Hadith About Forgiveness

Abu ​Ayyub ​Ansari ​reported ​that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:If you were not to commit sins, Allah would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allah, and He would have granted them pardon

Abu ‌Huraira ‌reported ‌Allah's ‌Messenger (ﷺ) having said:By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them

Abu ‌Huraira ​reported ‌from ​Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that his Lord, the Exalted and Glorious, thus said. A servant committed a sin and he said:O Allah, forgive me my sins, and Allah (the Exalted and Glorious) said: My servant commited a sin and then he came to realise that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and takes to account (the sinner) for the sin. He then again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me my sin, and Allah, the Exalted and High, said: My servant committed a sin and then came to realise that he has a Lord Who would forgive his sin or would take (him) to account for the sin. He again committed a sin and said: My Lord, forgive me for my sin, and Allah (the Exalted and High) said: My servant sas committed a sin and then came to realise that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins or takes (him) to account for sin. O servant, do what you like. I have granted you forgiveness. 'Abd al-A'la said: I do not know whether he said thrice or four times to do" what you desire

(Abu't-Tahir ‌Ahmed ‌b. ​Amr ​b. Abdillah b. Amr b. Sech, a freed slave of the Banu Umayya, narrated to me:) Ibn Wahb informed me:) Yunus informed me, quoting Ibn Shihab. Ibn Shihab said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the Tabuk campaign. However, he wanted to go against the Romans and the Christian Arabs in Syria. Shihab said: Abdurrahman b. Abdillah b. Ka'b b. Malik informed me that when Ka'b, one of the sons of Abdullah b. Ka'b, became blind, he became his deputy. (I heard Ka'b b. I heard Malik recounting his experience when he lagged behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Battle of Tabuk. Ka'b ibn Malik said: I did not miss any of the battles that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) participated in, except for the Battle of Tabuk! I was also absent from the Battle of Badr. But he never rebuked anyone who was absent from that battle. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims had only set out to target the caravan of the Quraysh. In the end, Allah brought them and their enemies to a place unexpectedly. Indeed, I was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of Aqaba when we made a covenant with him on Islam. Although Badr is more famous among people than Aqaba, I do not wish that the Battle of Badr had taken place instead of Aqaba. My story from when I parted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Battle of Tabuk is this: I have never been stronger or richer than when I parted from him during that battle. By Allah, I had never before gathered two packs of camels together. Finally, during that battle, I gathered two camels together. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conducted this battle in intense heat. He went on a long journey into the desert. He faced a large enemy force and clearly explained to the Muslims what they were to do so they could prepare for their battle. He informed them of where he intended to lead them. The number of Muslims with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was so great that even a guard's book could not record their number. (He is referring to the army register with this statement.) Ka'b continued his account: There were few who wanted to desert (from the army) and did not think that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not know about it unless a revelation came from Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook this campaign when the fruits and shade were in full bloom. I was the one who most eagerly participated in this campaign. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims with him prepared themselves. I started to stay up all night to prepare with them. But I returned without doing anything; I said to myself: I am capable of this whenever I want. This continued with me. The people continued to work. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with the Muslims with him, stayed up all night to set out. I had done nothing in terms of preparation. Then I stayed up all night and returned again having done nothing. This state continued. Even the Muslims hastened to their destination, and the warriors advanced. I felt the urge to set out and catch up with them. I wish I had done so. But then this was not destined for me. After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left and went out among the people, it began to grieve me that I had not followed him. Only those accused of hypocrisy or those weak whom Allah excuses could be exempted from this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention me until he reached Tabuk. While sitting among the congregation in Tabuk, he asked, "What did Ka'b ibn Malik do?" A man from the Banu Salima tribe said, "O Messenger of Allah! His garment and the way he looked at the collar of that garment prevented him." Upon this, Mu'adh ibn Jabal said to him, "What a terrible thing you have said!" "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we know nothing but good about him," he said. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. While he was in this state, he saw a man in white clothes with whom the mirage disappeared. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "You must be Abu Haysema!" And they saw that it was Abu Haysera'at al-Ansari. This is the man who, when the hypocrites criticized him, gave a measure of dried dates in charity. b. Malik continued his story: "When I heard that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from Tabuk, I was filled with sorrow. I began to think of lying. I was thinking, 'How can I escape from his relatives tomorrow?' I sought help from every knowledgeable person in my family regarding this matter." When I was told that the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was approaching, false thoughts left me. I understood that I could never escape from them in any way. And I decided to tell him the truth. The arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the morning. When he returned from a journey, he would first begin his work in the mosque. There he prayed two rak'ahs. Then he sat down to meet with the people. When he did this, those who had not gone on the battle came and began to apologize to him and swear oaths to him. There were over eighty of them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their open declarations. He took allegiance with them and asked forgiveness for them. He also entrusted their hidden aspects to Allah. Finally, I came here. When I greeted him, he smiled with the smile of an angry person. Then he said: I came walking and sat in his presence. He said to me: You stayed behind from the battle? "Didn't you buy your animal?" he asked. I replied, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, if I were sitting with anyone other than you from the people of the world, I think I would have escaped the wrath of Allah with an excuse. I have been given eloquence. But by Allah, I know that if I tell you a lie today that would please you, I will soon face the wrath of Allah. If I tell you the truth, you will be offended by me. I seek Allah's reward for my words. By Allah, I have no excuse. By Allah, there has never been a time when I was stronger or richer than when I was lagging behind you." When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived, he said, "Indeed, you have spoken the truth. Now, get up (go) until Allah gives His judgment concerning you!" So I got up. A group of men from Banu Salima also got up and followed me, and they said to me, "By Allah! We do not know of any sin you committed before this." They said, "Indeed, you were unable to offer the same excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that those who did not go to the battle offered. It would have been enough for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek forgiveness for your sin." He replied, "By Allah! They rebuked me so much that I almost went back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and lied to him. Then I asked them, 'Did anyone else suffer the same fate as me?' They said, 'Yes! Two men suffered the same fate as you. They said the same thing you said, and they were told the same thing as you.' I asked, 'Who are they?' They said, 'Murarah ibn Rabi'ah al-Amiri and Hilal ibn Umayyah al-Waqifi.' And they told me about two righteous men who had participated in the Battle of Badr and were worthy of being followed. After they told me this, I left." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims from speaking to the three of us who had separated from him. Because of this, the people avoided us. Their attitude towards us changed. Even the place I knew changed in my eyes. It was no longer the place I knew. We remained in this state for fifty nights. My two companions sat in their homes, bowing their heads and weeping. As for me: I was the youngest and most steadfast of the people. I would leave my house, come to prayer, and walk in the markets. But no one would speak to me. After prayer, while sitting in my place, I would approach the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and greet him; and I would think to myself, "Did I move my lips to return the greeting or not?" Then I would pray near him, secretly looking at him. When I turned towards my prayer, he would look at me; when I looked towards him, he would turn away from me. When this persecution by the Muslims continued for a long time, I gradually climbed over the wall of Abu Qatada's garden. Abu Qatada is my uncle and the person I love most. I greeted him. By Allah, he did not return my greeting. I said to him: "O Abu Qatada! For God's sake, tell me, do you know that I love Allah and His Messenger?" Abu Qatada remained silent. I asked him again, for God's sake, to tell me. He remained silent again. I asked again (this time): "Allah and His Messenger know!" Upon this, my eyes filled with tears, and I turned back. I climbed over the wall. Later, while walking in the market of Medina, I met a fellah from the Persian fellahs of Damascus who had come to Medina to sell food. He was asking, "Who will show me Ka'b ibn Malik?" People began pointing to me and indicating me to him. Finally, he came to me and gave me a letter from the King of Ghassan. I was a scribe. I read the letter. I saw that it contained the following: "Then (it should be known) we heard that your wife has wronged you. Allah did not create you in a land of humiliation, nor in a place where your rights would be lost. Join us immediately so that we may help you." When I read this, I said, "This is also a kind of calamity," and I went to the oven and burned the letter there. Finally, after forty of the fifty nights had passed and the revelation had ceased, the messenger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) suddenly came to me. And he said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you to distance yourself from your wife." I said, "Should I divorce her, or what should I do?" He said, "No! Just distance yourself from her and never approach her again!" He had sent similar messages to two of my companions. Thereupon I said to my wife, "Return to your family and stay with them until Allah gives a ruling on this matter!" Subsequently, Hilal b. Umayya's wife came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, indeed Hilal ibn Umayya is a wasted old man; he has no servant. Would you disapprove of me serving him?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "But he should never approach you!" The woman said: "By Allah, he has no time to do anything! And by Allah, he has been weeping continuously since this matter happened to him." Then one of my family members said to me: "Why don't you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission regarding your wife? (See) Hilal ibn Umayya's wife, he gave permission for her to serve Hilal." I said: "I cannot ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about her. I am a young man." When I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission regarding him, I said, "What will he say? Who knows?" And I remained in this state for ten nights. In this way, fifty nights were completed from the time we were forbidden to speak. Then, on the morning of the fiftieth night, I performed the morning prayer on one of our houses. And while I was sitting in the state that Allah Almighty had declared for us, I was overcome with distress. The place, despite its vastness, felt narrow to me. I heard the voice of someone shouting from atop Mount Sel'. He was shouting in a loud voice: "Ka'b ibn Malik, good news!" I immediately prostrated myself. And I understood that Shadumani had come. Then, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the morning prayer, he informed the people that Allah had accepted our repentance. Upon this, the people went to give us the good news. Two of my companions went to bring the good news. A man spurred his horse to come to me. A man from the Aslam tribe came running towards me. And he went up the mountain. His voice was faster than a horse. When the person whose voice I heard came to me with the good news, I immediately took off two of my garments and gave them to him to celebrate his good news. By Allah, I did not possess anything else that day. And I borrowed two garments and wore them. I immediately set out on the road, wanting to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). People came out in groups to meet me, congratulating me on my repentance and saying, "May Allah's acceptance of your repentance be blessed upon you!" Finally, I entered the mosque. And I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting in the mosque, surrounded by people. Then Talha ibn Ubaydillah rose and quickly came to me. He shook my hand and congratulated me. By Allah, no one else from the Muhajirin rose except him, and Ka'b never forgot what Talha had done. He said: When I greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his face would shine with joy and he would say: "Glad tidings to you, this is the best day that has passed since I gave birth to you!" I said: "Is this from you or from Allah, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Rather, it is from Allah!" When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rejoiced, his face would radiate, as if his face were like a piece of the moon. We knew this. When I sat down, I said: "O Messenger of Allah! One of my acts of repentance is to give up some of my wealth as charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep some of it! This is better for you." I said: "I am keeping my share from Khaybar," and I added: "O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, Allah saved me through righteousness." One of my vows is to never speak the truth again for as long as I live. Since I told this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not know of any Muslim who has been granted a greater favor than Allah in granting me the ability to speak the truth. By Allah, since I told this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have never intentionally told a lie. I pray that Allah will protect me for the remainder of my life. Ka'b said: Thereupon Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) revealed verses 117-118 of Surah At-Tawbah: "Indeed, Allah accepted the repentance of the Messenger and of the Muhajirun and Ansar who followed him in times of difficulty—a group of whom had almost gone astray. Indeed, He accepted their repentance, for Allah is Kind and Merciful to them. And He also accepted the repentance of the three who were left behind, and who felt confined by their own selves, despite the vastness of their world." It went as far as the verse: "Those who believe, fear Allah and be with those who speak the truth!" And then, "By Allah, after He guided me to Islam, He has not bestowed upon me any greater blessing than the truth I spoke to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The matter of me being destroyed as liars are destroyed for lying to him! Indeed, when Allah sent down revelation concerning liars, He said the worst thing that could be said to anyone. Allah says: 'When you return to them, they will swear by Allah that you should not say anything to them. So turn away from them! For they are impure, and their abode is Hellfire for what they earned. They swear to you that you may be pleased with them. But if you are pleased with them, then surely Allah is not pleased with the wicked people.'" (Surah At-Tawbah, verses 95-96) He said: "We were three people who were left behind from the affairs of those with whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) swore an oath, and he accepted their oaths and made a pledge of allegiance for them, and he sought forgiveness for them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) postponed our affairs until Allah gave His judgment. It is for this reason that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said: 'And the repentance of the three who were left behind...' Our being left behind as mentioned by Allah is not our being left behind from the battle. It is only that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) postponed us and left our affairs until after those who had sworn an oath and made an excuse to him, and he accepted their excuses."

