Friday 8 June 2007

ai'shah bint Abu Bakr

i'm not sure whether she is going to mention these in her notes, as i think it was slightly off topic, not that i was complaining, so thought i'd briefly mention the points covered on aai'shah radilallaahu 'anhaa here, as i don't want to miss an opportunity to talk about the beloved wife of the Prophet sallalhu alayhi wasalam.
all of these notes are based on the material covered in the talk. feel free to add to them, or clarify/correct issues, especially if you attended the talk.

oh and the "she" i rather rudely referred to is of course saabirah, covering the notes from the adab al mufrad classes here


Aai'shah bint Abu Bakr was born into the house of the greatest man after the Prophet (saw), and then lived with the Prophet(saw) himself for ten years. she then spent the next fifty years of her life in the company of the greatest men of the ummah. so from a very young age she was surrounded by knowledge. this is one of the reasons she is known as the most knowledgeable of women. some of the most personal matters of the deen are narrated through her, due to her relationship with the prophet (saw)


she is the only wife of the Prophet (saw) who had not been married before. it is narrated that the angel Jibraeel revealed the Prophet's (saw) marriage to aai'shah (ra)in a dream. this is something that she (ra) was very proud of and liked to remind the other wives about, which shows that jealousy is allowed, with reasonable boundaries. many of the hadith reveal her sense of humour and her natural jealousy of khadija (ra), the first wife of the Prophet (saw).

every single characteristic of a Muslim women can be found in her, as she was modest, but understood the difference between men and women, but also had knowledge and implemented it
it should be noted that she is a role model for Muslim men as well as women
especially those that do not let their women learn.


it is narrated that amr bin al-a'as asked the Prophet (saw) "who is is the most beloved person to you?" to which he replied "Aa'isha". he then asked, "and after that?" to which he replied her father.


her status in the Prophet's (saw) eyes is made clear when he sought permission from all of his (saw) wives to spend his last days with her.
he (saw) died in her lap. she (ra) was the last person to see him before he passed way.

11 comments:

Saabirah said...

I was gonna say "who's 'she', cats' mother?!" (where does that come from anyway?) but thanks for clarifying :-).

Yeah I didn't actually make notes on A'isha for the reason you mentioned and the fact taht her biography is pretty widely available; my notes tend to mention those personalities that aren't so well-known but I'm really glad you made notes on her (radiyAllahu 'anha), jazakiLlah khair.

[a} said...

Salaam! found your link on rosashe's blog.
Aisha [ra] is one of my heroes! There are so many hadith by the sahabi, praising her extensive knowledge, how she was the most knowledgeable from them all. Also, wasn't she the first female judge?

After that clear example of an intelligent Muslim woman, it's so pervasive how some people say Islam is against women being educated.

xxo

hema said...

i guess the biography is pretty widely available saabirah, but it's hard for some people to differntiate fact from fiction, especially from the internet. besides, i never miss an opprtunity to talk about one of the greatest women.
(a)- wasalaam and welcome.
"Aisha [ra] is one of my heroes!". it think if i had a choice of one person i got to meet ever, it would have been her (ra).

Caged Bird said...

A'isha (radi Allahu anha) is undoubtedly the most interesting person you will find in history (after the prophets that is). He character is unmatched. she would be so much fun to have around, with all the antics she's done, but at the same time she someone you would go for sound advice.
I loved hearing about her. I think its so important we learn about the characters of the past, as i feel thats where the knowledge lies. How to believe like them and be like them. insha'Allah,

Rosashe said...

AOA Hema,

wonderful post again. You talk about other people, I say even the muslims who think women should not be educated, women should only be a wife, a mother and a daughter should read her biography. It seems like, quite often anything that shows her to be knowledgable, her being dotted over by the Prophet (SAW) gets missed out from the teachings...
Sheila

hema said...

"He character is unmatched. she would be so much fun to have around, with all the antics she's done"

exactly, i think it's a good reminder to people that being "religious" doesn't mean you can't have a personality and have fun (although perhaps not as much as we do:)

sheila- likewise. although being a wife and mother should always come first.
a lot of aai'sha's(ra) work was done after the prophet (saw) had passed away, and she didn't have any children...

hey, i missed the part about how she(ra)gave up her spot next to the prophet (saw)- does anyone know who for?

Anonymous said...

umar al khattab i think

AnonyMouse said...

As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,

Masha'Allah, I think that Aisha (ra) would've been AWESOME to have as a sister or best friend... young, funny, witty, absolutely brilliant and one of the greatest women of our Ummah!!!

My other favourite sahabiya is Zainab bint Jahsh (ra)... she was also very wise and knowledgeable, but quick-witted and sharp-tongued too! :P

One of the things I thought was really cool was that Zainab (ra) and Aisha (ra) were rivals for the Prophet (saw)'s affection, but during the incident of al-Ifk, Zainab (ra) refused to say anything bad about Aisha (ra)...

Anonymous said...

Asalamu alaykum :)

I like how you show that religious doesn't mean not being human :)

People forget that Islam is for humans, and all it's guidelines and examples: for humans :)

Masha'Allah :)

Saabirah said...

"I like how you show that religious doesn't mean not being human :"

DOUBLE NEGATIVE!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

:-)

hema said...

annoymous- ooh thanks, that sounds about right. i tried to double check in a couple of books, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

annoymouse
but during the incident of al-Ifk, Zainab (ra) refused to say anything bad about Aisha (ra)...

and i also like the way aisha thanked God for clearing her name before anything else. i think that's a good reminder to us all.

saabirah- you are one ajeeb larki, do you know that!? do you always correct the grammar mistakes of random strangers.
people can write how they want on my blog anyway- i know i do! (just don't tell my students i said that!)

taqdeer- saabirah just has a "thing" about double negatives at the moment, as you can see here