Bukhari hadiths
It was narrated from ‘A’ishah that Walidah was a black slave woman belonging to a tribe of the Arabs. They manumitted her, but she remained with them. She said: One of the girls of the tribe went out wearing an adorned red leather scarf. She took it off – or she dropped it – and a kite [a type of bird] flew over and thought that it was meat, so it snatched it up. They looked for it, but they did not find it, so they accused me of taking it. They started to examine her, to the extent that they even examined her private parts. She said: By Allah, I was standing with them when the kite flew by and dropped it, and it fell in their midst. I said: This is what you are accusing me of, and you claimed [that I took it], but I am innocent of that; here it is. Then she came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and became Muslim. ‘A’ishah said: She had a tent – or a small room with a little roof – in the mosque. She used to come to me and talk to me, and she never sat with me but she said: The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord… But it saved me from the land of disbelief. ‘A’ishah said: I said to her: What is the matter with you? Every time you sit with me, you say this. And then she told me the whole story..
Commentary :
Our Lord (may He be glorified and exalted) is most merciful to His slaves, especially the weak and oppressed among them; He supports them against those who wrong them and causes the truth to be manifest sooner or later.
In this hadith, the Mother of the Believers ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that there was a black slave woman who belonged to one of the Arab tribes. They manumitted her and freed her from slavery, but she remained with them. This former slave woman told the story of how a girl from that tribe went out wearing a red scarf made of leather, that was adorned with strings of pearls; this was something that women wore to adorn themselves. It was also said that it was woven from strips of leather adorned with pearls, and a woman would tie it between her shoulder and waist. The girl dropped the scarf, and a kite – which is a well-known, harmful type of bird; it is permissible to kill this bird both outside and inside the Haram zone – flew by. The kite snatched up the scarf, thinking that it was meat. They looked for this scarf, searching for it and asking about it, but they did not find it, so they accused that former slave woman of stealing it. They came and examined her, to the extent that they even examined her ‘awrah, but Allah (may He be glorified) made known the innocence of this former slave woman. Whilst that was happening, and she was standing with them, the kite flew over them and dropped the scarf from its beak; when it realized that it was not meat, it dropped it in their midst. The former slave woman said to them: This is what you are accusing me of, and you claimed that I stole it, but I am innocent of that. Then this former slave woman came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and became Muslim. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: This former slave woman had a tent or a small and narrow room in the mosque. She used to come to ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her and talk to her, and she never sat with her but she said this line of poetry: “The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord” meaning that it was a strange and unique incident; “But it saved me from the land of disbelief.” What this line of poetry means is that the trial that she went through when she was accused of stealing and mistreated was the reason why she became Muslim and migrated. The scarf was one reason why she was saved; the day of the scarf was a wonder, because what happened on that day, of the kite snatching up the scarf and her being accused of taking it, was one of the wonders of the age. It was one of the blessings that Allah bestowed upon her, as it became a turning point in her life, taking her from wretchedness to bliss, and it was a cause of her becoming Muslim and being saved, and migrating from the land of disbelief to the land of faith, as the proverb says: “Something harmful may turn out to be beneficial.” When ‘A’ishah asked her about the reason why she used to say those words, she told her this story. What appears to be the case is that this woman only became Muslim after the story of the scarf took place.
This hadith tells us that Allah (may He be exalted) may relieve the distress of the distressed by extraordinary means, even if they are disbelievers, and that Allah’s justice extends to both believers and disbelievers, righteous people and evildoers.
It indicates that it is permissible for the one who does not have a home or a place to sleep at night – whether man or woman – to spend the night in the mosque, so long as there is no risk of fitnah.
It also highlights the virtue of migrating from the land of disbelief, and that the Sunnah is to leave a land in which one is subject to trials and tribulations..
