Ruling on one who slanders ‘Aa'ishah

From Islam Question and Answers

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‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa and the other Mothers of the Believers are included among the Companions of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, so every text that forbids slandering the Companions refers to ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa too.

Abu Sa‘îd al-Khudri (may Allâh be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: ‘Do not slander my Companions, for if one of you were to spend an amount of gold equivalent to the size of Mount Uhud, you would not even come halfway up to their level.' " (Reported by al-Bukhârî, al-Fath, no. 3379).
Moreover, the scholars of Sunni Islam are all agreed that whoever condemns ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa for that of which Allâh has stated she is innocent is a kâfir, because he has rejected Allâh’s statement of her innocence in Sûrat al-Nûr.
Imâm Ibn Hazm quoted a report with an isnad going back to Hishâm ibn ‘Ammâr, who said: "I heard Mâlik ibn Anas say: ‘Whoever curses Abu Bakr should be whipped, and whoever curses ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa should be killed.’ He was asked, ‘Why do you say that concerning (the one who curses) ‘Aa’ishah?’ He said, ‘Because Allâh says concerning ‘Aa’ishah, may Allâh be pleased with her (interpretation of the meaning): "Allâh forbids you from it [slander] and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers." [al-Nûr 24:17]’"
Mâlik said: "Whoever accuses her goes against the Qur’ân, and whoever goes against the Qur’ân should be killed."
Ibn Hazm said: "This comment of Mâlik’s is correct, and it is complete apostasy to reject Allâh’s Words that clearly state her innocence."
Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi said: "Because the people who slandered ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa accused a pure and innocent person of immorality, then Allâh exonerated her. So everyone who accuses her of that of which Allâh has stated she is innocent is rejecting what Allâh says, and everyone who rejects what Allâh says is a kâfir. This is the opinion of Mâlik, and the matter is very clear to those who have insight."
Al-Qâdi Abu Ya‘lâ said: "Whoever slanders ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa by accusing her of that of which Allâh stated her innocence is a kâfir, without doubt. More than one imâm stated this ijmâ‘ (consensus) and gave this ruling."
Ibn Abi Mûsâ said: "Whoever accuses ‘Aa’ishah, may Allâh be pleased with her, of that of which Allâh stated she was innocent has left the religion (is no longer a Muslim) and has no right to marry a Muslim woman."
Ibn Qudâmah said: "It is a part of the Sunnah to say ‘May Allâh be pleased with her’ after mentioning the wives of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, Mothers of the Believers who are pure and innocent of any evil. The best of them are Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid and ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa al-Siddeeqah bint al-Siddeeq, whose innocence was stated by Allâh; (they are) the wives of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in this world and the next. Whoever accuses her of that of which Allâh has stated her innocence has rejected the words of Allâh All-Mighty."
Imâm al-Nawawi, may Allâh have mercy on him, said: "‘Aa’ishah’s innocence of that of which she was accused is stated definitively in the Qur’ân. If anyone doubts that (may Allâh protect us from such a thing), he becomes a kâfir and an apostate, by the consensus of the Muslims."
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allâh have mercy on him, said: "The ummah is agreed that whoever slanders her is a kâfir."
Al-Hâfiz ibn Katheer said, in his Tafseer: " The scholars, may Allâh have mercy on them, all agreed that whoever accuses or slanders her after the revelation of this âyah is a kâfir, because he has rejected the Qur’ân."
Badr al-Dîn al-Zirkashi said: "Whoever slanders her is a kâfir, because the Qur’ân clearly states her innocence."
The scholars based their ruling on the one who slanders ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa on the following evidence:
(1) The evidence that is derived from the verses in Sûrat al-Nûr that clearly state her innocence. So whoever accuses her after Allâh has declared her innocent is rejecting the words of Allâh, which is kufr beyond any shadow of a doubt.
(2) Slandering the family of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam hurts and offends the Prophet himself, and there is no doubt that whatever hurts and offends the Prophet (peace be upon him) is kufr, by consensus (ijmâ‘). Evidence that the slander of his wife hurt and offended the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam is seen in the hadeeth of the slander (al-ifk) reported by al-Bukhârî and Muslim, in which ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa says: ". . . The Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam  stood up on that day and asked who would go and deal with ‘Abdullâh ibn Ubayy. He was on the minbar, and said: ‘O Muslims, who will deal with a man who I have heard is speaking in an offensive manner about my family? By Allâh, I know nothing but good about my family.’ . . ." What the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam meant was: who will be kind to me, and excuse me if I go and deal with him myself, and I give him what he deserves because I have heard that he is speaking in an offensive manner about my family. This proves that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was so deeply offended and hurt that he asked people whether they could deal with this person fairly.
Imâm al-Qurtubi said, in his Tafseer of the âyah "Allâh forbids you from it [slander] and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers." [al-Nûr 24:17]":
"This is concerning ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa . . . because of the hurt and offence that the Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam felt with regard to his honour and his family. This is kufr on the part of the one who does it."
(3) Slandering ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa implies insulting the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, because Allâh, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women). . . " [al-Nûr 24:26]

Al-Hâfiz ibn Katheer, may Allâh have mercy on him, said: "I.e., Allâh would not have made ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa the wife of the Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam if she had not been good, because he is better than any good person. If she had been bad, she would not have been fit to marry him from a shar‘i point of view, and Allâh would never even have decreed it.."

Finally, let us remember that the most beloved of all people to him sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was ‘Aa'ishah radilallaahu 'anhaa al-Siddeeqah bint al-Siddeeq, as is proven in the report of ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, who said: "The Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam put me in charge of an army during the ghazwah (campaign) of al-Salâsil. I came to him and asked him, ‘O Messenger of Allâh, who among the people is most beloved to you?’ He said, ‘Aa’ishah.’ I asked, ‘Who among men?’ He said, ‘Her father.’ I asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘‘Umar,’ then he mentioned a number of others."
So whoever feels hatred towards the beloved of the Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam will deserved to be despised by him on the Day of Resurrection. And Allâh knows best.
(See ‘Aqîdat Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamâ‘ah fi’l-Sahâbah al-Kirâm by Nâsir al-Shaykh, 2/781, and I‘tiqâd Ahl al-Sunnah fi’l-Sahâbah by Muhammad al-Wahaybi, p. 58).