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Prophethood House
Mother of the believers Aisha Bint Abu Bakr
Her Family :
Amr Ibn al-as related that he asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, "Who do
you love most, O messenger of Allah ?"
Her mother was Om Ruman daughter of Amer from Kanaan tribe. She was a great Muslim woman.
It was reported by Ibn saad through Yazid Ibn Harun and Affan Ibn Muslim that Alkassim Ibn
Mohamed Ibn Abu Bakr said : When Om Ruman was put to her grave the Prophet, Peace and
blessings be upon him, said that whoever is pleased to see a woman from
Paradise should look at Om Ruman
Allah commanded his Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to marry her. Aisha, may
Allah be pleased with her, related that the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told
her that she was shown to him in his dreams. Gabriel, peace and blessings be upon him, brought
him a picture of her in a silk, green cloth and told him : This is your wife in this world and in the other world".
A familiar thing :
To understand that you have to first understand the environment and the culture of that time.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was engaged before she married the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, to "Gubair Ibn Mutem Ibn Adii"
It was very common at these times that girls would marry men as old as their fathers.
Consequently, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was not the first or the last in her
environment to marry a man as old as her father.
For example, "Abd Elmutablib" was an old man when he married "Hala" the cousin
of "Amena" the Prophet's mother in the same day that his youngest son "Abdullah"
married "Amena". Meanwhile Omar Ibn Elkhattab married the daughter of Ali Ibn Abu
Talib when he was older than her father.
To judge that marriage from the point of view of our age is totally unjust and incorrect.
When judging this marriage we have to understand that this custom was originally an
Asian custom that was common at certain times in east Europe, Spain, Portugal and in
some places in the united states.
So actually this marriage was not at all surprising to the people of Mecca, in fact it
was expected the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would marry the
daughter of his closest friend
Being young, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, had a very sharp and recording memory..
she would remember most of the Prophet's deeds. Also she lived long after the Prophet's
death consequently her role in teaching Muslims, men and women, was surely undeniable.
The Marriage :
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, betrothed her and Sawda, may Allah be pleased with her, at
the same time. He married her after three years after the battle of Badr in the month of Shawwal.
The young bride, then moved to the Prophet's house, which was a room beside the mosque built of
clay and palm-trees.
About her wedding, she related that shortly before she was to leave her parent's house, she
slipped out into the courtyard to play with a passing friend: "I was playing on a see-saw and my
long streaming hair was disheveled," she said. "They came and took me from my play and made me ready."
They dressed her in a wedding-dress made from fine red-striped cloth from Bahrain and then
her mother took her to the newly-built house where some women of the Ansar (people on Medinah)
were waiting outside the door.
They greeted her with the words "For good and for happiness may all be well!" Then, in
the presence of the smiling Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a bowl of milk was
brought. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him drank from it himself and offered it to Aisha.
She shyly declined it but when he insisted she did so and then offered the bowl to her sister
Asma who was sitting beside her. Others also drank from it and that was as much as there
was of the simple and solemn occasion of their wedding. There was no wedding feast.
Joy in the house of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her told us how her marriage to the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, did not change her playful ways.
Her young friends came regularly to visit her in her house.
"I would be playing with my dolls," she said, "with the girls who were
my friends, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would
come in and they would slip out of the house and he would go out after
them and bring them back, for he was pleased for my sake to have them there."
Sometimes he would say "Stay where you are" before they had time to leave, and would also
join in their games. Aisha said: "One day, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came
in when I was playing with the dolls and he said: 'O Aisha, whatever game is this?' 'It is Solomon's
horses,' I said and he laughed."
One day there were Abyssinians giving a fighting display with their weapons in the mosque.
The Prophet asked 'Aisha whether she would like to watch the Abyssinians she said: yes.
She remembered how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, screened her with
his cloak so as to let her watch the Abyssinians freely. He kept standing until she had enough
and went back in.
When she first came to live in the Prophet's household as a young girl, a strong and lasting
friendship grew up between her and Sawda, and Sawda took care of her along with the rest
of the household. When 'Aisha grew up, Sawda, who was by then an old woman, gave up her
share of the Prophet's time in favor of 'Aisha and was content to be Umm al Mumineen - 'The
Mother of the Believers' - a title of respect that was given to all of the wives of the Prophet, may
Allah be pleased with them.