Ibn ‌Shihab ​reported ‌that ‌Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made an expedition to Tabuk and he (the Holy Prophet) had in his mind (the idea of threatening the) Christians of Arabia in Syria and those of Rome. Ibn Shihab (further) reported that 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abdullah b. Ka'b informed him that Abdullah b. Ka'b who served as the guide of Ka'b b. 'Malik as he became blind that he heard Ka'b b. Malik narrate the story of his remaining behind Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) from the Battle of Tabuk. Ka'b b. Malik said:I never remained behind Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) from any expedition which he undertook except the Battle of Tabuk and that of the Battle of Badr. So far as the Battle of Badr is concerned, nobody was blamed for remaining behind as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and the Muslims (did not set out for attack but for waylaying) the caravan of the Quraish, but it was Allah Who made them confront their enemies without their intention (to do so). I had the honour to be with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the night of 'Aqaba when we pledged our allegiance to Islam and it was more dear to me than my participation in the Battle of Badr, although Badr was more popular amongst people as compared with that (Tabuk). And this is my story of remaining back from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk. Never did I possess means enough and (my circumstances) more favourable than at the occasion of this expedition. And, by Allah, I had never before this expedition simultaneously in my possession two rides. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out for this expedition in extremely hot season; the journey was long and the land (which he and his army had to cover) was waterless and he had to confront a large army, so he informed the Muslims about the actual situation (they had to face), so that they should adequately equip themselves for this expedition, and he also told them the destination where he intended to go. And the Muslims who accompanied Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) at that time were large in numbers but there was no proper record of them. Ka'b (further) said: Few were the persons who wanted to absent themselves, and were under the impression that they could easily conceal themselves (and thus remain undetected) until revelations from Allah, the Exalted and Glorious (descended in connection with them). And Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out on an expedition when the fruits were ripe and their shadows had been lengthened. I had weakness for them and it was during this season that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made preparations and the Muslims too along with them. I also set out in the morning so that I should make preparations along with them but I came back and did nothing and said to myself: I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) until people were about to depart and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out and the Muslims too along with him, but I made no preparations. I went early in the morning and came back, but I made no decision. I continued to do so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. I also made up my mind to march on and to meet them. Would that I had done that but perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as I went out amongst people, I was shocked to find that I did not find anyone like me but people who were labelled as hypocrites or the people whom Allah granted exemption because of their incapacity and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) took no notice of me until he had reached Tabuk. (One day as he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk) he said: What has happened to Ka'b b. Malik? A person from Banu' Salama said: Allah's Messenger, the (beauty) of his cloak and his appreciation of his sides have allured him and he was thus detained. Mua'dh b. Jabal said: Woe be upon that what you contend. Allah's Messenger, by Allah, we know nothing about him but good. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), however, kept quiet. It was during that time that he (the Holy Prophet) saw a person (dressed in all white (garment) shattering the illusion of eye (mirage). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May he be Abu Khaithama and, lo, it was Abu Khaithama al-Ansari and he was that person who contributed a sa' of dates and was scoffed at by the hypocrites. Ka'b b. Malik farther said: When this news reached me that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was on his way back from Tabuk I was greatly perturbed. I thought of fabricating false stories and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger on the following day. In this connection, I sought the help of every prudent man from amongst the members of my family and when it was said to me that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was about to arrive, all the false ideas banished (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing could save me but the telling of truth, so I decided to speak the truth and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) arrived (in Medina). And it was his habit that as he came back from a journey he first went to the mosque and observed two Rak'ahs of nafl prayer (as a mark of gratitude) and then sat amongst people. And as he did that, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him and they were more than eighty persons. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) accepted their excuses on the very face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their secret (intentions) to Allah, until I presented myself to him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He (the Holy Prophet) then said to me: Come forward. I went forward until I sat in front of him. He said to me: What kept you back? Could you not afford to go in for a ride? I said: Allah's Messenger, by Allah, if I were to sit in the presence of anybody else from amongst the worldly people I would have definitely saved myself from his anger on one pretext (or the other) and I have also the knack to fall into argumentation, but, by Allah, I am fully aware of the fact that if I were to put forward before you a false excuse to please you Allah would definitely provoke your wrath upon me, and if I speak the truth you may be annoyed with me, but I hope that Allah would make its end well and, by Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I never possessed so good means, and I never had such favourable conditions for me as I had when I stayed behind you (failed to join the expedition). Thereupon, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: This man told the truth, so get up until Allah gives a decision in your case. I stood up and some people of Banu' Salama followed me in hot haste, and they said to me: By Allah, we do not know about you that you committed a sin prior to this. You, however, showed inability to put forward an excuse before Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as those who stayed behind him have put forward excuses. It would have been enough for the forgiveness of your sin that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) would have sought forgiveness for you. By Allah, they continued to incite me until I thought of going back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and contradict myself. Then I said to them: Has anyone else also met the same fate? They said: Yes, two persons have met the same fate as has fallen to you and they have made the sane statement as you have made, and the same verdict has been delivered in their case as it has been delivered in your case. I said: Who are they? They said: Murara b. ar-Rabi'a 'Amiri and Hilal b. Umayya al-Waqafi. They made a mention of these two pious persons to me who had participated in the Battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. I went away when they named these two persons. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the Nluslims to talk with three of us from amongst those (persons) who had stayed behind him. The people began to avoid us and their attitude towards us underwent a change and it seemed as if the whole atmosphere had turned (hostile) against us and it was in fact the same atmosphere ot which I was fully aware and in which I had lived (for a fairly long time). We spent fifty nights in this very state and my two friends confined themselves withen their houses and spent (most of the) time in weeping, but as I was young and strong amongst them I got (out of my house), participated in congregational prayers, moved about in the bazar; but none spoke to me. I came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as he sat amongst (people) after the prayer, greeted him and asked myself whether his lips stirred in response to my greetings (or not). Then I observed prayer beside him and looked at him with stealing glances and when I attended to my prayer, he looked at me and when I cast a glance at him he turned away his eyes from me. And when the harsh treatment of the Muslims towards me extended to a (considerable) length of time, I walked until I climbed upon the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada, and he was my cousin, and I had the greatest love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not respond to my greetings. I said to him: Abu Qatada, I adjure you by Allah, arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) the most. He kept quiet. I again repeated saying: I adjure you by Allah. arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) the most. He kept quiet. I again adjured him, whereupon he said: Allah and the Messenger (ﷺ) are best aware of it. My eyes began to shed tears and I came back climbing down from the wall and as I was walking in the bazar of Medina a Nabatean from amongst the Nabateans of Syria, who had come to sell foodgrains in Medina, asked people to direct him to Ka'b b. Malik. People gave him the indication by pointing towards me. He came to me and delivered to me a letter of the King of Ghassan and as I was a scribe I read that letter and it was written like this:" Coming to my point, it has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Holy Prophet) is subjecting you to cruelty and Allah has not created you for a place where you are to be degraded and where you cannot find your right place, so you come to us that we should accord you honour. As I read that letter I said: This is also a calamity, so I burnt it in the oven. When out of the fifty days, forty days had passed and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) received no revelation, there came the messenger of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to me and said: Verily, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has commanded you to remain separate from your wife. I said: Should I divorce her or what (else) should I do? He said: No, but only remain separate from her and don't have sexual contact with her. The same message was sent to my companions. So I said to my wife: You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case. The wife of Hilal b. Umayya came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said: Allah's Messenger, Hilal b. Umayya is a senile person, he has no servant. Do you disapprove of my serving him? He said: No, but don't go near him. She said: By Allah, he has no such instinct in him. By Allah, he spends his time in weeping from that day to this day. Some of the members of my family said to me: Were you to seek permission from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in regard to your wife as he has granted permission to the wife of Hilal b. Umayya to serve him. I said: I would not seek permission from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), for I cannot say what Allah's Apostle may say in response to seeking my permission. Moreover, I am a young man. It was in this state that I spent ten more nights and thus fifty nights had passed that (people) had observed boycott with us. It was on the morning of the fiftieth night that I observed my dawn prayer and was sitting on one of the roofs of our houses. And I was in fact sitting in that very state which Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, has described about us in these words:" Life had become hard for myself and the earth had compressed despite its vastness," that I heard the noise of an announcer from the peak of the hill of Sal' saying at the top of his voice: Ka'b b. Malik, there is glad tidings for you. I fell down in prostration and came to realise that there was (a message of) relief for me. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had informed the people of the acceptance of our repentance by Allah as he offered the dawn prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my friends in order to give them the glad tidings and a person galloped his horse and came from the tribe of Aslam and his horse reached me more quickly than his voice. And when he came to me whose sound I heard, he gave me the glad tidings. I took off my clothes and clothed him with them because of his bringing good news to me and, by Allah, I possessed nothing else (in the form of clothes) than these two on that occasion, and I asked one to lend me two clothes and dressed myself in them. I came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and on my way I met groups of people who greeted me because of (the acceptance of) repentance and they said: Here is a greeting for you for your repentance being accepted by Allah. (I moved on) until I came to the mosque and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had been sitting there amongst persons. So Talha b. 'Ubaidullah got up and rushed towards me and he shook hands with me and greeted me and, by Allah, no person stood up (to greet me) from amongst the emigrants except he. Ka'b said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talha. Ka'b further said: I greeted Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) with Assalam-o-'Alaikam and his face was glistening because of delight, and he said: Let there be glad tidings and blessings for you, the like of which (you have neither found nor you will find, as you find today) since your mother gave your birth. I said: Allah's Messenger. is this acceptance of repentance from you or from Allah? He said: No, (it is not from ma), it is from Allah, and it was common with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that as he was happy his face brightened up and it looked like a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognised it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said: Allah's Messenger, am I allowed to give in charity my wealth for Allah's sake and for the sake of His Messenger (ﷺ)? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Keep some property with you as it is better for you. I said: I shall keep with me that part (of my property) which fell to my lot (on the occasion of the expedition of) Khaibar. I said: Allah's Messenger, verily, Allah has granted me salvation because of truth and, therefore, (I think) that repentance implies that I should not speak anything but truth as long as I live. He said: By Allah, I do not know whether anyone amongst the Muslims was put to more severe trial than I by Allah because of telling the truth. And since I made a mention of this to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) up to this day I have not told any lie and, by Allah, I have decided not to tell a lie and I hope that Allah would save me (from trials) for the rest of my life and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed these verses:" Certainly, Allah has turned in Mercy to the Prophet and the emigrants and the helpers who followed him in the hour of hardship after the hearts of a part of them were about to deviate; then He turned to them in mercy. Surely, to them He is Compassionate, Merciful and (He turned in Mercy) to the three who were left behind until the earth despite its vastness became strait for them and their souls were also straitened to them." And this revelation reached up to the (words):" O you who believe, develop God consciousness, and be with the truthful" (ix. 117-118). Ka'b said: By Allah, since Allah directed me to Islam there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and if I were to tell a lie I would have been ruined as were ruined those who told lies, for in regard to those who told lies Allah used harshest words used for anyone as He descended revelation (and the words of Allah are):" They will swear by Allah to you when you return to them so that you may leave them alone. So leave them alone. Surely, they are unclean and their resort is Hell, recompense for what they earned. They will swear to you that you may be pleased with them but if you are pleased with them, yet surely Allah is not pleased with the transgressing people" (ix. 95-96). K'ab said that the matter of us three persons was deferred as compared with those who took an oath in the presence of Allahs Messenger (ﷺ) and he accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and Allah did not give any decision in regard to us. It was Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Who gave decisions in our case, three who remained behind. (The words of the Qur'an)" the three who were left behind" do not mean that we remained back from Jihad but these imply that He kept our matter behind them who took oath and presented excuse before Him. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters

