When Falsehood Circulates, Sayyid Qutb

Opinion, September 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

When Falsehood Circulates

Sayyid Qutb, Arab News, 9/12/03

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent.

Those who concocted the falsehood were a band from among you. Do not regard it as bad for you; indeed it is good for you. Each one of them shall bear what he has earned of sin; and awesome suffering awaits the one who took on himself the lead among them.

When you heard it, why did not the believers, men and women, think the best of themselves and say: “This is a blatant falsehood.”

Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it? Since they have not produced witnesses, then in the sight of God, they are certainly liars.

Were it not for God’s favor upon you and His grace, in this world and in the life to come, awesome suffering would indeed have afflicted you on account of what you indulged in. (Light, Al-Noor: 24: 11-14)

When we look at the falsehood story, as described in the Qur’an, we realize that it should have been dismissed outright by the Muslim community in Madinah. Instead, however, it circulated for a whole month, because there was a band behind it, feeding the rumors and repeating the story in different settings.

Even today, we are surprised that such a flimsy fabrication could have circulated in the Muslim community at the time, producing far-reaching consequences and causing much pain to the noblest people on earth.

The whole episode was a battle fought by God’s messenger (peace be upon him), the Muslim community and Islam. It perhaps was the greatest battle fought by the Prophet. He emerged from it victorious, having controlled his great pain, maintained his dignity and endured it all patiently. Not a word did he utter to indicate weakness or express impatience. Yet he was experiencing the worst pain he ever endured in his life. He further recognized that the risks to which Islam was exposed as a result of that falsehood were among the worst it had to face at any time.

Yet had Muslims then searched in their own hearts, they would have had the right answer. Had they applied simple natural logic, they would have been rightly guided. The Qur’an directs all Muslims to follow this proper approach when they face such difficulties. It is the first step in arriving at the right conclusion: “When you heard it, why did not the believers, men and women, think the best of themselves, and say: ‘This is a blatant falsehood.’”

That would have been much better indeed. Muslims should think well of themselves and realize that they were highly unlikely to sink so low. Their Prophet’s pure wife and their brother who fought for Islam, laying down his life, belonged to them as a community. Hence, to think well of them was the better course of action. What is unbecoming of all Muslims is unbecoming of the Prophet’s wife and of his companion who was well known as a good person. This is indeed what was done by Abu Ayyoub, Khalid ibn Zayd Al-Ansari and his wife. According to Ibn Ishaq, Abu Ayyoub was asked by his wife: “Have you heard what people are saying about Aishah?” He replied: “Yes, I have, and it is all lies. Would you have done that, Umm Ayyoub?” She said: “No, by God! I would not.” He said: “And by God, Aishah is better than you.” A different report is given by Al-Zamakhshari in his commentary on the Qur’an, suggesting that it was Abu Ayyoub who asked his wife: “Have you heard what is being said?” In reply, she asked him: “Had you been in Safwan’s place, would you have thought ill of the Prophet’s wife?” He said: “Certainly not.” She said: “And if I were in Aishah’s place, I would never be unfaithful to the Prophet. Yet Aishah is better than me, and Safwan is better than you.”

Both reports suggest that some Muslims at least searched in their own hearts and ruled out the possibility that the false story suggested. They dismissed that Aishah or the Prophet’s companion could have committed such a grave sin and been unfaithful to the Prophet, and recognized how utterly flimsy the basis of the whole accusation was. This is the first step in the approach the Qur’an outlines for dealing with such matters; it seeks evidence from within people’s consciences. The second step is to produce material evidence: “Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it? Since they have not produced witnesses, then in the sight of God, they are certainly liars.”

This blatant fabrication targeted the highest position in the Muslim community and the purest people. Hence, it should not have been allowed to circulate casually without supporting evidence. Hence the requirement: “Why did they not produce four witnesses to prove it?” They certainly did not produce any witnesses. Hence, they were, in God’s judgment, liars. God never alters His verdict or modifies His decision. Thus, this description of those people as liars remains always true of them, and they cannot escape it in any situation.

Thus we have two steps in the Islamic approach: Searching in our own hearts and basing our decision on firm and clear evidence. But the Muslim community at the time overlooked both steps, allowing those liars to speak ill of the Prophet and his honor. This was serious indeed and it could have landed the Muslim community in serious trouble, had it not been for God’s grace. Hence, God warns the Muslims never to fall into such a trap again: “Were it not for God’s favor upon you and His grace, in this world and in the life to come, awesome suffering would indeed have afflicted you on account of what you indulged in.”

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).