Narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when this verse was revealed: {وَالَّذِینَ یَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ یَأْتُوْا بِأَرْبَعَۃِ شُہَدَائَ فَاجْلِدُوہُمْ ثَمَانِینَ جَلْدَۃً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوْا لَہُمْ شَہَادَۃً أَبَدًا} … Those who accuse chaste women and do not produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes and never accept their testimony… The chief of the Ansar, Sayyiduna Sa’d ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him), said: O Messenger of Allah! Has the verse been revealed in this way (as you have recited)? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Ansar! Have you heard what your chief has said? The people said: O Messenger of Allah! Do not blame this chief, for he is a very protective man. His sense of honor is such that he has only married virgin women, and due to the intensity of his honor, none of us dares to marry a woman whom he has divorced. Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! I know that the verse is true and from Allah Almighty, but I am amazed that if, hypothetically, I see my wife reach such baseness that a man commits adultery with her, I would not be allowed to move or provoke (the matter) until I bring four witnesses. By Allah! This will not work; by the time I bring four witnesses, he will have finished his act. This was just a hypothetical matter, but in reality, not much time had passed when Sayyiduna Hilal ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came. He was one of the three companions whose repentance was accepted after they stayed behind from the Battle of Tabuk. It happened that he returned home at night after working on his land and found a stranger with his wife. He saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. He remained calm and did not become agitated. In the morning, he went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I came home at night and found a strange man with my wife, whom I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not like what he said, and this incident was unpleasant for him. The Ansar gathered and said that what Sayyiduna Sa’d ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) had hypothetically presented has become our real test. Now the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will flog Sayyiduna Hilal ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and declare his testimony unacceptable among the Muslims. However, Sayyiduna Hilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I was certain that Allah Almighty would surely make a way out for me. Hilal said: O Messenger of Allah! I see that what I have presented before you is distressing for you, but Allah Almighty knows well that I have spoken the truth. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was about to order the punishment of eighty lashes for false accusation when the revelation began to descend upon him. When the revelation would begin, people would recognize it by the change in his complexion. During the period of revelation, people would keep away from him. Then these blessed verses were revealed: {وَالَّذِینَ یَرْمُونَ أَزْوَاجَہُمْ وَلَمْ یَکُنْ لَہُمْ شُہَدَائُ إِلَّا أَنْفُسُہُمْ فَشَہَادَۃُ أَحَدِہِمْ} … And those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves, then the testimony of one of them should be four testimonies by Allah… After that, the state of revelation was lifted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: O Hilal, glad tidings for you! Allah Almighty has made a way out and a means of protection for you. Sayyiduna Hilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I had complete hope from my Lord that He would surely create a way of deliverance for me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Send for that woman. She was sent for, and she came. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited these verses before both of them and mentioned to them that the punishment of the Hereafter is much more severe than the punishment of this world. Sayyiduna Hilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! O Messenger of Allah! I have spoken the truth about her. The woman said: He has lied. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Perform li’an (mutual cursing) between these spouses. Sayyiduna Hilal was told to testify. He gave four testimonies by Allah Almighty that he was truthful. When he was about to give the fifth testimony, he was told: Fear Allah! The punishment of this world is lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter, and this fifth testimony will make the punishment obligatory upon you. Sayyiduna Hilal said: By Allah! Just as Allah Almighty did not let me be flogged, He will also protect me from punishment and torment. Sayyiduna Hilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said the fifth time: If I am lying, then may the curse of Allah be upon me. Then the woman was told to give four testimonies by Allah Almighty that Hilal is lying. When the woman was about to give the fifth testimony, she was told: Fear Allah! The punishment of this world is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter, and this time, if your testimony is false, the punishment will become obligatory upon you. She paused for a moment, then said: By Allah! I will not disgrace my people, and she proceeded and gave the fifth testimony: May the wrath of Allah be upon me if he is telling the truth. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) separated the two and ruled that the child born after this li’an should not be called by the father’s name, and after this, neither the woman nor her child should be accused or taunted. Whoever taunts the woman or her child will be punished for slander. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that the woman has no right to residence or maintenance from her husband, because they have separated without divorce and without death. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If the woman gives birth to a child with a reddish-white complexion, with little flesh on the shins and buttocks, and thin shins, then he will be Hilal ibn Umayyah’s child. But if the child is wheat-colored, with curly hair, strong joints and limbs, thick shins and buttocks, then the child will be of the one with whom the woman was accused. When the woman gave birth, the child was wheat-colored, with curly hair, and strong joints and limbs, with flesh on the shins and buttocks. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If the matter of li’an had not come between us, there would have been another way between me and this woman. Ikrimah says: That same child was later appointed as the governor of Egypt. He was called by his mother’s name, not by his father’s name.

Saeed bin Jubair (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: I was asked about those who perform li'an (mutual cursing) — whether separation should be enforced between them or not. This was during the governorship of Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with them both). I did not know what answer to give, so I stood up from my place and went towards the house of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). I met him and said: O Abu Abdur Rahman! Should separation be enforced between those who perform li'an? He said: Subhan Allah! How astonishing! This question was first asked by so-and-so, the son of so-and-so. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, if a man sees his wife committing indecency, if he speaks, it is a very grave and unpleasant matter, and if he remains silent, the matter is also very serious. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not give him any answer. After some time, he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: The hypothetical question I asked has now actually happened to me. So Allah Almighty revealed these verses of Surah An-Nur: {وَالَّذِینَ یَرْمُونَ أَزْوَاجَہُمْ … … أَنَّ غَضَبَ اللّٰہِ عَلَیْہَا إِنْ کَانَ مِنْ الصَّادِقِینَ۔} … Those who accuse their wives … if he is truthful, then Allah's wrath descends upon that woman. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the li'an with the man, admonished and reminded him, and informed him that the punishment of this world is much lighter than the punishment of the Hereafter. The man said: By the One Who sent you with the truth, I have not lied to you. After that, the woman was admonished and reminded, and she was warned that the punishment of this world is lighter than that of the Hereafter. The woman also said: By the One Who gave you the truth, he is lying. The man began, he testified four times that he was truthful, and the fifth time he said: May the curse of Allah be upon me if I am lying. Then after that, the woman, in the name of Allah, testified four times that he is among the liars, and the fifth time she said: May the wrath of Allah be upon me if he is truthful. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) enforced separation between the two.