Asiya: Difference between revisions

'''Āsīya''' (Arabic: {{ia|آسیة}}) was the wife of [[Pharaoh]] and the daughter of Muzahim b. 'Ubayd who played a role in taking the prophet [[Moses]] or Musa (a) out of the [[Nile]] River. She is admired in the [[Qur'an]] and [[hadiths]]. In some Shiite hadiths, she is referred to as [[Khadija bt. Khuwaylid]]’s companion in the [[Heaven]].

Asiya believed in Musa’s (a) [[prophethood]]. She concealed her faith from the Pharaoh. Some scholars have appealed to her secret faith as evidence for the permissibility of [[Taqiyya]] (dissimulation).

Asiya was the daughter of Muzahim b. 'Ubayd and the wife of Pharaoh. According to some sources, she was an [[Israelite]]. And some sources considered her as Musa’s (a) paternal aunt.

Asiya’s name does not appear in the Qur'an, but [[exegetes]] have taken “the wife of Pharaoh” which has occurred twice in the Qur'an to refer to Asiya. According to the verse 9 of [[Sura al-Qisas]], when the baby Musa was taken out of the river, Asiya was there and encouraged the Pharaoh to keep him alive. Moreover, Asiya is admired in the verse 11 of [[Sura al-Tahrim]] (as believing in God despite her companionship with the Pharaoh), in contrast to the wives of [[Noah]] and [[Lot]], who were infidels despite their companionship with prophets. According to this latter verse, Asiya asked God to give her a house in the Heaven and save her from the Pharaoh and the cruel people.

==Asiya’s Faith==

According to some Quranic verses, although Asiya lived in the Pharaoh’s palace, she believed in God. When she saw the [[miracle]] of Musa’s (a) staff or rod (turning into a snake), she believed in him. She concealed her faith from the Pharaoh, and when he learned about her faith, he asked her to give up worshiping God, but she refused to do so. The Pharaoh tortured her. He ordered that her arms and legs be tied to nails, her body be put under the sun, and a giant stone be put on her head. She was killed after these tortures.

The [[Shi'as]] have appealed to Asiya’s secret faith and worships to demonstrate the permissibility of [[Taqiyya]] (or dissimulation).

Some hadiths have referred to Asiya as one of the four superior women of the world along with [[Maryam bt. 'Imran]], Khadija, and [[Fatima al-Zahra (a)]]. According to [['Allama Tabataba'i]], the fact that they are superior to all women in the world does not contradict the belief that one of them is even more superior than the others. According to some other hadiths, Fatima al-Zahra (a) was superior to the other three. He also appealed to hadiths according to which people in the period of Fatima al-Zahra (a) were more civilized and mature than people of the other periods to show the superiority of Fatima (a). Some [[Sunni]] scholars, such as al-Alusi, have appealed to a hadith from [[the Prophet Muhammad (s)]] to show the superiority of Fatima (a) over other women. According to this hadith, “Fatima is part of my body”. Al-Alusi argues that since Fatima (a) is part of the Prophet’s (s) being, and since the Prophet (s) is the most superior creature, then Fatima (a) is also the most superior.