Tesneem Alkiek – Inspirational Muslim Women #01 Aisha Bint Abu Bakr

Assalamu Alaikumu Rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Thank you for joining us for our very

first episode

on some inspiring Muslim figures throughout history.

As I mentioned in the introduction video for

this series,

I won't be going in any particular order

when discussing these women.

But I decided to start off with a

few examples from the life of the Prophet

Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam

because many of these figures

ultimately set the stage for centuries to come.

And among the very first women that comes

to mind is none other than the wife

of the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and the

daughter of the very first Khalifa, Aisha bint

Abi Bakr.

There's a lot of historical information available on

Aisha

and even more we can talk about.

But I want to particularly focus on 2

of her personal aspects.

Her scholarship,

and her confidence.

It was narrated for example, that if Aisha

Radiallahu Anha ever heard of something she didn't

already know, she would look into the matter

until she was sure she knew it.

The thought of not knowing a fact related

to this religion was just not an option

for her.

So she would search for the truth and

ensure that it was known by all.

Personally,

I love reading about the way Aisha

would stand up against falsehood.

Later in her life, she became famous for

voicing

frequently her opinion on a lot of topics

that eventually became controversial.

Take for example, the story of when the

companion Masruq

was asking

Aisha

about the verses that describe the prophet Sallallahu

Alaihi Wasallam's ascension to the heaven. He had

heard the opinion that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi

Wasallam had directly seen God. The Aisha Radhulahu

An had declared otherwise.

But before she even began to state her

view and evidence, she stated,

I am among the first of this Ummah

to have asked the prophet about this matter.

That's confidence.

She knew what she was saying and she

was saying it with a proper knowledge.

And after this introductory comment, then she began

to proceed to explain to Masruk

exactly what happened during the night of his

al Isra wal Mi'raj, and her opinion on

the matter.

And her opinion is actually one that is

still held by many scholars today.

There's so many more examples of incidents like

this occurring where

A corrects or teaches the companions on a

particular topic or aspect of the religion.

In fact, so much so that Bedradine Zarqsi

went as far as compiling an entire book

that collected the number of incidents in which

Aisha had the law an had corrected various

companions.

And he includes every narration where she deferred

from the scholars of the time, or made

Ishtehad for a stronger opinion,

or other acts in which she voiced a

clear and unique opinion that was supported by

evidence.

Because of the authority she held as the

wife of the prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,

and as a scholar and a muhadditha in

her own right,

companions also turned to Aisha

in order to confirm the authenticity of prophetic

hadith.

It is narrated in Sahih Muslim

that once the companion Dawud ibn Ya'amir was

sitting along with Khabab bin Abdullah ibn Umar.

And amidst their conversation,

ibn Aamer turns to ibn Umar and mentions

something that Abu Huraydah, the famous companion,

had heard on behalf of the prophet sallallahu

alaihi wa sallam.

But before even reacting to that statement,

Ibn Umar turns to Khabab and tells him

to go to to confirm what Abu Hurayda

had heard.

And only until Khabab returned with the confirmation

of the statement from Aisha

did Ibn Umar accept the authenticity of this

particular narration.

Now the point in citing these examples

is not to elaborate on

how or why these other companions proof was

weaker or what not.

But it's a clear demonstration

of the two characteristics

that I wanted to highlight today.

As I mentioned earlier, both her scholarship and

her confidence.

She knew the facts, in and out. And

besides the fact that she narrated over 2,000

hadith,

she was very in very much involved as

a scholar in various other fields, including law

and theology.

And what I really love and admire about

this woman, radiAllahu anha, is that if she

didn't know something, she would look into it

and make sure she knew it.

And once she knew it, she made sure

that the truth was upheld from that piece

of information.

And no person or man or leader or

whoever could stand in her way if she

knew she had the evidence on her side.

At the end of the day, she wasn't

concerned about what people have thought about her

and her character that was, at times, sharp

and fiery.

Her sole aim was to ensure that the

truth was never threatened.

She spoke up at times when she was

the only voice who held a certain opinion.

She spoke up when the majority of the

scholars disagreed with her.

And not only did she always speak up,

but she spoke despite societal pressure, and she

spoke with confidence.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us the

strength to seek up to speak up for

the truth in every situation.

And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us

the wisdom, the knowledge, and the confidence of

our mother, Aisha radiAllahu anha.

Amin. Tasakumullah Khayden. I hope you benefited from

this short reminder, and tune in for the

next female figure soon, Insha'Allah. Assalamu Alaikum.