Irreligious Conduct in
the Name of Religion
During the Madinan period, an unusual incident involving Aisha al-Siddiqah occurred. Some people misinterpreted it and turned it into a malicious story. The baseless allegation soon spread throughout Madinah. Those who repeated it may have believed that they were conveying something true, but in reality they were spreading a falsehood. The Quran describes this situation in verse 24:15. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi translated the relevant words into Urdu as:
Jabki tum is jhooth ko apni zabanon se naql dar naql kar rahe the.
In English, this may be rendered as: When you kept passing this lie from one tongue to another.
The controversy ended only when Chapter 24 was revealed and the accusation was directly refuted through divine revelation.
In this connection, Chapter 24 gave Muslims certain instructions so that they would not repeat such a serious mistake in the future. One important instruction was:
“Why, when you heard it, did believing men and women not think well of one another and say, ‘This is clearly a false accusation’?” (Quran 24:12)
Explaining this verse, Ibn Kathir writes that the believers should have judged the matter by applying it to themselves. If they considered such conduct unthinkable for themselves, then Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, was even more deserving of being regarded as innocent. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 3, p. 273)
When a Muslim hears something that casts suspicion on another Muslim, the first response should be to ask, “Could I myself do such a thing?” If the answer of one’s conscience is, “No, I could not,” then the same favourable view should be extended to the other person. No one should be assumed guilty without evidence.
It is in such moments that the difference becomes clear between those who truly possess faith and those who merely claim to possess it. The proof that a person follows religion does not lie in raising slogans of moral reform. The real proof is that they themselves follow the Quranic principle of thinking well of others.
To speak loudly in the name of reform may simply be a way of seeking religious leadership. To think well of others, by contrast, is a genuine expression of obedience to God’s religion.
The account concerning Aisha Siddiqah may be found in my Quran commentary, Tazkir al-Quran, and in other commentaries under Chapter 24. There is therefore no need to repeat the details here.
It is important to remember that Aisha was widely respected in Madinah and was known as a woman of impeccable character. Her whole life was devoted to God’s cause. Yet some people seized upon a single incident, turned it into a scandal and used it to damage her reputation. These same people had never spoken of her valuable religious contribution. Their gatherings were so silent about Aisha and her work that it seemed as though neither she nor her services existed in Madinah.
But the moment they found an incident that could be misrepresented and used against her, their entire group sprang into action. They used every means at their disposal to spread the fabricated story. They passed it from person to person and tried to create suspicion about Aisha. Eventually, they filled the whole of Madinah with rumours and mistrust.
In their own eyes, they were merely passing on news of an “incident.” In the sight of God, however, they were committing a grave offence. They were not serving the cause of God’s religion; they were advancing the cause of Satan.
Anyone who fears accountability before God must form opinions on the basis of facts, not rumours or sensational claims. When a misunderstanding arises, one should meet the person concerned and clarify the matter directly. An unverified suspicion should never be treated as fact and spread among the public.
Such conduct may rightly be described as hypocritical. According to the Quran, those who persist in hypocrisy face a punishment more severe than that of open deniers, unless they repent, openly acknowledge their wrongdoing and seek forgiveness from those they have harmed. (Al-Risala, February 1999)
