Aisha bint Abu Bakr was a leader, an adult female, a married woman, a theologian, a scholar, and a political militant. She was precocious, loyal, brave, and unusually intelligent. These facets of her life have allowed her to make a powerful impact on the development and expression of Islam that “no woman [has] reached” [1].
Not only did she influence the position of women in Islamic society, Muslim ethics, and the understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an, but she also modeled these qualities for the men, women, and children of Islam. As a woman in Islamic society, Aisha carried a particularly high status. She was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, who had embraced Islam before she was born. Therefore, she was not influenced by the former polytheistic religious tradition of pre-Islamic Arabia and its stance on gender inequality. Aisha was also the third and favorite wife of the Prophet Muhammad, to whom she was divinely revealed. From these events, it is apparent that Aisha is a model of Islamic ethics and morality for Muslims, following them diligently throughout her life. This development is an example of Aisha’s impact on Islam through a more passive role as a model of morality in life.
An active role Aisha played in her impact on the development and expression of Islam was as a theologian. Her outstanding intelligence, strong power of retention, and close company with the Prophet allowed her to make this contribution. During her marriage, she spent much time studying the Qur’an, as an eager student of the Prophet, and having discussions with him about the issues it contains. In this manner, Aisha was able to gain “knowledge and insight such as no woman has ever acquired.” [5] Through her astounding memory, she was able to retain much of the invaluable expressions of the Prophet and the divine revelations of Muhammad that she had witnessed, allowing her to be quoted as a source for over 2000 Hadiths. [2] “Next to the Holy Qur’an, the Hadith is the second source of the Islamic Law of social and personal behavior, because the commandments of the Holy Prophet are as binding on the believers as the commandments of Allah.” [3]
Therefore,through her vast knowledge, Aisha was able to address several issues or tasks that arose during the reading of the Qur’an and Hadith, as well as the correct behavior of Muslims. Abu Musa Al-Ashari [4] testified, “Never had we (the comrades) had any trouble for the solution of which we approached Aisha and did not acquire some useful information from her.” The Prophet himself held Aisha’s incredible knowledge in high respect, commanding his followers to “Learn a part of your faith from this red-colored lady” [9]. In this manner, Aisha had a significant impact on the way Islam developed, particularly after Muhammad’s death, in every aspect of the religious tradition.
As a highly knowledgeable theologian of the Qur’an and Hadith, which are the foundation of all Islamic beliefs, ethics, and practices, her eagerness to learn and her ability to retain a great deal of information made her revered as a model of the importance of education to all Muslims, especially children who need encouragement to learn and women who are doubtful about their scholarly abilities. From her theological role, it is apparent that Aisha made progress by sharing her knowledge with the many men, women, and children who came from far and wide to be educated by her.
This resulted in the city of Medina becoming a center of Islamic learning, with Aisha being “one of the first scholars of Islam’s early age” [10]. She also took in a large number of children under her care and guidance to educate them, not only about the Islamic religion, but also about a great many other areas in which she was knowledgeable, such as literature, history, medicine, and mathematics. “I did not see a greater scholar than Aisha in the acquisition of the Qur’an, obligatory duties, lawful and improper manners, poetry, literature, Arab history, and genealogy” [Urwah Ibn Azzubayr]. In this manner, Aisha “was a pioneer in promoting education” [4].
Therefore, she helped to preserve the Islamic religion, including the expressions and behavior of Muhammad, by teaching it to others. “It is the claim of Islamic scholars that without Aisha, half of the Ilm-I-Hadith (understanding and knowledge of the Hadith and Islam) would have perished” [4]. This also contributed to the spread of Islam, as many of her pupils came from places around the world. Therefore, Aisha established the importance of education in the Islamic tradition by modeling it and educating others.
Another active role Aisha played in the development and expression of Islam was as a political activist. Due to her close association with the Prophet Muhammad, Aisha gained sufficient knowledge of warfare to be able to participate in battles. An example of this is the Battle of the Camel, in which Aisha led resistance forces against the newly appointed caliph, Ali. The fact that after their defeat, Ali “captured Aisha but declined to harm her” [12] suggests that her courage and leadership were highly regarded, by both men and women. Such actions undertaken by Aisha as a political activist inspire all Muslims facing adversity, in that she was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and submit to Allah.
Which is a cardinal portion of belonging to Islam (‘submission to Allah’). Through the qualities of precociousness, trueness, courage, and intelligence, Aisha bint Bakr was able to play the function of a woman, a married woman, a theologian, a bookman, and a political militant. These roles had significant impacts on the development and expression of Islam in that they embodied and contributed to the cardinal aspects of Islam: being a Muslim, who submits to Allah, and reading and understanding of the Qur’an and Hadith.
Bibliography:
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- Sirat-I-Aisha. On The authorization of Trimidhi. p. 163.; taken from: BICNews. Created 29 April 1998. Viewed 21 November 2006. Hypertext Transfer Protocol: //www.lensimplant.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel6.htm
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- Islamic Voice. Created October 1997. Viewed 21 November 2006. Hypertext Transfer Protocol: //www.islamicvoice.com/october.97/wome.htm
- Wikipedia. Last revised 18 November 2006. Viewed 21 November 2006. Hypertext Transfer Protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha
