8-It is not for Satisfying a Desire!

it is following a good advice and wishing for enhancing relations with a dear friend

the marriage of the prophet – peace be upon him – with aisha – may allah be pleased with her – was not his own idea, it was an opinion by a woman called khawla bint hakim, for the purpose of enhancing relations with the dearest friend of the prophet – peace be upon him – i.e. abu bakr as siddeek, father of aisha – may allah be pleased with them – by way of affinity. abu bakr– may allah be pleased with him – was one of the pillars of islam and was the closest friend to the prophet – peace be upon him. he was the first orthodox caliph after the death of the prophet – peace be upon him. it is worth mentioning here that the marriage of aisha was made upon an advice by a woman i.e. such opinion means that such marriage was conforming to the customs and traditions of society and that such woman did not find such marriage a breach to the rights of aisha or confiscating her freedom as alleged by the hypocrite people. anyway, the prophet – peace be upon him – did not wish to reject marriage with aisha, the daughter of the dearest friend. his loyalty to his friend, abu baker, made him pleasant to accept the offer in order to enhance relations between them. it is worth mentioning also that aisha, before marrying the prophet – peace be upon him, was engaged to another man; jubair bin mut'em bin adei. i.e. marriage in an early age was a norm & a custom widely prevailing in such era and no one denied or objected it. moreover, after marriage, aisha gained a high rank in the prophet's life. the prophet – peace be upon him – was asked: who is the dearest person in your life? he said: aisha. he was asked: who is the dearest person from men? he answered: her father (17). therefore, the marriage of the prophet – peace be upon him – with aisha was not for the purpose of satisfying desires as portrayed by some people; contrary, it was done for several purposes. if the prophet – peace be upon him – was seeking desires, he would not then, while being twenty five years old, marry khadija who was fifteen years older than him, and would not refrain from marriage until her death. moreover, if he was seeking desires, he would not, after the death of khadija, marry an old woman eighty years old; sawda bint zam'a al aameriah who became a widow after her husband's death. the prophet wanted to console her and to be an example for all muslims in doing good deeds for the widows. anyway, the marriage of the prophet – peace be upon him – with aisha in such early age produced great benefits to islam & muslims. being young, aisha was able to learn and keep the principles of islam from the prophet – peace be upon him – quickly; therefore, she gained wide knowledge in religion and became a reference for the old and young companions concerning the holy quran, jurisprudence, interpretation, and the prophetic traditions. she was one of the greatest scholars in jurisprudence, and was for the companions like a teacher. they were asking her about all things in islam, and she delivered one fourth of the islamic teachings (18). the prophet – peace be upon him – has qualified aisha to be a good source and reference for the muslims after him. aisha was a young, clever, and bright woman with a strong memory; therefore, the prophet – peace be upon him – was confident that she will keep the great islamic heritage assigned to her.

the revelation was coming down to the prophet – peace be upon him – every time he is in the house of aisha only. this was an indication to her for focusing on understanding the great mission of her husband in order to perform her role in guiding the muslims. the muslims in the reign of abu baker, omar, othman, ali and mo'awiah – may allah be pleased with them – learnt a lot from her and the scholars were consulting her in the religious issues. she remained a reference for the muslims and a source for teaching them their religion.

mr. saeed al afaghani said: i have spent several years studying lady aisha – may allah be pleased with her. i found myself in front of a miracle, and did not find the right description for her. she has vast knowledge, diversity of specializations and several fields of experience; jurisprudence, prophetic traditions, interpretation, juristic science, morals, poetry, medicine, history … she has mastered all such fields before being eighteen (19).

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(17) "sunan at termithi"-hadith no.3886

(18) "aisha and politics"- by al afaghani-p.16

(19) "aisha and politics"- by al afaghani-p.18,19