Ibn ‌Shihab ​reported ‌that ​Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made an expedition to Tabuk and he (the Holy Prophet) had in his mind (the idea of threatening the) Christians of Arabia in Syria and those of Rome. Ibn Shihab (further) reported that 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abdullah b. Ka'b informed him that Abdullah b. Ka'b who served as the guide of Ka'b b. 'Malik as he became blind that he heard Ka'b b. Malik narrate the story of his remaining behind Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) from the Battle of Tabuk. Ka'b b. Malik said:I never remained behind Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) from any expedition which he undertook except the Battle of Tabuk and that of the Battle of Badr. So far as the Battle of Badr is concerned, nobody was blamed for remaining behind as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and the Muslims (did not set out for attack but for waylaying) the caravan of the Quraish, but it was Allah Who made them confront their enemies without their intention (to do so). I had the honour to be with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the night of 'Aqaba when we pledged our allegiance to Islam and it was more dear to me than my participation in the Battle of Badr, although Badr was more popular amongst people as compared with that (Tabuk). And this is my story of remaining back from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk. Never did I possess means enough and (my circumstances) more favourable than at the occasion of this expedition. And, by Allah, I had never before this expedition simultaneously in my possession two rides. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out for this expedition in extremely hot season; the journey was long and the land (which he and his army had to cover) was waterless and he had to confront a large army, so he informed the Muslims about the actual situation (they had to face), so that they should adequately equip themselves for this expedition, and he also told them the destination where he intended to go. And the Muslims who accompanied Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) at that time were large in numbers but there was no proper record of them. Ka'b (further) said: Few were the persons who wanted to absent themselves, and were under the impression that they could easily conceal themselves (and thus remain undetected) until revelations from Allah, the Exalted and Glorious (descended in connection with them). And Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out on an expedition when the fruits were ripe and their shadows had been lengthened. I had weakness for them and it was during this season that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made preparations and the Muslims too along with them. I also set out in the morning so that I should make preparations along with them but I came back and did nothing and said to myself: I have means enough (to make preparations) as soon as I like. And I went on doing this (postponing my preparations) until people were about to depart and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out and the Muslims too along with him, but I made no preparations. I went early in the morning and came back, but I made no decision. I continued to do so until they (the Muslims) hastened and covered a good deal of distance. I also made up my mind to march on and to meet them. Would that I had done that but perhaps it was not destined for me. After the departure of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as I went out amongst people, I was shocked to find that I did not find anyone like me but people who were labelled as hypocrites or the people whom Allah granted exemption because of their incapacity and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) took no notice of me until he had reached Tabuk. (One day as he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk) he said: What has happened to Ka'b b. Malik? A person from Banu' Salama said: Allah's Messenger, the (beauty) of his cloak and his appreciation of his sides have allured him and he was thus detained. Mua'dh b. Jabal said: Woe be upon that what you contend. Allah's Messenger, by Allah, we know nothing about him but good. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), however, kept quiet. It was during that time that he (the Holy Prophet) saw a person (dressed in all white (garment) shattering the illusion of eye (mirage). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: May he be Abu Khaithama and, lo, it was Abu Khaithama al-Ansari and he was that person who contributed a sa' of dates and was scoffed at by the hypocrites. Ka'b b. Malik farther said: When this news reached me that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was on his way back from Tabuk I was greatly perturbed. I thought of fabricating false stories and asked myself how I would save myself from his anger on the following day. In this connection, I sought the help of every prudent man from amongst the members of my family and when it was said to me that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was about to arrive, all the false ideas banished (from my mind) and I came to the conclusion that nothing could save me but the telling of truth, so I decided to speak the truth and it was in the morning that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) arrived (in Medina). And it was his habit that as he came back from a journey he first went to the mosque and observed two Rak'ahs of nafl prayer (as a mark of gratitude) and then sat amongst people. And as he did that, those who had remained behind him began to put forward their excuses and take an oath before him and they were more than eighty persons. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) accepted their excuses on the very face of them and accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and left their secret (intentions) to Allah, until I presented myself to him. I greeted him and he smiled and there was a tinge of anger in that. He (the Holy Prophet) then said to me: Come forward. I went forward until I sat in front of him. He said to me: What kept you back? Could you not afford to go in for a ride? I said: Allah's Messenger, by Allah, if I were to sit in the presence of anybody else from amongst the worldly people I would have definitely saved myself from his anger on one pretext (or the other) and I have also the knack to fall into argumentation, but, by Allah, I am fully aware of the fact that if I were to put forward before you a false excuse to please you Allah would definitely provoke your wrath upon me, and if I speak the truth you may be annoyed with me, but I hope that Allah would make its end well and, by Allah, there is no valid excuse for me. By Allah, I never possessed so good means, and I never had such favourable conditions for me as I had when I stayed behind you (failed to join the expedition). Thereupon, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: This man told the truth, so get up until Allah gives a decision in your case. I stood up and some people of Banu' Salama followed me in hot haste, and they said to me: By Allah, we do not know about you that you committed a sin prior to this. You, however, showed inability to put forward an excuse before Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as those who stayed behind him have put forward excuses. It would have been enough for the forgiveness of your sin that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) would have sought forgiveness for you. By Allah, they continued to incite me until I thought of going back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and contradict myself. Then I said to them: Has anyone else also met the same fate? They said: Yes, two persons have met the same fate as has fallen to you and they have made the sane statement as you have made, and the same verdict has been delivered in their case as it has been delivered in your case. I said: Who are they? They said: Murara b. ar-Rabi'a 'Amiri and Hilal b. Umayya al-Waqafi. They made a mention of these two pious persons to me who had participated in the Battle of Badr and there was an example for me in them. I went away when they named these two persons. