Aisha: Difference between revisions

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 accede to caliphate, and on the last days of the Prophet's (s) life, strove to pave the ground 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>Dāwarī, "Taṣwīr-i khāniwāda-yi Payāmbar", p. 115-116.</ref>

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.<ref>ʿAskarī, ''Naqsh-i ʿĀʾisha dar tārīkh-i Islām'', vol. 1, p. 150.</ref> Based on accounts of the dispute between A'isha and the third caliph, it was grounded in Uthman's poor administrative performance, tribalism, and corruption. Moreover, political disputes between A'isha and Uthman was fueled by his injustice to [[companions]] such as [['Abd Allah b. Mas'ud]], [['Ammar]], [[Abu Dhar]], and [[Jundab]].<ref>Dāwarī, "Taṣwīr-i khāniwāda-yi Payāmbar", p. 120.</ref> In her sermons, as well as in her encounters with Uthman in the [[Masjid al-Nabawai|Mosque of Medina]], she seriously criticized the caliph.<ref>Ibn Aʿtham, ''al-Futūḥ'', vol. 2, p. 421.</ref> 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.<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk'', vol. 4, p. 459.</ref>

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.  

The role A'isha played in stimulating a massive uprising against the caliphate of Imam Ali (a), which led to the [[Battle of the Camel]], was a huge indicator of her enmity towards him. Some [[Sunni]] writers believed her to be under the influence of instigative evil-doers and supposed her gathering of an army to be for the revenge from Uthman's killers and not an act of opposition to Imam Ali (a). They considered this an error in [[ijtihad]] for which A'isha herself was later repentant.

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 eighteen thousand dinars of her debts.

Amongst the issues that sustained the Shi'a's criticism of A'isha was her not allowing the burial of [[Imam al-Hasan]]'s (a) body next to the grave of the Prophet (s). The resting place of the Prophet (s) was in A'isha's house and after that, had been the burial place of the first two caliphs too. With the martyrdom of Imam al-Hasan (a), his brother [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] initially intended to bury him next to the grave of the Prophet (s) in accordance with his will; but A'isha, with the help of the governor of [[Medina]], prevented its fulfillment. To avoid discord, Imam al-Husayn (a) resigned from it.

A'isha died of a natural death on [[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 [[al-Baqi' cemetery]]. Some said she died on 17 [[Ramadan]] 58.  

There is a disagreement about why A'isha died. Some people believe that she died a natural death. Others appeal to certain sources to show that [[Mu'awiya]] had a role in killing A'isha by digging a hole and throwing her in it because she had criticized him for forcing people to pledge their [[allegiance]] to [[Yazid]]. People who believe that A'isha was killed, date the event to the late [[Dhu l-Hijja]].

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. Sunni Muslims cite many accounts indicating the Prophet's (s) great affection for her to the extent of calling her the Prophet's (s) most beloved wife.

[[Shi'a]] scholars consider the reports present in Sunni works about A'isha to be fabricated and exaggerated. They cite reports which mention her actions to have caused the Prophet (s) to become angry and unhappy, or quote the Prophet (s) to have complained on her account. Likewise, they cite reports mentioning A'isha's jealousy towards the Prophet's other wives and her vicious actions against them. Some of these reports even appear in Sunni authentic sources.

According to the Shi'a, A'isha's jealous acts against other wives of the Prophet (s) were repugnant. This is shown by historical accounts of her jealousy towards other wives of the Prophet (s), 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 (a). There are also accounts of her jealousy of [[Mariya al-Qibtiyya]] when she gave birth to a child. According to sources, the Prophet (s) was upset by her jealous acts.

On the claims that A'isha was extremely beautiful and favored by the Prophet (s), 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 not favored by the Prophet (s).

A'isha was amongst the most important narrators of the words and the life of the Prophet (s). The number of traditions related to her exceeds 2100. Parts of the reports narrated by her which are present in hadith sources have been subject to research and criticism by the [[Shi'a]] researchers and academics.

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

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

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:عایشه|عایشه]]}} in Farsi WikiShia.

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