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‘Ayesha, Wife Of The Prophet

20. Why Shi′a does not accept some of the traditions of Ayesha?

Answer:

The cause of sedition; behaving contrary to the Qur’an; quoting wrong traditions

Here lies the root-cause of all our past distress and present plight. It was she who did her utmost to conceal the fact about the prophet’s will in favor of Ali and to make the people forget all the clear and glorious traditions of the Prophet in this regard. It was her house that the Prophet (S) pointed at and said, "Here lies the cause of sedition; here lies the reason of discord; here lies the root of dissension."1 These words proved to be true when she travelled from place to place to prepare the people for fighting against the Commander of the Faithful. She toured the lands, leading a huge army in order to usurp his government and put an end to his rule. 2

To argue in support of denying the will to ‘Ali using her own statement, the most bitter of his enemies that she was, is an attempt not expected at all from any fair-minded person.

That was not the only incident that demonstrated her animosity towards ‘Ali (‘a). Denying the will to ‘Ali is much less significant than the Lesser Camel Battle and the Greater Camel Battle3 in which evil intentions surfaced and the curtain removed. Likewise, her attitude was manifest even before going out to fight him, the man who was her own caliph, and her Prophet's successor, till the news of his death reached her, whereupon she prostrated to thank God (for his martyrdom) and composed these lines:

"She laid down her rod, happy and pleased. Her heart joyful, her mind eased, as a traveler arrives home, of burdens relieved."

There are some of her traditions, which prove that she was in remote error. She has said, "When the Messenger of Allah (S) became seriously sick, he went out dragging his feet, reclining on two persons; one of them was ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib and another man."4 The narrator of this hadith comments adding, "I informed ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas about what ‘Ayesha had said, and he responded to me saying, ‘Do you know the name of the man whom ‘Ayesha did not name?' I said, ‘no.' Ibn ‘Abbas said, ‘He was ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib.'" The narrator continues to say that ‘Ayesha does not wish ‘Ali any good.5

Imam Ahmad has recorded in his Musnad: ‘Ata' ibn Yasar said, "A man came and spoke ill of both ‘Ali and ‘Ammar to ‘Ayesha. She responded by saying, ‘As regarding ‘Ali, I have nothing to say to defend him; but concerning ‘Ammar, I have heard the Messenger of Allah say that whenever ‘Ammar had to opt between two options, he always chose the most reasonable of them.'"6

The mother of the believers warns about plotting against ‘Ammar due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah (S) while refraining from warning against plotting to harm ‘Ali who is the brother and successor of the Prophet; his Aaron and confidant...!

As if she is not aware of his status in the eyes of Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, or his position in the heart of the Messenger of Allah (S) or his status in Islam, his great efforts for its promotion, and his handsome contributions. As if she never heard anything in the Book of Allah nor the Sunnah of His Messenger (S) in his praise, so that she would place him at par with ‘Ammar!

My mind is perplexed when I consider her statement: "I have seen the Prophet (S), while on my chest, ordering a wash-bowl to be brought to him; I hardly noticed how fast he collapsed and died; so, how could he have made a will to ‘Ali?" I do not know which aspect of her statement I should criticize, being scrutinized as a whole from various angles. I wonder how anyone can presume that since his death took place the way she described, he could not have left a will. Did she think that a will is valid only at the time of death?! No, but it is the excuse of one who is fighting the irrefutable truth, whoever he or she may be, while Allah has said in His Glorious Book, addressing His revered Messenger (S),

"It is prescribed unto you when death approaches someone to leave something good, a will." (Qur'an, 2:180 & 5:160)

There is no doubt that she must have heard him saying, "No believer who knows that he is leaving something behind him should sleep even two nights without having his will written."7 It does not fit him or any other Prophet, blessings of Allah be upon all of them, to bid something without doing it himself, or forbid something while doing the opposite thereof; Allah is above selecting such individuals for conveying His message.

The Messenger of Allah (S) left things which demanded a will, things which no other human being ever left. Suffices you that he left the upright religion of Allah, while still at the beginning of its growth and early inception, and that by itself demanded an heir more than did gold or silver, a house or a real estate, lands or cattle. The entire nation became his orphans and widows, seeking refuge with his successor to take his place to fare with them and manage their religious and secular affairs. It is impossible that the Messenger of Allah (S) should have entrusted Allah's religion, while still in its cradle, to inclinations and presumptions. It is impossible to leave the protection of its legislation to personal motives and interests, without a successor to look after religious as well as secular affairs, someone upon whom he could rely to represent him before the public.

He is above leaving his orphans, who inhabited spacious lands, like frightened cattle in a rainy winter night, without anyone to look after them. He is above abandoning the will especially after having received instructions in its regard from his Lord and thus strongly commanded his nation to do so. Reason does not listen to the claim that no will was made, even if such a claim comes from a highly respected person.