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade the Nluslims to talk with three of us from amongst those (persons) who had stayed behind him. The people began to avoid us and their attitude towards us underwent a change and it seemed as if the whole atmosphere had turned (hostile) against us and it was in fact the same atmosphere ot which I was fully aware and in which I had lived (for a fairly long time). We spent fifty nights in this very state and my two friends confined themselves withen their houses and spent (most of the) time in weeping, but as I was young and strong amongst them I got (out of my house), participated in congregational prayers, moved about in the bazar; but none spoke to me. I came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as he sat amongst (people) after the prayer, greeted him and asked myself whether his lips stirred in response to my greetings (or not). Then I observed prayer beside him and looked at him with stealing glances and when I attended to my prayer, he looked at me and when I cast a glance at him he turned away his eyes from me. And when the harsh treatment of the Muslims towards me extended to a (considerable) length of time, I walked until I climbed upon the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada, and he was my cousin, and I had the greatest love for him. I greeted him but, by Allah, he did not respond to my greetings. I said to him: Abu Qatada, I adjure you by Allah, arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) the most. He kept quiet. I again repeated saying: I adjure you by Allah. arn't you well aware of the fact that I love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) the most. He kept quiet. I again adjured him, whereupon he said: Allah and the Messenger (ﷺ) are best aware of it. My eyes began to shed tears and I came back climbing down from the wall and as I was walking in the bazar of Medina a Nabatean from amongst the Nabateans of Syria, who had come to sell foodgrains in Medina, asked people to direct him to Ka'b b. Malik. People gave him the indication by pointing towards me. He came to me and delivered to me a letter of the King of Ghassan and as I was a scribe I read that letter and it was written like this:" Coming to my point, it has been conveyed to us that your friend (the Holy Prophet) is subjecting you to cruelty and Allah has not created you for a place where you are to be degraded and where you cannot find your right place, so you come to us that we should accord you honour. As I read that letter I said: This is also a calamity, so I burnt it in the oven. When out of the fifty days, forty days had passed and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) received no revelation, there came the messenger of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to me and said: Verily, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has commanded you to remain separate from your wife. I said: Should I divorce her or what (else) should I do? He said: No, but only remain separate from her and don't have sexual contact with her. The same message was sent to my companions. So I said to my wife: You better go to your parents and stay there with them until Allah gives the decision in my case. The wife of Hilal b. Umayya came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said: Allah's Messenger, Hilal b. Umayya is a senile person, he has no servant. Do you disapprove of my serving him? He said: No, but don't go near him. She said: By Allah, he has no such instinct in him. By Allah, he spends his time in weeping from that day to this day. Some of the members of my family said to me: Were you to seek permission from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in regard to your wife as he has granted permission to the wife of Hilal b. Umayya to serve him. I said: I would not seek permission from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), for I cannot say what Allah's Apostle may say in response to seeking my permission. Moreover, I am a young man. It was in this state that I spent ten more nights and thus fifty nights had passed that (people) had observed boycott with us. It was on the morning of the fiftieth night that I observed my dawn prayer and was sitting on one of the roofs of our houses. And I was in fact sitting in that very state which Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, has described about us in these words:" Life had become hard for myself and the earth had compressed despite its vastness," that I heard the noise of an announcer from the peak of the hill of Sal' saying at the top of his voice: Ka'b b. Malik, there is glad tidings for you. I fell down in prostration and came to realise that there was (a message of) relief for me. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had informed the people of the acceptance of our repentance by Allah as he offered the dawn prayer. So the people went on to give us glad tidings and some of them went to my friends in order to give them the glad tidings and a person galloped his horse and came from the tribe of Aslam and his horse reached me more quickly than his voice. And when he came to me whose sound I heard, he gave me the glad tidings. I took off my clothes and clothed him with them because of his bringing good news to me and, by Allah, I possessed nothing else (in the form of clothes) than these two on that occasion, and I asked one to lend me two clothes and dressed myself in them. I came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and on my way I met groups of people who greeted me because of (the acceptance of) repentance and they said: Here is a greeting for you for your repentance being accepted by Allah. (I moved on) until I came to the mosque and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had been sitting there amongst persons. So Talha b. 'Ubaidullah got up and rushed towards me and he shook hands with me and greeted me and, by Allah, no person stood up (to greet me) from amongst the emigrants except he. Ka'b said that he never forgot (this good gesture of) Talha. Ka'b further said: I greeted Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) with Assalam-o-'Alaikam and his face was glistening because of delight, and he said: Let there be glad tidings and blessings for you, the like of which (you have neither found nor you will find, as you find today) since your mother gave your birth. I said: Allah's Messenger. is this acceptance of repentance from you or from Allah? He said: No, (it is not from ma), it is from Allah, and it was common with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that as he was happy his face brightened up and it looked like a part of the moon and it was from this that we recognised it (his delight). As I sat before him, I said: Allah's Messenger, am I allowed to give in charity my wealth for Allah's sake and for the sake of His Messenger (ﷺ)? Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Keep some property with you as it is better for you. I said: I shall keep with me that part (of my property) which fell to my lot (on the occasion of the expedition of) Khaibar. I said: Allah's Messenger, verily, Allah has granted me salvation because of truth and, therefore, (I think) that repentance implies that I should not speak anything but truth as long as I live. He said: By Allah, I do not know whether anyone amongst the Muslims was put to more severe trial than I by Allah because of telling the truth. And since I made a mention of this to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) up to this day I have not told any lie and, by Allah, I have decided not to tell a lie and I hope that Allah would save me (from trials) for the rest of my life and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed these verses:" Certainly, Allah has turned in Mercy to the Prophet and the emigrants and the helpers who followed him in the hour of hardship after the hearts of a part of them were about to deviate; then He turned to them in mercy. Surely, to them He is Compassionate, Merciful and (He turned in Mercy) to the three who were left behind until the earth despite its vastness became strait for them and their souls were also straitened to them." And this revelation reached up to the (words):" O you who believe, develop God consciousness, and be with the truthful" (ix. 117-118). Ka'b said: By Allah, since Allah directed me to Islam there has been no blessing more significant for me than this truth of mine which I spoke to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and if I were to tell a lie I would have been ruined as were ruined those who told lies, for in regard to those who told lies Allah used harshest words used for anyone as He descended revelation (and the words of Allah are):" They will swear by Allah to you when you return to them so that you may leave them alone. So leave them alone. Surely, they are unclean and their resort is Hell, recompense for what they earned. They will swear to you that you may be pleased with them but if you are pleased with them, yet surely Allah is not pleased with the transgressing people" (ix. 95-96). K'ab said that the matter of us three persons was deferred as compared with those who took an oath in the presence of Allahs Messenger (ﷺ) and he accepted their allegiance and sought forgiveness for them and Allah did not give any decision in regard to us. It was Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Who gave decisions in our case, three who remained behind. (The words of the Qur'an)" the three who were left behind" do not mean that we remained back from Jihad but these imply that He kept our matter behind them who took oath and presented excuse before Him. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters

Hibban ‌b. ​Musa ​narrated ​to us. (He said): Abdullah b. Mubarak informed us. (He said): Yunus b. Yazid al-Ayli informed us. Ishaq b. Ibrahim al-Hanzali, Muhammad b. Rafi', and Abd b. Humayd also narrated. (Ibn Rafi' used the expression "haddesena"; the others said: Abd al-Razzaq informed us. He said): Ma'mar informed us. The context is the hadith of Ma'mar from the narration of Abd and Ibn Rafi'. Yunus and Ma'mar both said from Zuhri. (Zuhri said): Sa'id b. Musayyib, Urwa b. Zubayr, Alkama b. Waqqas, and Ubaydullah b. Abdillah b. Utba b. Mas'ud narrated from Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that when the slanderers said what they said to her, and Allah cleared her of their accusations, all the narrators reported to me a part of her hadith. Some of them had memorized her hadith better than others, and its narration was more reliable. I memorized the hadith she narrated to me from each of them. The hadiths corroborate each other. According to what she said, Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to go on an expedition, he would draw lots among his wives. Whoever the lot fell upon, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would go on the expedition with her. She said: She drew lots among us for a battle she was going to undertake, and the lot fell upon me. I also went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This happened after the verse about veiling was revealed. I was mounted on the camel inside my palanquin, and dismounted from it at our destination. Finally, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his campaign and returned, and we were approaching Medina, he announced a night march. When he announced the march, I immediately got up and walked, even overtaking the army. When I relieved myself, I went to my belongings. I touched my chest and saw that my necklace, made of saffron beads, had broken. I immediately turned back and searched for my necklace. Searching for it kept me from going. The group that had loaded my saddle had loaded my palanquin and gone. They loaded it onto the camel I was riding. They thought I was inside it too. He said: At that time, women were light-skinned. They hadn't become fat, their bodies weren't covered in flesh. They were only eating a tiny bit of food. The congregation loaded the palanquins onto the camel and lifted them without questioning the weight. I was a young, tender girl. They drove the camel away. I found my necklace after the army had left. Then I arrived at the place where they were, only to find no one calling out to me or answering. I went back to where I was, thinking the congregation would look for me and return. While sitting there, I felt sleepy and fell asleep. Safwan ibn Mu'attal al-Sulam later rested behind the army of Zakwan. At the end of the night, he set out on the road, spent the night where I was, and saw a shadow of a sleeping person. He immediately came to me and recognized me; indeed, he had seen me before the obligation of wearing a veil was imposed upon me. When he recognized me, I woke up with his istirja (prayer for protection). And I immediately covered my face with my veil. By Allah, he didn't speak a word to me. I heard nothing from him except his istirja. He made his camel kneel down; he stepped on its front leg, and I mounted the camel. And he led me on my camel and we set off. Finally, we caught up with the army after they had encamped when the midday heat became intense. By then, what was destined for me was done. Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul had taken on the majority of this task. Subsequently, we arrived in Medina. When we arrived in Medina, I was ill for a month. The people were spreading the slanderers' words. I didn't feel anything from this. But during my illness, the fact that I didn't see the same kindness from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that I had seen before when I was ill made me suspicious. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would only enter, give greetings, and then say: [He would say something]. This also made me suspicious. But I didn't feel any malice. Finally, after I recovered, I went outside. Umm Mistah also went with me towards Manasi. This place was our latrine. We only went out at night. This incident happened before we built toilets near our houses. Our custom regarding latrines was the custom of the early Arabs. We felt inconvenienced building toilets next to our houses. Umm Mistah and I walked. This woman is the daughter of Abu Ruhm b. Muttalib b. Abdi Menaf. Her mother is the daughter of Sahr b. Amir, the aunt of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Umm Mistah's son is Mistah b. Usasa b. Abbad b. Muttalifa. Then, after I and Bint Abu Ruhm relieved ourselves, we headed towards my house. Then Umm Mistah stepped on her veil and said: "May Mistah be cursed!" I said to her: "What a terrible thing you said! Are you cursing a man who was at Badr?" She said: "Woman, didn't you hear what he said?" I asked: "What did he say?" Upon this, he informed me of what the slanderers had said. And my illness worsened manifold. When I returned home, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered and greeted me. Then he asked, "Will you allow me to go to my parents?" I said, "At that moment, I wanted to understand the news from them properly." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me permission. So I went to my parents and said to my mother, "O my mother! What are people saying?" My mother said, "O my daughter, be calm! By Allah, there are very few beautiful women who are married to a man who loves them, even if they have partners, yet they do not speak ill of them." I said, "Subhanallah! Did people really say that?" Then I cried that night. I spent the night crying without my eyes stopping and without sleep. Then I spent the night crying again. When the revelation ceased, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Ali ibn Abi Talib and Usama ibn Zayd to consult with him about separating from his family. Usama ibn Zayd, indicating that he knew of his family's innocence and showing his affection for them, said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah! They are your family. We know nothing but good." As for Ali ibn Abi Talib, he said: "Allah will not put you in distress; there are many other women besides her. If you ask the slave girl, she will tell you the truth." Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Barira and asked: "Barira! Have you seen anything about Aisha that would cause you to have doubts?" Berira said to him: "I swear by Allah, who sent you with the truth, I have not seen anything in him that I could fault him for. However, he is a young man, a mere youth. He sleeps on the dough he kneads for his family, and sheep come and eat it." Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rose and ascended the pulpit, seeking an apology from Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Aisha said: "While the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the pulpit, he said: 'O community of Muslims! Who will accept my apology from a man who has caused the utmost harm to my family? By Allah, I know nothing but good about my family. He only entered their presence with me.'" Upon this, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh al-Ansari stood up and said: "I will accept your apology from him, O Messenger of Allah!" If he is from the Aws tribe, we will cut off his neck. If he is from our brothers Khazraj, you give the order, and we will obey your command," he said. Then Sa'd ibn Ubadah rose. This man was the chief of the Khazraj tribe and a good man. However, his zeal had made him ignorant. He said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh: "You have erred! I swear by Allah that you cannot kill him, nor are you capable of killing him!" Then Usayd ibn Hudayr rose. This man was Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's cousin. He said to Sa'd ibn Ubadah: "You have erred! I swear by Allah that we will certainly kill him. You are truly a hypocrite. You are fighting on behalf of the hypocrites." And the two tribes (i.e., Aws and Khazraj) rose up. They even intended to fight. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing on the pulpit. He continued to soothe them, until they fell silent. He too fell silent. Aisha said: "I cried that day. My tears did not stop, and I could not sleep. Then I cried again the next night. My tears did not stop, and I could not sleep. My mother and father thought that my crying would tear my heart apart. While they were sitting beside me and I was crying, a woman from the Ansar asked permission to enter. I gave her permission. The woman sat down and began to cry. While we were in this state, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entered and greeted us. Then he sat down. He had not sat beside me since what had been said about me had been said. He had waited a month, and nothing had been revealed to him about me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, he recited the tashahhud." Then he said: "O Aisha, the situation is that such and such accusations have come to me from you. If you are innocent, Allah will acquit you. If you have committed a sin, seek forgiveness from Allah! Repent to Him! For if a servant confesses a sin and then repents, Allah accepts his repentance." Aisha said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished speaking, my tears stopped. I didn't even feel a single drop anymore. I said to my father: 'Answer on my behalf about what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said!' My father said: 'By Allah, I don't know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' (Then) I said to my mother: 'Answer on my behalf about what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said!'" I said, and he replied, "By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Thereupon, although I was young and did not know much of the Qur'an, I said, "By Allah, I understand well that you have heard what has been said. It has even taken root in your fortresses, and you have believed it. If I were to say to you that I am innocent—and Allah knows that I am innocent—you would not believe me. If I were to confess to you something—and Allah knows that I am innocent—you would affirm me. By Allah, I cannot find an example for you to give. However, as Joseph's father said, my matter is one of beautiful patience. Allah is the One to whom help is sought regarding what you have said." He said, "Then I turned over and lay down on my bed. And by Allah, I knew at that moment that I was innocent and that Allah would acquit me. But by Allah, I did not think that the revelation (of the Qur'an) would be sent down concerning me." My state of mind and expectations were not such that Allah (Glorified and Exalted) would send down a verse about me. Rather, I expected that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have a dream in his sleep, and that through that dream, Allah would acquit me. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had not left his assembly; no one from the household had gone outside when Allah (Glorified and Exalted) sent down revelation to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The intensity that had overwhelmed him at the moment of revelation returned. From the weight of the words revealed to him, pearls of sweat poured from his forehead on that cold day. When the state of revelation ended, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. His first words were: "O Aisha! Allah has acquitted you." Upon this, my mother said to me: "Get up and go to him." I said: "By Allah, I cannot go to him. I cannot praise anyone other than Allah! It is He who has sent down my innocence." Then Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) revealed ten verses, starting from Surah An-Nur, verse 11. These verses were revealed by Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) concerning my innocence. Abu Bakr—who used to provide for Mistah due to their kinship and poverty—said: "By Allah, after what he said about Aisha, I will never give him anything again!" Thereupon, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) revealed the verse, "Let not those who are of high status and wealth swear that they will not help their relatives..." up to the noble verse, "Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?" Ibn Musa said: "Abdullah b. Mubarak said, "This is the most hopeful verse in the Book of Allah." Bakr said, "By Allah, I wish Allah would forgive me," and he resumed giving Mistah the sustenance he had previously given him, saying, "I will never stop giving it to him." He said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh, about my matter, saying, 'Did you know (or) what did you see?' She replied, 'O Messenger of Allah! I protect my ears and my eyes. By Allah, I know nothing but good.' He said, 'Yet, she was the one among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who challenged me. Allah protected her with piety and righteousness.' Her sister, Hanina bint Jahsh, began to contend with her, and she perished among those who perished." He said, "This is what came to us from the matter of this community!" And in the hadith, he used the expression, "His zeal angered him..."

