The Role of Aishah in the History of Islam (volume 1)

The Author's Goal in This Book

Mr. 'Askari, may God reward him for his truthfulness, has never intended, in his precise scientific discussion, to rouse people against 'A'ishah despite her errors in issuing a verdict in her uprising. During his discussion, he has tried to correct the ideas on historical events in the minds of most people who have not been able to understand the Prophet's companions, and have failed to distinguish right and wrong from their utterances, and have consequently been deprived of understanding proper history and its basis and also Islamic canon laws. By his efforts in this regard he has also sought that people understand the Prophet's traditions without being affected by feelings and minor interests and prejudice towards the narrators of tradition, but with the use of their knowledge.

The reason is that if the people understand the whole or a part of the Prophet's traditions they will easily become aware of the secret behind differences between Islamic sects and jurisprudentially creeds, and will realize to what extent these differences are artificial and a product of those rulers who, because of particular motives, preferred one party over another, and fabricated any tradition that they desired in order to reinforce the foundation of their rule and strengthen their own group. Or they may have compelled some companions of the Prophet to alter or misinterpret some of those traditions. It was preferable for them to depict a companion as liar and deduce something from his statement that would serve their own interest and thus strengthen their rule.

Before ending my scientific discussion which has been undertaken to please God, I wish to advise Mr. 'Askari to make use of his scientific subject of this discussion for a higher purpose, namely bringing various Islamic sects closer and lay a firmer foundation as desired by learned and enlightened people, in order to bring about unity and solidarity among the Muslims. It is quite possible that he, while deeply involved with research, may follow this suggestion in practice since there does not exist an inherent basic difference between a moderate Shi'ah and an intelligent Sunni, and there is no doubt that each of these two sects, so long as they pursue a single goal and are sincere in their purpose, will make utmost efforts to remove defects and refine one another.

Dr. Hamid Hafni Dawud Cairo, College of Languages

Author's preface

The motive for writing this book

"And if Allah pleases He would certainly make you a single nation." The Qur'an, chapter an-Nahl, Verse 93 Many researchers in noble traditions of the Prophet of Islam have, since long ago, realized that there exist wide differences between some of these traditions themselves, and also between them and the verses of the divine Book. The result was that some of the past scholars decided to account for and interpret these differences in order to remove objections to the Prophet and his traditions, and they wrote books entitled: "Ta'wil mukhtalif al-hadith"11, "Bayan mushkil al-hadith"12, "Bayan mushkilat al-athar"13, etc., which roused the hostility of such critics as atheists and Christian missionaries, and a group of orientalists so that by reliance on the contradictions and differences of these traditions, they could reproach the Prophet of Islam and deride and criticize his religion. But both groups were ignorant of the fact that the great collection of traditions, especially those which contradict each other, have not been written in the same style to make them confident that all of them have come from and have been stated exactly by the Prophet so that these could be subjected to a single general survey.

They are a collection of several different traditions, which have reached us from various narrators. A researcher must first classify them in connection with the type of narrators. For example, the traditions related to 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin, Anas14, Abu Hurayrah15, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar16 must each be collected separately and compared in conjunction with the traditions of other narrators who have quoted from the Prophet (with 11.By Ibn Qutaybah, 'Abd Allah ibn Muslim, died 280 or 276 AH.

12.By Muhammad, Ya-Husayn Ibn Furak, died 446 or 406 AH.

13. By Abu Ja'far, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Azdi at-Tahawi, died 321 or 332 AH. 14.Anas ibn Malik ibn an-Nadr claims to have served the Prophet for ten years. From him 2286 of the Prophet's traditions have been quoted. He died in the year 92 or 93 AH in Basra and was buried there. His biography is given in al-Isti'ab p. 40, and Usd al-ghabah 1/127, al-Isabah 227 and Jawami' as-sirah 276. 15. There are differences about the parentage of Abu Hurayrah ad-Dawsi. None of the Prophet's companions equals him in the number of traditions, and a total of 5374 of the Prophet's traditions have been quoted from him. He died in 57 or 58 AH and was buried in al-Baqi' cemetery of Medina. Refer to Jawami' as-sirah 276, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 7/20, al-Isti'ab, Usd al-ghabah and al-Isabah.

14. 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar is the son of the second caliph. 2630 of the Prophet's traditions have been narrated by him. He was killed in 73 AH due to the plot hatched by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf who ordered to kill him with a poisoned spear from behind in a crowded place. Refer to Jawami' as-sirah 276, al-Isti'ab, Usd al-ghabah and al- Isabah.

due attention to the life story, views and ideas of each of them) in order to discover truth.

I realized this matter when I was investigating the historical events of early Islam through traditions. I was particularly attracted by the traditions quoted from 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin, and I was convinced that the history of Islam from the beginning of the Prophet's ordainment until the allegiance with Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah will not be understood properly unless Umm al- Mu'minin's traditions which are one of the most important source of the history of early Islam, are studied and evaluated impartially, and solely for the sake of finding the truth.

I believe also that understanding some verses of the heavenly Book as well as Islamic jurisprudence for whose explanation reference is made to the Ahadith of Umm al-Mu'minin depends on a previous study of these traditions. As I intended to discuss and organize the history of the critical Islamic period, I was obliged to give priority to the evaluation of these traditions before dealing with other topics. A discussion of such matters especially concerning the leaders of early Islam involves certain difficulties which are not very easy for a Muslim scholar to remove.

Let us investigate impartially

The first difficulty for an oriental Muslim writer is to deal with views with which he has been accustomed and brought up, and which have influenced his life and mentality and taken deep roots in all aspects of his existence, as well as the beliefs possessed by his society. He regards the personalities of early Islam to be superior to other human beings, and considers their time and the people of their time more holy, and his belief about them and their time is different from that about others and their time.

If such a writer is unable to remove this difficulty in his discussion and research, his subject will become just the defense of his beliefs instead of seeking truth. As I realized this fact, I decided especially in this connection, not to give attention to my feelings concerning the respect I felt for 'A'ishah Umm al- Mu'minin as a consort of the Prophet, observe no discrimination between revered Islamic personalities and others who happened to enter the discussion, and attribute to them various feelings and motives that all people have, so that after analyzing the events which have occurred during the life of Umm al- Mu'minin, I would be able to discuss and survey her words and traditions for the discovery of truth alone.

Although I do not claim complete success in this determination, I have used my utmost endeavor for this purpose, and I leave it to others to judge. But I take God as my witness in saying that only the hope of assisting the scholars to investigate the true story of early Islam and the Quranic injunctions, has been my motive in the study and survey of this subject.

Islam or faith and belief

Secondly, if he succeeds in removing the above difficulty in his investigation, there figures another problem, namely the effect of the publication of such topics on coordination and unity among the Muslims. Now this question arises that since with the efforts of the strivers and reformers of Islam, the hopes and expectations of various groups of Muslims have, to some extent, been fulfilled and they are brought close to each other and the means of their brotherhood and solidarity have been provided, will it be proper to describe in detail the past events and publish matters which not only produce violent refutation and criticism but also rouse dormant feelings and produce aversion and hatred? But opposed to this question, the following matter must be brought up which cannot be easily disregarded. If on the excuse of the futility of benevolent reformers' effort, such a discussion and investigation would not be acceptable, in that case, no one will engage in scientific research, and this would be an unpardonable injustice to knowledge, consequently, the facts of Islam would, as in former centuries, remain hidden behind the veil of mental rigidity and futile fanaticism, and as a result the discord and differences among various Islamic sects would manifest themselves more intensely. This is certainly not something to be approved by reformers and those who are interested in Islamic solidarity.

Consequently, while we sincerely desire the success of our Muslim brethren in laying aside all differences and uprooting dispersion, in response to the call of the benevolent reformers of Islam, we feel a particular respect for learning and knowledge and regard them as belonging to a different category; for, those who have endeavored constantly to lay the foundations of Muslim unity and solidarity, proclaim that solidarity under the sacred banner of Islam, while Islam, in itself, has no international political motivation. But it is a faith and belief in a set of realities born only out of a perfectly scientific criticism, discussion and research, and in concealing those facts under such excuses and pretexts, no single and firm faith, or belief would be produced, and the proper and direct course of Islam would not be distinguished from the pitfall of perdition and aberration.

I beg God Almighty to grant us success in following the right path, for, it is He who guides all to the right path.

Deep Islamic solidarity

The third difficulty that arises is the outcry that is the main stimulant of that faith and rises from the heart. It is a faith in the fact that only Islam should govern the Muslim society and serve as the foundation of our social solidarity. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to make constant efforts for reviving Islamic life and give it a solid foundation.

O strivers in the way of truth, may God grant you success! Do you not invite all the Muslims to return to Islam, and submit to its principles and enforce its laws? What is the way of understanding Islamic principles and injunctions? Is it other than a survey and research, from the beginning of its history, and discovery of the true traditions of the great Prophet as well as a study of the life and ideas of their narrators, so that by this means, we may comprehend the cause of descent of the Quranic verses and thereby understand the Islamic injunctions which we should obey and call on others to act upon?

