His saying, Mighty and Majestic: "Successful indeed are the believers" ... [to the end of the verse] [23:1](310) The judge Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan (4) al-Hiri informed us by dictation, saying: Hajib ibn Ahmad al-Tusi informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Abiwardi informed us, saying: Abd al-Razzaq (1) related to us, saying: Yunus ibn Sulaym (2) informed me, saying: Yunus al-Ayli dictated to me, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari, who said: I heard Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, say: When the revelation came down upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), a humming was heard near his face like the humming of bees. We waited for a while, then he turned toward the qiblah, raised his hands and said: "O Allah, give us more and do not give us less. Honor us and do not humiliate us. Give to us and do not deprive us. Prefer us and do not prefer others over us. Make us pleased (3) and be pleased with us." Then he said: "Ten verses have been sent down to me (4). Whoever upholds them will enter Paradise." Then he recited: "Successful indeed are the believers," up to ten verses. Al-Hakim Abu Abdullah recorded it in his "Sahih" (5) from Abu Bakr al-Qati'i, from Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, from his father (6), from Abd al-Razzaq (7).

His saying (Mighty and Majestic is He): "Those who are humble in their prayer" [23:2].(311) Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad al-Attar informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Nu'aym (1) related to us, saying: Ahmad ibn Ya'qub al-Thaqafi related to me, saying: Abu Shu'ayb al-Harrani related to us, saying: My father related to me (2), saying: Isma'il ibn Ulayyah related to us, from Ayyub, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurayrah: that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when he prayed, used to raise his gaze to the sky; so there was revealed: "Those who are humble in their prayer" (3) [23:2].

His saying, Mighty and Majestic: "So blessed is Allah, the best of creators" [23:14].(312) Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hafiz informed us, saying: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Hayyan informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Sulayman informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Suwayd ibn Manjuf narrated to us, saying: Abu Dawud (1) narrated to us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud'an, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I agreed with my Lord in four things. I said: O Messenger of Allah, if only we prayed behind the Station. So Allah Most High sent down: "And take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer" [2:125]. And I said: O Messenger of Allah, if only you set a screen over your wives, for the righteous and the wicked come in to you. So Allah Most High sent down: "And when you ask them for something, ask them from behind a screen" [33:53]. And I said to the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Either you stop, or Allah will give him in exchange wives better than you. So there came down (2): "It may be that his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in exchange wives better than you... [to the end of the verse]" [66:5]. And there came down: "And We created man from an extract of clay" [23:12] up to His saying: "Then We brought him into being as another creation" [23:14]; so I said: So blessed is Allah, the best of creators. So there came down: "So blessed is Allah, the best of creators" (3) [23:14].

His saying (Mighty and Majestic is He): "And We seized them with punishment, yet they did not humble themselves to their Lord, nor do they plead" [23:76](313) Abu al-Qasim ibn Abdan informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Abd (1) Allah ibn Muhammad al-Dabbi (2) related to us, saying: Abu al-Abbas al-Sayyari (3) informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Hatim related to us, saying: Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Shaqiq related to us, saying: al-Husayn ibn Waqid informed us, saying: Yazid al-Nahwi related to me that Ikrimah related to him from Ibn Abbas, who said: Abu Sufyan came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said: O Muhammad, I adjure you by Allah and by kinship, we have eaten 'ilhiz - that is, camel hair with blood - (4). So Allah Most High sent down: "And We seized them with punishment, yet they did not humble themselves to their Lord, nor do they plead" (5) [23:76]. Ibn Abbas said: When Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and accepted Islam while he was a captive, he was set free. He went to al-Yamamah and cut off the people of Makkah from (6) the food supplies from al-Yamamah (7). And Allah Most High seized Quraysh with years (1) of drought until they ate 'ilhiz (2). So Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: I adjure you by Allah and by kinship, do you not claim that you were sent as a mercy to the worlds? He said: "Yes indeed." He said: You have killed the fathers with the sword and the sons with hunger. So Allah Most High sent down this verse (3). Surat al-Nur (1)

