Sayyidah Ayesha Siddiqah Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anha Sayyidah Ayesha Siddiqah Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anha was

the third lady to enter the house of the Beloved Habeeb Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him as his wife, and sh e was the only virgin in the consorts of purity of the Holy Prophets Peace and Bl essings Be Upon Him house. She was of a tender age when she was married to Allahs Apostle Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. Historical records bear ample testimony to the fact that Sayyidah Ayesha Radi AL LAHu Ta ala Anha was a precocious genius and was developing both in mind and bod y with rapidity peculiar to such rare personalities. This marriage is significan t in the history of Islam in so many aspects. Firstly, it cemented the ties between Sayyiduna Rasoolullah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him and his devoted friend Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddique Radi ALLAHu Ta al a Anha who always stood by him in hour of trial and who sacrificed his all for t he cause of Islam. Secondly, by this marriage, a lady of eminent qualities came under the direct in fluence of the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and B lessings Be Upon Him at a highly impressionable age, and this provided her ample opportunities to penetrate into the innermost recesses of the sacred heart of t he Beloved Habeeb Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. She shared his company and th us was able to develop her potentialities and refine her taste perfectly in acco rdance with the teachings of Islam under the direct supervision of Sayyiduna Ras oolullah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. This young age was in fact very opportune for marriage as it has been clearly sh own in the researches of psychoanalysts that much of the emotional of a mature p erson and most of those seemingly unaccountable leanings, tastes and tendencies comprised in the term idiosyncrasies can be traced to the experience of his or h er highly formative age of either later childhood or early adolescence. Thirdly, all the wives of the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sall am) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him with the exception of Sayyidah Ayesha Radi A LLAHu Ta ala Anha were of advanced age and thus could neither share the feelings of the younger generation nor could they properly appreciate their point of vie w. The difference of age always stood as a barrier between them and the ladies o f the younger ages. The only lady with whom young women could frankly enter into conversation and discuss problems without any reserve could be none but Sayyida h Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha. Thus, the marriage of the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him with Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha at an age when she was at the threshold of pubert y was a great necessity, as it was through her that instructions could successfu lly be imparted to the young ladies who had newly entered the fold of Islam. Moreover, this marriage struck at the root of a wrong notion that had firmly tak en hold of the minds of the people that it was contrary to religious ethics to m arry the daughter of a man whom one declared to be ones brother. The Messenger of Allah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him, with the help of his personal example, s howed to the people that there is a great difference between a brother-in-faith and the brother in relation to blood. The marriage, which is forbidden in Islam, is with the daughter of the brother in blood and not with the daughter of the b rother-in-faith. Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha lived on almost fifty years after the pa ssing away of the Messenger of Allah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. She passed away in the year 58 A.H. in the month of Ramadaan and was buried in the sacred graveyard Baqi al-Garqad of Madinatul Munawwara.

Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha reported that the Apostle of Allah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him said: I saw you in a dream for three nights when an Angel brought you to me in a silk c loth and he said, Here is your wife, and when I removed the cloth from your face, it was yourself, so I said, If this is from Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta ala, let Him ca rry it out. Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha used to play with dolls in the presence of the Messenger of Allah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him and when her playmates came to her they left (the house) because they felt shy of the Noble Prophet (S alla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him whereas Al lahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him sent them to her. People sent thei r gifts when it was the turn of Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha seeking thereby the pleasure of Allahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him . Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha said: The wives of Allahs Apostle Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him sent his daughter Faat ima Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha to him. She sought permission to get in as he had be en lying with me in my mantle. He gave her permission and she said: Allahs Messeng er Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him ! Verily, your wives have sent me to you in o rder to ask you to observe equity in case of the daughter of Abu Quhafah. She (Ay esha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ) said: I kept quiet. Thereupon, Allahs Messenger Peac e and Blessings Be Upon Him said to her (Faatima Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ):

O daughter! Dont you love whom I love? She said: Yes, I do. Thereupon, he said: I lov this one (Ayesha). Faatima Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha then stood up as she heard this from her father a nd went to the wives of Allahs Apostle Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him and inform ed them of what she had said to him and what he had said to her. Thereupon, they said to her: We think that you have been of no avail to us. You may again go to Allahs Apostle and tell him that his wives seek equity in case of the daughter of Abu Quhafah. Faatima Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha said: By Allah I will never talk to him about this matter. Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha (further) reported: The wives of Allahs Apostle Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him then sent Zaynab bint Jahsh Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha , the wife of the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him , and she was one who was somewhat equal in rank with me in the eyes of the Prophet Peace and Blessings B e Upon Him and I have never seen a woman more advanced in religious piety than Z aynab Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha , more Allah-conscious, more truthful, more alive to the ties of blood, more generous and having more sense of self-sacrifice in p ractical life and having more charitable disposition and thus more close to Alla h SubHanuhu wa Ta ala, the Exalted, than her. She however lost temper very soon but was soon calm. Allahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him permitted her to enter as she (Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ) was along with Allahs Messenge r Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him in her mantle, in the same very state when Faa tima Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha had entered. She said: Allahs Messenger Peace and Ble ssings Be Upon Him , your wives have sent me to you seeking equity in case of th e daughter of Abu Quhafah. She then came to me and showed harshness to me and I w as seeing the eyes of Allahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him whether he would permit me. Zaynab Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha went on until I came to know th at Allahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him would not disapprove if I ret orted. Then I exchanged hot words until I made her quiet. Thereupon, the Noble P rophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him s

