Aisha bint Abu Bakr

Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the most intimate friend of the Prophet, his traveling companion during the emigration and the first caliph after him. She was born in Mecca in the 4th year of the prophethood.

Her first marriage ceremony with the Prophet (pbuh) was held in Mecca before the emigration. However, because of her young age at this time, the actual conjugal life of Aisha and the Prophet began after the emigration (Shawwal, 2 A.H).  Aisha was the only woman among the Azwaj al-Tahirat to be married just once.  Muhammad called this beloved wife different names as an expression of his love, such as “Aisha,” “Aish” and “Uaish”; he also called her “Humayra” because of her fair complexion.

The bond between Aisha and the Prophet was based on mutual love, understanding and respect. We know of some aspects of their relationship, for example they had a foot-race for fun, he would show care and love for her; putting her head on his shoulder, she watched the Abyssinians give a display of their skills with spears in the Masjid al-Nabawi. The Prophet enjoyed being with her, especially talking with her during their night journeys, and answering her questions. Due to her qualities, such as intelligence, understanding, good memory and eloquence, as well as her efforts to understand the Quran and the sunnah clearly, Aisha held a distinguished position.

Aisha accompanied the Prophet on several battles. Once she was accidentally left behind by the army, as she had stayed back to search for a lost necklace when they were returning from the campaign against the Bani Mustaliq. Safwan ibn Al-Muattal took her to join the caravan, which was located at the rear of the army. However, the hypocrites began to gossip about Aisha and spread slanderous lies about her on this occasion, raising doubts in the minds of Muslims. Recorded as the “the incident of Ifq (slander)” in the sources, this matter was cleared up by the revelation of the 11th to the 21st verses of Surat al-Noor, which declared the falsehood of the rumors, and Allah declared that Aisha was innocent.

During Prophet Muhammad’s last illness, in the month of Safar 11 A.H, he asked permission from his other wives and went to Aisha’s room, where he died.

Aisha, who did not participate in any political activities during the caliphate of Abu Bakr or Umar, took some actions to seek justice and peace during the last years of Uthman’s caliphate and Ali’s caliphate. However, when the situation deteriorated, she did not participate in any more political action and her sorrow about the ensuing tragic events lasted until the end of her life.

Aisha was a distinguished woman in the Islamic sciences. Thanks to her intelligence, understanding, desire for learning, good memory and faith, she was educated well in her father’s house, and she reached a position that was close to that of the Prophet in religious sciences. After the death of the Prophet, a large number of companions and successors visited her and sought her advice, particularly in the fields of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and hadith (sayings of the Prophet). Aisha was one of the companions to issue the highest number of fatwa. Moreover, thanks to the 2,210 hadiths that she reported, she became one of the seven companions to transmit the greatest number of hadiths.

She lived for another 47 years after the death of the Prophet, and died in 57 or 58 A.H, when she was 66. She was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi’ Cemetery. Her funeral prayer was offered by Abu Hurairah at her request.