Name Aiesha Title Siddiqa,

known as Umm Al Mumaneen.

Since she had adopted her sis-

ters 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)

GenealogyThe family tree of Hazrat aiesha

according to various authentic

authors is as follows:

Fatherabu Bakr abi Kahan -usman-

amer umar- Khab- Saad -Tayeem

-Marta -Kab luoyy -Ghalib -fahir -

Malik. nazar Kanaa Ghazima

Madrak Ilayas Muzar nazar

Sad bin adnan

Motherumm e ruman -amir -awamir -

abdu Shams -atab -azania Sabi-

Whaman Harithah -Ghanam -

Malik -Kunana.

ParentsHazrat 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 respect-

ed for wide knowledge, gentle

manners and an agreeable pres-

ence. 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-e-

Ruman, Asma and Habibah. The

lineage of Hazrat aieshas mother

umm-e- ruman joined with that of

the Holy Prophet eleven genera-

tions 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 SistersHazrat aieshas mother umm-e-

ruman 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 lifeThere 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 formida-

ble 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

Defence Journal

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Columnist SADI GILANI

Aiesha Bint Abu Bakr

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 pleas-

ure, joy and comfort to her husband.

Marriage Proposalby The Holy Prophetafter 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

to their house they might have to

change their religion, as such,

they themselves refused to contin-

ue with the bondage.

Marriage with The Holy ProphetHazrat 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, includ-

ing her own mother and father,

treated with such love and rever-

ence 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 moth-

er took her to the newly built

house where some women of

the ansar were waiting outside

the door. They greeted her with

the words for good and for hap-

piness 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 wed-

ding. 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 reas-

surance from him that he loved

her. once she asked him: How is

your love for me? like the ropes

Defence Journal

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Book Author Age at Nikka Year Hijri Age Ruksati Year Hijri

Serathe Syed Suleman 6 620- 3 YBH 9 Years 623

aiesha nadwi

Seerah afzul ur rehman 6 10th Yont 9 years after Hijri

Islamic

encyclopedia Syed Qasim 10th Yon 9 or 15 years apr 623

Mahmood also 1 Hijri

rehmatul alimeen Qazi Suleman 9 11th Yont Shawal

Manzoor 1st Hijri

alim Mulana Mududdi 10 14/15 years 2nd Hijri

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 Aieshaa Treasure of KnowledgeShe was very intelligent, profi-

cient, 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 utter-

ances are studied in faculties of lit-

erature. Her legal pronouncements

are studied in colleges of law and

her life and works are studied and

researched by students and teach-

ers 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 genealo-

gy 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 al-

Khattab, 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 pos-

sessed 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 per-

suasive 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 instruc-

tion from her. Her house thus

became a school and an academy.

Some of her students were out-

standing and among them her

nephew urwah is known as a distin-

guished 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 exam-

ple of Hazrat aiesha in promoting

education and in particular the edu-

cation of Muslim women in the laws

and teachings of Islam is one, which

needs to be followed.

Life with The Holy ProphetDespite 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 bak-

ing bread and they would live mere-

ly 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 vers-

es 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 fol-

lowed 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 WifeThe 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 beau-

tiful and charming than her, but it

was for her intelligence and her total

submission and devotion for the

apostle of allah. She was very obe-

dient 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 ablu-

tion. (Musnad).

When he sent camels for sacri-

fice, she herself used to twist gar-

lands for the hadis of the Prophet

(Bukhari).

She combed his hair and scent-

ed 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 asso-

ciates 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 world-

ly 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 affec-

tion 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 relation-

ship. 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 circum-

stances, her love for the Holy

Prophet remained as intense as

ever and their martial relationship

become all the closer.

Revelation for HerIn 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 dis-

mounted 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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53

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 morn-

ing. When he saw a sleeping per-

son, he came closer, but as he had

seen me before the decree of veil-

ing, 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 recog-

nizing 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 state-

ments 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 greet-

ing 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 peo-

ple 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 repu-

tation 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 woman-

servant 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 some-

times sleeps and leaves the dough

for the goats to eat. on that day

allahs apostle ascended the pulpit

and requested that somebody sup-

port 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 per-

son 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, moti-

vated 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 pul-

pit. 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 accusa-

tion. 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 for-

give you, for when a person con-

fesses his sin and asks allah for for-

giveness, allah accepts his repen-

tance. When allahs apostle finished

his speech my tears ceased com-

pletely 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 inno-

cence. My mother told me to imme-

diately 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 kins-

men 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 HereafterThe Holy Prophets affection for

Hazrat aiesha remained to the last.

During his final illness, it was to her

apartment that he went on the sug-

gestion 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 hav-

ing 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 com-

munion in Paradise, with those

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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 bewilder-

ment and great sorrow.

Efforts for spreading IslamHazrat 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 impor-

tant 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 per-

sons (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 per-

sonal behavior, which only some-

one in aieshas position could

have learnt. What is most impor-

tant 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 al-

ashari once said: If we compan-

ions of the Messenger of God had

any difficulty on a matter, we asked

aiesha about it

Difference with Hazrat AliHazrat 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 gener-

al feeling against umayyads in the

public. Hazrat ali was anxious to

restore peace first so that the

assassins could be punished sub-

sequently. 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 avoid-

ed and they had reached an agree-

ment but some agents of abdullah

bin Saba (Sabaites) and Hakim bin

Hublah, did not allow any settle-

ment. 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 fol-

lowing 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 LifeThe 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 com-

mitted 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 pro-

cession 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 regard-

ed as the best woman in Islam.

Because of the strength of her per-

sonality, she was a leader in every

field, in knowledge, in society, in pol-

itics 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 notes1encyclopedia of seerah by afzal ur

rehman and seerate aiesha by Syed

Suleman nadwi.

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