Upheld by Allah: Women in the Quran
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Ep. 4: Trust in Allah: Aisha bint Abu Bakr (rA)
When the infamous slander befell A’ishah (rA), she sought refuge in Allah and patiently waited for relief, trusting in the divine promise that difficulty is always accompanied by ease.
And she was, of course, correct: revelation was sent to clear her name.
The example of her tawakkul resonates for us when we are placed in situations that test our own patience. Tune in to the episode 3 of Upheld by Allah: Women in the Qur'an with Ustadha Lobna Mulla.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. 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 Abu 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 Alaihi Wasallam, the daughter of one of the greatest companions, and the first Khalifa in Islam, one of the greatest relators of Hadith, and a notable scholar of her time. It happened to none other than A'ishah Radilwanha. The incident leading up to the slander happened when A'ishah Radilwanha accompanied Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam during one of his battles. She was carried in a hawdaj, or a covered carrier that was mounted on top of the camel. One night, A'ishah Radilwanha went past the army to answer the call of nature, and on her way back, she noticed she lost her necklace. So A'ishah Radilwanha retraced her steps so that she could find her necklace. Well, A'ishah Radilwanha found her necklace, but she ended up losing the caravan. What happened was A'ishah Radilwanha 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 hawdaj 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 Radilwanhu found A'ishah Radilwanha sleeping and said, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon to wake her up and get her attention. Now Safwan Radilwanhu dismounted his camel and made it kneel so that A'ishah could mount it. In that way, A'ishah Radilwanha 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 Alaihi Wasallam by spreading rumors about his most beloved wife. Now A'ishah Radilwanha 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 Alaihi Wasallam 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 Alaihi Wasallam. 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 Alaihi Wasallam to stay at her parents' house. More time has now passed. Now it's important for us to remember that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam also suffered greatly from this great slander. And although he trusted A'ishah and knew her character,
he hoped to hear from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la revealing Quran, proving her innocence, to clear all doubts in the minds of the people. Yet a whole month passes and Jibreel Alaihi Salam does not bring any revelation. He is advised in the meantime to consult with the one who knows her the best, Bareera, her servant. So Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam called Bareera and said, Oh Bareera, did you ever see anything which roused your suspicion about her? Bareera 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. Now in the meantime, A'ishah 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 Radhiallahu Anha that highlights her trust in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam 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 Alaihi Wasallam says, Oh 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 ask Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance. When Allah's messenger finished his speech, my tears ceased completely and there remains not even a single drop of it. I requested my father to reply to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's messenger on my behalf. My father said, By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. I said to my mother, talk to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's messenger on my behalf Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. She said, By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. I was a young girl and I did not have much knowledge of the Quran.
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'm innocent and Allah knows that I'm innocent, you would not believe me. And if I confess to you falsely that I'm guilty and Allah knows that I'm innocent, you would believe me. By Allah, I don't compare my situation with you except to the situation of Yusuf's father, Yaqub Alaihi Wasallam, who said, Fasaburun 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 and difficult tests of this life. Ibn Abbas Raja Dawan who reported that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam 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'a 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 Aisha's strength, despite this loneliness, becomes more apparent. Aisha 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 Quran. I had hoped that Allah's messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah's messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam had not got up and nobody had left the house before the divine inspiration came to Allah's messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. 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 Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la's messenger was over, he was smiling. And the first word he said was,
Aisha, 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 Alaihi Wasallam. I replied, by Allah, I will not go to him and will not thank but Allah. SubhanAllah, Aisha 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 Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. So Allah revealed, verily they who spread the slander are a gang among you. When Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gave the declaration of my innocence, Abu Bakr, who used to provide for Mistah ibn Uthatha, for he was his relative, said, by Allah, I will never provide Mistah with anything because of what he said about Aisha. 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 Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la 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 Aisha'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. Aisha radi 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 Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. 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, Aisha's story reminds us that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has our back and he is ever watching and aware, and that ultimate justice is with Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. Now tying this back to Maryam Alayhi Salaam's story, Maryam Alayhi Salaam bore the pain of slander and had her honor cleared by the words of baby Isa Alayhi Salaam. Aisha radi 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 Quran. And this reminds us, innama al-usri yusra, that surely with hardship comes ease.
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