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Have you ever had a rumor spread about you?
Did you ever have great difficulty
in restoring your reputation
despite the lies that were told against you?
How did it feel when you found out
that those who you thought were close to you
were also involved in smearing your name?
No doubt, it is very difficult to remain patient
when your reputation is at stake.
Allah provides a beautiful example
of a person who had an optimistic hope
that Allah would clear her name.
Meet A'ishah bint Abi Bakr.
What's so powerful about her story is
that we sometimes see the best of people
who are truly innocent go through
the painful test of slander.
An intentional smear campaign is not only sinful,
but it is even more upsetting
when it comes from your inner circle,
or from those whom you know should know better.
Perhaps they enjoy the temporary notoriety
from spreading gossip in this life,
but if only they knew the punishment of the next life,
people would think twice
before indulging in such a sinful deed.
Whatever the reason for why people spread lies and rumors,
it happened to one of the greatest women.
One of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad,
sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam,
the daughter of one of the greatest companions
and the first Khalifah in Islam,
one of the greatest relaters of Hadith
and a notable scholar of her time.
It happened to none other than A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha.
(soft percussive swooshing) (birds chirping)
The incident leading up to the slander happened
when A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha accompanied
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu alahyhi wa sallam,
during one of his battles.
She was carried in a "howdah",
or a covered carrier that was mounted on top of the camel.
One night, A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha, went past
the army to answer the call of nature.
And on her way back she noticed she lost her necklace.
So, A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha retraced her steps
so that she could find her necklace.
Well, A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha found her necklace,
but she ended up losing the caravan.
What happened was
A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha, was younger and lighter,
and as she recalls,
that many of the women at the time were lighter
since in those days there was not much for them to eat.
So when the men came to lift her howdah back onto her camel,
they didn't notice she wasn't in there.
And thus the caravan left without her.
A'ishah does something very wise,
and decides to stay put.
She starts to get tired and then she falls asleep.
Now one of the companions, his job was to come up
and make sure that nothing was left behind.
His name was Safwan ibn Mu'attal.
Sure enough Safwan radia Allahu 'anhu found
A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha sleeping,
and said, "inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un",
to wake her up and get her attention.
Now Safwan radia Allahu 'anhu dismounted
his camel and made it kneel,
so that A'ishah could mount it.
In that way, A'ishah raadia Allahu 'anha rode the camel,
and Safwan walked ahead, leading the camel.
The two of them eventually caught up with the army.
But before they even reached Medina,
the destructive storm of rumors about A'ishah
was already spreading.
Subhanallah, what an evil yet perfect opportunity
for the hypocrites of Medina to hurt
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
by spreading rumors about his most beloved wife.
Now, A'ishah raadia Allahu 'anha was ill
when she returned home,
so she hadn't heard any of the rumors just yet.
However, she did notice
that Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
was not showing the same amount of kindness
he normally would when she was sick.
After about a month,
after she had recovered,
she was able to go into town.
It's only then that she heard
of the great slander about her.
Poor A'ishah.
Imagine the devastation of these rumors,
despite being an upright person
from an upright family,
married to the best of creation,
sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam.
Upon hearing these horrible lies,
A'ishah cried and cried,
and got sick once again.
And this time, she asked permission
from Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
to stay at her parents' house.
More time has now passed.
Now, it's important for us to remember
that Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
also suffered greatly from this great slander.
And although he trusted A'ishah,
and knew her character,
he hoped to hear from Allah subhanahu wa ta'alah,
revealing Quran, proving her innocence,
to clear all doubts in the minds of the people.
Yet a whole month passes,
and Jibreel, 'alahy-hi 's-sallahm, does not bring
any revelation.
He is advised, in the meantime, to consult
with the one who knows her the best,
Barirah, her servant.
So Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
called Barirah and said,
"O Barirah, did you ever see anything
which roused your suspicion about her?"
Barirah said, "No, by Allah who has sent you with the truth,
I have never seen in her anything faulty,
except that she is a girl of immature age
who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough
for the goats to eat."
SubhanAllah, that's her only crime. (laughs)
Now, in the meantime,
A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha is at home with her parents.
And as she relates,
she had been crying for two days and a night.
So much so that she felt her liver would burst.
And this is the backdrop for a powerful scene
out of the life of A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha,
that highlights her trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'alah.
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam,
enters the room where A'ishah is lying in bed,
and he sits next to her.
The first time he is sitting next to her
since the rumors were spread.
He, sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam, says,
"'O A'ishah,
I have been informed of such-and-such about you.
If you are innocent,
then Allah will soon reveal your innocence.
And if you have committed a sin,
then repent to Allah and ask Him to forgive you.