miled and said: She is the daughter of Abu Bakr Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha . This Hadith gives a clear glimpse of the home life of the Glorious Messenger of Allah Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. The wives of the Noble Prophet (Salla All ahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him were all eminent l adies having deep Allah-consciousness, but they, after all, belonged to the huma n race and thus, could not completely banish those minor human weaknesses, which are ingrained in the very nature of the fair sex. They were all deeply attached to the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessing s Be Upon Him and every one of them had, therefore, an earnest desire that she s hould get the maximum love and affection from the Prophet of Allah Peace and Ble ssings Be Upon Him. It was out of this spirit of envy, rather than jealousy, tha t they put forward this demand. It was a natural expression of their humanly fee lings born of their love for the Beloved Habeeb Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him , and not an objection against the attitude and behavior of the Mercy of the Worl ds. And they could not even conceive of it; and how could they, when all of them had been receiving the most beneficent treatment at his hand? Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha reported: When the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessing s Be Upon Him set out on a journey, he used to cast lots amongst his wives. Once this lot came out in my favour and that of Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha. They (Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha and Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ) both went al ong with him and when it was night Allahs Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon H im used to travel on camel along with Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha and talked with her. Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha said to Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha : Would you like to ride upon my camel tonight and allow me to ride upon your came l and you would see (what you generally do not see) and I would see (what I do n ot see) generally? She said: Yes. But, Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha rode upon the camel of Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha and Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha rode u pon the camel of Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha and Allahs Messenger Peace and Bl essings Be Upon Him came near the camel of Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha , (whe reas) Hafsa Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha had been riding over that. He greeted her an d then rode with her until they came down. She (Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ) thus missed the company of the Prophet Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him and when they sat down, Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha felt jealous. She put her foot in the grass and said: O ALLAH SubHanuhu wa Ta ala , let the scorpion sting me or a serpent bite me. And so far as Your Messenger Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him i s concerned, I cannot say anything about him. Sayyiduna Anas bin Maalik Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha has said: The Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him said that the excellence of Ayesha over women is like the excellence of Tharid over all other foods. Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha is one of the four persons (the others b eing Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha , Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Omar Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha and Sayyiduna Anas bin Maalik Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha ) who transmitted more than two thousand sayings of the Noble Prophet (Salla Alla hu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him. The Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta ala alayhi wa Sallam) Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him referrin g to her extensive knowledge of Islam is reported to have said: Learn a portion of your religion from this Humayra (red coloured lady). Sayyidah Ayesha Radi ALLAHu Ta ala Anha not only possessed great knowledge but a lso took an active part in education and social reform. As a teacher she had a c lear and persuasive manner of speech and her power of oratory has been described

in superlative terms. Men and women came from far and wide to benefit from her knowledge. According to the Orientalist, D.S. Margoliouth, he wrote: Of the entire number of inmates, Lady Ayesha alone, by force of character and kee nness of wit, won for herself a place in the political and religious history of Islam. [Quoted by Fida Hussain Maalik in his book, Wives of the Prophet, Bombay, 19 89, Page 124] Pearls of Wisdom by Sayyida Ayesha as-Siddiqah To spend for your guests is not extravagance. Good deeds are to refrain from bad deeds. A believer of truth never becomes disgrace even if the whole World turns against him while a believer in falsehood never gains respect even if the moon comes out on his forehead. Wherever the torch of truth shines it is advantageous to all, and it must not be seen who the torchbearer is. A very good trait of character is to protect your tongue. When the stomach becomes full the faculty of thought becomes weak and wisdom and understanding become mute. Gluttony is the root of all illnesses and abstinence is its remedy. Magnificence is gained in 1% friendship and 99% hard work and physical exertion. Taken from: Gateway to Heaven (A Concise Manual for Muslim Sisters) by Sayyid Shah Aal-e-Rasool Nazmi al-Husaini al-Qadiri Barakati Marehrawi