She used to visit me, and every time she came, she would say the following: The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord, for He rescued me from the disbelievers' town
Authentic hadithعن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن وَلِيدَةً كانت سوداء لِحَيٍّ من العرب، فأعتقوها، فكانت معهم، قالت: فخرجت صبية لهم عليها وِشَاحٌ أحمر من سُيُورٍ، قالت: فوضعته -أو وقع منها- فمرت به حُدَيَّاةٌ وهو مُلْقًى، فحسبته لحما فَخَطِفَتْهُ، قالت: فالتمسوه، فلم يجدوه، قالت: فاتهموني به، قالت: فَطَفِقُوا يُفَتِّشُونَ حتى فتشوا قبلها، قالت: والله إني لقائمة معهم، إذ مرت الحدياة فألقته، قالت: فوقع بينهم، قالت: فقلت هذا الذي اتهمتموني به، زعمتم وأنا منه بريئة، وهو ذا هو، قالت: «فجاءت إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأسلمت»، قالت عائشة: «فكان لها خباء في المسجد -أو حِفْشٌ -» قالت: فكانت تأتيني فتحدث عندي، قالت: فلا تجلس عندي مجلسا، إلا قالت: ويوم الْوِشَاحِ من أعاجيب ربنا ... ألا إنه من بلدة الكفر أنجاني قالت عائشة: فقلت لها ما شأنك، لا تقعدين معي مقعدا إلا قلت هذا؟ قالت: فحدثتني بهذا الحديث.
‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that there was a black slave girl owned by an Arab tribe, and they set her free, but she remained with them. The slave girl said: "Once, one of their girls (of that tribe) came out wearing a red leather scarf decorated with precious stones. It fell from her or she placed it somewhere. A kite passed by that place, saw it lying there and thought it a piece of meat; so it flew away with it. People looked for it but did not find it. So they accused me of stealing it, and started searching me even my private part." The slave girl added: "By Allah! While I was standing (in that state) with those people, the same kite passed by them and dropped the red scarf, and it fell in front of them. I told them, "This is what you accused me of and I was innocent; and here it is." ‘Ā'ishah added: "That slave girl came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and embraced Islam." She had a tent or a small room with a low roof in the mosque. She used to visit me, and every time she came, she would say the following: "The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord, for He rescued me from the disbelievers' town. ‘Ā'ishah added: "Once, I asked her, "What is the matter with you? Every time you sit with me, you say these words." Then ‘Ā'ishah said: "so she told me the whole story."
Explanation
This noble Hadīth clarifies why a slave girl embraced Islam. She was accused by an Arab tribe of stealing a leather scarf of theirs, even though it was a bird that took it away because of its red color, as it takes a always things in red color. So they searched her and stripped her clothes in search of it. However, during the search, the bird came and threw the scarf in their amidst; they became certain of her innocence. Then she went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and embraced Islam. She had a small tent in the mosque. She would make mention of this incident every time she sat with ‘Ā'ishah, and read these lines of poetry: "The day of the scarf was one of the wonders of our Lord, for He rescued me from the disbelievers' town." In other words, what happened on that day was from the strange things that Allah had decreed. Allah saved and rescued me from the lands of disbelief after this incident.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).