It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that while relating the incident of Ifk (the slander), she said: By Allah! It never occurred to me that revelation would be sent down concerning me. I considered my matter too insignificant for Allah, the Exalted, to speak about it Himself, and then for that speech to be recited. Yes, I did hope that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would see a dream about me, through which Allah would declare my innocence. By Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not moved from his seat, nor had any of the household gone outside, when Allah, the Exalted, sent down revelation upon His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Due to the heaviness of the revelation, sweat began to pour from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and even on a cold day, when revelation would descend, sweat would drip from his forehead like pearls, due to the weight of the revelation that was being sent down upon him. When the state of revelation ended for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was smiling. The first thing he said after the revelation was: O Aisha! Rejoice, for Allah has declared your innocence. Upon hearing this, my mother said: Aisha! Stand up and thank the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But I said: I will not stand up to thank him; I will praise my Allah, Who has sent down my exoneration. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: {إِنَّ الَّذِینَ جَائُ وْا بِالْإِفْکِ عُصْبَۃٌ مِنْکُمْ} [النور: ۱۱] These were a total of ten verses. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to spend on Mistah because he was poor and also a relative. He too had spoken about the slander concerning Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), so Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will not spend on him anymore; he has gone this far. But Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse: {وَلَا یَاْتَلِ اُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْکُمْ وَالسَّعَۃِ اَنْ یُّؤْتُوْٓا اُولِی الْقُرْبٰی وَالْمَسٰکِیْنَ وَالْمُہٰجِرِیْنَ فِیْ سَبِیْلِ اللّٰہِ وَلْیَعْفُوْا وَلْیَصْفَحُوْا اَلَا تُحِبُّوْنَ اَنْ یَّغْفِرَ اللّٰہُ لَکُمْ وَاللّٰہُ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِیْمٌ۔} … And let not those among you who possess virtue and wealth swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah; and let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. Upon hearing this verse, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I love that Allah should forgive me. So he resumed the expenditure he used to give to Mistah and said: Now I will never stop it. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyida Zainab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) about my matter,“What do you know about this? Or what do you think? Or what has reached you?”She said: O Messenger of Allah! I wish to protect my ears and eyes from this! By Allah, to my knowledge, there is only good in Aisha. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: It was Sayyida Zainab alone among the Mothers of the Believers who used to compete with me, but Allah, the Exalted, protected her through piety from getting involved in this matter. And her sister, Sayyida Hamna bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), supported her sister out of partisanship and became one of those who were ruined. Ibn Shihab says: This is all we know about this group.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Ruman (may Allah be pleased with her), the mother of Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: I and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) were sitting when an Ansari woman came and began to say about her son, "May Allah destroy him, may He ruin him." I asked her: "What is the matter?" She said: "My son is also among those who are talking." Umm Ruman (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: "What talk?" She said: "Such and such talk." Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) inquired: "Has Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) also heard this?" The woman said: "Yes." She then asked: "Has the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also come to know of it?" She said: "Yes!" Upon hearing this, she fell down and fainted, she developed a severe fever, and her body began to tremble. I covered her with clothes. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came and asked: "What has happened to her?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah! She has a severe fever and her body is trembling." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps this condition is because of the talk that is being spread?" She said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" Upon hearing these words, Sayyidah Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) raised her head and said: "If I say something in my defense, you will not accept my excuse, and if I swear an oath, even then you will not believe me. My example and yours is like that of Yaqub (peace be upon him) and his sons, when after hearing the words of his sons, he said: {فَصَبْرٌ جَمِیلٌ وَاللّٰہُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلٰی مَا تَصِفُونَ} ... So patience is most fitting, and it is Allah (alone) whose help can be sought against that which you assert." (Surah Yusuf: 18) So when her exoneration was revealed from Allah, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to her and informed her of the revelation of her exoneration. Sayyidah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "I praise Allah, not you," or she said: "There is no praise except for Allah."

(Second chain of narration) It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Ruman (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I was with Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) when an Ansari woman came to us. The rest of the hadith is similar to the previous narration, except that in this one it is mentioned: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out and said: Allah Almighty has revealed the exoneration of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned inside accompanied by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Aisha! Indeed, Allah Almighty has revealed your exoneration. She said: Praise be to Allah, not to you. Upon hearing this from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to her: Do you say such a thing to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? She said: Yes. Umm Ruman (may Allah be pleased with her) says that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to support one of the people who had accused and slandered Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). After this incident, he swore that he would no longer treat him as before. Allah Almighty then revealed this verse: {وَلَا یَأْتَلِ أُولُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنْکُمْ وَالسَّعَۃِ … } Those among you who are blessed with grace and wealth should not swear that they will not give to their relatives, the needy, and those who have emigrated in the way of Allah. They should forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive your faults? Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why not? Thus, he resumed his good treatment towards him.

It is narrated from Abu Ishaq that a man (in jest) said to Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him):“You people were the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was you who deserted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and fled.”Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“I bear witness regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not flee that day. And I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of the Trench, that he (peace and blessings be upon him) was lifting earth along with the people.”The words of another narration are as follows:“Until the earth covered the skin of his (peace and blessings be upon him) stomach, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting the words of Ibn Rawahah: ‘O Allah! If it were not for You, we would not have been guided, nor would we have given charity, nor would we have prayed. So send down tranquility upon us, and make our feet firm if we meet (the enemy). Indeed, the others have transgressed against us, and if they intend tribulation, we will refuse (to submit).’”He (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting these words in a raised voice.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out on a cold morning and saw that the Muhajirun and Ansar were digging the trench. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah! The real goodness is the goodness of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirun. In response, the Companions said: We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that we will continue to strive in jihad as long as we live.

(Second chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out and saw that the Muhajirun were digging the trench on a very cold morning; they had no servants (rather, they used to do their work themselves). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "True goodness is the goodness of the Hereafter. O Allah! Forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirun." In response, the noble Companions said: "We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that as long as we live, we will continue to strive (in jihad), and we will not flee from the battlefield, and we will not flee, and we will not flee."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the occasion of the Trench, we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The noble Companions were digging the trench and we were carrying the soil on our shoulders and transferring it. Seeing this scene, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah! There is no life except the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the Muhajireen and the Ansar.

It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I have not forgotten these words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of the Trench, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was handing bricks to the noble Companions, and the hair of his blessed chest had become dusty, and he was saying: O Allah! The real goodness is the goodness of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirin. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Woe to the son of Sumayyah, for a rebellious group will kill him. Hasan ibn Sirin says: I mentioned this hadith before Muhammad ibn Sirin, so he said: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mention Ammar’s mother by name? I said: Yes, because she (Sumayyah, may Allah be pleased with her) used to come and go to Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to dig the trench. During the digging, a rock appeared at a certain spot where the pickaxes would not work. The noble Companions complained about it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) says,“I think Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) also stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and put his garment aside and went towards the rock. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pickaxe, recited ‘Bismillah’, and struck it hard; one third of the rock broke off. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Syria have been given to me. By Allah! At this moment, from this very place, I am seeing the red palaces of Syria.’ Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited ‘Bismillah’ again and struck the pickaxe again; another third of the rock broke off. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Persia have been given to me. By Allah! At this moment, from this very place, I am seeing Mada’in and its white palace.’ Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited ‘Bismillah’ and struck the pickaxe for the third time, and the remaining rock shattered into pieces. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Yemen have been given to me, and at this moment, from this very place, I am seeing the gates of Sana’a.’