thirteen years old. However, according to another account, she was married to the Prophet when she was around sixteen and went to live with him at the age of nineteen. Either way, the Prophet’s apartment was far from being a bed of roses. The Prophet led a very simple, scruplously clean and spiritually enriched life without any trace of luxury, wealth or pomp. The roof of his tiny apartment frequently leaked rainwater, the walls were made of clay and the apartment only had one door, which was kept open most of the time with a blanket hung as a curtain. He had no possessions other than a straw mat, a thin mattress, a pillow made of dry tree barks and leaves, a leather water container, a small plate and a cup for drinking water. These were all the ‘luxuries’ Aishah found in the Prophet’s apartment when she moved in. Even though the Prophet was the most powerful man in Madinah at the time and he could have chosen to live in an impressive mansion if he wished, he deliberately chose to live a very simple and Godly life.
The Prophet not only occupied himself in prayers and meditation, but also reminded his wives, children and followers not to become lured by the wealth, glitter and riches of this world. He often prayed to God to allow him to die in poverty and be resurrected in the company of the poor and needy. He therefore disliked all forms of pomp, pride and power associated with ostentatious display of wealth and profligate living. He made it very clear to all his family members (ahl al-bayt) and companions (sahabah) that this life was transient and that it would be foolish to become too preoccupied with the lures and attractions of this world. Aishah understood this better than anyone else, and was only too happy to live with the Prophet in his simple but clean apartment. She was not only an exceptionally intelligent and gifted lady; she was also very tender-hearted and frequently broke into tears. Once a poor woman appeared at her door with her two young children and asked for something to eat. Aishah only had three dates in the house, which she handed over to the lady to feed her children. The woman gave one date to each of her daughters and started to chew one herself. Meanwhile, one of her daughter had quickly eaten her share and began to stare at her mother. The mother immediately stopped chewing the date and broke it into two halves and gave them to her daughters. Moved by the mother’s love and affection for her daughters, Aishah burst into tears.
If students are to be judged by the quality of their teachers, then Aishah could have claimed to be the best of all students because she was taught by the best of all teachers. Since the Prophet used to visit Abu Bakr frequently, Aishah knew the Prophet very well even before their marriage. During the subsequent decade or so that she spent with the Prophet until his death in 632, she became intimately acquainted with all aspects of his life, conduct and behaviour. No other person claimed to know the Prophet as well as Aishah. Her prodigious intellect and retentive memory enabled her to assimilate Islamic teachings with ease, becoming one of the most famous repositories of Islamic knowledge and wisdom, especially about the life and teachings of the Prophet. Aishah’s enquiring mind and willingness to learn and disseminate knowledge endeared her to the Prophet. Indeed, whenever the Prophet prepared to deliver a sermon in the mosque, Aishah always made it a duty on herself to listen to him attentively and, if she was unsure about any issues, she never hesitated to ask for clarification. For instance, on one ocassion, the Prophet remarked, “Whosoever was subjected to accounting in the next life, punishment was his lot.” If that was the case, reasoned Aishah, how is one to explain this Qur’anic verse, “Whoever is given his record in his right hand will have an easy reckoning.”? (Holy Qur’an: Surat al-Inshiqaq, verses 7-8) The Prophet explained that this verse referred to individual accountability. That is to say, according to this verse, each individual will be presented with their own records in the hereafter and that should they be subjected to cross-examination and found wanting, then they would be in trouble. Thanks to Aishah, today we have a clear understanding of numerous Divine injunctions; in fact, some Qur’anic verses, including those relating to the performance of tayammum (dry ablution), were revealed directly because of her. The Prophet himself recognised Aishah’s superiority over his other wives when he said: ‘Among men there were many perfect persons but none among women except two: Mariam, daughter of Imran and Asiya, wife of Pharoah. And Aishah has superiority over other women as tharid (a dish) has over other dishes.’
As it happens, Aishah’s contribution to the development of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), Qur’anic scholarship (tafsir) and exposition of Prophetic traditions (hadith) – especially in relation to the Prophet’s personal and private life – was nothing short of unique and unprecedented. By virtue of her vast knowledge and understanding of the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet, she was able to clarify a host of conflicting views held by some companions of the Prophet about certain Islamic teachings and commandments. She was an equally unrivalled practitioner of analogical deduction (qiyas) in matters of Islamic jurisprudence. Her mastery of Islamic thought and its sources was so impressive that the companions of the Prophet considered her to be an eminent authority on Qur’anic exegesis, hadith and jurisprudence. In the words of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, a prominent companion of the Prophet and an eminent jurist himself, ‘We companions (of the Prophet) were never presented with a problem to which Aishah did not present a satisfactory solution.’ (Sunan al-Tirmidhi) That is why Caliphs Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan, who were three of the most prominent companions of the Prophet and outstanding jurists in their own right, regularly consulted her before deciding on complex and intractable legal issues during their reigns.
Aishah used to teach both male and female students. She was known to have been a very generous and approachable teacher. According to Urwa ibn Zubair, a distinguished student of Aishah, her knowledge and breadth of learning was not restricted to the religious sciences only; she was deeply proficient in Arab history, literature, rhetoric, poetry and genealogy, and was familiar with aspects of traditional medicine. She memorised and related more than two thousand ahadith of the Prophet, and was brave enough to lead an army into the battlefield and wage war. Aishah taught and mentored a number of great luminaries of Islam including Urwa ibn Zubair, Masruq and Amrah bint Abd al-Rahman. More importantly, she was a perfect wife to her husband and one of his greatest supporters. After the Prophet’s death, she continued to champion the message her husband had promulgated and in so doing she contributed immensely to the development of Islamic thought and culture for the benefit of posterity. Aishah was a truly remarkable woman and a profoundly influential intellectual whose name and fame will no doubt continue to spread with the passage of time. Although born and brought up in a fiercely patriarchal society, she reached the highest summit of Islamic learning and scholarship by the sheer force of her powerful personality and incredible intellect. She was aware of her unique God-given qualities and attributes. On one occasion she said, ‘I am not taking pride but I am mentioning it as a fact that God bestowed upon me nine things that He did not confer on anyone else in the world. Angels presented my figure before the Prophet in a dream; there was no other maiden amongst the wives of the Prophet; the Qur’an was revealed even when he occupied my bed; I was his favourite; some Qur’anic verses descended in relation to me; I saw Gabriel with my own eyes, and the Prophet died in my lap.’ (Mustadrak of al-Hakim and Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra of Ibn Sa’d).
Known reverentially as ummul mu’minin (the ‘mother of the believers’), Aishah passed away at the age of sixty-seven. She was laid to rest in Madinah after Abu Hurairah, who was acting as governor of the city at the time, conducted her funeral prayers.
AS A SYMBOL of honesty, faithfulness, integrity and unflinching steadfastness, Khadijah has no equals in Islamic history. Her devotion, dedication and wholehearted support for the Islamic cause proved invaluable to the Prophet from day one. Indeed, Khadijah’s unshakeable faith in her husband and her commitment to the Divine message was such that it has earned her a pre-eminent position in the annals of Islam. Her remarkable contribution to the cause of Islam was acknowledged by the Prophet himself. That is why she came to symbolise the higher qualities and attributes which Muslim women aspired to acquire and personify although only a few, if any at all, managed to come anywhere near her in this respect. Khadijah was a truly inspirational figure, an outstanding role model for all Muslim women who has left her indelible mark in the history of Islam.
Khadijah bint