Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician,
Muhaddith and the third and youngest wife of Islamic prophet Muhammad.Aisha had an important role in early Islamic history, both during Muhammad's life and after his death. In Sunni Islam tradition, Aisha is portrayed as scholarly, intelligent and inquisitive. She contributed to the spread of Muhammad's message and served the Muslims community for 44 years after his death.
Aisha narrated 2,210 throughout her life,Islamyat: a core text for students. not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on topics such as inheritance, Hajj, prayer, and eschatology. Her intellect and knowledge in various subjects, including poetry and medicine, were highly praised by early scholars and luminaries such as al-Zuhri and her student Urwa ibn al-Zubayr.
Her father, Abu Bakr (), became the first caliph to succeed Muhammad, and after two years was succeeded by Umar (). Aisha played a leading role in opposing some policies of the third caliph Uthman (), though she also opposed those responsible for his assassination. She refused to recognize Uthman's successor Ali () and joined al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah. She was defeated in the Battle of the Camel during the First Fitna, after which she retired in Medina, was pardoned by Ali and did not oppose caliph Mu'awiya (). She participated in the Battle of the Camel by giving speeches and leading troops on the back of her camel. Because of her involvement in this battle, Shia Islam have a generally negative view of Aisha, although Ali pardoned her after defeating her army. In Sunni Islam, Aisha is viewed as a leading Islamic scholar and a teacher of several companions and the .
All extant hadiths agree that Aisha was married to Muhammad in Mecca, but that the marriage was not consummated until the month of Shawwal following his hijrah to Medina, in April 623. Some classical sources, however, state that the marriage itself took place in Medina, without mentioning any delay in consummation.
In Islamic literature, the young age of her marriage did not draw any significant discourse; nonetheless, Spellberg and Ali find the very mention of her age to be atypical of early Muslim biographers, and hypothesize a connotation to her virginity and, more than that, religious purity. Her age did not interest later Muslim scholars either, and went unremarked-upon even by medieval and early-modern Christian polemicists. Early Orientalism writers, even in their condescending approach towards Muhammad and Islam, were primarily concerned with Muhammad's embrace of polygamy and the ethics of marrying for political causes; the few, who discussed Aisha's age chose to explain the age-gap — without any condemnation — by citing the contemporary understanding of the Orient as a hot place, that promulgated sexually deviant practices.
Beginning late nineteenth century, with the East and its alleged immoralities subject to increasing opprobrium, the colonizing powers sought to regulate the age of consent. As such efforts ran into conflicts with local forms of Sharia, Aisha's age at marriage — and the involved Prophetic precedent — became the predominant explanation in explaining the backwardness of Muslim societies and their reticence to reforms. In response, some Muslims chose to align themselves with the projects of modernization and re-calculated her age — using deft stratagems of omission and commission — to fix it at early adolescence, but conservatives rejected such revisionist readings since they flew in the face of Hadith studies.
From mid-20th century, amidst growing concerns of Islamic extremism, as Muslim societies and Islam itself came under renewed scrutiny, pointed criticisms of Aisha's young age at marriage began to be abundant; this has since prompted many Muslim scholars to contextualize the traditionally accepted age of Aisha with renewed vigor emphasizing on cultural relativism, anachronism, the political dimensions of the marriage, Aisha's non-ordinary physique etc. Since the late-twentieth century, polemicists have used Aisha's age to accuse Muhammad of pedophilia and to explain a reported higher prevalence of child marriage in Muslim societies.
Various traditions reveal the mutual affection between Muhammad and Aisha. He would often just sit and watch her and her friends play with dolls, and on occasion, he would even join them. Leila Ahmed argues, "Aisha must have felt reasonably equal to and unawed by this prophet of God, for his announcement of a revelation permitting him to enter into marriages disallowed other men drew from her the retort, 'It seems to me your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire!'" Furthermore, Muhammad and Aisha had a strong intellectual relationship.
Aisha related that Safwan ibn Muattal, a young Muslim from the raiding party, had lagged behind for some reason. On his solo return journey to Medina, he came across Aisha sleeping on the ground by herself. He addressed her, let her ride on his camel while he guided it, and escorted her home to Medina. It was not until the morning that Muhammad's convoy realized that Aisha was not in her litter. And later, when they were taking a break from the hot midday sun, Aisha and Safwan ran into them. A rumor accusing Aisha of committing adultery with Safwan spread. Moreover, it was said that she had conversed with him several times before. This rumor of adultery, if true, could have led to Aisha being stoned to death.
Upon their arrival in Medina, Aisha fell ill and sensed that Muhammad was uncharacteristically cold toward her. She only learned of the rumor some three weeks later when Umm Mistah told her on their way back from defecating in an open field at night, as was customary for Muslim women at that time. Aisha subsequently went to her mother, asking what the people were talking about, and she replied, "Daughter, be at peace, for I swear by God that no beautiful woman is married to a man who has other wives, but that these other wives would find fault with her." So Aisha cried all night long.
