The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 434
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 434 after I had finished. When I returned to my camel, I found that my necklace had been lost. I went back in search of it and was delayed a short while. In the meantime, those who had been appointed to lift my litter and place it on the back of the camel arrived, and assuming that I was in the litter, lifted it and placed it on the camel, and marched on with the army. In that era, women were light in weight and flesh did not accumulate their bodies in abundance, as they used to eat only a little food, due to difficult times. The attendants, therefore, did not suspect that I was not already in the litter. Then, at the time, I was still a young girl. In any case, when I returned after finding my necklace, lo and behold, the army had left, and the plain was empty. I became extremely worried, but I thought to myself that I should remain at my place, because when people realize that I had been left behind, they would surely return. Therefore, I sat on my spot and was soon overcome by sleep. Now, it so happened that Ṣafwān bin Mu‘aṭṭal was a Companion, whose duty was to stay behind the army (so that fallen items, etc. , could be safeguarded). When he arrived from behind the army and reached my resting place just before dawn, he found me sleeping there alone. Since he had already seen me prior to the revelation of injunctions relevant to Pardah, he recognized me immediately, upon which he became flustered and said: 1 - I was awakened by his voice, and upon seeing him, immediately veiled my face with my head cover. By God, he did not say a word to me, nor did I hear any words from him except for the ones just mentioned. After this, he brought forward his camel and made it kneel close to me. Then he placed his foot upon its knees (so that it would not stand up suddenly). I mounted upon the camel, and Ṣafwān began to walk ahead, leading it by its halter, until we finally reached the place where the Muslim army had setup camp. This is the account, due to which those who were to be ruined, ruined themselves. The key proponent who was responsible for spreading this slander was ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl, chief of the hypocrites. After this, we reached Madīnah, and it so happened that as soon as we arrived, I fell ill, and this illness lasted for one month. During this time, the 1 * Al-Baqarah (2:157) * Surely, to Allāh we belong and to Him shall we return. [Publishers]