The Prophet expired in my house and on the day of my turn, leaning against my chest. One of us (i.e. the Prophet's wives ) used to recite a prayer asking Allah to protect him from all evils when he became sick. So I started asking Allah to protect him from all evils (by reciting a prayer ). He raised his head towards the sky and said, "With the highest companions, with the highest companions." `Abdur- Rahman bin Abu Bakr passed carrying a fresh leaf-stalk of a date-palm and the Prophet looked at it and I thought that the Prophet was in need of it (for cleaning his teeth ). So I took it (from `Abdur Rahman) and chewed its head and shook it and gave it to the Prophet who cleaned his teeth with it, in the best way he had ever cleaned his teeth, and then he gave it to me, and suddenly his hand dropped down or it fell from his hand (i.e. he expired). So Allah made my saliva mix with his saliva on his last day on earth and his first day in the Hereafter.

`Urwa bin Az-Zubair, Sa`id bin Al-Musaiyab, 'Al-Qama bin Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah related the narration of `Aisha, the wife the Prophet, when the slanderers had said about her what they had said and Allah later declared her innocence. Each of them related a part of the narration (wherein) the Prophet said (to `Aisha). "If you are innocent, then Allah will declare your innocence: but if you have committed a sin, then ask for Allah's Forgiveness and repent to him." `Aisha said, "By Allah, I find no example for my case except that of Joseph's father (when he said), 'So (for me) patience is most fitting.' " Then Allah revealed the ten Verses:-- "Verily those who spread the slander are a gang amongst you.." (24.11)

The Prophet used to stay (for a period) in the house of Zainab bint Jahsh (one of the wives of the Prophet ) and he used to drink honey in her house. Hafsa and I decided that when the Prophet entered upon either of us, she would say, "I smell in you the bad smell of Maghafir (a bad smelling raisin). Have you eaten Maghafir?" When he entered upon one of us, she said that to him. He replied (to her), "No, but I have drunk honey in the house of Zainab bint Jahsh, and I will never drink it again." Then the following verse was revealed: 'O Prophet ! Why do you ban (for you) that which Allah has made lawful for you?. ..(up to) If you two (wives of the Prophet turn in repentance to Allah.' (66.1-4) The two were `Aisha and Hafsa And also the Statement of Allah: 'And (Remember) when the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives!' (66.3) i.e., his saying, "But I have drunk honey." Hisham said: It also meant his saying, "I will not drink anymore, and I have taken an oath, so do not inform anybody of that."

I was sleeping in front of the Prophet (saws) with my legs between him and the qiblah. Shu'bah said: I think she said: I was menstruating.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by al-Zuhri, 'Ata, Abu Bakr b. Hafs, Hisham b. 'Urwah, 'Irak b. Malik, Abu al-Aswad and Tamim b. Salamah; all transmitted from 'Urwah on the authority of 'Aishah. Ibrahim narrated from al-Aswad on the authority of 'Aishah. Abu al-Duha narrated from Masruq on the authority of 'Aishah. Al-Qasim b. Muhammad and Abu Salamah narrated it from 'Aisha. All these narrators did not mention the words "And I was menstruating."

(wife of the Prophet) Since I reached the age when I could remember things, I have seen my parents worshipping according to the right faith of Islam. Not a single day passed but Allah's Apostle visited us both in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were persecuted, Abu Bakr set out for Ethiopia as an emigrant. When he reached a place called Bark-al-Ghimad, he met Ibn Ad-Daghna, the chief of the Qara tribe, who asked Abu Bakr, "Where are you going?" Abu Bakr said, "My people have turned me out of the country and I would like to tour the world and worship my Lord." Ibn Ad- Daghna said, "A man like you will not go out, nor will he be turned out as you help the poor earn their living, keep good relation with your Kith and kin, help the disabled (or the dependents), provide guests with food and shelter, and help people during their troubles. I am your protector. So, go back and worship your Lord at your home." Ibn Ad-Daghna went along with Abu Bakr and took him to the chiefs of Quraish saying to them, "A man like Abu Bakr will not go out, nor will he be turned out. Do you turn out a man who helps the poor earn their living, keeps good relations with Kith and kin, helps the disabled, provides guests with food and shelter, and helps the people during their troubles?" So, Quraish allowed Ibn Ad-Daghna's guarantee of protection and told Abu- Bakr that he was secure, and said to Ibn Ad-Daghna, "Advise Abu Bakr to worship his Lord in his house and to pray and read what he liked and not to hurt us and not to do these things publicly, for we fear that our sons and women may follow him." Ibn Ad-Daghna told Abu Bakr of all that, so Abu- Bakr continued worshipping his Lord in his house and did not pray or recite Qur'an aloud except in his house. Later on Abu Bakr had an idea of building a mosque in the court yard of his house. He fulfilled that idea and started praying and reciting Qur'an there publicly. The women and the offspring of the pagans started gathering around him and looking at him astonishingly. Abu Bakr was a softhearted person and could not help weeping while reciting Qur'an. This horrified the pagan chiefs of Quraish. They sent for Ibn Ad-Daghna and when he came, they said, "We have given Abu Bakr protection on condition that he will worship his Lord in his house, but he has transgressed that condition and has built a mosque in the court yard of his house and offered his prayer and recited Qur'an in ...