Her Struggle :
When the Prophet's life became so difficult, Allah commanded him to give his wives the choice
of either living with him this difficult life or he can divorce them. Aisha chose to stay with the kind
Prophet , and so did all his wives may Allah be pleased with them all. Aisha even refused to consult
her parents before taking the decision knowing that her parents too would never advice her to leave
her beloved husband.
The Prophet's Love to Aisha :
Muslims used to send the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gifts. They would choose
Aisha's day in particular because they knew she was his most beloved wife. The wives gathered
at the house of Um Salama-one of the Prophet's wives- and asked her to tell the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, to tell Muslims who want to send him gifts to do so in all other days.
She asked him once, he refused to answer. She asked him again, but he refused to answer again.
She asked him the third time, and he answered Um Salama "Do not hurt me regarding Aisha, as
the Divine Inspirations did not come to me on any of the beds except that of Aisha." On that Um
Salama said, "I repent to Allah for hurting you."
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that when she was traveling with the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, the Prophet raced her and she won. Few years later when she grew a bit
fatter he raced her and he won.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,once told Aisha : "I know when you are pleased
with me and when you are angry with me "
Also the famous story of Um Zara' who loved her husband and praised him and explained
how kind and loving he was so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told her that
he was to her like Abu Zara' to Um Zara'
Her Love to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him :
An-Nasfi related that once Aisha was angry that their was no food in the house.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, didn't like the way she talked so
he was angry and left the house. She tried apologize to him, but he left the house
and she couldn't catch up with him. She put her cheek on the ground, cried and
prayed to God. When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reached the
mosque and was about to enter, Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to him and
told him that Allah Almighty tells him to go back to Aisha and forgive her, so he did.
When he returned to her she asked him to forgive her so he did and Gabriel, , peace
be upon him, came to him with a pot of sweets and told him that Allah Almighty said that the
reconciliation was from Us and the reconciliation food is from Us.
Aisha related that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once told her that to him
she was more loved to him than dates with butter and she would answer : "and you ' messenger
of God are more loved to me than honey with butter"
And when Aisha's Jealousy overwhelmed her the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would
excuse her and say that if she could control her jealousy she would
In fact her jealousy never exceeded the limits of religion or fairness. Actually her jealousy was a
symbol of deep love to her extra-ordinary man
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was in the habit of drawing lots among his
wives whenever he traveled to choose the wife to take with him without rousing the jealousy of others.
Once the Prophet's wives Aisha and Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with them, won the lot
and traveled with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. By night, the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, would walk beside Aisha's camel and talk to her, so Hafsa, may
Allah be pleased with her, told Aisha to switch places with her so Aisha, may Allah be pleased
with her, agreed. At that age they would build like a shield to the women on the camel so that
she can sit there protected from the strong sun and so that she would not be seen by strangers.
Hafsa was sitting in Aisha's shield, the Prophet walked beside Aisha's camel, meanwhile
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was steaming with jealousy and prayed to Allah that
a scorpion or a serpent would bite her to punish her for leaving her place to Hafsa, may Allah be
pleased with her, and she could not open her mouth.
The Ordeal of the great lie (The IFK) :
On the return of the Islamic expedition of Banu Al-Mustalik, the march was ordered.
Aisha dropped a necklace and went to search for it, so she was not in her tent. At
that time, Aisha was a very thin and light, so when the march started and her
litter was veiled, it was not noticed that she was not in it until the army reached
the next halt.
When she returned, she found that the army was gone, she sat down to rest
hoping that someone would return to get her.
She was found by Safwan whose job was to stay behind the army and fetch
any missing belongings. He sat her on his camel and led on foot to the army.
Unfortunately, some hypocrites led by Abdullah Ibn Ubai Ibn Salul (who hated
the Prophet because he was going to be crowned king in Medina when the Prophet
immigrated to it so people refused to crown him), who had seen Safwan and 'Aisha
arrive alone together began to gossip and spread slanderous lies about them.
