Heavenly Testimony
Whenever revelation descended upon the Prophet ﷺ, signs of difficulty would appear on his blessed face.
As soon as Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه noticed this, he covered the Prophet ﷺ with a cloth and placed a pillow beneath his blessed head.
Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها said:
«“When I saw the signs of revelation upon the Prophet ﷺ, I did not feel any anxiety because I was innocent. However, overwhelming fear had seized my parents.”»
Eventually, the effects of revelation came to an end.
At that time, the Prophet ﷺ was smiling, and drops of perspiration were shining on his forehead. Two drops appeared like pearls.
The first words he ﷺ said at that time were:
«“‘A’ishah! Allah Almighty has declared you innocent.”»
On this occasion, Allah Almighty revealed verses from Surah al-Nur:
Translation:
«“Indeed, those who brought forth this great slander are a group among you. Do not think it is bad for you; rather, it is good for you in the end. Every person among them will have the share of sin that he earned, and the one who took the greatest part in it (‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy) will have a severe punishment.
“Why, when you heard it, did the believing men and believing women not think well of their own people and say, ‘This is clearly a lie’?
“Why did they not produce four witnesses for their accusation? Since they did not produce four witnesses, then they are liars in the sight of Allah.
“And had it not been for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been touched by a great punishment because of what you engaged in.
“When you were passing it from one tongue to another and saying with your mouths something of which you had no knowledge, and you considered it insignificant, while it was very serious in the sight of Allah.
“And why, when you heard it, did you not say, ‘It is not appropriate for us to speak of such a thing. Glory be to You! This is a tremendous slander.’
“Allah instructs you never to return to anything like this, if you are believers.
“Allah makes His commandments clear to you, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
“Indeed, those who love that immorality should spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. Allah knows, and you do not know.
“And O you who repent! If it were not for Allah’s favor and mercy upon you—and Allah is Most Kind, Most Merciful—you would not have been saved from the warning.”»
(Surah al-Nur, verses 11–20)
Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها said that before these verses were revealed, she had seen a dream.
In the dream, a young man asked her:
«“What is wrong? Why do you remain sad?”»
She told him that she was distressed because of what people were doing.
The young man then said:
«“Pray in these words:»
«‘O You who complete blessings, who remove sorrows that have come upon us, who remove difficulties, who bring us out of the darkness of calamities, who are the Most Just of all judges, and who take revenge upon the oppressor; O First and O Last! Remove this difficulty from me and make a way of relief for me.’”»
After hearing the supplication, I said:
«“Very good.”»
Then I woke up.
I supplicated in these words, and after that, the doors of my innocence were opened for me.
Among those who had spread the accusation was Mistah رضي الله عنه.
Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه used to take care of him and had supported and raised him.
Yet he too became involved in spreading the accusation.
When Allah Almighty declared Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها innocent, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه expelled Mistah رضي الله عنه from his home and said:
«“By Allah, from now on I will never spend my wealth on you, nor will I ever treat you with love and kindness.”»
Upon this, Allah Almighty revealed the following verse from Surah al-Nur:
Translation:
«“Those among you who possess virtue and abundance should not swear that they will no longer give to relatives, the needy, and those who migrate in the way of Allah. Rather, they should pardon and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”»
Upon the revelation of this verse, the Noble Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه:
«“Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?”»
Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه replied:
«“By Allah, certainly I wish that I be forgiven.”»
He then went to Mistah رضي الله عنه.
He resumed the allowance that he had stopped giving him.
Not only did he resume it, but he doubled it and said:
«“From now on, I will never stop Mistah’s allowance.”»
He also offered the expiation for his oath.
During this same expedition, Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها lost her necklace twice.
The first time she lost it, everyone remained behind while searching for it.
During this time, the morning prayer became due.
At that moment, the Muslims were not near any spring, and therefore there was a shortage of water.
When the people began experiencing difficulty, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه reprimanded Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها.
At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sleeping with his head resting in Hazrat ‘A’ishah’s lap.
Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said to Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها:
«“You have delayed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and all the people. There is no water here for the people, nor is there any spring nearby.”»
As he said this, Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه tapped his daughter on her back while continuing to say:
«“Girl! You become a cause of difficulty during travel. The people do not have even a little water.”»
Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها said:
«“On this occasion, I kept my body completely still because the Noble Prophet ﷺ was sleeping with his head resting on my thigh.»
«“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ was asleep, no one would wake him. He would wake up by himself, because no one knew what was happening with him during that sleep.»
«“Eventually, the Prophet ﷺ woke up at the time of prayer.»
«“He ﷺ asked for water to perform ablution, but he was told that there was no water.»
«“At that moment, Allah Almighty revealed the verse concerning Tayammum.”»
Upon this, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه said:
«“My daughter! As you yourself know, you truly are blessed.”»
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
«“‘A’ishah! How blessed your necklace is!”»
Hazrat Usayd ibn Hudayr رضي الله عنه said:
«“O family of Abu Bakr! This is not your first blessing. May Allah reward you with goodness. Whenever something unpleasant happens to you, Allah Almighty creates goodness for the Muslims through it as well.”»
Hazrat ‘A’ishah رضي الله عنها said:
«“While searching for the necklace, we lifted the camel upon which I had been riding, and we found the necklace underneath it.”»
In other words, because of this incident, the Muslims were granted the facility of Tayammum.
Before this, the Muslims did not know about Tayammum.
After this incident, when the journey continued, the incident of the conspiracy of the hypocrites took place, which you have read about earlier.
In the same year, a lunar eclipse occurred.
The Prophet ﷺ performed Salat al-Khusuf, that is, the prayer for the lunar eclipse.
At that time, the Jews were beating drums loudly and saying:
«“The moon has been bewitched.”»