For when a person confesses his sin
and asks Allah for forgiveness,
Allah accepts his repentance.'
When Allah's Messenger finished his speech,
my tears ceased completely,
and there remained not even a single drop of it.
I requested my father to reply
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'alah's Messenger on my behalf.
My father said,
'By Allah, I do not know what to say
to Allah's Messenger sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam.'
I said to my mother,
'Talk to Allah subhanahu wa ta'alah's Messenger
on my behalf,
sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam.'
She said, 'By Allah, I do not know
what to say to Allah's Messenger,
sallAllahu 'alahyhi wa sallam.'
I was a young girl,
and I did not have much knowledge of the Qu'ran.
I said, 'I know, by Allah,
that you have listened to what people are saying,
and that has been planted in your minds,
and you have taken it as a truth.
Now, if I told you that I am innocent,
and Allah knows that I am innocent,
you would not believe me.
And if I confess to you falsely that I am guilty,
and Allah knows that I am innocent,
you would believe me.
By Allah, I don't compare my situation with you
except to the situation of Yusuf's father,
Yaqub, 'alayhi-ssalaam, who said,
"fasabrun jameel",
"So patience is most fitting."
And Allah is the one sought
for help against that which you describe."
SubhanAllah.
A reflection here is that
there is divine wisdom
in difficult tests of this life.
Ibn Abbas radia Allahu 'anhu, reported that
Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
said, "Know that there is much good in being patient
with what you detest.
Victory will come with patience,
relief will come with affliction,
and with hardship will come ease."
Inna ma'al 'usri yusra
Here, she felt utterly alone,
and in one sense she was alone.
No one close to her came rushing in her defense.
And A'ishah's strength, despite this loneliness,
becomes more apparent.
A'ishah continues to tell her story.
"Then I turned to the other side of my bed,
hoping that Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, I never thought that Allah would reveal
divine inspiration in my case,
as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of
in the holy Qur'an.
I had hoped that
Allah's Messenger, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, Allah's Messenger, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
had not got up and nobody had left the house
before the divine inspiration came to Allah's Messenger,
sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
So there overtook him
the same state which used to overtake him
when he used to receive revelation.
He was sweating so much
so that the drops of sweat were dropping like pearls,
though it was a cold wintry day.
When that state
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's Messenger was over,
he was smiling.
And the first word he said was,
'A'ishah! Thank Allah,
for Allah has declared your innocence.'"
SubhanAllah.
Look at her reaction now.
She says,
"My mother told me to go
to Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
I replied, 'By Allah, I will not go to him
and will not thank but Allah!'"
SubhanAllah, A'ishah didn't beg, grovel,
or demand that her loved ones should believe her.
Instead, despite her young age,
she maintained her confidence and dignity.
Put her complete trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So Allah revealed,
"Verily, they who spread the slander are
a gang among you."
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave the declaration
of my innocence,
Abu Bakr who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha,
for he was his relative, said,
"By Allah, I will never provide for Mistah
with anything because of what he said about A'ishah."
But Allah later revealed,
"And let not those who are good and wealthy among you
swear not to help their kinsmen.
Those in need and those who left their homes
in Allah's Cause.
Let them forgive and overlook.
Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?
Verily! Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
After that, Abu Bakr said,
"Yes! By Allah, I like that Allah should forgive me."
And resumed helping Mistah,
whom he used to help before.
Another point to note here is how quickly
Abu Bakr took the divine advice
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to not cut off
the charity he used to give Mistah,
despite his direct involvement
in hurting his beloved and innocent daughter.
The words of Allah, and Abu Bakr's response to it,
is a great reminder of why he is named As-Siddiq.
In looking at A'ishah's story, we're reminded
that our reputation is one of the most important aspects
of our public life.
At school, work, in the community,
and in society at large.
And sometimes our reputation can get wrongfully,
even intentionally, smeared or tarnished.
A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha showed us
that even when our reputation is under attack,
we remain cool.
We don't do anything that is unbecoming,
out of character, and definitely nothing
that would be displeasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
With so much online discourse these days,
attacks on social media, and virtual mud flinging,
it's easy to get pulled into this toxic culture.
Again, A'ishah's story reminds us
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has our back,
and He is ever watching and aware,
and that ultimate justice is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Now tying this back to Maryam ʿalayha s-salam's story,
Maryam ʿalayha s-salam bore the pain of slander
and had her honor cleared
by the words of baby Isa, ʿalayhi s-salām.
A'ishah radia Allahu 'anha, too, bore the pain of slander,
and this time Allah is the one who cleared her reputation.
SubhanAllah, both of these amazing women had
their righteous character highlighted
and forever preserved in the Qur'an.
And this reminds us, "Inna ma'al 'usri yusra", that,
"Surely with hardship, comes ease."
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