The lie spread and the story reached the Prophet himself, peace and blessings be
upon him. Naturally, most Muslims new that that was a stupid lie. They knew Aisha
very well and Safwan too was known to be a pious man. As a result to this lie the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his household came under a great strain.
At that time 'Aisha herself fell ill, not because she was aware of what the hypocrites
were saying about her, but because the Prophet did not seem to care for her as much
as he had done before the campaign against the Banu al Mustaliq.
Finally, someone told her what some were saying.
This made 'Aisha even more ill, so with the Prophet's permission, she
went to stay at the house of her parents.
When she arrived, she said to her mother, Umm Ruman, "Mother! What
are the people saying?"
In the meantime, when Safwan was confronted with the allegations that had been made,
he replied, "Glory be to Allah! By Allah, I have never removed the veil of any woman!"
Since there had been no revelation to clarify the matter, the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, asked Barira, who was 'Aisha 's maid servant,
if she had seen anything in 'Aisha' s behavior that was at all doubtful.
"By Him who sent you with the truth," she replied, "I have not seen nothing
wrong with her, other than that she is a young girl and sometimes she falls
asleep while she is kneading the dough and a lamb comes along and eats it!"
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also asked Zaynab
bint Jahsh, one of his wisest wives, for her opinion, since he valued it
highly. Although she and Aisha were frequently at odds with one another
and Zaynab's sister Hamna, was the one of those who were actively gossiping
and spreading the rumor, she replied without hesitation, "O Messenger of Allah,"
she said, "I will not repeat anything that I have not heard with my own ears
and seen with my own eyes. By Allah, I find nothing in her but goodness."
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then tried to
vindicate Aisha's honor by calling everyone to the mosque and publicly
defending her reputation, but the hypocrites who had started the
trouble in the first place only made matter worse, so that arguments
broke out all over the mosque, and people had almost come to blows over
the matter before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
calmed them down and silenced them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then came to
Abu Bakr's house, where Aisha had been crying her heart out, and in
the presence of her parents said the shahada, and then continued,
"If you are innocent, then Allah Himself will protect your honor, and if
by accident there has been a lapse on your part, then seek the forgiveness
of Allah and He will pardon you, for when a slave admits a fault and turns
to Him in repentance, then Allah also turns and accepts that repentance."
Aisha's mother, who had been standing next to her, said, "Get up and thank him."
"By Allah," exclaimed Aisha, whose title, 'Siddiqa', means 'the truthful one', "I
will not thank him and praise him but rather Allah Who has given the revelation
that has protected my honor!" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) went to the mosque and recited what had just been sent down:
Aisha forgave those who had let themselves be caught in the slander and in later
years would not hear anything bad said about them. The fact that Aisha' s honor and
reputation had been protected by a revelation from Allah could not be ignored by anyone, and
from then on everyone was more aware of her high station with Allah.
The Prophet's death :
In his last night, she was holding his head in her chest when Abdul-Rahman son of Abu Bakr
entered the house holding a Siwak (tooth stick). The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, looked at the Siwak and could not talk. Aisha knew that he wished to brush his teeth
with the Siwak before he dies, so she took the Siwak from her brother, chewed, perfumed
and softened it and gave it to her beloved dying husband.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, brushed his teeth with all his remaining
strength. The Prophet was sweating strongly, so his beloved wife wiped his forehead
with his hands "because his hands are purer than mine" she said.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, looked at the sky and said : NO, I choose
heavens so she knew that Gabriel, peace be upon him, was giving him the choice to die
or live so he chose the side of his Creator Allah Almighty.
Then her beloved husband died in her arms...her saliva (when she softened the Siwak) was
the last thing in life that entered his mouth, peace and blessings be upon him. Her beloved
husband was buried where he died, in her home.
Her Role :
Hisham Ibn Urwa said, "I have never seen any one who could have knowledge of a Quranic verse, an
obligatory act, a sunnah act, poetry, history, lineage, judgment or medicine better that Aisha.
Once, Masruq was asked, "Did Aisha perfect the obligatory acts." He answered, " By Allah, I have
seen the great prophetic companions asking her about the obligatory acts."
Also Omar Ibn Elkhattab and Othman Ibn Affan used to ask her about sunnah
Aisha aided by her sharp, accurate memory, her intelligence and her great ability to learn quickly
reported a great number of hadiths (around 2000 hadiths) and is considered one of the great four
(Abu Hurairah, Abdullah Ibn Omar, Anas Ibn Malik and Aisha Bint Abu Bakr) who related the greatest
number of hadith. She was a quick learner who would ask the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about
anything she would find unclear so as top learn and teach all Muslims.
Whenever she beat someone else in argument, the Prophet would smile and say, "She is the daughter of Abu Bakr!"
Aisha also set a great example in her generosity. Once when the Islamic state became strong
and rich she was given one hundred thousand dirhams as a gift while she was fasting. She
was living still the difficult life she used to live and refused to live in luxury, actually she
had nothing to break her fasting on. She gave all the money to the poor Muslims. When
she finished distributing the money among poor Muslims, her maid asked her : " Would
not you reserve a dirham on order to buy meat to break your fasting on ?"
She used to sit with the other women and pass on the knowledge that she had received
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and long after he had died, and
as long as she lived, she was a source of knowledge and wisdom for both women and men.
Abu Musa once said, "Whenever a report appeared doubtful to us we asked 'Aisha about it, and
we always learned something from her about it."
The great dispute :
There was no Caliph of Islam for three days after Othman's murder.
Medina was completely in the grip of the rioters. Most of the Companions
had left Medina. The few who remained felt absolutely helpless.
The rioters proposed Ali's name for the Caliphate. They requested him
to become the Caliph. Ali refused at first. But someone had to bring life
back to normal. Things in the capital were getting worse. Ali had talks
with those of the Companions who were still in Medina. They said that he
should come forward to serve the people. So Ali agreed to take upon himself the
responsibility of guiding the affairs of the Muslims. He consented to become the fourth Caliph of Islam.
Ali addressed the people in the mosque and as soon as the address was over, a party of
Companions met Ali, Talha and Zubair among them.
"You are now the Caliph," the deputation said. "Your first duty is to enforce the law of
Shari'ah. So punish the murderers of Othman. It was on this understanding that we pledged loyalty to you."
"I will not let Othman's death go un-avenged," Ali assured the deputation, "but you
must wait. Conditions are not normal yet. The rioters are still powerful in Medina.
We are in their grip. My own position is shaky. So please wait. As soon as conditions
allow, I will do my duty."
The answer did not satisfy all. Some insisted that people must take the matter in
their own hands. If Ali was unable to punish the murderers of Othman, they themselves must do it.
The rioters got to know of what was going on. They felt sure that Ali would punish
them if things returned to normal. They saw their only hope in a state of continued
unrest. For this they had only to play off one party against the other.
Immediately they started the game. They began sowing misunderstanding everywhere.
Their aim was to keep the leaders of public opinion divided. In this alone lay their safety and their future.
Aisha was gone for Haj (Pilgrimage) when Othman was killed. On her way back, she got the
horrible news of his murder. She went back to Mecca. Here she addressed a public gathering.
She told people how cruel it was on the part of the rioters to have killed the Caliph in cold blood, in
the holy city of the Prophet. She appealed to them to avenge the death of the late Caliph.
Hundreds of men came out at Aisha's call. The Governor of Mecca was one of them.
In the meantime, Talha and Zubair also reached Mecca. They told Aisha what they had seen at
Medina. They urged upon her the need for quick action against the rioters and assured
her of their support. They also advised her to go to Basra, to win more support for her
cause
Aisha set out to Basra at the head of a big force. More people joined her on the way.
By the time she reached Basra, there were three thousand men under her flag.
Reaching Basra, Ali sent a man to Aisha to clear away the misunderstanding
she and her supporters had.
Aisha, Talha and Zubair were moved by the appeal. "If Ali is really keen
to avenge Othman's death," they declared, "our differences can be easily settled."