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "The fornicator does not marry except a fornicatress or a polytheist... [to the end of the verse]" [24:3].The commentators said (2): The Emigrants came to Madinah (3), and among them were poor men who had no wealth. In Madinah there were prostitutes, fornicating women, who hired themselves out, and at that time they were the most prosperous people of Madinah. Some of the poor Emigrants desired their earnings and said: "If only we married them and lived with them until Allah, Exalted is He, made us free of need of them." They asked (4) the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for permission in that, and this verse was revealed. In it marriage to a fornicatress was forbidden, to protect the believer from that. Ikrimah said (1): The verse was revealed about prostitutes who fornicated openly (2) in Makkah and Madinah. They were many, and among them were nine women with banners; they had banners like the banners of the veterinarian, by which they were known (3): Umm Mahzul (4), the slave-girl of al-Sa'ib ibn Abi al-Sa'ib al-Makhzumi; Umm Ulayt, the slave-girl of Safwan ibn Umayyah; Hannah (5) the Copt, the slave-girl of al-As ibn Wa'il; Muznah (6), the slave-girl of Ibn (7) Malik ibn Amilah (8) ibn al-Sabbaq (9); Jalalah (10), the slave-girl of Suhayl ibn Amr; Umm Suwayd, the slave-girl of Amr ibn Uthman al-Makhzumi; Sharifah (11), the slave-girl of Zam'ah ibn al-Aswad; Farsah (12), the slave-girl of Hisham ibn Rabi'ah; and Fartana (13), the slave-girl of Hilal ibn Anas. Their houses were called "the brothels" in the Age of Ignorance (14). No one entered upon them or came to them except a fornicator from the people of the qiblah or a polytheist from the people of idols. Some of the Muslims wanted to marry them so as to take them as a source of livelihood. So Allah, Exalted is He, sent down this verse, forbade the believers from that, and made it unlawful for them. (314) Abu Salih Mansur ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Bazzar (1) informed us, saying: Abu Amr ibn Hamdan informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Jabbar informed us, saying: Ibrahim ibn Ar'arah related to us, saying: Mu'tamir related to us (2), from his father, from al-Hadrami, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from Abdullah ibn Amr (3): That there was (4) a woman called Umm Mahzul (5) who fornicated, and she would stipulate for the man who married her that she would provide for his upkeep. A man among the Muslims wanted to marry her, and that was mentioned to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this verse was revealed: "And the fornicatress, none marries her except a fornicator or a polytheist" (6) [24:3].

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "And those who accuse their wives ... [to the end of the verse]" [24:6].(315) Abu Uthman Sa'id ibn Muhammad(1) al-Mu'adhdhin informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali al-Hiri informed us, saying: al-Hasan ibn Sufyan informed us, saying: Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah related to us, saying: Yazid ibn Harun related to us, saying: Abbad ibn Mansur related to us, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: When "And those who accuse chaste women and then do not bring four witnesses" [24:4] up to His words "the wicked" [24:4] was revealed, Sa'd ibn Ubadah – the chief of the Ansar – said: Is this how it was revealed, O Messenger of Allah? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "O company of the Ansar, do you not hear what your chief is saying?" They said: O Messenger of Allah, he is a jealous man. By Allah, he never married a woman except a virgin, and(2) he never divorced a woman and then a man among us dared to marry her, because of the intensity of his jealousy. Sa'd said: By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I know that it is true and that it is from Allah, but I am astonished that if I found a vile woman with a man lying between her thighs, I would not be allowed to disturb him or move him until I brought four witnesses. By Allah, I would not bring them until he had finished his business. He said:(3) They had waited only a little while when Hilal ibn Umayyah came from his land in the evening(4) and found a man with his wife. He saw with his eye and heard with his ear, but he did not disturb him until morning. In the morning he went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I came to my wife in the evening and found a man with her. I saw with my eye and heard with my ear. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) disliked what he had brought, and it weighed heavily on him. Sa'd ibn Ubadah said: Now the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) will flog Hilal ibn Umayyah and annul his testimony among the Muslims. Hilal said: By Allah, I hope that Allah will make a way out for me from this. Hilal said: O Messenger of Allah, I see how heavily what I have brought you weighs on you, but Allah knows that I am truthful. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was about to order that he be flogged when the revelation came down upon him. When the revelation came down upon him they knew it by the change in the color of his skin, so they held back from him until the revelation was finished. Then there was revealed: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves" [24:6], all of the verses. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was relieved and said: "Rejoice, O Hilal, for Allah has made relief and a way out for you." Hilal said: I had hoped for that from my Lord. And he mentioned the rest of the hadith (1). (316) Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Faqih informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Muhammad (1) ibn Sinan al-Muqri' informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Ali ibn al-Muthanna (2) informed us, saying: Abu Khaythamah related to us, saying: Jarir related to us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim, from Alqamah, from Abdullah, who said: We were in the mosque on the night of Friday when a man of the Ansar came in and said: If a man found a man with his wife (3) and spoke, you would flog him; and if (4) he killed, you would kill him; and if (5) he kept silent, he would keep silent in rage. By Allah, I will ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about it. The next day he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him, saying: If a man found a man with his wife and spoke, you would flog him; and if (6) he killed, you would kill him; and if (7) he kept silent, he would keep silent in rage. The Messenger of Allah (8) said: "O Allah, open a way," and he began to supplicate. Then the verse of li'an was revealed: "And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves ... [to the end of the verse]" [24:6]. Then that man, of all people, was tried with it. He and his wife came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and they invoked the curse upon each other. The man bore witness four times by Allah that he was of the truthful, then the fifth time he invoked that the curse of Allah be upon him if he was of the liars. Then she went to invoke the curse, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Stop!" But she invoked it. When she turned away he said: "Perhaps she will give birth to a black, curly-haired child." And she gave birth to a black, curly-haired child. Muslim recorded it(9) from Abu Khaythamah.

