Biography: The Life of Aisha

Aisha was a very unique and influential woman that had greatness sprung upon her at
such a young age. Her brilliance was tribute to that of her father, who lured her into learning
early on, and Aisha strived to be like her father; gathering as much information and knowledge
as humanly possible. Aisha was born in the early 614 BCE, she was the daughter of Umm
Ruman and Abu Bakr of Mecca, which were two of Muhammads most trusted companions!
Aisha was the third and very youngest wife of Muhammad. In Islamic writings her name is
given the title Mother of the Believers description of Muhammads wives in the Quran. Aisha
had a very important role in early Islamic history, during Muhammads life and even after his
death. Aisha was thought to be scholarly and inquisitive in Sunni tradition. Contributing to the
spread of Muhammads message and even served the Muslim community for forty-four years
after his death! Also she was known for narrating 2,210 hadiths, not only on matters relating to
the Prophets private life, but even on topics such as pilgrimage, eschatology, and inheritance!
Her intellect was incredible and the knowledge she had in various subjects such as poetry and
medicine, were very highly praised by early luminaries such as Al-Zuhri and even her student
Urwa ibn Al-Zubayr. Abu Bakr, her father became the very first caliph to succeed Muhammad
and after two years was also succeeded by Umar! During the time period of the third caliph
Uthman, Aisha had a very leading part in the opposition that grew against him, though she was
absolutely appalled by those responsible for his assassination but she still didnt agree with the of
Ali either. During the time period where Ali reigned, she was rushed with rage and wanted to
avenge Uthmans death which she had attempted to do in the Battle of the Camel! Aisha
participation in the Battle of the Camel was by giving passionate speeches and also leading

troops on the back of her camel. But to no avail she ended up losing the battle, but the
involvement she had and determination left a very strong lasting impression on everyone! After
the battle, she lived a very quiet life in Medina for more than twenty years, was not interested nor
took any part in politics, and also became reconciled to Ali and did not oppose Muawiya.

Alisha was the favorite wife of Muhammad and also a very wonderful Muslim lady, who
was very talented and had an excellent memory. She had a great love of learning and became
extremely noted for her intelligence, learning and shape sense of judgement. Also Aisha
memorized quite a number of Surahs of the Quran. Her father was a man of intense learning
and Aisha inherited his love for knowledge and learning. After the death of Muhammads first
wife Khadija bint Khawilad, he entered into twelve other marriages besides her. Alisha was the
only child bride of his! Although the bridal age of Aisha usually drew criticism, child marriages
in the 7th century Arabia were culturally and also morally acceptable, just as they were
acceptable in the Biblical times. The Prophet Muhammad was known to have very impeccable
character, and his marriage to that of a child bride was an exception to all of his other marriages.
Aisha was the only child and one of the only two virgins to marry the Prophet, his other wives
were all widows or divorced. The majority of tradition hadith sources state that Aisha was
married at the age of six or seven, but she kept living at her parents home until she reached the
age of nine or ten when the marriage was then consummated.

Aisha became such a strong influential figure in early Islam after Muhammads death.
Although, Aisha was already a very strong political figure, her influence only grew stronger!
Although Muhammad had ordered his wives to stay in the home, Aisha defied Muhammads
orders after his death she took a prime role in the publics eye and a predominant role with
politics. People say that Aishas political influence helped promote her father Abu Bakr to the
caliphate after Muhammads death. After Aisha was defeated at the Battle of the Camel, she
retreated to Medina where then she became a teacher. Aisha retired from her public role in
politics upon her arrival to Medina. Even though she had retired from politics, her political
influence didnt fully retire from her and people still viewed her as a political influential figure
even after she rid herself of it. Secretly and privately, Aisha continued influencing those
intertwined in the Islamic political sphere with just what she was doing as a teacher! Out of all
the Islamic community she was known to be one of the most intelligent woman figures who
debated law with male companions. Aisha was considered to be the embodiment of very proper
and just rituals while partaking in the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was a journey Aisha had
traveled with many other women. Aisha spent so much of her telling the stories of Muhammad
in hopes to correct all false passages that had become very influential in creating Islamic law
during the last few years of her life. From these actions, Aishas unwanted political influence
continued to blossom and impact those in Islam. Sadly shortly after that, Aisha died of disease at
her home in Medina on July 16 678. Aisha was six-four years old when she passed away, and
Muhammads companion Abu Hurairah was the one who led her funeral in prayer after the night
prayer. After blessing her body and soul Aisha was eventually buried at Jannat al-Baqi where
many political influential figures and where the Islamic community visited her to pay their
respects for all shes done.

Work Cited:

Aisha- The Youngest Wife of the Prophet Muhammad: A short biography of Aisha Bint
Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq. usislam.org. n.p. n.d. Web. Accessed: Nov. 2014.
http://www.usislam.org/pdf/Aisha-Youngest-Wife-of-the-Prophet-Muhammad.pdf

Aisha. wikepedia. n.p. n.d. Web. Accessed: Nov. 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha