One night, Aisha went out of the caravan to relieve herself. When she returned, the caravan had already departed. People lifted her empty palanquin (howdah) and placed it on the camel, assuming Aisha was inside.
Narrated `Aisha: ... I was carried (on the back of a camel) in my howdah and carried down while still in it (when we came to a halt). So we went on till Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had finished from that Ghazwa of his and returned. When we approached the city of Medina he announced at night that it was time for departure. So when they announced the news of departure, I got up and went away from the army camps, and after finishing from the call of nature, I came back to my riding animal. I touched my chest to find that my necklace which was made of Zifar beads (i.e. Yemenite beads partly black and partly white) was missing. So I returned to look for my necklace and my search for it detained me. (In the meanwhile) the people who used to carry me on my camel, came and took my howdah and put it on the back of my camel on which I used to ride, as they considered that I was in it...They made the camel rise and all of them left (along with it). I found my necklace after the army had gone.
This incident unfolded due to two deeply troubling aspects of Islamic "Hijab" and so-called "Modesty":
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The unnatural enforcement of "Islamic Hijab": The obsession with hiding a woman’s presence had reached such an extent that no one even checked if the howdah was occupied, and it was so tightly veiled that her absence went unnoticed. Women were expected to remain invisible, even when common sense demanded otherwise.
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The oppressive ban on male-female interaction in the name of "modesty": Sharia considers even a simple greeting between a man and a woman as “fitna” (temptation) and “fahisha” (indecency). Because of this, not a single person dared to ask Aisha if she was present, and a basic human interaction was sacrificed at the altar of religious dogma.
As a result, the caravan unknowingly left Aisha behind in the desert. She was found the next day by a companion named Safwan, who quietly brought her back, and even then, not a single word was exchanged between Aisha and Safwan due to the looming shadow of "modesty".
Also, see this lack of interaction between them when Safwan found 'Asiha.
Sahih Bukhari 4141 (Dar-us-Salam Ref)
Narrated 'Aisha: ... While I was sitting in my resting place, I was overwhelmed by sleep and slept. Safwan bin Al-Muattal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army. When he reached my place in the morning, he saw the figure of a sleeping person and he recognized me on seeing me as he had seen me before the order of compulsory veiling (was prescribed). So I woke up when he recited Istirja' (i.e. "Inna li l-lahi wa inna llaihi raji'un") as soon as he recognized me, I veiled my face with my head cover at once, and by Allah, we did not speak a single word, and I did not hear him saying any word besides his Istirja'. He dismounted from his camel and made it kneel down, putting his leg on its front legs and then I got up and rode on it. Then he set out leading the camel that was carrying me till we overtook the army in the extreme heat of midday
Thus:
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How could Islam be considered a 'religion of nature' when it has made it so difficult that even in emergencies, men and women don't even exchange a single word?
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What could have happened if they had greeted each other, and Safwan had asked her about the problem in detail (and perhaps helped her in finding her necklace), why she was alone there, and if she needed some other kind of help too in that situation?
Even in present times, Muslim women and girls face difficulty in seeking assistance without hesitation in various fields, whether it be from male doctors, male teachers, or others. The imposition of these unnatural restrictions drains a significant amount of energy from society, rendering half of the Islamic society, namely women, practically useless and unable to contribute to productivity.
The Aftermath: A Month-Long Storm of Accusations, Suffering, and Near Civil War
This single incident set off a devastating chain reaction.
According to this same hadith (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 4141):
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For an entire month, Aisha’s character was the target of vicious rumors. Even Prophet Muhammad doubted her and avoided speaking to her with warmth or trust. He even discussed the possibility of divorcing her with Ali, citing her perceived immorality.
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Meanwhile, Aisha wept endlessly, shattered mentally and emotionally. After enduring a month of isolation and suspicion, she finally told Muhammad that defending herself was pointless, as he had already made up his mind that she had an ill-character. In despair and heartbreak, Aisha turned her face away from him.
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But the destruction did not stop there. The whispers and distrust escalated tensions so severely that a violent confrontation nearly erupted between the tribes of Aws and Khazraj. Only through intense mediation was bloodshed averted.
