Aisha: Difference between revisions

| Full Name = 'A'isha bt. Abi Bakr

| Wellknown Relatives = the [[Prophet (s)]], [[Abu Bakr]], [[Muhammad b. Abi Bakr]]

| Burial Place = [[al-Baqi' cemetery]]

| Activities = Participating in the [[battle of Jamal]]

'''ʿĀʾisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr''' (Arabic: {{ia|عائشة بنت ابي بکر}}) (d. [[58]]/678) was the third wife of the [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]], who married him after the death of [[Lady Khadija (a)]] and after his marriage to [[Suda bt. Zam'at b. Qays|Suda]]. There is a disagreement among historians as to her age at time of her marriage with the Prophet. The [[Incident of Ifk]] was a prominent event in 'A'isha's life, when she was accused by some people, some verses of [[Sura al-Nur]] were revealed, in which God reprehended the accusers.

Of the wives of the Prophet, she is best-known for her political activities and positions and the role she played after the demise of the Prophet. She tried her best to pave the path for the [[caliphate]] of the [[Abu Bakr|first]] and the [['Umar b. Khattab|second]] caliphs, and she helped them establish their positions by citing [[hadith]]s about their virtues. During [['Uthman]]'s caliphate, she supported him at first, but later she turned away from him and ordered a riot against him which led to his murder. After the murder of 'Uthman, 'A'isha rioted against [['Ali (a)]] with the intention of avenging for the third caliph. With the help of some [[Sahaba]], she started the [[Battle of Jamal]] against 'Ali (a).

[[Sunni]] scholars appeal to certain hadiths to show the virtues of 'A'isha and her being favored by the Prophet. However, the [[Shi'a]] reject such evidence, pointing to her contemptuous behaviors and jealousy. The Shi'a criticize her practice and conducts because of perturbing the Prophet, her positions during the caliphate of Imam 'Ali (a), and her role in initiating the Battle of Jamal.

==Lineage==

'A'isha was the daughter of [[Abu Bakr]] who was from the family of Taym, and her mother Um Ruman was the daughter of 'Amir b. 'Uwaymir from the tribe of Banu Kananah.<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 8, p. 46; Balādhurī, ''Ansāb al-ashrāf'', vol. 1, p. 409.</ref>

'A'isha's [[teknonym]] was Umm 'Abd Allah after her nephew, [['Abd Allah b. Zubayr]]. In many historical sources she is known with the title, "Umm al-Mu'minin" (Mother of Believers).

It is said that the Prophet (s) referred to, and addressed, her as Humayra'. There is a well-known hadith in which the Prophet told 'A'isha: "kallimini ya Humayra'" (talk to me, Humayra'). The hadith was first cited by al-Ghazali in his ''Ihya' 'ulum al-din'', but it is not cited in any earlier sources. Al-Fattani, a Sunni scholar (d. 986/1578) writes: what is cited by al-Ghazali has no origins. [[Sayyid Murtada 'Askari]], a Shiite scholar, also believes that the hadith is totally groundless, taking it to be fabricated, and wrongly attributed to the Prophet, by al-Ghazali.

===Demise===

A'isha died of a natural death at [[10 Shawwal]] [[58]]/8 August 678 (or 57/677) at the age of 66 in [[Medina]]. [[Abu Hurayra]] led her funeral prayer and she was buried in the [[Baqi' cemetery]]. Some said she died at 17 [[Ramadan]] 58.  

 

==Marriage tothe Prophet (s)==

 

==='A'isha's Age at the Time of Marriage===

[[Al-Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili]] denies that 'A'isha was underage at the time of marriage. He argues that she was between 13 and 17 at the time of 'aqd (the marriage sermon). He cites Ibn Ishaq's account according to which 'A'isha was one of the people who converted to Islam early after [[Bi'tha]]; in fact she was the nineteenth Muslim. Al-Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili draws on this to show that if she was, say, 7 at the time of Bi'tha, then she must have been 17 at the time of marriage and 20 at the time of Hijra, unless it is claimed that she was younger than 7 when she converted to Islam.

Sunnis believe that the revelation of these verses exhibits a virtue for 'A'isha. Thus, they quoted 'A'isha herself and her close companions as saying that she was superior to other wives of the Prophet; for example, the quote that the most favored woman for the Messenger of God was 'A'isha. However, some Shiite scholars, while admitting that the verses were revealed about 'A'isha, deny that they constitute a virtue for her, because they only acquit 'A'isha of adultery.

During the period of the [[caliphate]] of Abu Bakr and [['Umar b. Khattab|Umar]], A'isha did not directly interfere in political matters in spite of being the wife of the Prophet (s), the daughter of [[Abu Bakr|the first caliph]], occupying a high social status and being well served by the first two caliphs. According to a group of Shi'a authors, A'isha played an important role in making Abu Bakr reach caliphate, and in the last days of the Prophet's (s) life, strove to create the groundwork for her father's caliphate. Likewise, she narrated traditions from the Prophet (s) mentioning the virtues of Abu Bakr and Umar in order to help establish and legitimize their caliphate.<ref>Wāridī, ''Naqsh-i hamsarān-i rasūl-i khudā'', p. 114.</ref> There are accounts which relate the first two caliphs offering gifts and reaching out to A'isha and extending continuous help and offerings to her much more compared to the other wives of the Prophet (s).<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 8, p. 53. </ref> These reports have caught the attention of the Shi'a and have been regarded as a form of unfairness.<ref>Taqīzāda Dāwarī, ''Taṣwīr-i khāniwāda-yi Payāmbar'', p. 115-116.</ref>