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "Indeed, those who came with the slander are a group among you ..." [to the end of the verses] [24:11].(317) Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Muqri informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali al-Muqri informed us, saying: Abu Ya'la(1) related to us, saying: Abu al-Rabi'(2) al-Zahrani related to us, saying: Fulayh ibn Sulayman al-Madani related to us, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Alqamah ibn Waqqas, and Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah, from Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), concerning when the people of the slander said about her what they said, and Allah, Exalted is He, cleared her of it(1). Al-Zuhri said: Each of them related to me a portion(2) of her account. Some of them retained her account better than others and were more exact in relating it. I retained from each one the account he related to me, and parts of their accounts confirm one another. They mentioned that Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him)(3), said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) intended a journey, he would cast lots among his wives, and whichever of them's lot came out, he would take her out with him(4). Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: He cast lots among us for an expedition he undertook, and my lot came out. So I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and that was after the verse of the veil had been revealed. I was carried in my litter and set down in it. We travelled(5) until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) finished his expedition(6) and turned back. When we had drawn near Medina, he announced the departure one night. I got up when they announced the departure and walked until I had passed beyond the army. When I had finished my business, I came back toward the camp. I felt my chest, and found that a necklace of mine of Zafar onyx had broken. So I went back and searched for my necklace, and seeking it kept me back. The party who used to saddle my mount for me(7) came and lifted my litter and set it on the camel I used to ride, thinking that I was in it. Aishah said(8): Women in those days were light; they had not grown heavy(9) and flesh had not covered them, for they ate only a little(10) food. So the people did not find the litter odd in its weight when they set it up and lifted it. I was a young girl. They drove the camel off and went on. I found my necklace after the army had gone on. I came to their camping-place, and there was no one there to call and no one to answer. So I made for the place where I had been, thinking that the people would miss me and come back for me. While I was sitting in my place, my eyes overcame me and I slept. Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami, then al-Dhakwani, had halted for the night behind the army. He set out in the last part of the night and reached my place in the morning. He saw the dark form of a sleeping person and came to me, and he recognised me when he saw me, for he had seen me before the veil was imposed on me. I woke at his saying "Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return" when he recognised me, and I covered my face with my outer garment. By Allah, he did not speak a word to me, nor did I hear a word from him other than his saying "Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return," until he made his camel kneel and stepped on its foreleg, and I mounted it. He set off leading the camel with me until we reached the army after they had halted in the full heat of midday(1). Then those who were ruined were ruined on my account, and the one who took the chief part in it among them was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. We came to Medina, and when I came there I fell ill for a month. The people were spreading the talk of the people of the slander, and I was aware of none of it. What troubled me in my illness was that I did not see from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the kindness I used to see from him when I was ill. He would only come in, give the greeting, and then say: "How is that one of yours?" That grieved me, but I was not aware of the evil. Then I went out after I had begun to recover, and Umm Mistah went out with me toward al-Manasi', which was(2) our place for relieving ourselves. We would only go out at night, from one night to the next, and that was before we had set up privies near our houses. Our practice was that of the early Arabs in going out to the open, and we found it distasteful to set up privies near our houses. So I set off with Umm Mistah—she was the daughter of Abu Ruhm ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Abd Manaf, and her mother was the daughter of Sakhr ibn Amir, the maternal aunt of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and her son was Mistah ibn Uthathah ibn Abbad ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The daughter of Abu Ruhm and I came back toward my house when we had finished our business, and Umm Mistah stumbled in her cloak and said: "May Mistah perish!" I said to her: "What a bad thing you have said! Do you curse a man who was present at Badr?" She said: "O you simple one, have you not heard what he said?" I said: "What did he say?" So she told me the talk of the people of the slander, and I grew sicker on top of my sickness. When I returned to my house, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came in to me, gave the greeting, and said: "How is that one of yours?" I said: "Will you permit me to go to my parents?" She said: I wished at that time to make sure of the report from them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave me permission, and I came to my parents(1) and said: "Mother, what are the people talking about?" She said: "My daughter, take it easy on yourself. By Allah, seldom has there been a beautiful woman with a man who has co-wives but that they have said much against her." She said: I said: "Glory be to Allah! Have the people really talked of this?"(2) She said: I wept that night until morning; my tears did not cease and I did not taste sleep. Then in the morning I was still weeping. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called Ali ibn Abi Talib and Usamah ibn Zayd, when the revelation was delayed, to consult them about separating from his wife. As for Usamah ibn Zayd, he advised the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) according to what he knew of the innocence of his wife and of the affection he knew in himself for them. