Explanation

Khawlah bint Tha‘labah was married to Aws ibn As-Sāmit who said to her: "You are to me like my mother's back," i.e. you are no longer lawful for me as a wife. So she went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "You have become unlawful for him (as a wife)." So she started to say in a low voice which not even ‘Ā'ishah could hear though she was near her: "After I have become old, he (meaning her husband) says this to me. I complain to Allah about (my) children who, if they stayed with me, would be hungry, and if they stayed with him, would be lost." This was her argument with the Messenger of Allah that Allah mentioned in the Quran: {Certainly has Allah heard the speech of the one who argues with you [O Muhammad] concerning her husband and directs her complaint to Allah. And Allah hears your dialogue.} So ‘Ā'ishah said: "Praise be to Allah Whose hearing encompasses all voices." i.e. He heard everything and did not miss anything thereof even if it were murmured in a very low voice. "Khawlah came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about her husband, but I could not hear what she was saying. Then Allah, Glorified and Exalted, revealed the verse: {Certainly has Allah heard the speech of the one who argues with you [O Muhammad] concerning her husband and directs her complaint to Allah. And Allah hears your dialogue.} [Sūrat al-Mujādilah: 1]" This means that when Khawlah came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to complain about her husband, she was talking in a very low voice that ‘Ā'ishah could not hear even though she was near her. Nevertheless, Allah, the Almighty, heard what Khawlah said from above seven heavens and revealed this verse. This verse and this incident are among the major proofs that "hearing" is one of the attributes of Allah, the Almighty. This is an indisputably established fact of religion, and no one denies it except one who has gone astray. ‘Ā'ishah's statement is proof that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) believed in the texts based upon their apparent meaning which immediately comes to mind and is readily understood from them. This is what Allah required of them and other than them and of His Messenger. Had this, which they believed and affirmed regarding this issue, been incorrect, then Allah would have clarified to them that it was wrong. None of them was reported to have interpreted these texts to mean other than their apparent indication, neither with authentic nor weak chains of narration, although the motives to report such an issue existed.