As it mentioned before, at the dawn of the Islamic era, the Messenger of Allah (S) made a will to ‘Ali (‘a) even before his mission was publicized in Mecca. He continued repeating his will time and over again, emphasizing it through many covenants to which we had referred. When he finally wished to write his will to ‘Ali (‘a) to emphasize his previous verbal covenants, and to back his previous verbal statements in this regard, he (S) said, "Bring me some writing material so that I may write for you something to protect you against straying". They disputed, while no dispute is permitted in the presence of a Prophet, and it was said, "The Messenger of Allah (S) is delirious."8

There is a tradition from Umme Salamah who said about the last moment of the Prophet’s life, "By the One by Whom alone do I swear, ‘Ali was the closest to the Messenger of Allah (S) upon his death. On that day, we attended on the Prophet. He asked about Ali. Fatimah (peace be upon her) inquired whether ‘Ali had been sent on an errand. Later on, ‘Ali came and I thought that probably he needed to have some privacy with the Prophet (S); so, we came out and sat at the door. I was closer to the door. The Messenger of Allah (S) bent his head over ‘Ali and started talking to him confidentially, addressing him affectionately, until he passed away; so, ‘Ali was the last person to be with him before his death."9

It was Ayesha whom the Qur’an commanded her to repent and remind her that Allah, Gabriel, the true believers, and the angels, all side by His Prophet against her. Allah threatened to divorce her and compensate His Prophet with a better wife than her.10

There are some of her narrations:

"The Messenger of Allah (S) saw a few Sudanese men playing at their mosque with their shields and spears, and he supposedly asked me if I liked to have a look at them, to which invitation I responded in the affirmative. ‘He let me stand behind him, my cheek on his, and said, ‘O Sons of Arfada, keep on!'" supposedly encouraging them to play so that the lady mighty be entertained, till he asked her if she saw enough.11

"The Messenger of Allah (S) came in once when I had two concubines singing for me excitingly. He lay down on the bed. Abu Bakr entered and rebuked me saying, ‘Do I hear Satan's pipe being played in the presence of the Messenger of Allah?!' The Messenger of Allah (S) approached him and told him to leave them alone."12

"The Prophet raced with me once and I outran him. We kept doing so for years during which I gained weight, and when he outran me, he said, ‘This [game] cancels that!'"13

How a real Muslim can accept these traditions about the Man of high-level character!14

  • 1. . This agrees with Sunni books of traditions; so, refer to Bukhari's Sahih, his chapter on the households of the Prophet's wives, his treatise on holy wars and traditions, page 125, vol. 2, and you will find the details.
  • 2. . This is while the Quran says, "You shall settle down in your homes, and do not be about like the olden days of ignorance." (33:33)
  • 3. . The details of both battles are preserved in books of history written by Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Athir, and in many others.
  • 4. . Bukhari, vol. 3, p. 62, The Prophet's sickness and demise.
  • 5. . This statement in particular, i.e. Ibn ‘Abbas saying that ‘Ayesha does not wish him any good, is left out by Bukhari who stops his quotation at its preceding statements, following his customary habit in such situations, but many authors of books of tradition have quoted it through their authentic reporters. Consider what Ibn Sa’d records on page 29, Section Two, Vol. 2, of his Tabaqat, where he cites a chain of narrators including Ahmad ibn al-Hajjaj, ‘Abdullah ibn Mubarak, Younus, Mu’ammar, al-Zuhri, ‘Ubaydullah ibn Atbah ibn Mas’ud, whose sources end with Ibn ‘Abbas. Reporters of this hadith are considered trustworthy according to the consensus of scholars.
  • 6. . Musnad Ahmad, vol. 6, p. 113.
  • 7. . Bukhari, vol. 2, p. 83.
  • 8. . Al-Jihad wal-Siyar by Bukhari, vol. 2, p. 118.
  • 9. . Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 139 & Sunan Abu Shaybah, vol. 6, p. 400, no. 6096.
  • 10. . See Quran; 66: 3-5.
  • 11. . Bukhari, vol. 1, p. 116, section: Ids & Muslim, vol. 1, p. 327 & Musnad Ahmad, vol. 6, p. 57.
  • 12. . Bukhari, Muslim, and Imam Ahmad quote this from ‘Ayesha's hadith which mentioned in the preceding footnote.
  • 13. . Musnad Ahmad, vol. 6, p. 39.
  • 14. . The Quran says about the Prophet: "[O, Mohammad!] Verily, you are a Man of high level character." (68:4)
    It may be said that these Ahadith are not authentic. In this case, why do some scholars insist that all of the tradition of Bukhari and Muslim are authentic?