Verily those who brought forth the slander (against Aishah, the wife of the Prophet) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment. (Surah Noor).
This ayat and a few more ayats were revealed for a lady with rare qualities and a formidable character unmatched in history, a lady who was one of the greatest mother of believers, a woman with an exceptional dynamic personality known as Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her).
She was blessed with the Holy Messenger’s presence, and the opportunity to spend her youth in his auspicious household. In her youth, she was well known for her striking beauty and her formidable memory; she came under the loving care and attention of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). As his wife and close companion, she acquired from him knowledge and insight such as no woman has acquired. Her life presents to us the perfect example of how a woman can be far more learned than men and that she can be the teacher of scholars and experts. Her life is also a proof that a highly qualified learned woman can be totally feminine and be a source of pleasure, joy and comfort to her husband. She showed us by her life how a woman can be an expert both in domestic work and intellectual world.
She attained the vast treasure of knowledge while she was quite young. There are 2210 traditions narrated by her.
Aisha’s students were approximately 200, out of which were: Abu Hurairah, Abu Musa Ashari, Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with all of them). The number of women is said to have been greater than that of men. Men and women came from far and wide to benefit from her knowledge. Besides answering enquiries, she took boys and girls, some of them orphans, into her custody and trained them under her care and guidance. She conveyed the knowledge that she had comprehended and memorised. She directed people, taught them, guided them and gave them wisdom. She left a legacy that is rare to be found in others. The knowledge she imparted formed a substantial part of the rules of Islamic jurisprudence and its principles.
Special mention has to be made to the important role she played as a teacher, exponent and interpreter of the religion of Islam. Aisha was a woman prodigy, and this was one of the main reasons why she got married to the Holy Prophet, as is clearly proved by events after the Holy Prophet’s life. Her marriage was a revealed one as she was shown to the Prophet in His dream. Her marriage with the Prophet was ordained by Allah and women biologically mature by the time of puberty (in 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, or 13th year of age) especially in desert places; the concepts of teenage and child marriage are manmade and are irrelevant biologically and medically.
Narrated Aisha: That the Prophet said to her, “You have been shown to me twice in my dream. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and someone said (to me). ‘This is your wife.’ When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, ‘If this is from Allah, it will be done.”
Aisha’s whole life is like an open book and can be studied by reading and understanding the hadiths/traditions narrated by her and others.
Aysha was born as a Muslim. We get glimpses of her life by reading various hadiths. She was brought up in her parents’ home as a Muslim and not a single moment of shirk shadowed her life.
Narrated Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) I had seen my parents following Islam since I attained the age of puberty. Not a day passed but the Prophet visited us, both in the mornings and evenings. My father Abu Bakr thought of building a mosque in the courtyard of his house and he did so. He used to pray and recite the Qur’ān in it. The pagan women and their children used to stand by him and look at him with surprise. Abu Bakr was a softhearted person and could not help weeping while reciting the Qur’ān. The chiefs of the Quraish pagans became afraid of that (i.e. that their children and women might be affected by the recitation of Qur’ān).”
After the death of Khadija, she became the wife of Prophet in Makkah when she was in the sixth year of her life but her wedding did not take place until the second year after the Hijrat when she was about nine or ten. About her wedding, she related that: “Shortly before she was to leave her parents’ house, she slipped out into the courtyard to play with a passing friend. I was playing on a see-saw and my long streaming hair was disheveled.” She further says: “They came and took me from my play and made me ready.”
Marriage to the Holy Prophet did not change her playful ways. Her young friends came to visit her regularly in her own apartment. Her marriage details are as follows.
Narrated Aisha: The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six. We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became alright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.