Ifk
The Ifk (al-ifk, “the great falsehood” or “calumny”) refers to the well-known incident in which ʿĀʾishah bint Abī Bakr, wife of the Prophet Muḥammad (SAW), was falsely accused of impropriety during the return from the expedition of Banū al-Muṣṭaliq in 5/626 or 6/627 CE. The event occupies an important place in Islamic history and Qurʾānic exegesis because verses 11–20 of Sūrat al-Nūr were revealed declaring her innocence and establishing ethical principles concerning slander, testimony, and social conduct.
According to the canonical reports preserved in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and other ḥadīth collections, ʿĀʾishah accompanied the Prophet on the expedition. During the return journey she temporarily left the caravan in search of a lost necklace. When she returned, the caravan had already departed, assuming she was inside her covered litter (hawdaj). She remained at the campsite until discovered by Ṣafwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal, who escorted her back to Madīnah. The hypocrite leader ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl exploited the situation by spreading rumors regarding her chastity, and some Muslims repeated the allegations without verification.
The Qurʾān condemned the accusation as ifk, a manifest lie, and rebuked those who circulated it without evidence. Sūrat al-Nūr emphasized that believers should think well of one another and demand four witnesses before entertaining accusations of sexual misconduct. (QurʾānThe revelation not only exonerated ʿĀʾishah but also established enduring legal and moral norms regarding defamation (qadhf), evidentiary standards, and responsible speech within Muslim society.
Classical Muslim scholars viewed the episode as a major trial for the early Muslim community. Al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, and al-Rāzī interpreted the narrative as both a test of communal ethics and a demonstration of divine protection for the Prophet’s household. The incident also exposed the political motives of the munāfiqūn (hypocrites), whose aim was to weaken the Prophet’s authority and sow discord among the believers.
The Ifk narrative has continued significance in Islamic thought because it illustrates Qurʾānic teachings on moral responsibility, verification of information, and the destructive effects of rumour and slander. Muslim scholars frequently cite the episode when discussing ethics of speech, social trust, and justice in Islamic law and theology.
## References
1 Qurʾān 24:11–20. 2 Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, trans. Syed Muḥammad Ibrāhīm and Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān Ṣiddīqī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 2: 237-44. 3 Ṣafī al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī, al-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm (Urdu) (Lahore: Maktabah al-Salafiyyah, 1995), 442-455. 4 Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār and Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām, Sīrat Ibn Hishām, Urdu trans. Syed Yāsīn ʿAlī Ḥusnī Niẓāmī (Lahore: Idārah Islāmiyāt, 1994), 2: 194-99. 5 Shiblī Nuʿmānī and Syed Sulaimān Nadwī, Sīrat al-Nabī (Lahore: Maktabah Khalīl, 1990), 1: 191. 7 Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Zād al-Maʿād, trans. Rais Aḥmad Jaʿfarī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 1-2: 802-7.