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, she is your wife, and we know nothing but good." As for Ali ibn Abi Talib, he said: "Allah, Exalted is He, has not made things narrow for you; there are many women besides her. And if you ask the slave-girl, she will tell you the truth." She said: So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called Barirah and said: "O Barirah, have you seen anything of Aishah that makes you doubt?" Barirah said: "By Him who sent you with the truth, I have never(3) seen anything in her that I could hold against her(4), other than that she is a young girl who falls asleep over her family's dough, and the household animal comes and eats it." She said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up and sought to be excused regarding Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. He said, while on the pulpit: "O company of Muslims, who will excuse me of a man whose harm against my family has reached me? For by Allah, I have known nothing but good of my family. And they have mentioned a man of whom I have known nothing but good, and he never entered upon my family except with me." Sa'd ibn Mu'adh al-Ansari stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will excuse you of him. If he is from al-Aws, I will strike off his neck; and if he is from our brothers of al-Khazraj, command us and we will carry out your command." She said: Then Sa'd ibn Ubadah stood up—he was the chief of al-Khazraj, and he was a righteous man, but tribal zeal carried him away—and said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh: "You lie! By the life of Allah, you will not kill him, nor are you able to kill him." Then Usayd ibn Hudayr, the cousin of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, stood up and said to Sa'd ibn Ubadah: "You lie! By the life of Allah, we will certainly kill him. You are(1) a hypocrite arguing on behalf of the hypocrites." The two clans, al-Aws and al-Khazraj, rose up until they were about to fight, while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was standing on the pulpit. He kept calming them(2) until they fell silent, and he fell silent. She said: I wept that day; my tears did not cease and I did not taste sleep. My parents thought that the weeping would split my liver. She said: While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, a woman of the Ansar asked permission to come in to me. I gave her permission, and she sat down weeping with me. She said: While we were in that state, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came in to us, gave the greeting(3), and sat down. He had not sat with me(4) since what was said about me was said, and he had waited a month with nothing being revealed to him concerning my affair. She said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pronounced the testimony of faith when he sat down, then said: "Now then, Aishah, such-and-such has reached me about you. If you are innocent, Allah will clear you. And if you have fallen into a sin, then ask Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him, for when a servant confesses his sin and then repents, Allah accepts his repentance." She said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) finished what he had to say, my tears dried up until I did not feel a drop of them. I said to my father: "Answer the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on my behalf for what he has said." He said: "By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." I said to my mother: "Answer the Messenger of Allah on my behalf(1)." She said(2): "By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." So I said—and I was a young girl who did not read much of the Qur'an: "By Allah, I know that you have heard this, and it has(3) settled in your hearts, and you have believed(4) it. If I say to you that I am innocent—and Allah knows that I am innocent—you will not believe me in that. And if I confess to you something—while Allah knows that I am innocent of it—you will believe me(5). By Allah, I find no likeness for me and you except what the father of Yusuf said: 'So patience is most fitting, and Allah is the One whose help is sought against what you describe' [12:18]." She said: Then I turned away and lay down on my bed. She said: By Allah, at that time I knew that I was innocent and that Allah would clear me by my innocence. But, by Allah, I did not think that revelation to be recited would be sent down concerning my affair. My affair was too insignificant in my own eyes for Allah, Exalted is He, to speak about me with something to be recited. But I hoped that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would see a vision in his sleep by which Allah, Exalted is He, would clear me(6). She said: By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had not left his place, nor had anyone of the household gone out, when Allah, Exalted is He, sent down revelation upon His Prophet (peace be upon him). He was seized by what used to seize him of distress at revelation, so that something like pearls of sweat ran down from him on a winter's day, from the weight of the words sent down to him in revelation(1). She said: When it was lifted from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)—it was lifted from him while he was laughing—the first(2) word he spoke was to say: "Good news(3), Aishah! By Allah, Allah has cleared you." My mother said to me: "Get up and go to him." I said: "By Allah, I will not get up and go to him, and I will praise none but Allah; it is He who has cleared me." She said: Then Allah, Exalted is He, sent down: "Indeed, those who came with the slander are a group among you" [24:11], the ten verses. When Allah, Exalted is He, sent down these verses concerning my innocence, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq—who used to spend on Mistah because of his kinship and his poverty—said: "By Allah, I will never spend anything on him again after what he said about Aishah." She said: Then Allah, Exalted is He, sent down: "And let not those of virtue and plenty among you swear against giving to the near of kin" up to His words: "Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" [24:22]. Abu Bakr said: "By Allah, I do love that Allah should forgive me." So he restored to Mistah the maintenance he used to spend on him and said: "I will never take it away from him." Al-Bukhari(4) and Muslim(5) recorded it, both from Abu al-Rabi' al-Zahrani.

