewildered: if he accused her without proof, the legal penalty for slander would fall on him; yet if he kept silent, that would be sheer cuckoldry and lasting disgrace. He shared these misgivings with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who did not answer—disliking a question posed before its proper time, seeing it as a haste to precipitate evil, and because no revelation had yet come to him on the matter.
Later the questioner actually witnessed the indecency he had feared. Allah then revealed, concerning him and his wife, these verses from Sūrah al-Nūr: “And those who accuse their wives…” (1) and the verses that follow.