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Aiesha Bint Abu Bakr

Columnist SADI GILANI
Name Aiesha Title Siddiqa,
known as Umm Al Mumaneen.
Since she had adopted her sisters son Abdullah bin Zubair as
such she was also known as
Umm -e -Abdullah. In addition
she was also given the title of
Hamera (Fair)

Genealogy

The family tree of Hazrat aiesha

according to various authentic
authors is as follows:

Father

abu Bakr abi Kahan -usmanamer umar- Khab- Saad -Tayeem

-Marta -Kab luoyy -Ghalib -fahir Malik. nazar Kanaa Ghazima
Madrak Ilayas Muzar nazar
Sad bin adnan

Mother

umm e ruman -amir -awamir abdu Shams -atab -azania SabiWhaman Harithah -Ghanam Malik -Kunana.

Parents

Hazrat aiesha was the daughter

of Hazrat abu Bakr- Siddiq, who
was born in 573 aD at Mecca. Thus
he was two years younger than the
Holy Prophet. He belonged to a
respectable and noble family, the
Bani Tamim, a branch of Quraish
Tribe. His lineage joins with that of

the Holy Prophet six generations

before. His name was abdullah and
abu Bakr was his patronymic name
(or Kuniyah), which became so
famous that most of the people did
not know his real name. after his
conversion to Islam he received
the title of as-Siddiq (The
Truthful). Though he was a strict
man but he was extremely respected for wide knowledge, gentle
manners and an agreeable presence. His fathers name was
usman who was known by his
patronymic name, abu Qahafah.
His mothers name was Salma but
she too was also known by her
patronymic name, ummul Khair.
abu Bakr had four wives,
Qatilah bint abdul aziz, Umm-eRuman, Asma and Habibah. The
lineage of Hazrat aieshas mother
umm-e- ruman joined with that of
the Holy Prophet eleven generations before. She was first married
to abdullah azwe and after his
death she was married to abu Bakr.
from her abu Bakr had two children
one son abdul rehman and a
daughter aiesha.
Her father died in 13 Hijrah in
Medinah .as regards her mothers
death different versions exist.
according to one of them she died
in 5 or 6 Hijrah but it cannot be true
as various Hadiths consign that
she was alive till the time of Hazrat

usman. In the Hadith in which the

story of afak is narrated her name
is referred time and again.
according to Bukhari during the
incident of Takbir in the 9 Hijrah
she was still alive.

Brothers and Sisters

Hazrat aieshas mother umm-eruman was the second wife of

Hazrat abu Bakr. She had one real
bother, abdur rehman, two-step
sisters asma and umm Kulthum
(born to Qatilah and Habiba) and
two-step brothers abdullah and
Muhammad (born to Qatilah).

Early life

There are various reports

regarding her date of birth. However
according to various records 1she
was born in July 614 i.e the 5th year
of the Prophet-hood and 9 years
before the Hijrat in the city of
Mecca. She was destined to
become the wife of the Holy Prophet
and to be remembered for her vast
knowledge and beauty.
In her youth, already known for
her striking beauty and her formidable memory, she came under the
loving care and attention of the Holy
Prophet himself. as his wife and
close companion she acquired from
him knowledge and insight such as
no woman has ever acquired. The
life of Hazrat aiesha is a proof that a

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Book

Author

Age at Nikka

Serathe
aiesha

Syed Suleman
nadwi

Seerah

afzul ur rehman

Islamic
encyclopedia

620- 3 YBH

Syed Qasim
Mahmood

rehmatul alimeen

Qazi Suleman
Manzoor

alim

Mulana Mududdi

10

woman can be far more learned

than men can and that she can be
the teacher of scholars and experts.
Her life provides ample proof that a
woman can exert influence over
men and women and provide them
with inspiration, encouragement and
leadership. Her life also indicates
that the same woman can be totally
feminine and be a source of pleasure, joy and comfort to her husband.

