A'isha Bint Abi-Bakr AL-Siddiq
Alharamain Islamic Foundation.
A'isha was the daughter of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq and was married to the Prophet in the tenth year of prophethood when she was six years old, but the marriage was only consummated when she was nine years old.
The initiative for this marriage was taken by Khaulah bint Hakim. Her father, Abu Bakr, solemnized the marriage with a dowry of four hundred dirhams. But according to A'isha, her dowry was five hundred dirhams. She also said that the amount paid to the Prophet's wives was usually five hundred dirhams. (Muslim and Ahmad). In view of the great service rendered by A'isha to Islam by spreading its teaching and the practice of the Holy Prophet long after his death.
There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to when this marriage was solemnized. But what is most authentic is that A'isha was married after the death of Khadijah when she was six year old and the marriage was consummated after the Hijrah to Medinah when she was nine years old. She remained with him for nine years.
Once on Eid day some men were displaying their arms in the yard of the mosque. They were performing with their spears and A'isha wanted to see this display. The Prophet stood there supporting her for a long time so that she could watch the show from behind his shoulders. (Bukhari). On another occasion they had a race. It is reported by A'isha that when she was with Allah's Messenger on a journey she raced with him on foot and beat him, but when she grew fat she raced again with him and he beat her. And he said, "This makes up for that beating." (Abu Dawud).
As explained above, she was extremely jealous of other women. A'isha reported that once when Allah's Messenger left her during the night she was jealous regarding him. Then when he came and saw what she was doing he said, "what is the matter with you, A'isha. Are you jealous?" She replied, "Why should one like me not be jealous regarding one like you?" He said, "Your devil has come to you." She asked, "Allah's Messenger, have I a devil?" He told her that she had, and when she asked him whether he had one, he replied, "Yes, but Allah has helped me against him so that I may be safe." (Muslim). On another occasion, A'isha said that, being jealous of women who offered themselves to Allah's Messenger, she asked, "Does a woman offer herself?" Then when Allah Most High revealed,
"You may defer any of them you wish and take to yourself any you wish, and if you desire any you have set aside no sin is chargeable to you." [Qur'aan 33:51]
She said, "It seems to me that your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire." (Bukhari and Muslim).
HER INTELLECTUAL
A'isha narrated that once she asked him, "O Allah's Messenger! Suppose you landed in a valley where there was a tree of which something had been eaten and then found trees of which nothing had been eaten, on which tree would you let your camel graze?-He said that he would let his camel graze on the tree of which nothing had been eaten. The sub-narrator added that A'isha meant that Allah's Messenger had not married a virgin besides herself. (Bukhari).
The Prophet's love for A'isha was because of her physical attraction and beauty as it was the case with the other wives who were equally, if not more, beautiful and charming than her, e.g. Zainab, Safiyah and Juwairiyah. There are many hadith in the books of Seerah and hadith in praise of their physical attractions and charm. In addition, they were also young. But excepting for a couple of incidents, there are few words about A'isha's beauty and charm.
The fact is that A'isha was very intelligent, able and alert and gained immense knowledge of multifarious problems from the Prophet.
Some hadith reveal the close relationship between the Prophet and A'isha through their hearty and good-humored remarks about each other. However, these remarks should be seen as between husband and wife and not as between a Prophet and his follower. Once A'isha (complaining of a headache) said,~"Oh, my head!" Allah's Messenger said, "I wish that had happened while I was still living, for then I would ask Allah's forgiveness for you and invoke Allah for you." A'isha said in distressed voice, "By Allah, I think you want me to die, and if that should happen, you would spend the last of the day sleeping with one of your wives!" The. Prophet said, "Nay, I should say, "Oh my head!" (the Prophet smiled).(Bukhari).
A deep study of this relationship shows that it was basically a spiritual and intellectual relationship, because the Prophet found A'isha was at a very high level of spiritual attainment and intellectual understanding, possessing a very deep insight into the significance of Tawheed and the knowledge of Islam.
In spite of this strong relation between the two, this relation was confronted by a severe test, which is called the incident of slander in which, the Prophet, A’isha, and her parents experienced a very hard time, had a great suffering, and lived a lengthy time, which lasted more than a month. The result was very great for every body and a revelation of her innocents and purification was sent from Allah the almighty. This incident, which had been organised, initiated and spread by the hypocrites, can be summarized in the coming lines:
A'isha (radiallahu ‘anhaa) narrates: "Whenever the Holy Prophet went out on a journey, he decided by lots as to which of his wives should accompany him. Accordingly, it was decided that I should accompany him during the expedition to Banu Mustaliq. On the return journey, the Holy Prophet halted for the night at a place, which was the last stage on the way back to Medinah. It was still night when they began to make preparations for the march. So I went outside the camp to ease myself. When I returned and came near my halting place, I noticed that my necklace had fallen down somewhere. I went back in search of it but, in the meantime, the caravan moved off and I was left behind all alone. The four carriers of the litter had placed it on my camel without noticing that it was empty. This happened because of my lightweight, which was due to lack of food in those days.
I wrapped myself in my sheet and lay down in the hope that when it was found that I had been left behind, a search party would come back to pick me up. In the meantime, I fell asleep. In the morning, when Safwan ibn Mu'attil As-Salami passed that way, he saw me and recognised me for he had seen me several times before the Commandment about Purdah (hijab) was sent down. No sooner did he see me than he stopped his camel and cried out spontaneously: "How sad! The wife of the Holy Prophet has been left here!" At this, I woke up suddenly and covered my face with my sheet. Without uttering another word, he made his camel kneel by me and stood aside, while I climbed on to the camel's back. He led the camel by the nose-string and we overtook the caravan at about noon, when it had just halted and nobody had yet noticed that I had been left behind. I learnt afterwards that this incident had been used to slander me and Abdullah ibn Ubayy was the foremost among the slanderers. When I reached Medinah, I fell ill and stayed in bed for more than a month. Though 1 was quite unaware of it, the news of the slander was spreading like a scandal in the city, and had also reached the Holy Prophet. Anyhow, I noticed that he did not seem as concerned about my illness as he used to be. He would come, but, without addressing me directly, would enquire from others how I was and leave the house.
Therefore it troubled my mind that something had gone wrong somewhere. So I took leave of him and went to my mother's house for better nursing. While I was there, one night I went out of the city to ease myself in the company of Mistab's mother, who was a first cousin of my father. As she was walking along, she stumbled over something and cried out spontaneously "May Mistab perish!' To this I retorted, 'What a good mother you are that you curse your own son — the son who took part in the Battle of Badr.' She replied, 'My dear daughter, are you not aware of his scandalmongering?' Then she told me everything about the campaign of slander. Hearing this horrible story, my blood curdled, and I immediately returned home and passed the rest of the night crying over it.
"During my absence, the Holy Prophet took counsel with Ali and Usamah ibn Zaid about this matter. Usamah said good words about me to this effect: 'O Allah's Messenger, we have found nothing but good in your wife. All that is being spread about her is a lie and calumny.' As regards Ali, he said, 'O Allah's Messenger, there is no dearth of women; you may, if you like, marry another wife. If however, you would like to investigate the matter, you may send for her maidservant and enquire into it through her. Accordingly, the maidservant was sent for and questioned. She replied, 'I declare on oath by Allah, Who has sent you with the Truth, that I have never seen any evil thing in her, except that she falls asleep when I tell her to look after the kneaded dough in my absence and a goat comes and eats it’..."Rumors about this slander went on spreading in the city for about a month, which caused great distress and anguish to the Holy Prophet. I cried from helplessness and my parents were sick with mental agony. At last, one day, the Holy Prophet visited us and he sat near me, which he had not done since the slander started. Feeling that something decisive was going to happen that day,
Abu Bakr and Umm Ruman (A'isha's mother) also sat near us. The Holy Prophet started the conversation, saying: 'A'isha, I have heard this and this about you: if you are innocent, I expect that Allah will declare your innocence. But if you have committed a sin, you should offer repentance, and ask for Allah's forgiveness; when a servant (of Allah) confesses his guilt and repents, Allah forgives him.' Hearing these words, the tears dried in my eyes. I looked up to my father expecting that he would reply to the Holy Prophet, but he said, 'Daughter, I do not know what I should say. Then I turned to my mother, but she also did not know what to say. At last, I said, 'You have all heard something about me and believed it. Now if I say that I am innocent—and Allah is my witness that I am innocent—you will not believe me; and if I confess something which I never did—and Allah knows that I never did it—you will believe me. 'At that time, I tried to call to memory the name of Prophet Yakub but could not recall it. Therefore, in view of the predicament that I was placed in, I said, 'I cannot but repeat the words, which the father of Prophet Yusuf has spoken:
"I will bear this patiently with good grace." [Qur'aan 12:83]
Saying this, I lay down and turned to the other side but in the meantime suddenly, the state of receiving Revelation appeared on the Prophet, when pearl-like drops of perspiration used to gather on his face, even in severe winter weather. We all held our breath and sat silent. As for me I was fearless, but my parents seemed to be struck with fear; they did not know what the Divine Revelation would be. When the Revelation was over, the Holy Prophet seemed to be very pleased. Overjoyed with happiness, the first words he spoke were: 'Congratulations, A'isha, Allah sent down proof of your innocence, 'and then he recited these ten verses(24:II-21). At this, my mother said to me, 'Get up and thank the Prophet,' I said, 'I shall neither thank him nor you two, but thank Allah, Who has sent down my absolution. You did not even so much as contradict the charge against me.1"(Summary of hadith found in various books of Hadith). (The meaning of the Quran)
This was the first time 'when the hypocrites took part in any expedition with the Prophet in large numbers (Ibn Sa'd, Al-Magazi). They were always planning against the Muslims, but when they failed miserably on all other fronts, they tried to inflict a defeat on them on the moral front, which was the Muslims' real field of superiority and responsible for their victory on every other front against the opponents. By such mean and immoral tactics, they wanted to dishonour the Prophet and his household, undermine the high moral superiority which was the greatest asset of the Islamic Movement and ignite civil war between the Muhajirin and the Ansar on one side, and between Aus and Khazraj on the other. However Allah defeated all their designs and these proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Muslims.
