Aisha bint Abi Bakr

The Most Beloved Wife

Aisha bint Abi Bakr was the daughter of the Prophet’s ﷺ closest companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, of the Quraysh clan of Banu Taym. After the death of Khadija, Khawla bint Hakim proposed to the Prophet ﷺ both a virgin and a widow — Aisha and Sawda — and when Abu Bakr hesitated, wondering how his daughter could marry the man he called brother, the Prophet ﷺ answered that their brotherhood in faith was no bar to the marriage. 1 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 244–246 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — the proposal through Khawla bint Hakim; Abu Bakr's hesitation and the Prophet's reply. She was the only one of his wives never married before, and the dearest to him — she herself would say none of his wives was more blessed with his love and Allah’s favour than she. 2 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 244 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Aisha alone was a virgin bride; her words on being the most favoured of his wives. So close was their bond that the Prophet ﷺ passed away in her house and was buried there, and Gabriel himself sent her his greeting of peace through the Prophet ﷺ (see Virtues in the Hadith).

The Slander and her Exoneration

On the return from an expedition Aisha was left behind when her howdah was carried on without her, and a man of the army brought her back to Madinah — an innocent circumstance the hypocrites twisted into a slander against her honour. For a month she wept, until Allah Himself declared her innocence from above the seven heavens in the verses of Surah an-Nur, clearing her name for all time and warning the believers never to repeat such a calumny. 3 The Noble Qur'an · pp. Surah an-Nur 24:11–26 — The revelation exonerating Aisha from the slander (al-Ifk).

Generosity and Fear of Allah

In the years of plenty, gifts of great wealth would reach her — yet none of it stayed in her hands. Once she received two bags holding a hundred thousand dirhams and distributed every coin among the poor before nightfall, though she was fasting that day and broke her fast on bread and oil; when her servant wished aloud that a single dirham had been kept back for meat, Aisha only said she would have spared it had she been reminded in time. 4 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 208 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Aisha gives away 100,000 dirhams in a day while fasting, keeping nothing for herself. Urwah relates that he once saw her give seventy thousand dirhams in charity while her own dress was patched. 5 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 209 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Urwah sees Aisha give 70,000 dirhams in charity while wearing a patched dress.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ declared her excellence above all women:

فَضْلُ عَائِشَةَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ كَفَضْلِ الثَّرِيدِ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ

”The superiority of Aisha over other women is like the superiority of tharid (a meat-and-bread dish) over other foods.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3770 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 115 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 114 · narrated by Anas ibn Malik

And the angel Gabriel sent her his own greeting of peace:

يَا عَائِشَ، هَذَا جِبْرِيلُ يُقْرِئُكِ السَّلاَمَ

”O Aisha, this is Gabriel conveying to you his greeting of peace (salam).”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3768 · Book 62 (Virtues of the Companions), Hadith 113 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 112 · narrated by Abu Salama from Aisha

Death & Legacy

Aisha lived for decades after the Prophet ﷺ, a teacher and reference for the Companions and those after them, until she died on the 17th of Ramadan, 57 AH, aged about sixty-six. At her own wish she was not buried beside the Prophet ﷺ in her house but among the other Mothers of the Believers in Jannat al-Baqi. 6 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 244 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Aisha's death on 17 Ramadan 57 AH, aged 66, and her burial in al-Baqi at her own request.