Muhammad, despite his fondness for Aisha, was unsure of her innocence. He asked Usama ibn Zayd and Ali for their opinions. Usama vouched for Aisha's innocence, but Ali said, "Women abound; you can easily find a substitute. Ask her slave; she might reveal the truth." When the slave girl arrived, Ali beat her severely and said, "Mind you tell the apostle the truth." But her answer was that she knew only good things about Aisha, with the single exception that when Aisha was entrusted with watching over a dough, she dozed off and allowed a sheep to eat it.
Muhammad later visited Aisha at her parents' house and advised her to confess if she had sinned, as God was merciful towards those who seek repentance. It had been more than a month since Aisha had returned alone with Safwan. Despite Muhammad's advice, Aisha refused to apologize as it would indicate guilt. She told Muhammad that she could find no better parallel for her current situation than that of Joseph's father, who had endured disbelief despite telling the truth and had no other choice but to remain patient. Shortly thereafter, Muhammad experienced a trance and received verses (Quran 24:11–15) that confirmed Aisha's innocence.
Aisha garnered more special privileges in the Islamic community for being known as both a wife of Muhammad and the daughter of the first caliph. Being the daughter of Abu Bakr tied Aisha to honorable titles earned from her father's strong dedication to Islam. For example, she was given the title of al-siddiqa bint al-Siddiq, meaning 'the truthful woman, daughter of the truthful man', a reference to Abu Bakr's support of the Isra and Mi'raj.
In 634 Abu Bakr fell sick and was unable to recover. Before his death, he appointed ‘Umar, one of his chief advisers, as the second caliph. Throughout ‘Umar's time in power Aisha continued to play the role of a consultant in political matters.
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In 656, Uthman's house was put under siege by about 1000 rebels. Eventually the rebels broke into the house and murdered Uthman, provoking the First Fitna.See:
After Ali declined to immediately punish those accused of involvement in Uthman's assassination, Aisha publicly criticized him for failing to avenge Uthman's death. Among those who supported her position were Abd-Allah ibn Aamir Hadhrami, the former governor of Mecca during Uthman's reign, and several prominent members of the Banu Umayyah.
Aisha, along with an army including al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, confronted Ali's supporters near Basra, calling for the prosecution of those accused of involvement in Uthman's assassination, some of whom were believed to be among Ali's ranks. According to some Shia sources, after capturing Basra, her forces allegedly executed Hakim ibn Jabala and hundreds of his supporters.
Ali rallied supporters and fought Aisha's forces near Basra in 656. The battle is known as the Battle of the Camel, after the fact that Aisha directed her forces from a howdah on the back of a large camel. Aisha's forces were defeated and an estimated 10,000 Muslims were killed in the battle, considered the first engagement where Muslims fought Muslims.
After the defeat of the opposition forces at the Battle of the Camel, Ali reportedly reproached Aisha for her role in the conflict but granted her a pardon. He arranged for her return to Medina under military escort led by her brother, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, who was one of his commanders. Aisha subsequently retired from political life and remained in Medina. According to some sources, Ali also arranged a pension for her as a gesture of respect.
Although she retired to Medina, her earlier opposition to the caliphate of Ali did not bring an end to the First Fitna.
Aisha's marriage has given her significance among many within Islamic culture, becoming known as the most learned woman of her time. She was also recognized during her lifetime as Muhammad’s favorite. When Muhammad married Aisha in her youth, she was accessible "...to the values needed to lead and influence the sisterhood of Muslim women." Aisha conveyed ideas expressing Muhammad's practice (sunnah). She expressed herself as a role model to women, which can also be seen within some traditions attributed to her. The traditions regarding Aisha habitually opposed ideas unfavorable to women in efforts to elicit social change.
According to Reza Aslan:
Her intellectual contributions regarding the verbal texts of Islam were in time transcribed into written form, becoming the official history of Islam. Jawed Anwar also writes that Aisha was regarded as the most reliable source in the teachings of hadith. Aisha's authentication of Muhammad's ways of prayer and his recitation of the Qur'an allowed for the development of knowledge of his sunnah of praying and reading verses of the Quran.
After the defeat at the Battle of the Camel, Aisha retreated to Medina and became a teacher. Upon her arrival in Medina, Aisha retired from her public role in politics. Her discontinuation of public politics did not stop her political influence completely. Privately, Aisha continued influencing those intertwined in the Islamic political sphere. Among the Islamic community, she was known as an intelligent woman who debated law with male companions. Aisha was also considered to be the embodiment of proper rituals while partaking in the Hajj, a journey she made with several groups of women. For the last two years of her life, Aisha spent much of her time telling the stories of Muhammad, hoping to correct false passages that had become influential in formulating Islamic law. Due to this, Aisha's political influence continues to impact Muslims.
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