Marriage Proposal
by The Holy Prophet

after the death of Hazrat

Khadijah, usman bin Mazuons wife
Khaulah bint Hakim requested the
Holy Prophet to get married again.
She suggested the names of Sudah
bint Zama (widow) and aiesha bint
abu Bakr (virgin). on getting the
positive response from the Holy
Prophet she went over to abu
Bakrs house and conveyed him the
desire of the Prophet. abu Bakrs
reply though was in affirmative but
he informed her that as aieshas
hand has already been asked by
Jabrin bin Matiem for their son
therefore he would first ask them
and then intimate accordingly.
When the family of Jabrin was
consulted, since they had not yet
become a convert, they were very
apprehensive, that, if aiesha came

Year Hijri

Age Ruksati

Year Hijri

9 Years

623

10th Yont

9 years

after Hijri

10th Yon

9 or 15 years
also

apr 623
1 Hijri

11th Yont

Shawal
1st Hijri
14/15 years

to their house they might have to

change their religion, as such,
they themselves refused to continue with the bondage.

Marriage with
The Holy Prophet

Hazrat aiesha became the

Prophets wife in Mecca. There is a
difference of opinion in the age and
the year in which her nikka and
ruksati took place. The details are:
Before and after her wedding
she maintained a natural jollity,
innocence and did not seem at all
over awed by the thought of being
wedded to the Messenger of God,
whom all his companions, including her own mother and father,
treated with such love and reverence as they gave to no one else.
about her wedding, she related
that shortly before she was to
leave her parents 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

2nd Hijri

house where some women of

the ansar 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, a bowl of milk was
brought. The Holy Prophet drank
from it himself and offered it to
aiesha. 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 of it and that was
as much as there was of the simple
and solemn occasion of their wedding. There was no wedding feast,
however it was clear that it was
aiesha whom he loved the most,
because from time to time, one or
the other of his companions would
ask: o Messenger of God, whom
do you love most in the world? He
did not always give the same
answer to this question for he felt
great love for his daughters and
their children, for abu Bakr, for ali,
for Zayd and his son usama. But of
his wives the only one he named in
this connection was aiesha.
She too loved him greatly in
return and often would seek reassurance from him that he loved
her. once she asked him: How is
your love for me? like the ropes

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knot, he replied meaning that it
was strong and secure. and time
after time thereafter, she would
ask him: How is the knot? and he
would reply: ala haaliha in the
same condition.

Hazrat Aiesha
a Treasure of
Knowledge

She was very intelligent, proficient, observant and gained

immense knowledge of multifarious
problems from the Prophet while
she was still quite young. even
though she did not graduate from
any university, but still her utterances are studied in faculties of literature. Her legal pronouncements
are studied in colleges of law and
her life and works are studied and
researched by students and teachers of Muslim history as they have
been for over a thousand years.
Her nephew urwah asserts that
she was proficient not only in fiqh
(jurisprudence) but also in medicine
(tibb) and arabic history of genealogy and poetry. Many of the senior
companions of The Holy Prophet
used to seek advice on various
aspects of inheritance and the
scholars regarded her as one of
the earliest fuqua of Islam along
with persons like umar ibn alKhattab, ali and abdullah ibn
abbas. The Holy Prophet referring
to her extensive knowledge of
Islam is reported to have said:
learn a portion of your religion
(Din) from this red coloured lady.
Humayra meaning red-coloured.
Hazrat aiesha not only possessed vast knowledge but also
took an active part in education and
social reforms. as a teacher she
had a clear and persuasive manner
of speech. Her power of oratory has
been described in superlative terms
by al-ahnaf, who said, I have heard
speeches of abu Bakr, umar,
usman and ali and the Khulafa, but

I have not heard speech more persuasive and more convincing from
the mouth of any person than from
the mouth of aiesha. Men and
women came from far and wide to
benefit from her knowledge. The
number of women is said to have
been greater than that of men.
Besides answering inquiries, she
took boys and girls, some of them
orphans, into her custody and
trained them under her care and
guidance. This was in addition to
her relatives who received instruction from her. Her house thus
became a school and an academy.
Some of her students were outstanding and among them her
nephew urwah is known as a distinguished reporter of hadith. among
her women pupils is the name of
umrah bint abdur rehman. She is
regarded by scholars as one of the
trustworthy narrators of hadith and
is said to have acted as aieshas
secretary, receiving and replying to
letters addressed to her. The example of Hazrat aiesha in promoting
education and in particular the education of Muslim women in the laws
and teachings of Islam is one, which
needs to be followed.

