CHAPTER 4: THE MOTHERS OF THE BELIEVERS (2)
Aishah’s Youth
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) saw the childish side in Aishah’s nature during her early years with him, and dealt with this understandably. She narrated:
“I used to play with dolls, and some of my young female friends used to come to play with me. When Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) came home, they would hide away; and when he left, they would come back. And he used to send them to play with me. ” (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others.)
She also narrated that when Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) came back from the battle of Tabuk (or Khaybar), she had a niche covered with a curtain. The wind blew away the curtain exposing some dolls. He asked, “What is this, O ‘A’ishah?” She replied, “These are my dolls.” He saw in their midst a horse with leather wings and asked, “What is this that I see in their midst?” She said, “A horse.” He asked, “And what is that thing on it?” She replied, “Two wings.” He exclaimed, “A horse with two wings?” She said, “Haven’t you heard that Sulayman had horses with wings?” So he laughed until she could see his inner teeth. (Recorded by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa’i, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih Abi Dawud no. 4123).)
A’ishah reported that once when she was very young she went with the Prophet (pbuh) on a journey. At one point he told his companions, “Move ahead of us.” Then he told her, “Come, let me race you.” They raced, and she won the race. A few years later, after she had grown heavier, she went with the Prophet (pbuh) on another journey. He told his companions, “Move ahead of us.” Then he told her, “Come, let me race you.” They raced, and he won the race. He said, “This victory is for that (previous ) one.” (Recorded by an-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and others .Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih ul-Jami no. 7007).)
‘A’ishah also reported that once some Abyssinians came as a delegation to the Prophet (pbuh). During ‘id day, they played inside the Masjid with their spears. ‘Umar wanted to stop them, but the Prophet (pbuh) told him, “Leave them alone.” (The part about ‘Umar is recorded by Muslim and an-Nasa’i from Abu Hurayrah.) The Prophet (pbuh) stood at the door leading from A’ishah’s room into the Masjid and invited her to stand behind him and watch their games. She added:
“They played inside the Masjid. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) used his over-garment to cover me as I watched. I stood behind him, my chin on his shoulder, and my face against his. He wailed patiently until I satisfied my curiosity and wanted to leave — So you should understand a young girl’s need (for play).” (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others.)
The Only Virgin
A’ishah developed into a beautiful fair woman. That is why she was called al-Humayra: the little white one. (In fact, hamra means “red”, and humayra means “little red” (both in the feminine gender). But the early Arabs often applied the “red” description to “white” things, reserving the “white” description for “purity” and related meaning (Lisan ub-’Arab).)
The Prophet (pbuh) did not marry a virgin other than ‘A’ishah; and she used to boast about that to him. She once asked him, “O Allah’s Messenger, if you were to stop for rest in a valley in which you find trees that have been grazed on, and one tree on which no one has grazed, on which tree would you make your camel graze?” He replied, “The tree on which no one has grazed” She said, “I am that tree.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari from ‘A’ishah)
The Most Beloved Wife
The Prophet (pbuh) loved ‘A’ishah more than all of his other wives. ‘Amr Bin al-‘As reported that he asked Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), “O Allah’s Messenger! Who the most beloved to you among the people?” He replied, “A’ishah.” He asked, “And from among the men?” ” He replied, “Her father.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
The Prophet’s (pbuh) extreme love to ‘A’ishah was a public knowledge among the Muslims – and he (pbuh) would not love but good things. Thus he chose the best two individuals of his Ummah as his beloved ones. When a person loves them, that would indicate his love of Allah and his Messenger (pbuh); and when a person hates them, he would not be worthy of the love of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).
Excellence over Other Women
‘A’ishah excelled over other women by qualities that made the Prophet (pbuh) state:
‘The excellence of Aishah over other women is like the excellence of tharid over other types of food.’ (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others from Anas. A similar statement has been cited earlier from the hadith of Abu Musa.)
This excellence must be based on a divine command, which made the Prophet (pbuh) love her more than his other wives.
As will be seen in the next chapter, ‘A’ishah was the only one among the Mothers of the Believers that Jibrll came with the revelation to the Prophet (pbuh) while he was under the same blanket with her. On a number of occasions, the Prophet (pbuh) would say to her:
‘O A ishah, Jibril is here, and he gives you salam.’ (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim and others.)
