Neckless

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Al-Ifk: Quran Defends Aisha

The incident of al-Ifk is narrated in both Sunni and Shia Tafseer; the incident is also narrated on the popular Shia website, Al-Islam.org. We shall first re-tell the story of al-Ifk and then later shall we authenticate it with Shia Tafseer from Al-Islam.org.


Incident of al-Ifk

On the way back to Medina, the Muslim army stopped for a rest, but then the Prophet unexpectedly ordered the army to continue the march again. Aisha noticed that her onyx necklace was missing so she retraced her steps to find it. When she finally found it and returned to the camp, the Muslim army had already left without her. Her litter was veiled so her absence was not noticed.

Aisha waited for someone to notice she was missing and to come back for her. Fortunately, she did not have to wait long, for a young Muslim man named Safwan, who had fallen behind the army after taking a rest, reached the camp during the night and found her lying fast asleep. Safwan recognized her and escorted her back to the Muslim army and the Prophet.

Unfortunately, some hypocrites who had seen Safwan and Aisha arrive alone together began to gossip and spread slanderous lies about them. Eventually the story reached the Prophet himself and by then the whole community was talking about what might or might not have happened between the two young Muslims. Naturally, the believers were certain that nothing bad had happened, but the Munafiqoon (hypocrites) thought otherwise and were not afraid to insinuate that was the case, accusing the Prophet’s wife of engaging in an adulterous affair.


Aisha’s Feelings are Hurt

The accusations against Aisha hurt her deeply and she soon fell so sick that she asked the Prophet if she could return to her parent’s house until the matter was cleared up. The Prophet then tried to vindicate Aisha’s honor by calling everyone to the mosque and publicly defending her reputation, but the hypocrites who had started the trouble in the first place only made matters worse, so that arguments broke out all over the mosque, and people had almost come to blows over the matter before the Prophet calmed them down and silenced them. The Prophet said to Abdullah ibn Ubayy, leader of the Munafiqoon: “O Muslims, who will deal with a man [i.e. Abdullah ibn Ubayy] who I have heard is speaking in an offensive manner about my family? By Allah, I know nothing but good about my family.” [Bukhari, Muslim]


Ali Defends Aisha

The Prophet was a person with a lot of Gheerah (protective jealousy) which, according to the Sunnah, is considered a good quality in Muslim men. So the Prophet was naturally incensed by the accusations that his wife had slept with another man. These accusations caused him a great deal of agitation. The Companions of the Prophet saw how miserable the Prophet had become over this issue, and so it was that Ali said to him: “O Allah’s Apostle! Allah does not impose restrictions on you, and there are plenty of women other than her. If however, you ask her slave girl, she will tell you the truth!” (Bukhari)

The popular Shia author and scholar Al-Tijani cited this as evidence that Ali told the Prophet to divorce Aisha. He declares that this is recorded in Sunni accounts as well and he off-handedly cites the above Hadith from Bukhari as his “evidence.” This is what we like to call “Half-Hadith-ing” [i.e. using half of a Hadith to “prove” one’s point]. If we look at the other half of the Hadith, we see that it negates Al-Tijani’s claim that Ali told the Prophet to divorce Aisha.


Al-Tijani

Let us see what Al-Tijani, the popular Shia scholar and writer, has to say on the issue. Al-Tijani says: “We may ask a few questions about the war of al-Jamal, which was instigated by Umm al-Mumineen Aishah, who played an important role in it…how could Aishah allow herself to declare war on the caliph of the Muslims, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who was the master of all Muslims? As usual, our scholars, with some simplicity, answer us that she did not like Imam Ali because he advised the Messenger of Allah to divorce her in the incident of al-Ifk…” (Then I was Guided, p. 117)

Ali did not in any way advise the Prophet to divorce Aisha. He merely said that the Prophet could since nobody had greater rights than the Prophet of Allah, but that it would be better if the Prophet just asked Aisha’s slave girl, who was with Aisha most of the time, on the matter of Aisha’s innocence. The slave girl was in the room, and Ali meant to say that all the believers knew Aisha was innocent, even a “lowly” slave girl.

In any case, as we shall see soon, if Ali doubted Aisha and asked the Prophet to divorce her in the incident of al-Ifk, then this would mean that Ali was one of the Munafiqoon. Is this what the Shia are accusing Ali of? The Quran itself would declare anyone who doubted Aisha’s innocence to be a Munafiqh. So this is slander against not only the Prophet’s wife but also against Ali.

Sunnis say Allah defends Aisha verses in 24:11-26 condemning those Munafiqoon who doubted Aisha’s innocence and slandered her honor.

Shia Tafseer

We shall quote straight from the popular Shia website, Al-Islam.org, which contains the authentic Shia Tafseer of Pooya/M.A. Ali. This is the most authentic Shia Tafseer in English, and can be found at the following Shia website: http://www.al-islam.org/quran/

"The particular incident referred to here occurred on the return from the defensive expedition of the Bani Mustaliq in 5-6 Hijra. At one of the halts, A-isha, the Holy Prophet’s wife, withdrew from the camp to cleanse herself in the nearby desert. There she lost her necklace. As it was dark there she took time to discover it. In the meantime the march was ordered. As her litter was veiled, it was not noticed that she was not in it. When she returned to the camp, she could do nothing but wait. She fell asleep. Next morning she was found by Safwan who had been left behind to pick up anything inadvertently left behind. He put her on his camel and brought her, leading the camel on foot. This episode furnished some malicious enemies of the Holy Prophet, particularly the hypocrites, with an opportunity to raise a scandalous storm in order to hurt the feelings of the Holy Prophet. The ringleader among them was the chief of the Madina hypocrites, Abdullah ibn Ubay. Mistah, her uncle, also helped him. Ibn Ubay is referred to as the man who took on himself the lead among them to spread the scandal.

Ali ibn abi Talib knew that it was an obvious lie (as said in verse 12), concocted to hurt the Holy Prophet, so he asked Burayrah, the maid of A-isha, to tell the mischief-makers the truth about her mistress. On Burayrah’s report the scandal was diffused.

People may think it is an insignificant matter to speak lightly of something which damages a person’s character or reputation, but with Allah it is a most serious matter in all cases."

[Pooya/M.A. Ali 24:11]


The very same Shia Tafseer on Al-Islam.org declares that Aisha is not only a Kaffir but rather she is the very leader of the Kufaar [Imam al-Kufr]. Al-Islam.org quotes the Shia Tafseer for verse 9:12 as:

Al-Islam.org says

“According to the Holy Prophet, a-immatal kufr (leaders of infidelity) are also those who opposed and fought against the divinely commissioned Imams of the Ahl ul Bayt…Ali ibn abi Talib had recited this verse at the battle of Jamal and quoted the above noted prophecy of the Holy Prophet."

[Pooya/M.A. Ali 9:12]


In Tafseer Al-Qumi (which is perhaps the most classical of Shia Tafseer), it is said that it is the people whom Ali fought in the Battle of Jamal including Aisha, Talha, and Zubair who are being referred to in this Verse as the “Leaders of Kufr.” This view is also the position of Kashani in his Tafseer Al-Safi, and in other Shia interpretations. The Majma ul Bayan Tafseer also includes Aisha as one of the “Aimmatul Kufr” (Imams of Kufr) along with the Quraish polythiests, the Persian Magians, and the Byzantine Christians.

The Shia Ayatollahs also accuse Aisha of fabricating Hadith which is another act of Kufr. Fabricating Hadith is considered Kufr by both the Sunni and Shia Ulema!


By: Ibn al-Hashimi , www.ahlelbayt.com

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