Life with The

Holy Prophet

Despite her feelings of jealousy,

which nonetheless were not of a
destructive nature, she was really a
generous soul and a patient one.
She bore with the rest of the Holy
Prophets household poverty and
hunger that often lasted for long
periods. for days no fire would be lit
in the sparsely furnished house of
the Holy Prophet for cooking or baking bread and they would live merely on dates and water. Poverty did
not cause her distress or humiliation;
self-sufficiency when it did come did
not corrupt her style of life.
once the Prophet stayed away
from his wives for a month because

they had distressed him by asking of

him that which he did not have. This
was after the Khaybar expedition
when an increase of riches whetted
the appetite for presents. returning
from his self-imposed retreat, he
went first to aieshas apartment. She
was delighted to see him but he said
he had received revelation that
required him to put two options
before her. He then recited the verses from surah al-ahzab (33:28)
O Prophet! say to thy
Consorts: If it be that ye desire
the life of this world and its glitter
then come! I will provide for your
enjoyment and set you free in a
handsome manner. (33:28)
Hazrat aieshas reply was
Indeed I desire God and His
Messenger and the abode of the
Hereafter, and all the others followed her response. She stuck to
her choice both during the lifetime of
the Holy Prophet and afterwards.
later when the Muslims were
favoured with enormous riches, she
was given a gift of one hundred
thousand dirhams. She was fasting
when she received the money and
she distributed the entire amount to
the poor and the needy even though
she had no provisions in her house.
Shortly after, a maidservant said to
her: could you buy meat for a
dirham with which to break your
fast? If I had remembered, I would
have done so, she said.

Aiesha a Loving Wife

The Holy Prophets love for

Hazrat aiesha was not only for her
physical attractions and beauty, for
there were among his wives others
who were equally, if not more beautiful and charming than her, but it
was for her intelligence and her total
submission and devotion for the
apostle of allah. She was very obedient and served the Prophet well.
In spite of having a maid to
assist her she prepared and did the

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work herself. She used to grind and
make paste for flour, cook food and
make his bed (Bukahri and Trimzi).
She brought water for his ablution. (Musnad).
When he sent camels for sacrifice, she herself used to twist garlands for the hadis of the Prophet
(Bukhari).
She combed his hair and scented his hair and body and washed
his clothes herself (Bukhari).
When he went to bed she put
miswak and water near his bed
(ahmed).
She also cleaned his miswake to
remove any dirt (abu Dawud).
Whenever any of his guests
arrived in the house she served
them (Qais Gaffri). one of the associates of Suffah stated, one day
allahs Messenger told us to go to
aieshas house. When we reached
there, he said, aiesha give us some
food. She brought some cooked
food. Then he asked her for more
food and she brought harirah made
of dried dates. Thereafter he asked
for some drink and she brought milk
in a big bowl and then water in a
small cup. (abu Dawud).
She lived with him for 9 years
and served him, meeting all his
needs and demands, without ever
disobeying him. In fact, she felt
pleasure and delight in his service.
Whenever he showed his dislike
for any thing, she at once abstained
from that thing and removed it from
her compartment (Bukhari).
In addition to daily prayers and
Tahajjud prayer, she also offered
Ishraq prayer (between sunrise and
noon) with the Prophet. She often
fasted (other then the fasting in
ramadan) along with the Prophet
and some times she also shared
with him the duty of itikaf (confining
one self to the mosque for special
devotions) in the last ten days of the
month of ramadan. She would get
a tent put up for her for this purpose.

