- Ummul Momineen Hazrat Aisha Siddiqa (RA)
According to the Qur’an, the wives of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) are
the umm ul-Momineen or mothers of the believers, a position with important
responsibilities.
Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA) holds a unique place among the wives of the
Prophet (SAW) since she excelled in her knowledge and her social activities,
leading the way among female scholars of jurisprudence to become the wise
mother of believers. Hazrat A'isha, the wise Mother of the Believers and
Teacher of Scholar, and the leader of knowledgeable women:
Her
early life
Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA), was born during the fourth year of Bi’set in
the year 614 AD in the city of Makkah. Her father was Hazrat Abu Bakir
“al-Siddiq” (The Trustworthy) and she was therefore known as ‘A’isha “Al
Siddiqa.” Yet she was addressed as umm ul-muq’minin (the mother of the
believers) as the wife of the Messenger of Allah (SAW). It was after her
marriage to him that she gained real status. Her high level of knowledge, whose
foundation was laid in her paternal home, was developed further during the
years in which she was with the Prophet (SAW), gaining a unique and well
deserved place among women due to her wealth of knowledge.
Her
marriage to the Prophet (SAW)
The Prophet Mohammad (SAW) married Hazrat Aisha when she was 9
years old and He (SAW) was 56.
He married her primarily for three reasons:
• To reinforce the
friendly relations with Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA)
• To educate and
train Aisha so she may serve the purposes of Islam as She was very intelligent
and had a tremendous grasping power.
• To teach her to
utilize her capabilities for the sake of Islam.
Hazrat Aisha (RA) was born after her parents embraced Islam;
therefore, she was a born Muslim.
As a wife of the Prophet (SAW) she was a close companion and
acquired from him such knowledge that no woman has ever acquired. Hazrat Aisha
(RA) lived on almost fifty years after the passing away of the Prophet (SAW). Much
of her time was spent in learning and acquiring knowledge of the two most
important sources of Allah's guidance, the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet. She
became so perfect and so knowledgeable that she had memorized around two
thousand Hadiths. It is the claim of the scholars of the Islam that without her
half of the Ilme Hadis (
Knowledge of understanding of Hadis ) would have perished. That is why, even
senior companions of the Prophet (saws) used to consult Aisha (RA) in resolving
complicated issues.
Many men and women came from far and wide to benefit from her
knowledge. It was on her bed alone that the Prophet received Divine revelations
(Wahi) several times. This had helped her in interpreting the verses of holy
Quran. The life of Aishah (RA) is a proof that a woman can be more learned than
men.
A
prophet’s wife on the path to knowledge and insight:
Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA) took part in some ghazwas with the Prophet
(SAW), and was subjected to unjust defamation after the Ghazwa of Banu
Mustaliq, an event which came to be known in the texts of history as the ‘ifq
incident. Allah the All-Mighty revealed verses in the Noble Qur’an stating that
she had been subjected to slander, clearing her name and declaring that she was
innocent. The Prophet (SAW) loved ‘A’isha (RA) with more affection than his
other wives, with the exception of Khadijah (RA), and made her feel greatly
valued. She distinguished herself through her intellect, deep understanding,
strong memory, eloquent speech, interest in knowledge and her efforts to
correctly understand the Qur’an and the Prophet. The Prophet (SAW) passed away,
with his blessed head upon her lap, in her room and it was there that he was
buried.
Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA), who spent her nights in prayer and days mostly
fasting, was also an embodiment of good moral conduct. She did not speak ill of
anyone, was content, humble, dignified and generous
She would ask the Prophet (SAW) on matters which she interpreted as
differing in the Qur’an and the prophetic hadith, and discuss them with him.
She would also work as an intermediary for matters about which women could not
ask the Messenger (peace be upon him) directly. She even led prayers from time
to time. In addition to possessing a deep love for the Prophet, she was
different from his other wives in terms of her obedience to Allah and
commitment in following His commands. And one of her most important qualities
was her concern for orphaned and destitute children. She would take them into
her care and show close interest in their moral upbringing and education as
well as their eventual marriage. She had freed more than sixty slaves and
bondswomen, some of whom would later become scholars of sciences and hadith.
She
engages herself in politics:
During the second era of the ‘Uthman’s Caliphate Hazrat, ‘A’isha,
(RA) became involved in politics, because she had decided that certain of his
activities and appointments were incorrect and as a result strongly opposed
him. She later came to believe that she was in violation of the Qur’anic verse
which stresses that the wives of the Prophet (SAW) should remain in their homes
and protect their dignity. She shed tears each time she read this verse and
never became involved in politics again.