Sa'id ​b. ‌Musayyib, ‌'Urwa ‌b. Zubair, 'Alqama b. Waqqas and 'Ubaidullah b. Abdullah b. 'Utba b. Mas'ud--all of them reported the story of the false allegation against 'A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ). And they (the slanderers) said what they had to say, but Allah exonerated her of this charge and all of them reported a part of the hadith and some of them who had better memories reported more and with better retention, and I tried to retain this hadith (listening) from every one of them that they reported to me and some of them attested the other. (The sumaried substance of the false allegation is this):'A'isha said: Whenever Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) intended to set out on a journey he cast lots amongst his wives and he took one with him in whose favour the lot was cast. It so happened that he cast lots amongst us while setting out on a battle and it was cast in my favour, so I set out along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). This relates to the period when the revelation concerning the commands of veil had been made. I was carried in a haudaj and I was brought down where we had to stay. In short, when we set out for return journey from the expedition and our caravan was near Medina, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) commanded one night to march forward. I also got up when the command for the march was given and moved on until I went out of the encampments of the army and after relieving myself I came to my place. I touched my chest and found that my necklace which had been made of the stones of zafar had been broken. I retraced my steps and tried to search my necklace and this detained me there. The group of people who saddled my ride and placed my haudaj carrying me upon the camels marched on. They were under the impression that I was in it. The women in those days were light of weight and they did not wear much flesh, as they ate less food; so they did not perceive the weight of my haudaj as they placed it upon the camel as I was a young girl at that time. So they drove the camel and Eet out and I found my necklace after the army had marched. I came to my place and there was none to call and none to respond (the call). I waited at my place under the impression that when the people would riot find me they would come back. So I kept sitting at my place. I was overpowered by sleep and slept. Safwan b. Mu'attal Sulami Dhakwini, who had lagged behind the army because of taking rest came to my place walking in the latter part of the night and he saw the body of a person who was asleep. He came to me and recognised me as he had seen rue before it was enjoined to observe purda. I got ap by his voice as he recited Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un [we are for Allah and to Him we have to return. ] and I covered my head with my headdress. By Allah, he did not speak to me a word and I did not hear a word from him except Inna lillahi. He made his camel kneel down and I amounted the camel as he pressed tLe camel's foreleg and he moved on leaning the camel by the nose string on which I was riding until we came to the army where it had encamped for rest because of extreme heat. Woe be upon those who harboured doubts about me and the most notorious among them was 'Abdullah b. Ubayy, the great hypocrite. We came to Medina and I fell sick for a month. The people had been deliberating over the statements of those who had brought these calumnies against me. I was absolutely unaware of anything concerning that. This, however, caused doubt in my mind that I did not see Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him.) treating me with such kindness with which he treated me as I fell ill before this. The Prophet (ﷺ) would coome and greet me with Assalam-o-'Alaikum and only ask me how I was. This caused doubt in my mind, but I was unaware of the evil. I wept outside despite my failing health and there went along with me Umm Mistah and she said the daughter of Abu Rhm b. Muttalib b. 'Abd Manaf and his mother was the daughter of Sakhr b. 'Amir, the sister of the mother of Abu Bakr Sidiq and his son was Mistah b. Uthatha b. 'Abbad b. Muttalib. I and the daughter of Abu Rahm set towards the direction of my house. Something got into the head dress of Umm Mistah and she said: Woe be upon Mistah. And I said. Woe be upon what you say. Do you curse people who had participated in Badr? She said: Innocent woman, have you not heard what he said? I said: What did he say? She conveyed to me the statement of those who had brought false allegations against me. So my illness was aggravated. I went to my house and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to me and he greeted me and then said: How is that woman? I said: Do you permit me to go to the (house) of my parents? She (further) said: I had at that time made up my mind to confirm this news from them. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) permitted me. So I came to (the house of) my parents and said to my mother: Mother, do you know what the people are talking about? She said: My daughter, you should not worry. By Allah, if there is a handsome woman who is loved by her husband and he has co-wives also they talk many a thing about her. I said: Hallowed be Allah, what are the people talking about? I wept during the whole night until it was morning and I did not have a wink of sleep and I wept even in the morning. As the revelation was delayed (in regard to this matter), so Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) called 'Ali ibn Abi 'Talib and Usama b. Zaid in order to seek their advice in regard to the separation of his wife. Usama b. Zaid told Allah's Messenger (may peace be apen him) about the innocence of his wives and what he knew about his love for them. He said: Allah's Messenger, they are your wives and we know nothing else about them but goodness. And as for 'Ali b. Abu Talib, he said: Allah has not put any unnecessary burden upon you (in regard to your wives). There are a number of women besides her and if you ask that maidservant (Barira) she will tell you the truth. So, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) called Bailra and said: Barira, did you see anything in 'A'isha which can cause doubt about her? Barira said: By Him Who sent thee with the truth, I have seen nothing objectionable in her but only this much that she is a young girl and she goes to sleep while kneading the flour and the lamb eats that. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) mounted the pulpit and sought vindication against 'Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul, and he further said: Who would exonerate me from imputations of that person who has troubled (me) in regard to my family? By Allah, I find nothing in my wife but goodness and the person whom the people have mentioned in this connection is, according to my knowledge, a thoroughly pious person, and he did never get into my house but along with me. Sa'd b. Mu'adh stood up and said: Allah's Messenger, I defend your honour against him. If he belong to the tribe of Aus we would strike his neck and if he belongs to the tribe of our brother Khazraj and you order us we would comply with your order. Then Sa'd b. 'Ubada stood up. He was chief of the Khazraj tribe. He was otherwise a pioas man but he had some what tribal partisanship in him and he said to Sa'd b. Mu'adh: By the everlasting existence of Allah. you are not stating the fact, you will not be able to kill him and you will not have the power to do so. Thereupon, Usaid b. Hudair stood up, and he was the first cousin of Sa'd b. Mu'adh and said to Sa'd b. 'Ubada: By the everlasting existence of Allah, you are not stating the fact. We would kill him. You are a hypocrite and so you argue in defence of the hypocrites, and thus both the tribes Aus and Khazraj were flared up, until they were about to fall upon one another and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kept standing upon the pulpit and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) tried to subside their anger until they became silent and thus there was silence. 'A'isha further reported: I spent the whole day in weeping and even the night and could not have a wink of sleep even next night. My parents thought that this constant weeping of mine would break my heart. I wept and they sat beside me. In the meanwhile a woman of the Ansar came to see me. I permitted her to see me and she also began to weep. And we were in this very state that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came and he greeted me and then sat down. He had never sat with me since a month when this rumour was afloat, and there was no revelation (to clarity) my case. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) recited Tashahhud (there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle) and then said: Coming to the point, 'A'isha, this is what has reached me about you and if you are innocent, Allah would Himself vindicate your honour, and if accidentally there has been a lapse on your part seek forgiveness of Allah; He will pardon thee for when a servant makes a confession of his fault and turns (to Him) penitently, Allah also turns to him (mercifully) accepting his repentance. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) talked, my tears dried up and not even a single drop of tear was perceived by me (rolling out of my eyes). I said to my father: You give a reply to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on my behalf. He said: By Allah, I do not know what I should say to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). I then said to my mother: Give a reply to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) on my behalf, but she said: By Allah, I do not know what I should say to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). I was a small girl at that time and I had not read much of the Qur'an (but I said): By Allah, I perceive that you have heard about this and it has settled down in your mind and you have taken it to be true, so if I say to you that I am quite innocent, and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would never believe me to be true, and if I confess to (the alleged) lapse before you, whereas Allah knows that I am completely innocent (and I have not committed this sin at all), in that case You will take me to be true and, by Allah, I, therefore, find no other alternative for me and for you except that what the father of Yousuf said:, (My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought for in that (predicament) which ye describe" (xii 18). After this I turned my face to the other side and lay down on my bed. By Allah, I was fully aware of this fact that I was innocent but I did not expect that Allah would descend Wahy Matlu (Qur'anic Wahy) in my case as I did not think myself so much important that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would speak in this matter in words to be recited. I only hoped that Allah would in vision give an indication of my innocence to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) during his sleep. And, by Allah, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had not moved an inch from where he had been sitting and none from the members of my family had gone that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, descended revelation upon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) there and then and he felt the burden which he used to feel at the time of receiving revelation. He began to perspire because of the burden of words of Allah as they descended upon him even during the winter season and there fell the drops of his sweat like silvery beads. When this state of receiving revelation was over, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) smiled and the first words which he spoke to me were that he said: 'A'isha, there is glad tidings for you. Verily, Allah has vindicated your honour, and my mother who had been standing by me said: Get up (and thank him, i. e. the Holy Prophet). I said: By Allah, I shall not thank him and laud him but Allah Who has descended revelation vindicating my honour. She ('A'isha) said: Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed:" 'Verily, those who spread the slander are a gang among you" (and) ten (subsequent) verses in regard to my innocence. She further said: Abu Bakr used to give to Mistah (some stipend) as a token of kinship with him and for his poverty and he (Abu Bakr) said: By Allah, now I would not spend anything for him. 'A'isha said: It was upon this that Allah the Exalted and Glorious revealed this verse:" And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear to give to the near of the kin" up to" Yearn ye not that Allah may forgive you?" Hibban b. Musa' said that 'Abdullah b. Mubarak used to say: It is a verse contained in the Book which most (eminently) brightens the hope. Abu Bakr said: By Allah, I wish that Allah should pardon me. I shall never stop this stipend. So he continued to give him the stipend which he had withdrawn. 'A'isha said that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) asked Zainab, daughter of Jahsh, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), about me what she knew or what she had seen in me, and she said: Allah's Messenger, I shall not say anything without hearing (with my ears) and seeing with my eyes. By Allah, I find nothing in her but goodness. (And she stated this in spite of the fact) that she was the only lady who amongst the wives of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) used to vie with me but Allah saved her in bringing false allegation against me because of her God-consciousness. Her sister Hamna bint Jahsh, however, opposed her and she was undone along with others