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "And why, when you heard it, did you not say: It is not for us to speak of this ..." [24:16].(318) Abu(1) Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hamid al-Adl informed us, saying: Abu Bakr ibn Zakariyya informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Daghuli related to us, saying: Abu Bakr ibn Abi Khaythamah informed us, saying: al-Haytham ibn Kharijah related to us, saying: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman(2) ibn Yazid ibn Jabir related to us, saying: I heard Ata al-Khurasani, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, that Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, related to him the story of the slander, and said in it: When Abu Ayyub al-Ansari's wife told him, she said: O Abu Ayyub, have you not heard what the people are saying? He said: What are they saying? So she told him what the people of the slander were saying. He said: It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to You! This is a great slander. She(3) said: So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent down: "And why, when you heard it, did you not say: It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to You! This is a great slander"(4) [24:16]. (319) Abu Sa'id Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan(1) informed us, saying: Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Malik informed us, saying: Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal related to us, saying: My father(2) related to me, saying: Abd al-Razzaq related to us, saying: Ma'mar related to us, from Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Khuthaym, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from Dhakwan, the freed slave of Aishah: that he asked permission for Ibn Abbas to come in to Aishah while she was dying, and with her was her brother's son Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman. He said: Here is Ibn Abbas asking permission to come in to you, and he is among the best of your sons. She said: Spare me Ibn Abbas and his praise. Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman said to her: He is a reciter of the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and learned in the religion of Allah. So give him permission, that he may greet you and bid you farewell. She(1) said: Then give him permission, if you wish. So he gave him permission, and Ibn Abbas came in and greeted her, then sat down(2) and said: "Rejoice, O Mother of the Believers! By Allah, nothing stands between you and the departure of every hurt and weariness – or he said, pain – and your meeting the beloved ones, Muhammad and his party – or he said, and his Companions – except that the soul leave your body(3). You were the most beloved of the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to him, and he would love only what is good. Allah Most High sent down your innocence from above seven heavens, so there is no mosque on earth in which it is not recited through the hours of the night and the day. Your necklace fell on the night of al-Abwa, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) stayed at the halting place, with the people with him, searching for it – or he said, [in](4) seeking it – until the people(5) reached morning without water. So Allah Most High sent down(6): "Then perform tayammum with clean earth ... [to the end of the verse]" [4:43]. So in that there was a dispensation for all people, because of you. By Allah, you are indeed blessed." She said: Spare me this, O Ibn Abbas. By Allah, I wish I had been a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten(7).

