In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the book:
Ramadan:
Events and Lessons.
The passing of the Mother of the Believers,
‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
The time:
Tuesday night,
the seventeenth of Ramadan,
in the fifty-eighth year
of the Hijrah.
She is the truthful one, daughter of the truthful one,
the chaste and dignified.
The most virtuous and learned of women,
whose virtues reached the heights of the heavens,
and whose merits were celebrated,
spreading across the horizons,
with the light of her noble qualities.
The Ummah benefited
from her knowledge and her legal rulings,
and Allah the Exalted declared her innocent
of what was falsely attributed to her
by the people of the slander.
This is mentioned in verses
of the Qur’an, in Surah al-Nur,
which are recited regarding her innocence
until the Day of Resurrection.
Her name and lineage:
may Allah be pleased with her.
She is the Mother of the Believers,
‘A’ishah bint ‘Abdullah,
ibn ‘Uthman ibn ‘Amir,
ibn ‘Amr ibn Ka‘b ibn Sa‘d,
ibn Taym ibn Murrah,
ibn Ka‘b,
ibn Lu’ayy al-Qurashi al-Taymi,
[daughter of] Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
ibn Abi Quhafah.
Her mother was Umm Ruman
bint ‘Amir ibn ‘Uwaymir
al-Kinaniyyah.
Thus, she, her father,
her mother, and her grandfather—
her father’s father—
all attained the honor of being among the Companions.
May Allah be pleased with them
all.
Her birth, may Allah be pleased with her:
She was born after
the Prophetic mission by four years,
or five.
The marriage of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to her:
The Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her
after the death of Khadijah,
it is said, three years later.
His marriage,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to ‘A’ishah
took place in Shawwal,
and he consummated the marriage with her in Shawwal.
Because of this,
she liked for women
from among her family and loved ones
to be married in Shawwal.
She would say,
"Was there any among his wives
more favored than I?
For he married me and consummated the marriage
in Shawwal."
He passed away,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, while she
was eighteen years old.
Her time spent with him,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was nine years.
Regarding this, may Allah be pleased with her,
she said: "The Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married me
when I was six years old.
We arrived in Madinah,
and we stayed with the Banu al-Harith
ibn Khazraj.
I fell ill,
and my hair fell out,
then it grew back in abundance.
My mother, Umm Ruman, came to me
while I was on a swing,
with some of my friends.
She called out to me,
and I went to her, not knowing
what she wanted of me.
She took me by the hand until
she made me stand at the door of the house.
I was panting,
until I caught my breath.
Then she took
some water
and wiped my face and head with it.
Then she brought me into the house,
and there were women
from the Ansar in the house.
They said, 'With goodness and blessing,
and with the best of fortune.'
She handed me over
to them,
and they prepared me."
I was not startled except by the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
According to Muslim,
from al-Aswad, from ‘A’ishah,
may Allah be pleased with her,
she said:
"The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her
when she was six,
and he consummated the marriage with her
when she was nine,
and he died leaving her
when she was eighteen."
From ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
she said:
"The Messenger of Allah said,
'I was shown you in a dream
twice.
A man was carrying you
in a piece of silk,
and he said,
"This is your wife."
I uncovered her,
and it was you.
I said,
"If this is from
Allah, it will come to pass."'"
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
did not marry any virgin other than her.
This is agreed upon
among the scholars of transmission.
She was known by the kunya
Umm ‘Abdullah.
It is also said
that she was named after her sister’s son,
‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
may Allah be pleased with them both.
Her knowledge and fiqh,
may Allah be pleased with her:
Our Mother,
the truthful one, may Allah be pleased with her, encompassed
vast sciences
and diverse branches of knowledge,
to the point that she was known among the Companions
for the breadth of her knowledge
and the depth of her understanding.
People would return
to her for legal rulings and scientific
questions, and they would find
with her the healing answer.
Al-Zuhri said:
"If the knowledge of ‘A’ishah were gathered
with the knowledge of all
the Mothers of the Believers,
and the knowledge of all women,
the knowledge of ‘A’ishah
would be superior."
Masruq ibn Abi Musa
said on the authority of his father:
"We never encountered a difficult matter
and asked ‘A’ishah about it,
but that we found with her
knowledge regarding it."
Hisham ibn ‘Urwah said
on the authority of his father:
"I have not seen anyone
more knowledgeable in fiqh, medicine,
or poetry than ‘A’ishah."
‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah said:
"‘A’ishah was the most learned in fiqh
of the people, the most knowledgeable of the people,
and the best of the people in opinion
regarding public affairs."
From Masruq, who said:
"I saw the elders among the Companions
of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
the seniors,
asking her about the laws of inheritance."
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"As for ‘A’ishah,
she was foremost
in knowledge, inheritance laws,
legal rulings, and the lawful
and the prohibited."
He also said:
"She preserved legal rulings from
the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
numbering over one hundred and thirty
individuals, both
men and women.
Those among them who narrated the most were
seven: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab,
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib,
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud,
‘A’ishah,
the Mother of the Believers,
Zayd ibn Thabit,
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas,
and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.
Ibn Hajar said:
"A great deal was preserved
from her,"
and she lived after him for nearly
fifty years,
so people took much knowledge from her,
and they transmitted from her
a great deal of legal rulings and etiquette,
a vast amount,
to the extent that it was said
that a quarter of the legal rulings of the Shari‘ah
were transmitted from her, may Allah be pleased with her.
Her virtues,
may Allah be pleased with her.
For the Mother of the Believers, ‘A’ishah,
may Allah be pleased with her,
there are numerous virtues,
about which independent works
have been authored.
Among her general virtues
are those mentioned regarding the merit of the Companions,
the family of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
his wives,
and the Muhajirun.
As for her specific virtues,
among them
is the greeting of Jibril,
peace be upon him, to her.
On the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
she said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
one day:
'O ‘A’ish,
this is Jibril, he conveys
peace to you.'
I replied: 'And upon him be peace
and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.'
You see what I do not see."
Secondly,
she is among the perfect
women.
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him,
he said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
'Many among
men have attained perfection,
but none among women have attained perfection
except Maryam bint ‘Imran
and Asiyah,
the wife of Pharaoh.
And the superiority of ‘A’ishah over women
is like the superiority of tharid
over all other food.'"
Thirdly,
the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
while he was under her cover,
unlike any of his other wives.
On the authority of ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
he said:
"People used to time
their gifts for the day of ‘A’ishah."
‘A’ishah said:
"My companions gathered
and went to Umm Salamah
and said: 'O Umm Salamah,
by Allah, the people
time their gifts
for the day of ‘A’ishah,
and we desire the good
just as ‘A’ishah desires it.
So tell the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to command the people to bring their gifts
to him wherever he may be,
or wherever he turns.'"
She said:
"So Umm Salamah mentioned that
to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
She said:
"He turned away from me.
When he returned to me,
I mentioned it to him,
and he turned away from me.
When it was the third time,
I mentioned it to him,
and he said:
'O Umm Salamah,
do not hurt me regarding ‘A’ishah,
for by Allah, revelation has never descended
upon me while I was under the cover
of any woman among you, except her.'"
Fourthly,
she was the most beloved of the wives of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to him.
On the authority of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
sent him on the expedition
of Dhat al-Salasil.
I came to him and said:
"Which of the people is most beloved
to you?"
He said: "‘A’ishah."
I said: "Among men?"
He said: "Her father."
I said: "Then
who?"
He said: "‘Umar ibn al-Khattab."
‘A’ishah said,
may Allah be pleased with her:
"I was granted qualities
that no other woman was granted:
The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
married me when I was seven,
and the angel brought my image to him
in his palm so he could look
at it, and he married
me at nine.
I saw Jibril,
and I was the most beloved of his wives
to him.
He was pleased with me, then he passed away,
and others besides me and the angels witnessed it.
He did not marry a virgin
other than me.
And both of the woman's parents
were Muhajirun, except for me.
And Allah sent down my exoneration
from the heavens.
Revelation used to descend upon him
while he was with me.
He used to pray while I was
lying across in front of him.
And he passed away between my chest
and my throat in my house,
and on my night."
Her death, may Allah be pleased with her.
After a life filled
with service to the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and bringing him happiness,
and benefiting the Ummah
with her knowledge and her legal opinions,
the messenger of her Lord came to her
to transition
from the worldly life
to the afterlife.
She died in the year
58 AH,
on a Tuesday night,
seventeen nights
having passed in Ramadan,
and she was buried in al-Baqi‘.
Descending into her grave were
five: ‘Abdullah,
‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
al-Qasim
ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr,
‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad
ibn Abi Bakr,
and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman
ibn Abi Bakr.
When the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away,
her age was
18 years,
may Allah be pleased with her
and grant her satisfaction.
Ramadan: events
and lessons.