They envoy brought back hopeful news for the Caliph. With the envoy also
came some men of Basra. They wanted to make sure that Ali was not
going to treat them like a fallen enemy. Ali assured them that they
had nothing to fear.
The hope of peace brightened. But in the army of Ali there were Abdullah
bin Saba and his henchmen. Peace was fatal to them. They were very much
disturbed by what Ali had said after the envoy's return to Basra.
O people," he had said, "the greatest favor Allah did to you was unity. Unity
made you strong and great. The enemies of Islam did not like this.
They have made a bid to shatter out unity. Beware of them.
Tomorrow we will march to Basra with a peaceful aim.
Those who took any part in Othman's murder should part company with us."
Abdullah bin Saba and his men were taken aback at this declaration. They met in secret council.
"Ali is going to avenge Othman's death," they whispered to one another. "He now says what
Talha, Zubair and Aisha say. We must do something about it."
On the following day, Ali marched off to Basra. Talha and Zubair came out of the city with
their army. The two armies lay facing each other for three days. Peace talks were going on.
On the third day, the top leaders of both sides had a face-to-face talk. Ali rode forward on
his horse. From the other side came Talha and Zubair on their horses. They stood face to face, the
necks of their horses touching.
After this conversation the three men went back to their camps. The conversation had brought
their hearts closer to one another. Each one had been set thinking seriously about the grim
outcome of the civil war. The general feeling was the peace was not clearly in sight.
After remembering that story Zubair decided to leave the field of battle and was on his way
to Mecca. He stopped in a valley to say his prayer. When busy in prayer, he was killed by a
man named Amr bin Jarmoz. Jarmoz brought Zubair's arms to Ali.
He hoped to get a reward for slaying the Caliph's rival. But, in place of
reward, he got a stern rebuke.
"I saw the owner of this sword fight for the Prophet of Allah several times,"
said Ali. "I give his murderer the news of hellfire."
Ali went back to his camp very satisfied. He felt almost sure that bloodshed had
been averted. He gave strict orders that no one should shoot even a single arrow.
At night he prayed to Allah to save the Muslims the horrors of the civil war.
The night came on. The two armies lay in sound sleep. But Abdullah bin
Saba and his henchmen set up the whole night. This was their last chance.
They must not let it slip by.
It was still dark when the clang of steel rent the air.
There was a sudden uproar. Saba and his men had made a sudden attack
on Aisha's army! Soon a full-dress battle was in full swing.
Aisha's army was startled by the uproar.
"Alas!" said Ali, "these men could not be stopped from killing Muslims, I had this fear all the time."
One after another seventy men held the nose-string of the camel and laid down their lives. Ali's
heart bled at the sight. Precious lives of Muslims were being lost for nothing. At last the Caliph
ordered one of his men to cut the hind legs of the camel. He did it. The beast fell on the forelegs
and down came the howdag. With this ended the fighting.
Aisha was taken out of the howdag, with all the respect due to her.
She was unhurt. Ali went to her and said, "How do you do, mother!"
Among the killed were some of the best sons of Islam. Ali felt deeply moved.
He did not allow his men to take possession of the booty.
The whole of it was collected. The people of Basra were told to take
back their belongings from the Caliph.
When Aisha had rested in Basra some days, Ali sent her to Medina. He sent her brother, Muhammad
Abu Bakr, with her.
As she was about to leave, a number of men gathered around her camel.
She addressed them and said, "My children, do not blame one another.
By Allah, there is no enmity between me and Ali. It was a mere family
squabble. I consider ali a good man."
To this Ali replied, "She is perfectly right. Our differences were just a family
affair. She occupies a very high place in the Faith. Both here
and in the world to come, she is the honored wife of the Prophet of
Allah."
Ali went many miles to see of Aisha.
By that ended Aisha's role in one of the greatest dangers that the Islamic state faced throughout time.
The story continued but the role of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her in that story ended by her
reconciliation with Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
This story was used by some people to start throwing accusations on Aisha, may
Allah be pleased with her. They claimed that she stood against Ali
because she was jealous of him and his wife Fatema, the Prophet's daughter, may
Allah be pleased with her because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
loved them so much. They claim that she did not want Ali to be caliph because
she hated him...WHY???...because in the occasion of the IFK (the great lie) Ali,
who was as close to the Prophet as a son advised the Prophet to marry
another woman.