The Holy Prophet would come to

her after the morning prayers for a
while. (Bukhari).
Hazrat aiesha reported that
allahs Prophet used to put his head
out of the mosque while he was in
itikaf inside, and she would comb
and oil his hair.
Though the use of silk and gold
is permissible for women in Islam,
but the Prophet did not like the
members of his household to wear it
for he had a natural dislike for worldly decoration and ornamentation.
once aiesha wore gold bangles
and he said, shall I tell you a better
plan? Take of these bangles and get
two silver bangles and put saffron
colour on them (nasai).
a relationship of love and affection existed between her and the
Prophet and there are score of
instances in the books of hadiths
and seerah, which reveal the nature
of this loving and cordial relationship. It is reported by Hazrat aiesha
that the people used to choose
aieshas day to bring them gifts
seeking there by to please allahs
Messenger. She said that the Holy
Prophets wives were in two groups,
one including aiesha, Hafsah,
Safyiah and Saudah and the other
including umm Salamah and the
rest. umm Salamahs group
requested her (i.e. to umm
Salamah) to ask the Messenger of
allah to tell the people If anyone
wishes to make a present to allahs
Messenger, let him bring to him
when ever he happens to be with
them, she did so. But he replied,
Do not annoy me regarding aiesha,
for revelation has not come to me
when I was in any womens garment
except aieshas. She said I repent
to allah for annoying you, allahs
Messenger. They then called
Hazrat fatimah and sent her to
allahs Messenger and she spoke to
him about this matter but he replied,
Do you not like what I like, my girl?

She said, certainly. So he said,

love this woman (Bukhari and
Muslim). When she came back
unsuccessful, they then chose
Hazrat Zaynab, for she was suitable
for this purpose. She delivered the
message with great courage and
tried very effectively to prove that
Hazrat aiesha did not deserve the
position (she had been given by the
Holy Prophet). Hazrat aiesha kept
quiet and looked at the face of the
Holy Prophet. When Hazrat Zaynab
finished her speech. Hazrat aiesha,
availing the opportunity, stood up
and spoke so convincingly that
Hazrat Zaynab had no answer. The
Holy Prophet said, why not? after
all, she is the daughter of abu Bakr,
(Muslim). even in abnormal circumstances, her love for the Holy
Prophet remained as intense as
ever and their martial relationship
become all the closer.

Revelation for Her

In the words of Hazrat aiesha

Whenever allahs apostle intended
to go on a journey, he would draw
lots amongst his wives and would
take with him the one upon whom
the lot fell. During a Ghazwa of his,
he drew lots amongst us and the lot
fell upon me, and I proceeded with
him after allah had decreed the use
of the veil by women. I was carried
in a Howdah (on the camel) and dismounted while still in it. after the
Ghazwa, on our way back to
Medinah when the order of setting
off for the night was given, I walked
till I was past the army to answer the
call of nature. after finishing I
returned (to the camp) to depart
(with the others) and suddenly
became conscious of the fact that
my necklace over my chest was
missing. So, I returned to look for it
and was delayed because of that.
The individuals assigned the
responsibility for carrying me on the
camel, came to my howdah and

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placed it on the back of the camel,
presuming that I was in it. Since I
was a young lady and did not weigh
much, those individuals did not feel
the difference in the heaviness of
the howdah and they moved for the
new destination. on finding the
necklace I came to the campsite
only to find that the army had moved
on so, I went to the place where I
stayed, thinking that soon they
would discover my absence and
come back in my search. While in
that state, I felt sleepy and slept.
Safwan bin Muattal as-Sulami
adh-Dhakwani was behind the army
and reached my abode in the morning. When he saw a sleeping person, he came closer, but as he had
seen me before the decree of veiling, I immediately got up when I
heard him saying, Inna lil-lah-wa
inn a ilaihi rajiun (We are for allah,
and we will return to Him) on recognizing me. He made his camel to
kneel down and I sat over it while
Safwan set out walking; leading the
camel by the rope till we reached
the army, which had halted to take
rest at midday. Then whoever was
meant for destruction, fell into
destruction, (some people accused
me falsely) and the leader of the
false accusers was abdullah bin
ubai bin Salul. after that we
returned to Medinah, and I became
ill for one month while the people
were spreading the fabricated statements of the false accusers. I was
feeling during my ailment as if I was
not receiving the usual kindness
from the Prophet, which I used to
receive from him when I got sick.
But he would come, greet and say,
How is that (girl)? I did not know
anything of what was going on till I
recovered from my ailment and
went out with um Mistah to the
Manasi where we used to answer
the call of nature, and we used not
to go to answer the call of nature
except from night to night and that