His saying, Mighty and Majestic: "O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your own houses ... [to the end of the verse]" [24:27](320) Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha'labi informed us, saying: al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah (1) al-Dinawari informed us, saying: Abdullah ibn Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Malik related to us, saying: al-Husayn ibn Sakhtawayh (2) informed us, saying: Umar (3) ibn Thawr and Ibrahim ibn Sufyan related to us, both saying: Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firyabi (4) related to us, saying: Qays related to us, from Ash'ath ibn Sawwar, from Adi ibn Thabit, who said: A woman of the Ansar came and said: O Messenger of Allah, I am sometimes in my house in a state in which I do not like anyone to see me, neither father nor son. Then my father comes and enters upon me, and there is always some man of my family coming in (5) upon me while I am in that state. So what should I do? Then this verse was revealed: "Do not enter houses other than your own houses until you have asked permission and greeted their people ... [to the end of the verse]" (6) [24:27]. The commentators said: When this verse was revealed, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, what about the inns and lodgings on the roads of Syria, in which there is no resident? So Allah, Exalted is He, revealed: "There is no blame on you if you enter houses that are not lived in ... [to the end of the verse]" (7) [24:29].

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "And those of your slaves who seek a contract of emancipation, write it for them ..." [to the end of the verse] [24:33].It was revealed concerning a slave of Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza called Subayh(1). He asked his master to write him a contract of emancipation, but he refused him. So Allah, Exalted is He, sent down this verse, and Huwaytib wrote him a contract for one hundred dinars and gave him twenty dinars of it as a gift. He paid it off, and he was killed on the day of Hunayn in the battle.(2)

His saying, Mighty and Majestic: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution if they desire chastity ..." [24:33].(321) Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qadi informed us, saying: Hajib ibn Ahmad al-Tusi(3) informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Hamdan narrated to us, saying: Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, who said: Abdullah ibn Ubayy used to say to a slave-girl of his: "Go and get us something." So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent down: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution" up to His saying: "Forgiving, Merciful" [24:33]. Muslim recorded it (4) from Abu Kurayb, from Abu Mu'awiyah. (322) Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Hamdun informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, saying: Isma'il ibn Abi Uways narrated to us, saying: Malik narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Umar ibn Thabit: that this verse, "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution" [24:33], was sent down about Mu'adhah, the slave-girl of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn (1) Salul (2). (323) And with this chain from Muhammad ibn Yahya, who said: Ayyash(3) ibn al-Walid narrated to us, saying: Abd al-A'la narrated to us, saying: Muhammad(4) ibn Ishaq narrated to us, saying: al-Zuhri narrated to me, from Umar ibn Thabit, who said: Mu'adhah was a slave-girl of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul (5). She was a Muslim, and he(6) used to compel her to prostitution. So Allah Most High sent down: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution ..." [24:33] to the end of the verse (7). (324) Sa'id ibn Muhammad al-Mu'adhdhin informed us, saying: Abu Ali al-Faqih informed us, saying: Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi informed us, saying: Dawud ibn Amr narrated to us, saying: Mansur ibn Abi al-Aswad narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Nadrah(1), from Jabir, who said: Abdullah ibn Ubayy had a slave-girl called Musaykah, and he used to compel her to prostitution. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent down: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution ..." [24:33] to the end of the verse (2). The commentators(4) said(3): The verse (5) was sent down about Mu'adhah and Musaykah, the two slave-girls of Abdullah ibn Ubayy the hypocrite. He used to compel them to fornication for a levy he took from them. That is what they used to do in the Age of Ignorance: they hired out their slave-girls. When Islam came, Mu'adhah (6) said to Musaykah: "This matter we are in can only be one of two things: if it is good, we have had plenty of it, and if it is evil, it is time for us to leave it." So Allah Most High sent down: "And do not compel your slave-girls ..." [to the end of the verse] (7). Muqatil said: It was sent down about six slave-girls of Abdullah ibn Ubayy - he used to compel them to fornication and take their earnings - and they were: Mu'adhah, Musaykah, Umaymah, Amrah, Arwa, and Qutaylah. One day one of them came to him with a dinar, and another came with a cloak(1), and he said to the two of them: "Go back and fornicate." They said: "By Allah, we will not. Allah has brought us Islam and has forbidden fornication." So they went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and complained to him. Then Allah Most High sent down this verse (2). (325) The Hakim Abu Amr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz informed us - in what he wrote to me - that Ahmad ibn al-Fadl al-Haddadi (3) informed them, from Muhammad ibn Yahya, who said: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim informed us, saying: Abd al-Razzaq(4) informed us, saying: Ma'mar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri: that a man of Quraysh was taken captive on the day of Badr, and he was held captive with Abdullah ibn Ubayy. Abdullah had a slave-girl called Mu'adhah. The Qurashi captive kept trying to seduce her, and she refused him because of her Islam (5). Ibn Ubayy used to compel her to that and beat her, hoping she would become pregnant by the Qurashi, so that he could demand ransom for his child. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution if they desire chastity" up to His saying: "Forgiving, Merciful" [9:33]. He said: I forgive(6) them what they were compelled to (7).

His saying, Mighty and Majestic: "And when they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them" ... [to the end of the verse] [24:48].The commentators said (1): This verse and the one after it were revealed (2) about Bishr the hypocrite and his Jewish opponent, when they disputed over a piece of land. The Jew kept dragging him (3) to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) so that he might judge between them, while the hypocrite kept dragging him to Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, saying: Muhammad wrongs us. This story has already been given at His saying: "They wish to take their disputes to the false god (taghut)" in Surat al-Nisa [4:60].