Qutaiba b. Sa'id, Ishaq b. Ibrahim, Ibn Abi 'Aruba, Abu Ma'shar, Abu Bakr b. Abu Shaiba, Mansur and Mughira have all transmitted from Ibrahim, who transmitted it on the authority of A'isha's narration pertaining to the scraping off of the (drop) of semen from the garment of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) like the hadith of Khalid on the authority of Abu Ma'shar.

Abu Taubah said: "Perhaps he said: 'Will reach the evening.'"

When the Prophet, became ill in his fatal illness, Someone came to inform him about the prayer, and the Prophet told him to tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in the prayer. I said, "Abu Bakr is a softhearted man and if he stands for the prayer in your place, he would weep and would not be able to recite the Qur'an." The Prophet said, "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer." I said the same as before. He (repeated the same order and) on the third or the fourth time he said, "You are the companions of Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the prayer." So Abu Bakr led the prayer and meanwhile the Prophet felt better and came out with the help of two men; as if I see him just now dragging his feet on the ground. When Abu Bakr saw him, he tried to retreat but the Prophet beckoned him to carry on. Abu Bakr retreated a bit and the Prophet sat on his (left) side. Abu Bakr was repeating the Takbir (Allahu Akbar) of Allah's Apostle for the people to hear.

When the news of the martyrdom of Zaid bin Haritha, Ja`far and `Abdullah bin Rawaha came, the Prophet sat down looking sad, and I was looking through the chink of the door. A man came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! The women of Ja`far," and then he mentioned their crying . The Prophet (p.b.u.h) ordered him to stop them from crying. The man went and came back and said, "I tried to stop them but they disobeyed." The Prophet (p.b.u.h) ordered him for the second time to forbid them. He went again and came back and said, "They did not listen to me, (or "us": the sub-narrator Muhammad bin Haushab is in doubt as to which is right). " (`Aisha added: The Prophet said, "Put dust in their mouths." I said (to that man), "May Allah stick your nose in the dust (i.e. humiliate you)." By Allah, you could not (stop the women from crying) to fulfill the order, besides you did not relieve Allah's Apostle from fatigue."

Aisha said, "I went to Abu Bakr (during his fatal illness) and he asked me, 'In how many garments was the Prophet shrouded?' She replied, 'In three Suhuliya pieces of white cloth of cotton, and there was neither a shirt nor a turban among them.' Abu Bakr further asked her, 'On which day did the Prophet die?' She replied, 'He died on Monday.' He asked, 'What is today?' She replied, 'Today is Monday.' He added, 'I hope I shall die sometime between this morning and tonight.' Then he looked at a garment that he was wearing during his illness and it had some stains of saffron. Then he said, 'Wash this garment of mine and add two more garments and shroud me in them.' I said, 'This is worn out.' He said, 'A living person has more right to wear new clothes than a dead one; the shroud is only for the body's pus.' He did not die till it was the night of Tuesday and was buried before the morning."

