Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal (ra): Slandered for Helping A Woman | The Firsts | Dr. Omar Suleiman

0:06 Asalaamu alaikum warahmatullah kasa, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome back to the first Bismillah alhamdulillah wa salaatu as salam wa ala rasulila wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wamanwala. So inshaalla ta' today we are going to continue with the companion that is actually most associated with the ifq because of the story of forgiveness that's associated with him.

0:29 And that is, of course, the story of Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala anhu forgiving him, and something that's also enshrined in the Quran. And so when it comes to Hassan and it comes to Hamna, may Allah be pleased with them both, their story ends with the repentance, and of course, Allah Azza giving the lessons to the community of how to deal with the slander of Aish, radiallahu ta'ala anha, and to take that as a lesson to the community going forward of how we deal with public scandal.

0:56 But Mistah is the one whose story continues because there's an added layer, an added element to his story in particular. So let's talk about him inshaAllah ta'ala. His name is Mistah ibn Ut'atha. Sip ibn al-Josi, he says that his name is Auf ibn Utha, Ibn Abbad, ibn ibn Muttalib ibn Abdi Manaf. And he says that his laqab, his nickname is mistah.

1:24 Okay, his nickname is mistah. Usually when you have a nickname like that that doesn't have any explanation in terms of a virtue or something of that sort, uh usually it's referring to something physical. And so mistah, as I was trying to dig into it, of course, uh it comes from the same root of the word roof, right?

1:41 Uh it's flat, it's something that's broad. And so some linguists they say that this is referring to potentially something on his face, like a facial feature that was flat, so perhaps a flat nose or a flat face, or it could be referring to mistah, would be someone who has broad shoulders. Either one of those could fit him.

1:59 Uh so his name is either Auf, with his nickname being Mistah, or his name is actually Mistah, and his kunya is Abu Abbad, radiallahu ta'ala anhu, and as Sipta ibn Jozi says, he is from the first degree of the Muhajareen. He's from the first of the Muhajareen. So he's one of the firsts of the firsts. SubhanAllah, again, people that are associated with such trauma and such tragedy, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala honored them to be of the best of the best.

2:33 So he is amongst those who became Muslim early on in Islam. Shahidah, Badrun, wa uhuda, Wel Mashahida kullaha ma'asulillahi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He attended to all of the battles of the Prophet at the call of the Messenger of Allah from Badr to Uhud and everything beyond. And so he is also Bedri, Radiallahu Ta'a'hu.

2:58 And this is something I didn't mention with Hamna radiallahu anha, but obviously she's not in the battlefield. I mean, her life is the equivalent of being someone who is bedri in in regards to the sacrifices that were made and how that intersected with her own life. But in the case of Mistah, Radiallahu Ta'ala anhu, he too is Bedri, just like the three companions in the story of Tabuk, just like Hassan, and in this case Mistah, when it comes to this slander of our mother Aisha Radiallahu Ta'ala Anha.

3:29 So he became Muslim early on. He attended to Badr, he attended to Uhud, to all of the calls of the Prophet. The Prophet paired him off with Zayd ibn Wazeyin, Radiallahu Ta'ala anhu, when he came to Al-Madina as his Ansari brother. And the Prophet fed him 50 uh wasq in the battle of Khaibar. So the Prophet gave him a significant portion after Khaibar.

4:03 This is due to his virtue and also due to his poverty, Radi Allahu Ta'ala anhu, wahajra Ma'a Ubaidah bin Harith, radiallahu ta'ala anhu, and the his companion in the Hijra was the very famous companion, Ubaida ibn Harith. May Allah be pleased with him. So, what's his relationship to the family of Aisha?

4:22 This is actually very interesting because you can't really trace a motive here. Um, you can find a motive with Hassan, and that Hassanhu was a poet, so he commented on everything. And that's why, you know, it's important for people that are eloquent and people that can comment on everything to not comment on everything.

4:39 They have to, you know, exercise a greater level of restraints because it's so much easier for them to weigh in. And so Hassanhu, by virtue of his tongue, you know, being so frequent in speaking about public affairs, he fell into a public scandal, which is understandable. Hamna radiallahu ta'ala anha, as it relates to her protectiveness over her sister, Zaynab radiallahu anha, it's understandable.