was before we had lavatories near

to our houses. and this habit of ours
was similar to the habit of the old
arabs in the open country (or away
from houses). So. um Mistah bint
ruhm and I went out walking. um
Mistah stumbled because of her
long dress and on that she said, let
Mistah be ruined. I said, You are
saying a bad word. Why are you
abusing a man who took part in (the
battle of) Badr? She said, o
Hanata (you there) didnt you hear
what they said? Then she told me
the rumours of the false accusers.
My sickness was aggravated,
and when I returned home, allahs
apostle came to me, and after greeting he said, How is that (girl)? I
requested him to allow me to go to
my parents. I wanted then to be sure
of the news through them. allahs
apostle allowed me, and I went to
my parents and asked my mother,
What are the people talking about?
She said, o my daughter! Dont
worry much about this matter. By
allah, never is there a charming
woman loved by her husband who
has other wives, but the women
would fabricate news about her. I
said, Glorified be allah! are the people really talking of this matter? That
night I kept on weeping and could
not sleep till morning. In the morning
allahs apostle called ali bin abu
Talib and usama bin Zayd when he
saw the Divine Inspiration delayed,
to consult them about divorcing his
wife (i.e. aiesha). usama bin Zayd
said what he knew of the good reputation of his wives and added, o
allahs apostle! Keep your wife, for,
by allah, we know nothing about her
but good. ali bin abu Talib said, o
allahs apostle! allah has not
imposed restrictions on you, and
there are many women other than
she, yet you may ask the womanservant who will tell you the truth.
on that allahs apostle called
Buraira and said, o Buraira. Did you

ever see anything, which roused

your suspicions about her? Buraira
said, no, by allah Who has sent you
with the Truth, I have never seen in
her anything faulty except that she is
a girl of immature age, who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough
for the goats to eat. on that day
allahs apostle ascended the pulpit
and requested that somebody support him in punishing abdullah bin
ubai bin Salul. allahs apostle said,
Who will support me to punish that
person (abdullah bin ubai bin Salul)
who has hurt me by slandering the
reputation of my family? By allah, I
know nothing about my family but
good, and they have accused a person about whom I know nothing
except good, and he never entered
my house except in my company.
Sad bin Muadh got up and said,
o allahs apostle! By allah, I will
relieve you from him. If that man is
from the tribe of the aus, then we will
chop his head off, and if he is from
our brothers, the Khazraj, then order
us, and we will fulfill your order. on
that Sad bin ubada, the chief of the
Khazraj and before this incident, he
had been a pious man, got up, motivated by his zeal for his tribe and
said, By allah, you have told a lie;
you cannot kill him, and you will
never be able to kill him. on that
usaid bin al-Hadir got up and said
(to Sad bin ubada), By allah! You
are a liar. By allah, we will kill him;
and you are a hypocrite, defending
the hypocrites. on this the two
tribes of aus and Khazraj got excited
and were about to fight while allahs
apostle was still standing on the pulpit. He got down and quietened
them till they became silent and he
kept quiet. on that day I kept on
weeping so much so that neither did
my tears stop, nor could I sleep.
In the morning my parents were
with me and I had wept for two
nights and a day, till I thought my
liver would burst from weeping.

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While they were sitting with me and
I was weeping, an ansari woman
asked my permission to enter. I
allowed her to come in and as she
sat down she started weeping with
me. While we were in this state,
allahs apostle came and sat down
and he had never sat with me since
the day they fabricated the accusation. no revelation regarding my
case came to him for a month. He
recited Tashah-hud (i.e. none has
the right to be worshipped but allah
and Muhammad is His apostle) and
then said, o aiesha! I have been
informed such-and-such about you;
if you are innocent, then allah will
soon reveal your innocence, and if
you have committed a sin, then
repent to allah and ask Him to forgive you, for when a person confesses his sin and asks allah for forgiveness, allah accepts his repentance. When allahs apostle finished
his speech my tears ceased completely and there remained not even
a single drop of it. I requested my
father to reply to allahs apostle on
my behalf. My father said, By allah,
I do not know what to say to allahs
apostle. I said to my mother, Talk
to allahs apostle on my behalf.
She said, By allah, I do not know
what to say to allahs apostle.
I was a young girl and did not
have much knowledge of the
Quran, but I said, I know that you
have listened to what people are
saying and that has been planted in
your mind and you have taken it as
a truth. now, if I told you that I am
innocent and allah knows that I am
innocent, you would not believe me
and if I confessed to you falsely that
I am guilty, and allah knows that I
am innocent you would believe me.
I dont compare my situation with
you except to the situation of
Josephs father (i.e. Jacob) who
said, So (for me) patience is most
fitting against that which you assert
and it is allah (alone) whose help

