Verses Aisha Said Were Lost
A single narration in Sunan Ibn Majah describes a sheet of revelation kept under Aisha's bed, and a household animal that ate it after the Prophet's death. We open the books: the report, its links to Muslim and Bukhari, the classical doctrine of abrogated recitation, and the preservation verse of Surah al-Hijr. The verdict, as always, is yours.
By John Shaqi · July 21, 2026 · 15 min read
The Sheet Beneath the Bed
Picture the house of the Prophet in the days after his death. The city of Madinah is in shock. The Companions are consumed with grief, with the burial, with the sudden question of who will lead. In one small room, under a low sleeping-cot, lies a folded sheet of writing material — a sahifa. On it, according to a narration attributed to Aisha, were written words that had once been recited as revelation.
Then a domestic animal — the Arabic word is dajin, a sheep or goat kept in the house — wanders in during the confusion. And when someone looks again, the sheet is gone. Eaten.
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