The
level she reached on the path to knowledge:
Among the wives of the Prophet, it is Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA) who stood
out due to her knowledge. The fact that she was born and raised in the home of
a scholarly father who was someone who was consulted on matters of genealogy,
that she spent years with the Prophet as his wife, as well her personal talents
and intellect, were all central in her acquiring of knowledge. Undoubtedly, the
fact that she was financially well off, that she didn’t have children, shared
the same environment as the companions of the Prophet in Medina, and that she withdrew
from politics entirely following the incident of the Battle of the Camel, all
played roles in her further development. Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA), who had an
effective command of the Arabic language, had learned Arabic prose, history and
the science of genealogy from her father who was an expert in these areas.
Moreover, she had a good understanding of the social issues, customs and
traditions of Jahiliyya (age of Ignorance) in Arabia. Her intellect, skills and
curiosity, as well as her union with the Prophet caused her to be among the
leading companions who knew the Qur’an and the Sunnah, understanding and
maintaining their rulings.
The most important indicators of her profound knowledge were her
tafsir of the Qur’an, assertion of critical knowledge in the understanding of
the Sunnah and her use of qiyas (analogy) in reaching religious rulings, in
addition to other methods of intellect. Her knowledge of the different readings
of the Qur’an, reason of revelation and proof of the words, all played a great
role in the development of her Qur’anic tafsir (interpretation and glosses). At
the same time, due to this wealth of knowledge, ‘A’isha knew what type of
rulings to extract from these verses. Due to her capabilities in matters of
fiqh (legal understanding), she became one of the seven fuqaha (those who have
legal understanding) who delivered fatawa (religious rulings) in Medina. Her
ijtihad (juridical reasoning) and fatwa allowed for her to named among the
fuqaha and mujtahid. When her fatwas are examined, it becomes evident that she
had a profound understanding of furu’ al-fiqh (branches of fiqh), in addition
to usul ul-fiqh or the methodology of fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence)
and determination of wisdom. Due to this wealth of knowledge, as well as her capabilities,
many of the knowledgeable successor of the companions (tabi’un) would consult
with and learn from her due to her profound wisdom on matters of fiqh. As such,
members of the successors’ such as Ata ibn Abi Rabah, have stated that there
was no one who knew matters of fiqh better than ‘A’isha (RA).
After the death of the Prophet (SAW), Hazrat‘ A’isha’s (RA) home
become a centre of knowledge and learning. Men and women, young and old, went
to her in order to benefit from her knowledge. With her significant
contributions, Medina maintained its importance as a centre of knowledge and
learning and as a result of her scientific initiatives; Medina became its own
centre in the areas of hadith and fiqh. ‘A’isha (RA) did not just answering
questions addressed to her in person, she also answered the questions of
Muslims coming from various countries and areas by written correspondence,
thereby becoming a leader in written documentation of hadith and certain
matters of fiqh.
In conclusion, Hazrat ‘A’isha
(RA), both in her father’s home and in her life with the Messenger of Allah,
was immersed in environments that were conducive to the acquirement of
knowledge. Her becoming a faqih and, in addition to her acute observations of certain
matters, were proof that she was on a different level from the companions in
terms of her comprehension and evaluation of hadith. The corrections she made
of many of the companions regarding hadith is another proof to this end. Her
strong sense of insight coupled with her thorough understanding of the Qur’an
and Sunna allowed her to stand out in matters of fiqh and as someone who could
be consulted and sought for fatwas. [The fatwas she gave and religious rulings
upon which she shed light, were taken with gravity by the knowledgeable of the
tabi’un and the imams of the different schools of legal thought, and were
generally accepted.] In its entirety, her fatwa are enough to form several
volumes. When her juridical thoughts are evaluated as a whole, it becomes
evident that she understood the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the Prophet, society, women
and thus religion deeply. Hazrat ‘A’isha (RA) was indeed familiar with the
meaning and purpose of knowledge. The fact that she considered different verses
when answering questions posed to her, that she did not see verses as being
disconnected, her alluding to the reasoning and background behind hadith, her
utilization of the ‘ard (reading to teacher) method in hadith, her objections
to narrations which were detrimental for women, and her reference to the
customs and traditions of society in her fatwas must all be the result of the
deep understanding she had due to her familiarity with Allah’s final Messenger.
Her
last moments of life
She led a calm life in Medina and devoted herself to studies and
religion. On the 17th of Ramadan in 678 AD, (during the 58th year of Hijra) she
died at the age of 65. Her funeral prayer was led by Hazrat Abu Hurayra (RA)
and she was buried in the Jannut ul-Baqi cemetery in Madinah, outside the
Prophet’s Mosque.
May
Allah grant her the highest place in Paradise .........Aameen