The Great Slander
Realizing the great position of ‘A’ishah in the Prophet’s (pbuh) heart, the hypocrites tried to attack him in his honor through her. In 5 H, the Prophet (pbuh) was returning to al-Madinah from al-Muraysi battle. ‘A’ishah was with him, and was then twelve years old. Near the end of the trip, the army stopped for rest.
Just before their night departure, A’ishah found her necklace missing and went searching for it. She came back to find that the army had departed. She wrapped herself in her clothes and sat waiting for some people to come back for her. After a while, she fell asleep.
Safwan Bin al-Mu’at tal was riding behind the army, trying to catch up with it. He reached A’ishah’s place in the morning, saw her dark figure, and realized who she was. He dismounted from his camel and waited for her to ride on it, then walked in front of her, leading the Camel, until he caught up with the army where it stopped again for rest near noon.
This was a golden chance for the head of the hypocrites, ‘Abdullah Bin Abi Salul, and his supporters to slander ‘A’ishah. her husband (pbuh), and the whole Ummah, by accusing her of committing zina with Safwan.
This grieved the Prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims for a full month — until Allah revealed ten ayat declaring her innocence and condemning all those who joined in slandering her.(An-Nur 24: 11-20) The Prophet (pbuh) then told her:
‘Indeed, by Allah, Allah has declared your innocence!’ (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others from ‘A’ishah.)
Aishah’s Jealousy
Despite the great love that the Prophet (pbuh) showed to ‘A’ishah, she was extremely jealous over him. Some incidents demonstrating this are cited in the next chapter. It is interesting to note, as we saw earlier, that her jealousy extended to Khadijah who died three years before her marriage. She said:
“I was never jealous of any woman as much as I was jealous of Khadijah — because of Allah’s Messenger’s (pbuh) frequent mention of her.” (Recorded by a-Bukhari, Muslim, and others from ‘A’ishah.)
Anas and Umm Salamah reported that once when the Prophet (pbuh) was in ‘A’ishah’s house with some of his companions, Umm Salamah sent to him a plate of food. When Aishah saw it, she took a rock the size of a hand and hit the plate with it, breaking it to two pieces. The Prophet (pbuh) gathered the plate’s parts and told his companions:
‘Eat — your mother was overcome with jealousy; eat — your mother was overcome with jealousy!. ‘
So they ate. The Prophet (pbuh) then kept the broken plate in ‘A’ishah’s house, sent a good plate of hers to Umm Salamah, and said:
‘A comparable plate for a (damaged) plate, and a comparable food for a (damaged) food.’ (Recorded by an-Nisa’i, Ibn Majah, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1523).)
‘A’ishah reported that one night she could not find the Prophet (pbuh) next to her. Then she found him nearby, praying. She passed her fingers through his hair to see if he had a shower (having a suspicion that he might have secretly visited one of her cowives). He (later) said:
‘Your devil has surely come to you!’
She asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! Do you not have a devil?” He replied:
‘Yes indeed, but Allah helped me against him so that he embraced Islam.’ (Recorded by an-Nisa’i. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih Sunan an-Nasa’i no. 3696).)
Similarly, ‘A’ishah reported that she missed the Prophet (pbuh) one night and thought that he went to another one of his wives. She started looking for him and found him praying, in ruku’ or sujud, whispering:
‘Subhanaka wa-bihamdika, la ilaha illa anta – Exalted be You, and praise to You; there is no god (worthy of being worshiped) except You.’
She then said, “May my father and mother be your ransom: Indeed, you are involved in one affair (worship), and I in a different affair (jealousy).” (Recorded by Muslim, an-Nasa’i, and others.)
‘A’ishah reported that one night when it was her turn with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), he retired to bed, took off his upper garment, took off his shoes and put them near his feet. He then spread the edge of his izar (lower garment), and lied down. He waited until he thought that she was asleep, then quietly got up and took his upper garment, put on his shoes, opened the door and stepped out, quietly closing it behind him. ‘A’ishah quickly put on her dress, wore her head-cover, wrapped around her izar, and ran after him.
