(the wife of the Prophet peace be upon him) stated that, "Whenever Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) intended to go on a journey, he would
draw lots amongst his wives and would take with him the one upon whom the lot fell.
During a Ghazwa of his, he drew lots amongst us and the lot fell upon me, and I proceeded with him after Allah had decreed the use of the veil by women. I was carried in a Howdah
(on the camel) and dismounted while still in it. When Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) was through with his Ghazwa and returned home, and we approached the city of Medina, Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) ordered us to proceed at night. When the order of setting off was given, I walked till I was past the army to answer the call of nature. After finishing I returned (to the camp) to depart (with the others) and suddenly realized that my necklace over my chest was missing. So, I
returned to look for it and was delayed because of that. The people who used to carry me on the camel, came to my Howdah and put it on the back of the camel, thinking that I was in it, as, at that time, women were light in weight, and thin and lean, and did not use to eat
much.
So, those people did not feel the difference in the heaviness of the Howdah while
lifting it, and they put it over the camel.
At that time I was a young lady. They set the camel moving and proceeded on. I found my necklace after the army had gone, and came to their camp to find nobody. So, I went to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would discover my absence and come back in my search. While in that state, I felt sleepy and
slept.
Safwan bin Mu'attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani (may Allah be pleased with him) was behind the army and reached my abode in the morning. When he saw a sleeping person, he came to me, and he used to see me before veiling. So, I got up when I heard him saying, 'Inna lil-lah-wa inn a ilaihi rajiun (We are for Allah, and we will return to Him).' He made his camel kneel down. He got down from his camel, and put his leg on the front legs of the camel and then I rode and sat over it.
Safwan (R.A) set out walking, leading the camel by the rope till we reached the army who had halted to take rest at midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell into
destruction, (some people accused me falsely) and the leader of the false accusers was
'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. After that we returned to Medina, and I became ill for one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the false accusers. I was
feeling during my ailment as if I were not receiving the usual kindness from the Prophet (peace be upon him) which I used to receive from him when I got sick. But he would come, greet and say, 'How
is that (girl)?' I did not know anything of what was going on till I recovered from my ailment and went out with Um Mistah to the Manasi where we used to answer the call of nature,
and we used not to go to answer the call of nature except from night to night and that was before we had lavatories near to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to the habit of the old 'Arabs in the open country (or away from houses).
So, I and Um Mistah bint Ruhm (R.A) went out walking. Um Mistah (R.A) stumbled because of her long dress and on that she said, 'Let
Mistah be ruined.' I said, 'You are saying a bad word. Why are you abusing a man who took part in (the battle of) Badr?' She said, 'O Hanata (you there) didn't you hear what they
said?' Then she told me the rumors of the false accusers.
My sickness was aggravated, and when I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and
after greeting he said, 'How is that (girl)?' I requested him to allow me to go to my parents.
I wanted then to be sure of the news through them. Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) allowed me, and I went to my parents and asked my mother, 'What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry much about this matter. By Allah, never is there a charming woman
loved by her husband who has other wives, but the women would forge false news about
her.' I said, 'Glorified be Allah! Are the people really taking of this matter?' That night I kept on weeping and could not sleep till morning.
In the morning Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) called Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zaid when he saw the Divine Inspiration delayed, to consult them about divorcing his wife (i.e. 'Aisha (R.A)). Usama bin Zaid (R.A) said what he knew of the good reputation of his wives and added, 'O Allah's Apostle! Keep your wife, for, by Allah, we know nothing about her but good.' 'Ali bin Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah has not imposed restrictions on you, and there are many women other than she, yet you may ask the woman-servant who will tell you the truth.' On that Allah's Apostle called Buraira (R.A) and
said, 'O Buraira. Did you ever see anything which roused your suspicions about her?'
Buraira (R.A) 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.'
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beautiful story.
Links to the previous parts of this post: A Story From the Life of Ayesha (R.A) Part 2
A Story From the Life of Ayesha (R.A) Part 3
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