5:00 The case of Mistah, it's very interesting because there is no clear motive that is traced, but he's actually a relative of Aisha, uh Radiallahu Tara Anha. His mother was uh bint Abi Ruhum, ibn al-Muttalib, uh ni'abdi Manaf, and that is the cousin of Abu Bakr radiallahu tara'ahu. So ibn taqharati Abi Bakr al-Sadiq radiallahu anhu.

5:26 So that makes him the second cousin of Abu Bakr al-Sadiq radiallahu ta'ahu, as well as Aisha radiallahu anha uh-Sadiqa bint tasdiq. So his mother, some of the writers say that she was Salma bin Tas-Sakr or Raitah bin Tas-Sakhr. She was from the Mubay'at, those who took the pledge with the Prophet, uh, and those that used to be close to the circle of the Prophet , wahiya lati canat taqumu bi amri aisha ta radiallahu anha.

6:00 And she was the one that used to cater to the female affairs of Aisha radiallahu anha. What does that mean? She was the one, the mother of Mistah, was the one that used to go out with Aisha radiallahu anha when they would relieve themselves. So basically the public restroom area, if you will, right? And of course, they don't look like anything like they look like today at that time, but she was the one that would go out with Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha to uh relieve herself, and she was the one that would take care of Aisha radiallahu ta'a anha, some of those needs that only a woman could tend to.

6:32 So mistah is a relative of Aisha. His mother is a caretaker of Aisha. On top of that, yunfiqa ala mistah, takellama filifk that Abu Bakr was spending on mistah until the time of the slander came. Now I'm going to pause here for a moment. There are some secondary sources that'll say, like, oh, you know, perhaps the Munafikheen paid off mistah.

7:03 I see absolutely zero evidence of that. There's no evidence whatsoever. So if you hear a contemporary speaker or a writer, they're basically accusing him of hypocrisy of nifa'q. Doesn't seem to be the case at all. I could not find a single primary source that accuses Mistah of taking money to slander Aisha or to participate in this by the Munafikin.

7:24 What appears to be the case, and Allah knows best, is that perhaps Mistah fell into this because of his closeness to Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha. And obviously, when a scandal spreads, some of the first people to be asked are going to be people that are close but not too close. What do I mean by that?

7:43 Like, you know, maybe I'm afraid to ask that person's brother because then it might get back to them, or I'm afraid to ask that person's sister because then it might be, you know, relayed back to them. But what if I ask a cousin or someone that's close enough to know what's really going on there, but not close enough to give up my identity?

7:58 Perhaps Mistah was someone that they came to and his tongue slipped again. These three people are not from the Munafikheen. The Munafiken, their punishment is in the hereafter. These three people are from those who are actually noble people in Islam. Mistah radiallahu an, who already has all of his stripes with the Prophet and all of his awards and his honors in the history of Islam.

8:22 So, what happened here? How did Aisha radiallahu tala anha even find out about the slander? Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha went out one day with Umm Mistah, and as she tripped, as they were going out to relieve themselves, Umm Mistah basically cursed Mistah. And Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha, as Umm Mistah curses her son.

8:46 Look at the innocence and the purity of Aisha radiallahu anha and her understanding of Islam. She says, not did you curse your son, did you insult your son? She says, are you going to curse a man who attended badr, a man who was present on the day of Badr? SubhanAllah, look at her innocence and look at her understanding, look at her purity.

9:08 Not are you going to curse a man who's your son or what did he have to do with this? Or it takillah, why would you bring someone's name into this? Right away, Aisha Anha is teaching us by extension, like this is a man of badr. Don't let your tongue say anything negative about a man of badr. And the mother of mistah at that point told the Aisha that mistah was amongst those who spread the slander of Aisha, Radiallahu Ta'ala anha.

9:35 And so the Prophet would bring forth uh mistah, and mistah radiallahu ta'ala anha would be amongst those who would be flogged uh by the Prophet for the slander of Aisha Anna. There's something, by the way, I really want you to pay attention to up until this point, which is the Prophet is applying all of the Quran in every moment, right?

10:03 So he's not letting Ra'fa, he's not letting his own personal love or affection, perhaps for these people, you know, lead him to excuse them. No, Hamna is very close to the Prophet. He cares about her, and that's very obvious from how the Messenger of Allah showed her that compassion, especially on the day of Urh, that knows her circumstances.

10:23 But that's not going to forbid the Prophet from carrying out the penalty that Allah Azzawajal has commanded. And in the case of Mistah, who it's explicit that he would be flogged, the Prophet was not going to go further or less with Mistah because of his relationship to Abu Bakr, or because, you know, out of the three, perhaps, Mistah is a poor man, and Mistah, there is not much consequence to carrying out the punishment on Mistah.

