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The wife of the Prophet, mother of the believers, and the greatest woman scholar of the first century of Islam.
She was born at Mecca in the fourth year of the prophetic mission (614). Her father was Abû Bakr al-Siddîq and her mother Umm Rûmân bint 'Âmir.
Her marriage contract was concluded at Mecca before the Hijra; the marriage began at Medina in Shawwâl of the second year of the Hijra (April 624). Though at first she could not adapt to the climate of Medina, she soon recovered.
On campaign she rendered such services as carrying water, bringing news and tending the wounded at Uhud; she witnessed the Treaty of Hudaybiya and accompanied the Messenger of God on the Farewell Pilgrimage.
When she was left behind by the caravan on the return from the expedition against the Banû Mustaliq (626-627) and came back to Medina with Safwân b. Mu'attal, the hypocrites spread a slander about her; in this affair, known as the incident of the ifk, verses 11-21 of Sûrat al-Nûr were revealed and cleared her.
After the death of the Messenger of God in the year 632 she remained a widow for forty-seven years and never married again. She died on the night of 17 Ramadân of the year 58 (14 July 678), at the age of sixty-five or sixty-six.
Her Circle of Influence — The number of hadiths she transmitted is 2210, which places her fourth among the Companions who transmitted most (the muksirûn). Of these, 297 hadiths appear in the Sahîh collections of al-Bukhârî and Muslim, and 174 of them are found in both works together. She did not confine herself to what she transmitted but reasoned from it and derived rulings; she was counted a jurist and an exegete, and the leading jurists of her age consulted her, especially on the law of inheritance.
Her Tomb and Complex — A great crowd attended her funeral; by her own bequest she was buried in the Jannat al-Baqî' at Medina.
The tombs and gravestones at the Baqî' were demolished in 1806 by Su'ûd b. 'Abd al-'Azîz; the structures later rebuilt were destroyed again in 1926 in the time of 'Abd al-'Azîz b. Su'ûd. Today there is neither tomb nor gravestone in the cemetery, and the ground continues to be used for burial.
Differing Scholarly Views
The age at marriage. The source records that there is a historical debate about her age when she married, and that contemporary researchers object to the early reports that make her extremely young. The atlas passes no judgement in this matter; it confines itself to recording that the debate exists (rule #9, principle 3).
🔴 THE BATTLE OF THE CAMEL. Having kept away from politics under the first two caliphs, 'Â'isha opposed some of the administrative decisions of the caliphate of 'Uthmân and asked for the removal of certain governors. After the killing of 'Uthmân and the pledge to 'Alî, she marched to Basra together with Talha and Zubayr, demanding that the caliph's killers be found. The two armies met in the year 36 (December 656); the event was called the Battle of the Camel after the camel she rode. The army of 'Alî prevailed; 'Â'isha was not touched but was sent back to Medina with honour and provision for the journey. In the following years she was reconciled with 'Alî. The atlas judges neither of the parties (rule #9, principle 5).
The claim about Hasan's burial. As for the claim that 'Â'isha prevented Hasan from being buried beside the Messenger of God, the source states plainly that it "is not correct": according to the source she consented to it, and those who prevented the burial were the notables of the Umayyads, foremost among them Marwân b. al-Hakam.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA)
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Mustafa Fayda · vol. 2, pp. 201-205, entry “ÂİŞE”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Mustafa Fayda · vol. 7, p. 387, entry “CENNETÜ'l-BAKĪ'”
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