We set out with Allah's Apostle shortly before the appearance of the new moon of Dhi-l-Hijja and he said, "Whoever wants to assume Ihram for `Umra may do so, and whoever wants to assume Ihram for Hajj may do so. Had not I brought the Hadi with me, I would have assumed Ihram for `Umra." Some of the people assumed Ihram for `Umra while others for Hajj. I was amongst those who had assumed Ihram for `Umra. I got my menses before entering Mecca, and was menstruating till the day of `Arafat. I complained to Allah's Apostle about it, he said, "Abandon your `Umra, undo and comb your hair, and assume Ihram for Hajj." So, I did that accordingly. When it was the night of Hasba (day of departure from Mina), the Prophet sent `Abdur Rahman with me to at-Tan`im. The sub-narrator adds: He (`Abdur-Rahman) let her ride behind him. And she assumed Ihram for `Umra in lieu of the abandoned one. Aisha completed her Hajj and `Umra, and no Hadi, Sadaqa (charity), or fasting was obligatory for her.

`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair was the most beloved person to `Aisha excluding the Prophet and Abu Bakr, and he in his turn, was the most devoted to her, `Aisha used not to withhold the money given to her by Allah, but she used to spend it in charity. (`Abdullah) bin AzZubair said, " `Aisha should be stopped from doing so." (When `Aisha heard this), she said protestingly, "Shall I be stopped from doing so? I vow that I will never talk to `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair." On that, Ibn Az-Zubair asked some people from Quraish and particularly the two uncles of Allah's Apostle to intercede with her, but she refused (to talk to him). Az-Zuhriyun, the uncles of the Prophet, including `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad bin `Abd Yaghuth and Al-Miswar bin Makhrama said to him, "When we ask for the permission to visit her, enter her house along with us (without taking her leave)." He did accordingly (and she accepted their intercession). He sent her ten slaves whom she manumitted as an expiation for (not keeping) her vow. `Aisha manumitted more slaves for the same purpose till she manumitted forty slaves. She said, "I wish I had specified what I would have done in case of not fulfilling my vow when I made the vow, so that I might have done it easily."

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.

I said to `Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, and I was at that time a young boy, "How do you interpret the Statement of Allah: "Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah." So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj to the House of Allah) or perform the Umra, to ambulate (Tawaf) between them. In my opinion it is not sinful for one not to ambulate (Tawaf) between them." `Aisha said, "Your interpretation is wrong for as you say, the Verse should have been: "So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj or Umra to the House, not to ambulate (Tawaf) between them.' This Verse was revealed in connection with the Ansar who (during the Pre-Islamic Period) used to visit Manat (i.e. an idol) after assuming their Ihram, and it was situated near Qudaid (i.e. a place at Mecca), and they used to regard it sinful to ambulate between Safa and Marwa after embracing Islam. When Islam came, they asked Allah's Apostle about it, whereupon Allah revealed:-- "Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah. So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj of the House (of Allah) or perform the Umra, to ambulate (Tawaf) between them." (2.158)

`Utba (bin Abi Waqqas) said to his brother Sa`d, "The son of the slave girl of Zam`a is my son, so be his custodian." So when it was the year of the Conquest of Mecca, Sa`d took that child and said, "He is my nephew, and my brother told me to be his custodian." On that, 'Abu bin Zam`a got up and said, 'but the child is my brother, and the son of my father's slave girl as he was born on his bed." So they both went to the Prophet. Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! (This is) the son of my brother and he told me to be his custodian." Then 'Abu bin Zam`a said, "(But he is) my brother and the son of the slave girl of my father, born on his bed." The Prophet said, "This child is for you. O 'Abu bin Zam`a, as the child is for the owner of the bed, and the adulterer receives the stones." He then ordered (his wife) Sauda bint Zam`a to cover herself before that boy as he noticed the boy's resemblance to `Utba. Since then the boy had never seen Sauda till he died.

I asked `Aisha the wife of the Prophet about the meaning of the following Verse: -- "(Respite will be granted) 'Until when the apostles give up hope (of their people) and thought that they were denied (by their people)..............."(12.110) `Aisha replied, "Really, their nations did not believe them." I said, "By Allah! They were definite that their nations treated them as liars and it was not a matter of suspecting." `Aisha said, "O 'Uraiya (i.e. `Urwa)! No doubt, they were quite sure about it." I said, "May the Verse be read in such a way as to mean that the apostles thought that Allah did not help them?" Aisha said, "Allah forbid! (Impossible) The Apostles did not suspect their Lord of such a thing. But this Verse is concerned with the Apostles' followers who had faith in their Lord and believed in their apostles and their period of trials was long and Allah's Help was delayed till the apostles gave up hope for the conversion of the disbelievers amongst their nation and suspected that even their followers were shaken in their belief, Allah's Help then came to them."