This was the tragic fruit of a system that silences women, forbids communication, and prioritizes control over compassion. The damage went beyond a single woman’s suffering, as it shook an entire society to its core.
Islamic Modesty only leads to "Paranoia" and blind "Honour Killing"
Furthermore, Imposing such restrictions in the name of Islamic modesty goes against human nature. These unnatural limitations instill paranoia and skepticism within society, resulting in a disturbed state of mind.
According to the same hadith (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 4141) companions like Hasan bin Thabit and Mistah also gave testimonies against Aisha.
But why?
Muslims struggle to comprehend why companions like Hassan bin Thabit and Mistah slandered Aisha. However, it seems that these unnatural restrictions have made members of Islamic society so paranoid that they start believing in things that are not actually true. (Note: Muslims still hold high regard for these two companions by using "Radhi Allahu 'Anhu" when referring to them).
The extreme nature of this paranoia is best illustrated in this hadith, where a young companion returned from war to find his wife standing at the door. Without asking a single question, his immediate instinct was to stab her with a spear (driven by his "modesty-based jealousy").
"A companion of Muhammad came back from a war and found his wife standing between the two doors. He bent towards her smitten by jealousy and made a dash towards her with a spear in order to stab her. She said: Keep your spear away and enter the house until you see that which has made me come out. He entered and found a big snake coiled on the bedding.
This hadith proves that the social programming was so intense that a woman’s mere presence outside the threshold was perceived as a betrayal deserving of death.
Even today, thousands of honour killings occur in Islamic societies, based solely on suspicions and paranoia, which is the ultimate outcome of unnatural Islamic concept of Hijab and Modesty.
When a society treats the opposite gender as a "forbidden mystery," every unconventional interaction is instantly sexualized.
And Let Us Not Forget the Cruel Double Standard
Islamic Sharia demanded hijab only from free women. Slave women were forbidden from covering their bodies. Their chests and heads remained exposed by law. And if a slave woman mistakenly tried to wear hijab, Umar ibn al-Khattab used to beat her with a whip until she removed it.
So, ask yourself honestly how can such a system, where modesty is imposed only on the privileged and denied to the enslaved, be called divine? How can this be "natural"?
Helplessness of Women in Emergencies... Alas!
Only tears flow... hearts break. Alas, what a pity.
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According to BBC News, When the devastating earthquake struck Afghanistan, Taliban authorities did not allow male rescuers to assist the injured women. There were no female doctors in hospitals because of the Taliban’s ban on women's education and employment. And even worse that women aid workers were not allowed to enter the disaster zone to help their sisters in pain.
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As reported by Emirati media a 20-year-old girl was drowning on a public beach in Dubai. When lifeguards rushed to save her, her father stopped them because he did not want a strange man to touch her. he died... in front of everyone... in the name of “honor.”
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According to Washington Post, Mecca, March 11, 2002, a fire broke out in a school in Mecca housing around 800 girls and 50 teachers. Iron bars on windows left no escape route. Girls ran for their lives... But Saudi Arabia's religious police (Mutawa) pushed them back into the flames, because they weren’t “Islamically dressed.” The same police blocked firefighters from entering the building. Fifteen innocent girls burned alive, all because they didn’t have the right “headscarf.”
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UN Women’s Chief told the Security Council that "Suicide and suicidal ideation are everywhere among Afghan women." Due to Taliban-enforced isolation, women live in despair, depression, and suffocation. With jobs taken from them, education stolen, and movement restricted, 90% of young Afghan women say their mental health is “very bad.” They describe their life as a silent death, a prison of flesh and fear.
Conclusion:
This is the cost of hijab, modesty laws, and gender apartheid , when taken to their cruelest, most inhuman extremes. These are not isolated incidents. They are the result of a system that suffocates women in the name of “honour” and “modesty.”
If a system’s pursuit of 'modesty' results in the burning of children and the drowning of daughters, one must ask: Is this the wisdom of a Divine Creator, or the suffocating paranoia of a man-made dogma?
Hassan Radwan