===In the Period of 'Uthman===

'A'isha's relation with [[Uthman b. 'Affan|Uthman]] was cordial during the first few years of his caliphate, but soured during the end. However, in the second half of his caliphate, their relationships tended to hostility, cultivating in her leadership of riots against, and murdering, 'Uthman. Based on accounts of the dispute between 'A'isha and the third caliph, it was grounded in 'Uthman's poor administrative performance, tribalism, and corruptions. Moreover, political disputes between 'A'isha and 'Uthman was fueled by his injustices to [[Sahaba]] such as [['Abd Allah b. Mas'ud]], [['Ammar]], [[Abu Dhar]], and [[Jundab]]. In her sermons, as well as in her encounters with 'Uthman in the [[Masjid al-Nabawai|Mosque of Medina]], she seriously criticized the caliph. In response, 'Uthman likened her to the wives of [[Noah (a)]] and [[Lot (a)]] who betrayed their husbands and entered the [[Hell]]. 'A'isha strongly reacted to the response and shouted, "kill the stupid old man, because he has become an unbeliever", thus announcing that 'Uthman deserved death.

'A'isha was amongst the opponents of [[Imam Ali (a)]]. Some writers have recognized this conflict to have begun during the lifetime of the [[Prophet (s)]] itself.  

A'isha, who was amongst the opponents of 'Uthman and was present in [[Mecca]] at the time of Uthman's murder, on hearing the news of Imam Ali's [[caliphate]], remained in Mecca. After a while when [[Talha]] and [[Zubayr b. al-'Awwam|Zubayr]] reached Mecca, the three after gathering an army of Arab tribes journeyed to Basra and claimed to avenge the blood of Uthman. After conquering this city, they deployed their army against that of Imam Ali's (a). The battle that ensued thereafter was named the Battle of the Camel because of Aisha's presence in it as she sat on the top of a Camel. This was the first battle to take place between the Muslims themselves.

According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], because of her position as the wife of the Prophet (s) and the daughter of the first caliph, 'A'isha was able to boost the chances of Imam 'Ali's opponents to rage a war against him. When the Battle ended, Imam 'Ali reprehended 'A'isha whose face was slightly injured. He then ordered [[Muhammad b. Abi Bakr]] to check his sister's condition, and she was then respectfully returned to [[Medina]].

Although some people believe that 'A'isha was silent in the [[Umayyad]] period, others have shown that she was a supporter of the Umayyad dynasty. Although her brother, Muhammad b. Abi Bakr, was tragically murdered at the command of Mu'awiya and she reprimanded Mu'awiya for murdering [[Hujr b. 'Adi]] and his companions, she made a compromise with him after the martyrdom of Imam 'Ali (a). Mu'awiya also tried to become closer to 'A'isha by sending her gifts. It is said that he sent her one hundred thousand dinars and paid off 18000 dinars of her debts.

Sunni sources of hadiths and history provide detailed and exclusive accounts of 'A'isha and her virtues. They characterize her as a person of knowledge and literature, as she was educated by her father, and as someone who was familiar with medicine. She is also said to be knowledgeable of revealed verses of the Qur'an, divine rulings, Islamic traditions, poems, Arabian battles, judgeship, and genealogy.

It is quoted that 'A'isha was the only wife of the Prophet (s) who had not been married earlier. Ahl al-Sunnah cites many accounts indicating the Prophet's (s) great affection for her to the extent of calling her the Prophet's (s) most beloved wife.

According to the Shi'a, 'A'isha's jealous acts against other wives of the Prophet were repugnant. This is shown by historical accounts of her jealousy towards other wives of the Prophet, particularly [[Lady Khadija (a)]]. There is an abundance of evidence for this characteristic in Sunni sources. She is quoted as saying that she felt jealous when the Prophet (s) repeatedly mentioned Khadija. There are also accounts of her jealousy of [[Mariya al-Qibtiyya]] when she gave birth to a child. According to sources, the Prophet was upset by her jealous acts.

On the claims that 'A'isha was extremely beautiful and favored by the Prophet, the Shi'a believe that since most of these accounts go back to 'A'isha herself and her nephew, 'Urwa b. Zubayr, they are not reliable. They provide several pieces of evidence to show that, to the contrary, she was not beautiful and favored by the Prophet.

====Cursing 'A'isha====

When Yasir al-Habib, the Kuwaiti Shiite clergyman based in London, cursed 'A'isha, a number of Shiite scholars in al-Ahasa in Arabia inquired [[Ayatollah Khamenei]]'s view about insulting and cursing the Prophet's wife. In response Ayatollah Khamenei wrote, "It is forbidden to insult the symbols of our Sunni brothers, including the denunciation of the Prophet's wife ['A'isha]. This includes the wives of all prophets and in particular the head of prophets, our great prophet Muhammad (s)". This [[fatwa]] attracted the attention of world and Islamic media.

Many books have been written about 'A'isha in different languages throughout years by many Shiite and Sunni scholars, including:

* ''Ahadith umm al-mu'minin 'A'isha'', written by [[Sayyid Murtada 'Askari]].

* '' 'A'isha dar dawran 'Ali (a)'', written by Sayyid Murtada 'Askari.

* ''Naqsh 'A'isha dar tarikh-i Islam'', written by Sayyid Murtada 'Askari.

* '' 'A'isha dar sihah-i sitti'', written by Husayn Tayyibiyan.

* '' 'A'isha dar hayat-i Muhammad'', written by Sibihruz Mawludi.