Zaid ​b. ‌Arqam ​reported:We ​set out on a journey along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in which we faced many hardships. 'Abdullah b. Ubayy said to his friends: Do not give what you have in your possession to those who are with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) until they desert him. Zubair said: That is the reciting of that person who recited as min haulahu (from around him) and the other reciting is man haulahia (who are around him). And in this case when we would return to Medina the honourable would drive out the meaner therefrom (lxiv. 8). I came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) and informed him about that and he sent someone to 'Abdullah b. Ubayy and he asked him whether he had said that or not. He took an oath to the fact that he had not done that and told that it was Zaid who had stated a lie to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Zaid said: I was much perturbed because of this until this verse was revealed attesting my truth:" When the hypocrites come" (lxiii. 1). Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) then called them in order to seek forgiveness for them, but they turned away their heads as if they were hooks of wood fixed in the wall (lxiii. 4), and they were in fact apparently good-looking persons

Jabir ​b. ‌Abdullah ‌reported ​that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:He who climbed this hill, the hill of Murar, his sins would be obliterated as were obliterated the sins of Bani Isra'il. So the first to take their horses were the people of Banu Khazraj. Then there was a ceaseless flow of persons and Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to them: All of you are those who have been pardoned except the owner of a red camel. We came to him and said to him: You also come on, so that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) may seek forgiveness for you. But he said: By Allah, so far as I am concerned, the finding of something lost is dearer to me than seeking of forgiveness for me by your companion (the Holy Prophet), and he remained busy in finding out his lost thing