His words, Exalted and Majestic: "Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds ... [to the end of the verse]"[24:55] Al-Rabi ibn Anas related from Abu al-Aliyah, concerning this verse, who said(4) : The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stayed in Makkah for ten years—after revelation had come(1) to him—in fear, he and his Companions, calling to Allah secretly and openly. Then he was commanded to emigrate to Madinah, and there they were in fear: they woke in arms and went to sleep in arms. A man from his Companions said: O Messenger of Allah, will there ever come upon us a day when we are safe and lay down our arms? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "You will not(2) wait but a little while before a man among you sits in a great assembly, his garment wrapped about his knees(3), with no(4) iron weapon among them." So Allah, Exalted is He, sent down: "Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds..." [24:55] to the end of the verse. Then Allah, Exalted is He, gave His Prophet (peace be upon him) victory over the Arabian Peninsula, so they laid down their arms and were safe. Then Allah, Exalted is He, took His Prophet (peace be upon him), and they remained safe in the same way during the rule of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, until they fell into what they fell into and were ungrateful for the blessing(5). So Allah brought fear upon them; they changed, and so Allah changed what was with them(6). (326) Ismail ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Naqib informed us, saying: My grandfather informed us, saying: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Nasrabadhi informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Said al-Darimi related to us, saying: Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Waqid related to us, saying: My father related to us, from al-Rabi ibn Anas, from Abu al-Aliyah, from Ubayy ibn Kab, who said(1): When the Messenger of Allah(2) (peace be upon him) and his Companions came to Madinah and the Ansar gave them shelter, the Arabs shot at them from a single bow. So they did not pass the night except in arms, nor wake except in their armor(3). They said: Do you think we shall live to pass the night safe and at ease, fearing none but Allah, Exalted and Majestic? So Allah, Exalted is He, sent down: "Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds" up to His words "and whoever disbelieves after that, those are the defiantly disobedient" [24:55]—that is, [disbelief] in the blessing. Al-Hakim recorded it(4) in his "Sahih"(5) from Muhammad ibn Salih ibn Hani, from Abu Said ibn Shadhan, from al-Darimi.

His saying (mighty and majestic is He): "O you who believe, let those whom your right hands possess and those among you who have not yet reached puberty ask your permission... [to the end of the verse]" [24:58].Ibn Abbas said (1): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent a boy from the Ansar, called Mudlij ibn Amr, to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) at the time of the midday heat, to call him. He entered (2) and saw Umar in a state in which Umar disliked being seen. So he said: O Messenger of Allah, I wish that Allah, exalted is He, had commanded us and forbidden us concerning asking permission. So Allah, exalted is He (3), sent down this verse. Muqatil said (4): It was revealed about Asma bint Marthad. She had a grown slave boy who came in to her at a time she disliked. So she came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said: Our servants and our slave boys come in to us in a state we dislike. So Allah (mighty and majestic is He) sent down this verse.

His words (Mighty and Majestic): "There is no blame on the blind ..." [to the end of the verse] [24:61].Ibn Abbas said(5): When Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent down: "O you who believe, do not consume one another's wealth wrongfully" [4:29], the Muslims felt uneasy about eating together with the sick, the infirm, the blind and the lame. They said: Food is the best of wealth, and Allah, Exalted, has forbidden us (6) to consume wealth wrongfully. The blind man cannot see where the good food is, the lame man cannot push his way to the food, and the sick man cannot take his full share of the food. So Allah, Exalted, sent down this verse. Said ibn Jubayr and al-Dahhak said: The lame and the blind used to keep away from eating with the healthy, because people found them repulsive and disliked eating with them. The people of Madinah would let no blind, lame or sick person join them at their food, out of disgust. So Allah, Exalted, sent down this verse.(1) Mujahid said(2): This verse (3) was sent down as a dispensation for the sick and the infirm to eat in the houses of those whom Allah, Exalted, named in this verse. That was because some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when they had nothing with which to feed them, would take them to the houses of their fathers and mothers or of some of those whom Allah, Exalted, named in this verse. The infirm would feel uneasy about (4) eating that food, because those who fed them were not its owners, and they would say: They are only taking us to other people's houses. So Allah, Exalted, sent down this verse. (327) Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn al-Fadl al-Tajir informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, saying: Ismail ibn Abi Uways narrated to us, saying: Malik narrated to me(1), from Ibn Shihab, from Said ibn al-Musayyab, that he used to say about this verse: It was sent down about some people who, when they went out with the Prophet (peace be upon him), would leave the keys of their houses with the blind, the lame and the sick, and with their relatives. They would tell them to eat from what was in their houses when they needed to. But they would hold back from eating from it, saying: We fear that they may not truly be content with that. So Allah, Exalted, sent down this verse (2).

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "There is no blame on you whether you eat together or separately" [24:61].Qatadah and al-Dahhak said: It was revealed about a clan of Kinanah called Banu Layth ibn Amr. They were scrupulous about a man eating food alone. A man might sit with the food in front of him from morning until evening, while the she-camels(3) had full udders(4) and conditions were in good order, out of scruple against eating alone. Then when evening came and he found no one, he would eat. So Allah, Exalted is He, sent down this verse (5). Ikrimah said(1): It was revealed about some people of the Ansar who, when a guest stayed with them, would not eat except together with their guest. So they were given leave (2) to eat however they wished: together, gathered in a circle(3), or separately, apart from one another. Surat al-Furqan