The Prophet (pbuh) walked to al-Baqi (), stood for a long time, and raised his hands three times. Then he turned around, and ‘A’ishah turned; he trotted, and she trotted; he ran, and she ran — until they both reached the houses. She hurried ahead of him and entered her house. As soon as she lied down, he (pbuh) entered and exclaimed, “What is wrong with you, O A’ish(A nickname with which Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) sometimes called A’ishah)”, panting and your abdomen rising and falling?’ She replied, “Nothing O Allah’s Messenger.” He said, “You either tell me, or the Most-Subtle and Well-Aware will tell me.” So she said, “May my father and mother be a ransom for you, O Allah’s Messenger,” and she told him what had happened. He asked, ‘So you were the black thing that I saw before me?’ She replied, “Yes!” He pushed her playfully in the chest and said, ‘Did you think that Allah and His Messenger would be unfair to you (by giving your rightful time to another wife)?’ She said, “Whatever people hide, Allah knows.” He said:
‘Yes! Verily, Jibrll came to me when you saw that. He called me without letting you hear, and I responded to him without letting you know. He was not to enter into your house after you have laid down your clothes. I thought that you had slept, and hated to wake you up, fearing that you would feel lonely (if you knew that I was leaving). Jibrll told me, “Your Lord commands you to go to the (dead) people of al-Baqi and ask forgiveness for them.” ‘
A’ishah asked, “What should I say for them, O Allah’s Messenger?” He (pbuh) instructed:
‘As-Salamu ala ahl id-diyari min al-muminina wal muslimin, wa-yarham Ullah ul-mustaqdimina minna wal-musta’khirin, wa-inna in shaa ’Llahu bikum
lalahiqun.
Peace be on the dwellers of these places — of believers and Muslims. May Allah have mercy upon the earlier and later among us. Certainly, we will follow you when Allah wills.’ (Recorded by Muslim. Ahmad, and others.)
AL-JAMAL FlGHT
In 18 Thulhijjah of 35 H, ‘Uthman was assassinated through a plot by ‘Abdullah Bin Saba’ and other enemies of Islam. A few days after that, ‘Ali was appointed as the new Khalifah. ‘Ali, ‘Aishah, and the other chief sahabah were intent on resolving the problems following ‘Uthman’s assassination – most importantly, finding and punishing the assassins, and reestablishing the authority of the khilafah.
However, Ibn Saba’ and his followers continued their plotting, and succeeded in dragging the sahabah into a fight against each other, with ‘Aishah, Talhah, and az-Zubayr on one side against ‘Ali, ‘Ammar, and other companions. That was called the battle of al-Jamal, because it centered around the camel carrying ‘Aishah’s howdah.
The battle took place in the middle of Jumada al-Akhirah 36 H. Ali won the battle, but after more than ten thousand Muslim, including Talhah and az-Zubayr, were killed.
After winning the battle, ‘Ali treated Aishah respectfully, and sent her safely to her home. ‘Ammar Bin Yasir said in a speech prior to the fight, “Indeed, we know that she is our Prophet’s(wife) wife in the first and last lives.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi.)
‘Aishah’s and her supporters’ involvement in that fight was based on ijtihad, and was for the pleasure of Allah. Yet, they realized later that their position was wrong, and ‘A’ishah deeply regretted that till her last days.
Death
A’ishah conveyed a great amount of knowledge from the Prophet(pbuh) and a number of his companions, including Abu Bakr and Umar. Her recorded narrations are more than two thousand, three hundred of which are recorded in al-Bukhari, Muslim or both.
‘Aishah was generous and charitable, and she lived a very moderate living.
‘Aishah died in 58 H in al-Madinah and was buried in al-Baqi.
Zaynab Bint Khuzaymah
Zaynab Bint Khuzaymah Bin al-Harith Bin Abdiilah al-Hilaliyyah was also called Umm ul-Masakin (Mother of the Needy) because of her great benevolence. She and Maymunah were maternal sisters.
She was previously married to at-Tufayl Bin al-Harith. After his death, his brother ‘Ubaydah Bin al-Harith married her. The latter was killed in the battle of Uhud, so Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) married her soon thereafter.
She remained with Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) only for about two months and then died at the age of sixty. She was the first of the Mothers of the Believers to be buried in al-Baqi.
Umm Salamah
Lineage
Umm Salamah’s name was Hind Bint Abi Umayyah. She was from the Makhzum branch of the Quraysh tribe – meeting with the Prophet (pbuh) in ancestry at his seventh forefather: Murrah Bin Ka’b. She was a cousin of Khalid Bin al-Walid and Abu Jahl Bin Hisham.
She was a most beautiful women, and was among the first Muslim women who migrated to al-Madinah. Prior to the Prophet (pbuh), she was married to his foster-brother, Abu Salamah Bin Abd il-Asad al-Makhzumi.
By Muhammad Mustafa al-Jibaly
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