Anas ‌b. ‌Malik ​reported ​that Abu Jahl said:O Allah, if he is true, then shower upon us the volley of stones from the sky or inflict upon us a grievous torment, and it was on this occasion that this verse was revealed:" 'Allah would never torment them so long as you are amongst them. And Allah is not going to torment them as long as they seek forgiveness. And why is it that Allah should not torment them and they prevent people from coming to the sacred mosque...." (viii. 34) to the end

Masruq ‌reported ​that ​there ‌came to Abdullah a person and said:I have left behind in the mosque a man who explains the Qur'an according to his personal discretion and he explained this verse:" So wait for the day when the Heaven brings a clear smoke." He says that a smoke would come to the people on the Day of Resurrection anl it will withhold breath and they would be inflicted with cold. 'Abdullah said: He who has knowledge should say something and he who has no knowledge should simply say: Allah is best aware. This reflects the understanding of a person that he should say about that which he does not know that it is Allah who knows best. The fact is that when the Quraish disobeyed Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) he supplicated Allah that they should be afflicted with famine and starvation as was done in case of Yusuf. And they were so much hard pressed that a person would ace the sky and he would see between him and the sky something like smoke and they were so much hard pressed that they began to cat the bones, and a person came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) and said: Allah's Messenger. seek forgiveness for the tribe of Mudar for (its people) have been undone. The Messenger (ﷺ) said: For Mudar? You are overbold, but he supplicated Allah for them. It was upon this that this verse was revealed:" We shall remove the chastisement a little, but they will surely return to evil" (xliv. 15). lie (the narrator) said: There was a downpoor of rain upon them. When there was some relief for them they returned to the same position as they had been before, and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed this verse:" So wait for the day when the heaven brings a clear smoke enveloping people. This is a grievous torment on the day when We seize them with the most violent seizing; surely, We shall exact retribution." And this (seizing) implied (Battle) of Badr

Abu ‌Huraira ​reported ‌Allah's ​Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:There is none amongst you whose deeds alone would attain salvation for him. They (the Companions) said: Allah's Messenger, not even you? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Not even I, but that Allah wraps me in Mercy and He grants me pardon. Ibn 'Aun pointed towards his head with his hand saying: Not even I, but that Allah wraps me in His Forgiveness and Mercy

(Ubadah ‌ibn ​Walid) ‌said: ‌I said to him: Uncle! If you had taken the striped cloak of your slave and given him your cloak of forgiveness, or taken his cloak of forgiveness from him and given him his striped cloak, you would have had a pair on your body and he would have had a pair on his body. He passed his hand over my head and said: O Allah! Bless him. O nephew! My eyes saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and my ears heard him and. Pointing to the place of my heart, he said: My heart remembered him, while he was saying: "Feed them (slaves) from what you eat and clothe them from what you wear." If I had given him (his share) of the blessings of this world, it would have been easier for me than for him to take away my good deeds on the Day of Resurrection.

Urwa ​reported ​on ​the ‌authority of his father that 'A'isha said to him:O, the son of my sister, the Muslims were commanded to seek forgiveness for the Companions of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) but they reviled them

When ‌the ​Prophet ‌(ﷺ) ‌came out of the privy, he used to say: "Grant me Thy forgiveness."

The ​Prophet ‌(ﷺ) ‌said: ​The mu'adhdhin will receive forgiveness to the extent to which his voice reaches, and every moist and dry place will testify on his behalf; and he who attends (the congregation of) prayer will have twenty-five prayers recorded for him and will have expiation for sins committed between every two times of prayer.

‘Ali ​b. ​Ali ​Talib ‌said:When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up for prayer, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), then said: I have turned my face, breaking with all others, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not a polytheist. My prayer and my devotion, my life and my death belong to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner. That is what I have been commanded, and I am first of Muslims (those who surrender themselves). O Allah, Thou art the King. There is no God but Thee. Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant. I have wronged myself, but I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins; Thou Who alone canst forgive sins; and guide me to the best qualities. Thou Who alone canst guide to the best of them; and turn me from evil ones. Thou who alone canst turn from evil qualities. I come to serve and please Thee. All good is in Thy Hands, and evil does not pertain to Thee. I seek refuge in Thee and turn to Thee, Who art blessed and exalted. I ask Thy forgiveness and turn to thee in repentance. When he bowed, he said: O Allah, to Thee I bow, in Thee I trust, and to Thee I submit myself. My hearing, my sight, my brain, my bone and my sinews humble themselves before Thee. When he raised his head, he said: Allah listens to him who praises Him. O our lord, and all praises be to Thee in the whole of the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, and in whatever Thou creates afterwards. When he prostrated himself, he said: O Allah, to Thee I prostrate myself, to Thee I trust, and to Thee I submit myself. My face prostrated itself before Him Who created it, fashioned it, and fashioned it in the best shape, and brought forth its hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators. When he saluted at the end of the prayer, he said: O Allah, forgive me my former and my latter sins, my open and secret sins, my sins in exceeding the limits, and what Thou knowest better than I. Thou art He Who puts forward and puts back. There is deity but Thee

Asim ‌ibn ​Humayd ‌said: ‌I asked Aisha: By what words the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would begin his supererogatory prayer at night? She replied: You ask me about a thing of which no one asked me before you. When he stood up, be uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) ten times, and uttered "Praise be to Allah" ten times, and uttered "Glory be to Allah " ten times, and uttered "There is no god but Allah" ten times, and sought forgiveness ten times, and said: O Allah, forgive me, and guide me, and give me sustenance, and keep me well, and he sought refuge in Allah from the hardship of standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been narrated by Khalid b. Ma'dan from Rab'iah al-Jarashi on the authority of 'Aishah.

Narrated ​Abu ‌Hurairah:The ‌Messenger ​of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: Our Lord who is blessed and exalted descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last one-third of the night remains, and says: Who supplicated Me so that I may answer him ? Who asks of Me so that I may give to him ? Who asks My forgiveness so that I may forgive him ?