His words (mighty and majestic is He): "Blessed is He who, if He wills, will give you better than that ... [to the end of the verse]" [25:10](328) Ahmad ibn Muhammad(4) ibn Ibrahim al-Muqri informed us, saying: Ahmad ibn Abi al-Furat (5) informed us, saying: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Bukhari informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Humayd ibn Farqad (6) informed us, saying: Ishaq ibn Bishr related to us, saying: Juwaybir (7) related to us, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn Abbas (8), who said: When the idolaters taunted the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with his poverty, and said: "What is this messenger, who eats food and walks in the markets?" [25:7](9), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) grieved at that (10). So Jibril (peace be upon him) came down from his Lord to console him, and said: Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. The Lord of Might sends you greetings of peace and says to you: "And We did not send before you any messengers but that they ate food and walked in the markets" [25:20], that is, they sought their livelihood in this world. He said: While Jibril (peace be upon him) and the Prophet (peace be upon him) were talking, Jibril (peace be upon him) melted away(1) until he became like a hurdah (2). It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what is a hurdah? He said: A lentil. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "What is the matter with you, that you have melted away until you have become like a lentil?" He said: O Muhammad, a gate among the gates of heaven has been opened which had not(3) been opened before this day, and I fear that your people will be punished for taunting you with poverty. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and Jibril then both wept, when Jibril (peace be upon him) returned to his former state and said: Good news, O Muhammad. This is Ridwan, the keeper of Paradise, who has come to you with good pleasure from your Lord. Ridwan came forward and gave greetings of peace, then said: O Muhammad, the Lord of Might sends you greetings of peace - and he had with him a casket of glittering light - and your Lord says to you: These are the keys of the treasuries of this world, together with the assurance that nothing of what is yours with Me in the Hereafter will be diminished by so much as the wing of a gnat. The Prophet (peace be upon him) looked at Jibril (peace be upon him) as if seeking his counsel(4), and Jibril struck the ground with his hand and said: Be humble before Allah. So he said: O Ridwan, I have no need of it. Poverty is dearer to me, and that I should be a patient, grateful servant. Ridwan (peace be upon him) said: You have chosen rightly; may Allah grant rightness through you. Then a call came from heaven, and Jibril (peace be upon him) raised his head, and there were the heavens with their gates opened up to the Throne. Allah, exalted is He, revealed to the Garden of Eden to let down one of its branches, bearing a cluster, on which was a chamber of green chrysolite with seventy thousand gates of red ruby. Jibril (peace be upon him) said: O Muhammad, raise your eyes. He raised them and saw the dwellings of the prophets and their chambers, and there were his dwellings above the dwellings of the prophets, as a favour for him alone. And a caller called: Are you pleased, O Muhammad? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I am pleased. So make what You wished to give me in this world a store laid up with You for intercession on the Day of Resurrection." They hold(1) that Ridwan brought down this verse, namely His words(2): "Blessed is He who, if He wills, will give you better than that: gardens beneath which rivers flow, and will give you palaces" [25:10].

The words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "And the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands ..." [to the end of the verse] [25:27].Ibn Abbas said, in the report of Ata al-Khurasani(3): Ubayy ibn Khalaf used to attend the Prophet (peace be upon him), sit with him and listen to his words without believing in him. Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt rebuked him for that. So this verse was revealed. Al-Shabi said(4): Uqbah was a close friend of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Uqbah accepted Islam, and Umayyah said(5): "My face is forbidden to your face if you follow(6) Muhammad." So he disbelieved(7) and apostatised to please Umayyah, and Allah, Exalted is He, sent down this verse. Others said: Ubayy ibn Khalaf and Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt were sworn allies(1). Whenever Uqbah returned from a journey he would prepare a meal and invite the nobles of his people to it, and he often sat with the Prophet (peace be upon him). One day he returned from a journey, prepared a meal, invited the people and invited the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to his meal. When they brought(2) the food near, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "I will not eat from your food until you bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah." Uqbah said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ate from his food. Ubayy ibn Khalaf was absent, and when he was told what had happened he said: "Have you turned Sabian, Uqbah?" He said: "No, by Allah(3). But a man came in to me and refused to eat of my food unless I bore witness for him. I was ashamed(4) that he should leave my house without eating, so I bore witness for him and he ate." Ubayy said: "I will never be pleased with you unless you go to him, spit in his face and tread on his neck." Uqbah did that, and he took the entrails of an animal and threw them between his shoulders. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "I will not find you outside Makkah without raising the sword over your head." Uqbah was killed on the day of Badr as a captive. As for Ubayy ibn Khalaf, the Prophet (peace be upon him) killed him on the day of Uhud in single combat. Allah, Exalted is He, sent down this verse about the two of them(5) Al-Dahhak said(1): When Uqbah spat in the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), his spittle came back onto his own face and split into two streams(2), burning his cheeks. The mark of it remained on him until his death.