10:53 The Prophet is not going to flog him harder or carry out a more excessive penalty against him. No. Hassan, who defended the Prophet, Hamna, who is the family of the Prophet, and Mistah, who is now a poor man, who is not a relative of the Prophet, but a relative of Abu Bakr al-Sadiq, may Allah Azza be pleased with the family as a whole, Allah Amin.

11:14 He's going to be treated equally in this regard. And he's also a Badri companion, of course, and the Prophet knows his particular place in Islam. Abu Bakr anhu says, and I know that you've probably already heard this story, but I want you to pay attention to how it relates to Maslah. Abu Bakr, you know, was obviously outraged and he said, I'm never going to spend on him again.

11:35 Can you imagine the man I was giving money to, right? Out of charity, my relative that I was giving money to slandered my daughter and hurt my daughter and hurt the person even more beloved to me than my daughter and myself, Rasulullah. That's all Abu Bakr said. He didn't shake him up and say, Give me everything that I've ever given to you, or never talk to me again.

11:58 He simply said that I'm not going to spend on him again. Now pay attention to the ayah as it relates to Abu Bakr and then as it relates to Mistlah and also the proof of the Quran, because if the Prophet was speaking from himself, would the Prophet ever in this moment, if this was his word, find the time or the reason to speak these words?

12:22 Allah Azzawajal says, Do not let those of virtue and wealth among you. Who's that referring to? Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu is a man of what? Fadr and sa'a. Virtue and wealth. Do not let those of virtue and wealth. So Allah praised Abu Bakr anhu in this regard. Swear not to give to the relatives, that fits mislah, the poor, that fits mislah, and the immigrants, or those who migrated in the path of Allah, the Muhajareen in the path of Allah.

13:04 That fits mislah. So Allah praises Abu Bakr as the giver, and he also praises Mistlah as the receiver here. So both of you are praiseworthy in your own right. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, So let them pardon and overlook. Don't you love that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala would forgive you? And indeed, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

13:36 SubhanAllah, the fact that, again, this is such a proof of Islam, a proof of prophethood. If the Prophet was the one speaking, like this is my wife that was hurt, this is my household that had to go through this misery because of this slander, now's not the time to prioritize forgiveness and mercy and things of that sort and making sure he still gets his charity.

13:56 But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees everyone and sees everything. And Allah does not force Abu Bakr al-Sadiq radiallahu ta'ala anhu to continue. No, you're hurt. It's understandable. But what would be better for you? Because Mistah is still at the end of the day, a person who is a muhajar fi Sabirilla, and you are a person of virtue.

14:18 Mistah is still a poor man who is a relative that is in need, and you are still a person who Allah Azwaj has given means. That doesn't change because of this incident. And so if you are able to bring yourself, not because of anyone but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you want the forgiveness of Allah, then do so.

14:36 Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala anhu said, Balawallahi inni la uhibu and yaqhirallahuli. He said, Yes by Allah, yes by Allah. I wish or I love that Allah Azza would forgive me. So Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'a anhu went back to giving Mistlah radiallahu ta'ala anhu his charity, some of the narrations, again secondary narrations, but they mentioned even the very day that he was flogged, Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu still gave him what he would give him on a regular uh basis.

15:10 May Allah be pleased with them all, and may Allah be pleased with our mother Aisha radiallahu anha, who narrates the story and who carried herself with such goodness. Mistah radiallahu ta'ala anhu was reintegrated into the community. He was not shamed, he was not excommunicated, everything went back to normal in terms of what was given to him, and he lived through the era of Khulafa al-Rashidin.

15:31 Some of the narrations mention him dying at the age of 56 in the year 34 after hijrah. Some of them say that he witnessed Safeen with Adirlahu Ta'ala Anu, and he died in the age uh he died in the year 37 after Hijrah. But what we know of him is again a Badri companion that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentioned, Muhajar Fisabir, someone who migrated for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, someone who fought for Allah Azza, and someone who fell into a trap of the shaytan.

16:00 But Allah redeemed and Allah elevated Abu Bakr and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them both, another degree through this moment. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with Hassan, may Allah be pleased with Hamna, may Allah be pleased with Mislah, may Allah be pleased with, of course, Abu Bakr and Aisha.

16:18 May Allah send his peace and blessings on our beloved Messenger.