These accusations are all false, inappropriate and not even logical for
various reasons such as :
First : Aisha loved the Prophet and was jealous, but her jealousy never
exceeded the boundaries drawn by Islam. For example she was jealous of
Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, the Prophet's first wife,
but that never stopped her from explaining how much the prophet
loved and respected her and considered her above all his women.
The famous hadith that shows the merits of Khadija and how the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him, loved her more than any other woman, that hadith was reported by Aisha she said :
Once the Prophet mentioned Khadija near Aisha, Aisha responded:
Also the hadith that showed how Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, supported the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he first saw Gabriel, peace be upon him Aisha reported :
He informed her of the happening and said to her "O Khadija what has happened to me? I fear for myself?"
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that she used to say to the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, on some occasions: "You deliberate upon her (Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her) so much
that one will think that besides her, you do not have any other wife in this world or in
the Aakhirah."
Another example is the hadith that she narrated about Zainab bint Jahsh, the
Prophet's wife who was Aisha 's competator which is :
A'ishah, the Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, reported:
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: the one with the longest hand among you
will be the first to follow me. She further said: They (the wives of Allah's Messenger) used
to measure the hands as to whose hand was the longest and it was the hand of Zainab that
was the longest among them, as she used to work with her hand and spend her income
on charity.
that too was also reported
by Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. And lots of Hadiths that
explained the virtues of the Prophet's wives were told by Aisha...and
lets ask a question here...Is that the attitude of a woman whose
jealousy would make her exceed limits..?? definitely No, she
loved the Prophet more than any woman would love any man because
he was definitely not an ordinary man, but her jealousy never drive her
to extremes... her jealousy couldn't drive her to hiding a hadith that no
one heard but her that explained the virtues of one of the Prophet's wives
do you really think that this jealousy would drive her to lead a battle and
shed the blood of Muslims..!!??. I sure don't think so.
Second : Aisha, being the Prophet's wife, knew how much the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, loved and respected Othman. She was the one who
reported one of the most famous hadith that shows the merits of Uthman
Aisha reports: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was lying down in his house with his thighs or
his calves exposes.
Abu Bakr asked permission to enter and was permitted while the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, was in that position and he came in and spoke with him ,peace and blessings be upon him.
Then, Umar asked permission to enter. He was granted
permission and came in and spoke with him, peace and blessings be upon him, while in that position.
Then, Uthman asked permission and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sat up and
straightened his clothing. He was then permitted and came in and
spoke with the Prophet ,peace and blessings be upon him. After he had gone, Aisha said: Abu Bakr
entered and you did not get up
for him or worry about him and Umar came in and you did not get up for him nor worry about him but when
Uthman came in, you straigtened out your clothing! The Prophet ,peace and blessings be upon him, said:
"Should I not be shy of a man around whom the angels are shy?"
She could not accept to postpone the avenging of Othman, may Allah be pleased
with him...you may agree with her or disagree but in either cases you have to
remember that she was not the only one to refuse postponing the retaliation
for Othman's death. Talha and Zoubir, may Allah be pleased with them, two
of the most outstanding companions of the prophet were against the opinion
of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, to postpone retaliation.
Also Hafsa, the Prophet's wife and daughter of Omar Ibn Elkhataab was
convinced with Talha and Zubair s' opinion. They all had a point of view and
they thought they were doing what pleases Allah. Why especially Aisha , may
Allah be pleased with her, from among all of them who was accused of being
jealous of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
Actually, jealousy was not the driver of any of them, it was the strong
truthful desire to do what's right and please Allah each in his own way.
We can agree with one side against the other, but still we have to
respect the other opinion and respect those who stood behind it...they
were all the great companions of a great Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him.
Let me remind you with the famous Hadith
when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him said: "Do not insult/blaspheme my companions, for by
the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if one of you spend the like of the mountain of Uhud in
gold (in Allah 's way) you would not equal their support, or not even half of their support'.
Allah's Messenger, may peace be upon him said to his daughter Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her:
O daughter, do you not love whom I love?
