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Schoolcraft Community College
The Life of Aisha
Nicole S Moore
Ancient History 134
Dr. Alec Thomson
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The topic of Aisha is a very intriguing topic for me to research, her marriage to the
legendary prophet Muhammad is historical yet controversial. She is known to his “child
bride” one of the youngest women he married, there are some writings from Aisha herself
which leaves her views on the nation of Islam debatable. Although some of her written
views may be somewhat negative, she has been known to be a great contributor to the
Islam empire. Her father was the first caliphat for Islam after the death of Muhammad. In
this paper I am going to discuss Aisha marriage to Muhammad, her views on Islam, and
her contributions to the religion and empire.
In Islam, Aisha bint Abu Bakr is known as the “Mothers of Believers”, primarily for
her many contributions to the “hadith”, which is a compilation of stories or statements
written by people who knew the prophet Muhammad. Some sects of Islam religion regard
this as divine text, while a large number of Muslims disagree. Nevertheless, her
contribution is one of the many reasons that her name stands out in history. “There is
some truth in this claim because, with over 2,000 narratives attributed to her name, Aisha
is secondary only to Abu Haraira in narrating hadiths” (WikiIslam)1
Although there are not many detailed accounts about her birth and childhood, according
to a passage from the hadith “ Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr Abdullah from the
Quraysh. Her mother was Umm Ruman bint Amir from the Kinanah. She was born into
the deen of Islam” (3)2 One of the most controversial events of her childhood was her
marriage to the prophet Muhammad, Aisha was one of his many brides. She married
Muhammad at the tender age of 6, and their marriage was consummated when she was 9
years old. This early marriage may have led to some of her negative views to both the
prophet and Islam.
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According to a source from usislam.org “ although the bridal age of Aisha sometimes
draw criticism, child marriages in 7th century Arabia were culturally and morally
acceptable, just as they were in biblical times (unknown 1).3 Aisha was the only child and
one of two virgins to marry the prophet Muhammad, his other wives were either
widowed or divorced. This may be the reason the Aisha is known as Muhammad
“favorite bride”.
Although there marriage was culturally strategic, it has been said the prophet truly
loved Aisha not only for her physical beauty, but also her intelligence. It has been
recorded that she enjoyed housework and tending to her husband. Aisha was only
eighteen years old when Muhammad fell ill, it has been recorded that she was at his
bedside until he succumbed to his illness. On the contrary, other sources describe her as
“never being a likable character” and regarded as “negative”. Many Islamic sources
report that there was lots of fighting with Muhammad’s harem of wives, causing them to
be divided into two groups, with Aisha being head on one. Some scholars would even
argue that she disliked the prophet, using a passage from one of the hadiths, narrated by
Aisha, as an example “ I saw the prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between
him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away for I disliked
to face him” (Sahih Bukari 6:60:311)4
Many of the reports of Aisha negativity seems to be a matter of opinion and
speculation, even though there are some documents that may lead one to believe she is
being negative or in dislike of the Islam religion, it is still open for speculation. Shortly
after the death of the prophet Muhammad, Aisha’s father Abu Bakr, was appointed the
first caliph for the Ummah. Once again, his appointment of caliph was very controversial
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among the Muslims even to this day, where there are two sects based on the belief of who
should have been appointed caliph. The third caliph, Uthman, was assassinated during his
appointment , it is said that Aisha played a big part in the opposition the grew against him
causing him to be assassinated.
Aisha did not agree with his assassination or the election of Ali as caliph, in fact she
attempted to avenge the death of the caliph in the Battle of the Camel. She participated by
giving powerful speeches and leading troops on the back of a camel. She eventually
confronted Ali army demanding the individuals who killed Uthman be executed, although
she lost this battle it showed her dedication and passion for Islam. According to
Wikipedia “she moved to Medina after the battle for twenty years, did not participate in
any political campaigns, and eventually reconciled with Ali”.
Aisha played a key role in the emergence of Islam she was greatly involved in social
reform, she contributed to the recordings of the “hadiths”, and gave a very detailed and
intellectual input to the life of Muhammad and the Islamic religion. “Amongst the Islamic
community she was known as an intelligent woman and debated law with male
companions (Wikipedia)5.
Aisha was also known to be the leader of many rituals while partaking in the pilgrimage
to Mecca, for the last two years of her life she spent much time recording stories and
correcting misconceptions and errors regarding the Islamic law, for this reason she has
been known to make a big impact in the Islamic culture. On July 16, 678 Aisha died in
her home at the age of 64 from an unknown disease. Although her life and view of Islam
are controversial, everyone agree that she did impact the Islamic community in a big way.
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In this paper I discussed Aisha’s marriage to Muhammad, her views on Islam, and her
contributions to the Islamic empire.
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Endnotes
1
Reliable and Reputable Islamic website
Hadith is a compilation of stories and events regarding Islam, not from prophet
Muhammad
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3
Opinion of the writer of this particular article
4
Passage from Sahih hadith
5
Sourced from online website Wikipedia
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Annotations
Fariel, Khalil. “The tragedy of Aisha”. WikiIslam.net. This is an article that was
wriiten about the life of Aisha, author believed Aisha was negatively influenced by
Islamic culture
Author unknown. “The Life of Aisha” womenofislam.org. Reputable Islamic website
that chronicalized the lives of women of Islam
Author unknown. “Aisha Youngest Wife of Prophet Muhammad” usislam.org
Sahih Muslim “ Sahiih Bukari 6:60:311). Taken from one of the many Hadith
collections of Islam.
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