can be sought. Then I turned to the

other side of my bed hoping that allah
would prove my innocence. I had
never thought or even imagined that
allah would reveal Divine Inspiration
in my case, as I considered myself
too inferior to be talked of in the Holy
Quran. I had hoped that allahs
apostle might have a dream in which
allah would prove my innocence. The
Hoy Prophet had not got up and
nobody had left the house before the
Divine Inspiration came to him. So,
there overtook him the same state,
which used to overtake him, (when
he used to have, on being inspired
divinely). He was sweating so much
so that the drops of the sweat were
dropping like pearls though it was a
(cold) wintry day. When that state
was over, he was smiling and the first
word he said, aiesha! Thank allah,
for allah has declared your innocence. My mother told me to immediately go to the Prophet. I replied, I
will not go to him and will not thank
but allah. So allah revealed this
verse of Surah an-nur (24:11)
Those who brought forward the
lie are a body among yourselves:
think it not to be an evil to you: on
the contrary it is good for you: to
every man among them (will come
the punishment) of the sin that he
earned and to him who took on
himself the lead among them will
be a Penalty grievous. (24.11)
When allah gave the declaration
of my innocence, Hazrat abu Bakr,
who used to provide for Mistah bin
uthatha for he was his relative, said,
I will never provide Mistah with
anything because of what he said
about aiesha. But allah later
revealed in Surah an-nur (24:22):
Let not those among you who
are endued with grace and
amplitude of means resolve by
oath against helping their kinsmen those in want and those
who have left their homes in
Allahs cause: let them forgive

and overlook: do you not wish

that Allah should forgive you?
For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most
Merciful. (24.22)
after that Hazrat abu Bakr asked
for God almightys forgiveness and
resumed helping Mistah as before.
The Prophet had also asked
Zaynab bint Jashsh (i.e. the
Prophets wife) if she had heard or
seen any thing about me. To which
she replied, o allahs apostle! I
refrain to claim hearing or seeing
what I have not heard or seen. I
know nothing except goodness
about aiesha. aiesha further
added, Zaynab was competing with
me (in her beauty and the Prophets
love), yet allah protected her (from
being malicious), for she had piety.

Holy Prophet Joins

The Life Hereafter

The Holy Prophets affection for

Hazrat aiesha remained to the last.
During his final illness, it was to her
apartment that he went on the suggestion of his wives. for much of
the time he lay there on a couch
with his head resting on her lap. She
chewed the tooth stick in order to
soften it and the Prophet, despite
his weakness; rubbed his teeth with
it vigorously. not long afterwards, he
lost consciousness and aiesha
thought it was the onset of death,
but after an hour he opened his
eyes. Hazrat aiesha has preserved
for us these dying moments of the
most honoured of Gods creation,
His beloved Messenger may He
shower His choicest blessings on
him. When he opened his eyes
again, aiesha remembered Iris having said to her: no Prophet is taken
by death until he has been shown
his place in Paradise and then
offered the choice, to live or die.
He will not now choose us, she
said to herself. Then she heard him
murmur: With the supreme communion in Paradise, with those

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OpiniOn
upon whom God has showered His
favour, The Prophets, the martyrs
and the righteous. again she heard
him murmur: o lord, with the
supreme communion, and these
were the last words she heard him
speak. Gradually his head grew
heavier upon her lap, until others in
the room began to lament, and
aiesha laid his head on a pillow and
joined them in lamentation. In the
floor of her room near the couch
where he was lying, a grave was
dug in which was buried the Seal of
the Prophet amid much bewilderment and great sorrow.