It definitely raised A'isha's stature and character as a woman of great integrity and knowledge whose love for Allah's Din was beyond doubt and question. It also revealed her love for the Prophet, for she suffered great agony and pain but did not say anything. It also showed the great love of the Prophet for her because, when he received the Revelation, he was more overjoyed and excited than anyone else except A'isha, and broke the good news in great excitement.
A'isha died at the age of fifty seven in the Caliphate of Mu'awiyah, forty nine years after the death of the Prophet. She was buried in Jannat-al-Baqi' according to her will. Abu Hurairah, who was the Governor of Medinah at that time, led her funeral prayer.
At the time of the Prophet's death, A'isha was just eighteen years old. Her kunya, Umm'Abd Allah was given her by the Prophet after the name of her nephew 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubair.
A'isha always remained a sacred personage, popularly respected and revered by the Muslim world. She is reported to have handed over to the Community not less than 2210 hadith directly from the lips of the Prophet. She continued preaching and giving instructions in the precepts of Islam to men, women, children and slaves— Companions of the Prophet and their tabi'un (successors). She was a distinguished traditionist, and was often consulted on theological and juridical subjects, for she had the advantage of having been in the society of the Prophet for a long period and she had always been keen to learn things from the Prophet. She is highly praised for her talents. She knew by heart several of the long poems of the Jahiliya period. She could read and write. Ibn Abi Dawud said that she had a special copy of the Qur'an.
'A'isha prided herself on being the only virgin that the Prophet ever married, and that she had been shown to him by Gabriel. It was only in her case that Revelation was sent to the Prophet while he lay by her in a sheet.
After the death of the Prophet, she lived in the same apartment. She daily attended to the tomb. She was the custodian of the grave. In fact she called it her property.
Her virtues: It seems likely that the marriage with A’isha was effected by Divine Inspiration. It is reported by A'isha herself that Allah's Messenger told her that she had been shown to him in a dream and for three successive nights an angel brought her picture wrapped up in a silk cloth and said, "This is your wife." He also said, "When the garment was removed from her face, it was you yourself." Then he said, "If this is from Allah let Him carry it out." (Bukhari and Muslim) And Tirmizi transmitted it from A'isha in these words, "Gabriel brought a picture of me on a piece of green silk to Allah's Messenger and said, "This is your wife in this world and the next."
A'isha's love and devotion to Muhammad and his cause made her excel over his other wives in many ways. Abu Musa reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "A'isha's superiority over other women is like the superiority of tharid (a food) over other foods." (Bukhari and Muslim). Once, when 'Umar Ibn Al-As returned from Gazwa That As-Salasal, he asked Allah's Messenger, "Who do you love most in this world?" He said, "A'isha." He said, "O Allah's Messenger, the question is about men." He said, "A'isha's father."
Urwah ibn Zubair was of the opinion that he did not find any greater scholar than A'isha in the Qur'an, fara'id (Inheritance), halal and haram (lawful and unlawful things), fiqh (jurisprudence), poetry, medicine, (which she learned from al-A’araab – Bedouins –who was showing there medicine to the Prophet), Arabic history and knowledge of genealogy. Another testimony of Imam Zahri goes like this. "If the knowledge of all men and the wives of the Prophet were put together, the knowledge of A'isha would exceed it all." She is counted among the mujtahidin, companions of the Prophet, and her name can be mentioned without any doubt along with that of 'Umar, Ali, Abdullah ibn Masud and Abdullah ibn Abbas. She used to give judgement (fat'wa) during the time of Abu Bakr, 'Umar and Uthman. She narrated two thousand two hundred and ten hadith of the Prophet. According to some scholars, one fourth of the injunctions of the Shari'ah are narrated by her.
Above all, the fact that the Prophet requested the other wives to allow him to stay with A'isha in his last days and that he died in A'isha's lap is evident testimony of her excellence and superiority over the other wives. A'isha reported that in his fatal illness, Allah's Messenger asked his wives, "Where shall I stay tomorrow? Where shall I stay tomorrow?" In fact, he was looking forwards to A'isha's turn and wanted permission from his wives to stay with her. So all his wives allowed him to stay where he wished, and he stayed at A'isha's house till he died there. A'isha added that he died on the day of her usual turn at her house. Allah took him to Himself while his head was between her chest and neck and his saliva was mixed with her saliva (for she chewed a green miswak (tooth stick) and gave it to him). (Bukhari) It is another addition to the excellence of A'isha that the Prophet died in her compartment and was buried in a corner of the same compartment.
Posted by: Sister: R.B.
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