Aisha
Mother of the Believers Aisha bint Abu Bakr | |
|---|---|
عَائِشَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ | |
 Caligraphy of her name | |
| Born | 614 |
| Died | 678 |
Aisha bint Abu Bakr (605–678; Arabic: عَائِشَةُ بِنْتُ أَبُوبَكْرٍ) was the third wife of Muhammad. Aisha is given honour in Islam, especially in the Sunni branch. She is often called by Muslims Umm-al-mu'minin, which means "Mother of the Believers".
Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr of Mecca.She was Muhammad's favorite wife according to sunnis, and he married seven others after her. She was the only virgin that he ever married. She was also a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence and narrated the fourth most ahadeeth from him.
She was married to Muhammad for nine years until his death in 632. Aisha lived fifty more years in and around Medina.
Aisha's reported age at her marriage has become a subject of modern debate and criticism. Most early Islamic sources state that she was nine years old when the marriage was consummated. This has led to criticism of Muhammad based on contemporary views and laws on the age of consent. In Islamic literature, the young age of her marriage did not draw any significant discourse; nonetheless, scholars Denise Spellberg and Kecia Ali find the very mention of her age to be atypical of early Muslim biographers, and hypothesize a connotation to her virginity and, more than that, religious purity.[1][2][a]
Shia view
[change | change source]Shiites dislike that Aisha opposed Imam Ali, initiated war against him and served as one of the three leaders fighting him in the battle of the camel, two decades after Muhammad's death. A Shiite theological practice, tabarru involves making a cursing statement when the name of any evil Muslim is mentioned. The practice is used after the mention of Aisha and the first three caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman.[4] Ali had requested Muhammad to divorce Aisha for getting left behind after a military expedition when she went to relieve herself and being brought to Medina by a young man and being accused of adultery by her father and some others, earlier.[5]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Spellberg, Denise (1994). Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr. Columbia University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-231-07999-0.
- ↑ Ali, Kecia (2014). "Mother of the Faithful". The lives of Muhammad. Harvard: Harvard University Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN 978-0-674-05060-0.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ↑ Spellberg, Denise (1994). Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr. Columbia University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-231-07999-0.
- ↑ Ibrahim, Ayman S. (2023-09-26). A Concise Guide to Islam: Defining Key Concepts and Terms. Baker Publishing Group. p. 626-627. ISBN 978-1-5409-6666-7. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
- ↑ Ibrahim, Ayman S. (2023-09-26). A Concise Guide to Islam: Defining Key Concepts and Terms. Baker Publishing Group. p. 626. ISBN 978-1-5409-6666-7. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