Efforts for
spreading Islam

Hazrat aiesha lived on almost

fifty years after the passing away of
the Prophet. She had been his wife
for a decade and much of this time
was spent in learning and acquiring
knowledge of the two most important sources of Gods guidance, the
Quran and the Sunnah. Aiesha
was one of the three wives (the
other two being Hafsah and Umm
Salamah) who memorized the
Revelation. like Hafsah, she had
her own script of the Quran written
after the Holy Prophet had died.
So far as the hadiths or sayings
of the Prophet are concerned,
Hazrat aiesha is one of four persons (the others being abu
Hurairah, abdullah ibn umar, and
anas ibn Malik) who transmitted
more than two thousand sayings.
Many of these pertain to some of
the most intimate aspects of personal behavior, which only someone in aieshas position could
have learnt. What is most important is that her knowledge of hadith
was passed on in written form by
at least three persons including
her nephew urwah who became
one of the greatest scholars
among the generation after the
companions. Many of the learned

companions of the Holy Prophet

and their followers benefited from
her knowledge. abu Musa alashari once said: If we companions of the Messenger of God had
any difficulty on a matter, we asked
aiesha about it

Difference
with Hazrat Ali

Hazrat aiesha and Hazrat ali

though very close to each other and
favourites of the Holy Prophet went
at war (the battle of camel) as
adversaries. The sole reason was
the instigation by few members of
the family of Hazrat usman, Talha
and Zubair in forcing Hazrat ali to
expedite in taking the revenge from
the assassins of Hazrat usman.
unfortunately at that time the city of
Medinah was not free from the grip
of Sabaites and there was a general feeling against umayyads in the
public. Hazrat ali was anxious to
restore peace first so that the
assassins could be punished subsequently. However, inspite of the
deliberate efforts being put in by
Hazrat ali every day the things went
from bad to worse.
Hazrat aiesha had not correctly
assessed the delicate situation in
Medinah and while remaining in
Mecca prepared for her march
towards Medinah at the head of
about two thousand men with the
object of dealing with the assassins
herself. Her supporters and the
army of Hazrat ali came face to face
at Basra. Due to efforts of both the
bloodshed had almost been avoided and they had reached an agreement but some agents of abdullah
bin Saba (Sabaites) and Hakim bin
Hublah, did not allow any settlement. ultimately a full-scale war
started in which both sides lost
approx 10 thousand lives. finally
Hazrat aieshas supporter lost the
battle. according to Tabari the following Sabaites were the leaders

behind this most tragic event in the

history: Ashtar Nakhi Ibn Sauda,
Khalid bin Muljam, Alba bin
Haitham and Shuraib bin Aufa.
Ibn Saba was the ringleader.

Joining the
Eternal Life

The last phase of amir

Muhawiyas regime was also the
last moments of Hazrat aiesha. at
that time she was 64 years of age.
In 58 hijri during the month of
ramzan she fell ill which proved to
be fatal, as she never recovered
from it. During her those last
moments of this worldly life she
made her will that as she had committed a sin as such she should not
be buried next to the Prophet. She
emphasized to be buried along with
the other wives of the Prophet in
the Janat-ul-Baqi during the same
night of her death.
She died after the nameze witr
during the night of 17 of ramadan 58
aH (13 June 678 AD). as soon as
the news of her death spread there
were cries of mourning from every
house. It is said that a very large procession gathered and as she
instructed, was buried in the Jannat
ul-Baqi in the city of light, beside
other companions of the Prophet.
It is said that after Hazrat
Khadijah al-Kubra (the Great) and
fatimah
az-Zahra
(the
resplendent), aiesha -Siddiqah (the
one who affirms the Truth) is regarded as the best woman in Islam.
Because of the strength of her personality, she was a leader in every
field, in knowledge, in society, in politics and in war. She often regretted
her involvement in war but lived long
enough to regain position as the
most respected woman of her time.u

end notes
1encyclopedia of seerah by afzal ur
rehman and seerate aiesha by Syed
Suleman nadwi.

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