She said: Yes, (I do).
Thereupon he said: I love this one.(he meant Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her)
And lets us not forget that at the end both Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, and Ali, may Allah
be pleased with him, both respected each other...both admitted in front of all Muslims how highly the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, regarded them both.. and let us not forget that they both are, by
God's will, in heaven with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, by now.
Her Death, may Allah be pleased with her :
She was sixty six by then. At that time Muawya was the Muslim caliph. She was buried at Al-Bakii.
All the Prophet's wives and the Prophet's companions who were alive at that time attended her funeral.
And finally the ever loving, ever young and ever enthusiastic to Islam heart died. May Allah be
pleased with her.
She was the daughter of the Prophet's closest companion Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, the Prophets
Caliph, Abu Bakr Abdullah Ibn Abu Quhafah, Uthmen Ibn 'Amir of Quraish.
He replied : "Aisha"
He asked : "Who among men"
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied : "Her father"
Some people today find that the Prophet's marriage toAisha was strange and unacceptable
because she was much younger than him (she was nine and he was in the forties)
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, accepted to live in poverty. The house of the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, would spend months without cooking, they fed only on dates and water.
Many incidents could clarify how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, loved Aisha.
She asked : "How do you know that ?"
He replied : "when you are pleased with me you say 'No by the God of Muhammad' but when
you a angry with me you say 'No by the God of Ibraham' "
She said : "Yes, O God's Prophet I only abandon your name."
She replied "O my daughter! Do not make too much of the business.
By Allah, seldom has there been a woman of beauty with a husband
who loves her and who has co wives but that people say a lot against her."
Aisha said, "Glory be to Allah! The people have really been saying this?" 'Aisha
said, "I have spent the entire night until morning unable to stop weeping and
could not sleep at all.
Aisha said, "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) finished what he was saying, my tears stopped so that I was not aware
of a single tear. I said to my father, 'Answer the Messenger of Allah for
me regarding what he has said.'
He said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah,'
I said to my mother, 'Answer the Messenger of Allah for me regarding what he has said.'
She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah.'"
Aisha said, "I am a young girl who does not yet recite much of the Qur'an.
By Allah, I know that you have heard this story that people are saying
and it has become fixed in yourself and you have believed it. If I were
to say to you that I am innocent, you would not believe me. If I were
to confess to something to you and Allah knows that I am innocent you
would believe me. By Allah, I can only say what the father of Yusuf, peace be upon him,said,:
"Patience is beautiful, and Allah is my protection against what you describe."
(Yusuf 12:18)
Then I turned over on my bed, Allah knowing that I was innocent
and hoping that Allah would proclaim me innocent. However, by Allah,
I did not think that any relation would be sent down regarding me.
I thought too little of myself that something would be said in the
Qur'an regarding me, however I hoped that the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have a dream in
which Allah would exonerate me. She had hardly finished speaking
when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) received
a direct revelation of some more verses of the Qur'an, and when it
was over, he smiled and said, "Do not worry, Aisha, for Allah has revealed
proof of your innocence."
"Surely those who fabricate the lie are a group from among you.
Do not think it is bad thing for you; no it is good for you.
Every man will receive what he has earned for this sin,
and whoever had the greater part in it will have a great punishment.
Why did the men and women believers, when they heard it, not think
good in theirselves and say: 'This is clearly a lie?' Why did they not
produce four witnesses? Since they did not produce witnesses, they are
certainly liars in the sight of Allah. If it were not for the grace of
Allah, and His mercy on you in this world and in the next world,
an awful doom would have overtaken you for what you repeated.
Since you received it with your tongues, and repeated what you did not
know anything about with your mouths, you thought it was a trifle, but
in the sight of Allah it is serious. Why, when you heard it, did you not say:
'It is not for us to repeat this, Glory be to You (O Allah), this is a serious
rumor.' Allah warns you to never repeat anything like this again, if you
are indeed believers and Allah makes the signs clear to you;
and Allah is Knowing, Wise. Surely those who love to spread around
lander about those who believe will have a painful punishment in this
world and in the next world; and Allah knows and you do not know. "
(An-Nour :11-19).
When Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was in his last illness, he felt that
he was about to die. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was very weak and he could
not move between the houses of his wives. He asked his wives to excuse him and allow him to be
nursed in Aisha's house. They all accepted. Aisha nursed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, day and night.
Az-Aubiri said, "if we compared Aisha's knowledge to all women, Aisha would surpass them"
When Othman Ibn Affan was brutally killed after being under siege(by some
rioters who were originally some hooligans and outlaws who hated Othman
for punishing them or hypocrites who claimed that they were Muslims, but
actually hated Islam and were waiting for an opportunity to cause troubles
for the strong Islamic society), his wife asked Muawya's, his cousin and the
governor of Ashaam (Syria, Palestine and Jordan), to avenge him.
"What is it that you people really want?" the man asked them.
"We want nothing but the well-being of Muslims," they rplied. "This is not possible
until the death of Othman has been avenged."
"The demand for revenge is very just," Ali's envoy went on.
"But how can you lay hands on the mischief-mongers, without
first making the hands of the Caliph strong? You have had experience of this.
You began punishing the rioters of Basra. But you found yourselves helpless in
the case of Harqus bin Zubair. You wanted to slay him, but six thousand men
rose to defend the culprit. You had to let him go. If necessity can drive you
to overlook the crime of one man, how can you blame anything on Ali? If you
really want to end trouble, gather under the banner of the Caliph.
Do not plunge the people into civil war. It is a question for the whole people.
I hope you love peace and order rather then general suffering and bloodshed."
"Am I not your brother?" said Ali, addressing the two.
"Is not the blood of a Muslim sacred to another Muslim?"
"I curse the murderers of Othman," went on Ali.
"O Talha! did you not pledge loyalty to me?"
"Yes, but at the point of the sword," Talha spoke back.
"Do you remember, O Zubair," said Ali, now addressing the second man, "that the Prophet of Allah,
one day asked you if you loved me. You said 'Yes'. Thereupon the Prophet of Allah foretold that one
day you would fight me unjustfully."
"Certainly!" replied Zubair, "I now recall the words of the Prophet of Allah."
"What is this all about?" they asked.
"Ali's army had made a night attack," came the reply.
"Alas!" they exclaimed, "Ali could not be stopped from shedding the blood of Muslims.
We had this fear all the time."
Ali got equally startled by the sudden outburst of din.
"What is the matter?" he asked.
"Talha and Zubair have taken us by surprise," replied the followers of Saba.
The fighting soon grew fierce. Muslims flew at the throats of Muslims.
Hundreds fell on each side. Talha fell fighting. The main army of Aisha
melted away but stiff fighting still raged round her camel.
She sat in a litter (howdag) on the camel and directed the fight.
A huge crowd of devoted Muslims fought desperately for the honor of
the Prophet's widow.
"Perfectly all right," replied Aisha. "May Allah forgive your mistake!"
"And may He forgive your mistake too!" said Ali.
Ali made a round of the battlefield. Scores of well-known Companions lay in the dust.
About ten thousand men from both sides had lost their lives.
(From the books 'Ali bin Abi Talib written by Prof. Fazl Ahmad)
"She was not but an old lady, and Allah replaced her with a better one for you."
He (S) replied: "Indeed Allah did not grant me better than her; she accepted me when people rejected me, she
believed in me when people doubted me, she shared her wealth with me when people deprived me, and
Allah granted me children only through her."
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her commented saying "the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him, became very annoyed.
Thereafter, I decided never to ever speak bad of Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her."
She replied: "It can't be. Be happy. I swear by Allah that he will never make you lose.
By Allah, you maintain ties of relationship, are truthful, help the weak, are a good host
to your guests and help the afflicted."
(Reported by 'Aisha & collected by Muslim (eng. Trans vol.1 pp.96-8 no.301).
Upon hearing this the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say: "She was so excellent, she was so
excellent, and I had children from her." [Bukhari / Muslim]
Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 4490
[Bkhari & Muslim].
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, died on Tuesday night 17th Ramadan, 57 After Hijra, 678 A.C.
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