As we are bound to act upon the injunctions of Islam, we must first obtain a knowledge about them, since action is not possible without knowledge. It can be stated with complete confidence that the effort for Islamic solidarity, and steadfastness in bringing back Islam to the Muslim society, are not incompatible with the discussion and investigation of the history of Islam and a careful survey of the traditions of its Prophet. On the contrary, it serves as its basis and both subjects serve as complements to one another, for, bringing Islam back to the Muslim society would not be possible without creating harmony among the Muslims, and understanding the meaning of the Quranic verses and the Prophet's utterances as well as history of Islam.

Similarly, so long as there exists no faith in the necessity of bringing Islam back to the Muslim society, no friendship and proper brotherhood will be established among the Muslims, since if this were not so, what would be the basis of harmony among the Muslims? What would give them unity and the common direction? Moreover, creation of brotherhood is not possible except through making the Muslims understand each other's views, and take to proper criticism in order to discover and follow the truth. In that case, these words of God in the Qur'an would be applicable to them:

"Give good news to those who listen to the word, then follow the best of it; those are they whom Allah has guided and those it is who are the men of understanding."17 This is our call and we beg God to enable us and all our Muslim brethren to follow these noble words. The difficulties mentioned above have been peculiar to the Muslims.

Worship of ancestors

In the history of Islam, like the history of other nations and religions of the world, in addition to what we have already mentioned, there have always been three other great obstacles which have acted as barriers to many seekers of truth 17. The Holy Qur'an, Chapter az-Zumar, Verse 18.

and historians, checking them from following truth and knowledge. The first and the foremost difficulty have been the habit of excessive respect for and even worship of ancestors. Since history was written, man has always been accustomed to show unnecessary and undue reverence to those who have gone by. This led to idolatry, and thus Nasr, Yaghuth, Wadd, Ya'uq and Suwa',18 who were good and virtuous men were respected greatly by their contemporaries, but after their death, this respect took the form of worship. Surprisingly, we see our good people of the past who, in various periods of their lives, go so far in their rejection and criticism that they issue verdicts of death for each other and consider legitimate shedding the blood of their rivals and followers. But after the passage of long years, the present generation has gone to this in its reverence and respect for them that they do not even allow any survey and investigation of their words and deeds to themselves and to others, thus preventing discovery of truth altogether.

Blind prejudice

The second barrier is improper, indecent and, at the same time, comic prejudice, which serves as a barrier keeping man, confined within the wall of darkness and ignorance. This is an altar of sacrifice where we have witnessed many victims throughout human history in every country and every period. Religious fanaticism twice turned the city of Rayy into ruins at the beginning of the seventh century AH.19 The Hanafites and Shafi'ites rose first against the Shi'ites and cruelly massacred them. Then the Shafi'ites attacked the Hanafi sect and shed their blood, with the result that houses were demolished and the city was destroyed. This is an example of the altar of sacrifice due to fanaticism. We can easily find thousands of victims in history as a result of ugly, ill-omened, touching and funny prejudice.

Demagogues

The third obstacle is the most hateful of them, namely the influence exerted by those in power in various periods of history. It was they who by using bayonets and their position did whatever they desired, and forcefully and by means of demagogy and affectation blocked the way of discussion and investigation, and since the year 655 formally barred the nation's jurisprudence from practicing jurisprudence.20

I do not know whether now that after eight centuries preliminary steps have been taken to prove the way of practicing jurisprudence, and some progress has 18. These five idols were worshipped by the Quraysh, and their names are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. Refer to commentary on Verse 24 of Chapter Nuh in the book "ad-Durr al-manthur" 6/269 and other commentaries. 19. Yaqut, Rayy Vocabulary, 4/355.

20. Bibrus al-Bunduqdari formally banned practice of jurisprudence in Egypt in 665 AH. Refer to Khutat of al- Miqrizi, p. 161. How deserving it would be for Egypt to allow this after so many centuries!

been made in this respect, the time has not come to permit the Muslims to resort to discussion and investigation, too, or whether they would do nothing but imitate their predecessors.

No! the situation would not continue to remain so, since owing to the constant efforts of reformers, the light of knowledge has made truth evident to an undeniable extent, and the time will arrive very soon when people will laugh at our suffering for not being allowed any discussion and investigation, in the same way that we are now laughing at the indecent obstinacy and fanaticism of the people of Rayy in that period.

Beside these obstacles, on hearing the praise of someone we have got into the habit of closing our ears to a criticism of him, or when we resort to fault- finding and criticism, we cannot afford to hear a praise of him. But I will introduce 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin on the basis of what I have found in traditions and history, whether this introduction takes the form of criticism or praise. If someone is not content with this description and cannot bear the difficulties already mentioned (which are mutually felt by both the writer and reader), then he can hand over the book to another person who is able to remove those obstacles out of this way.

Indeed, anyone who wishes to recognize Umm al-Mu'minin through history and traditions and analyze her personality so far as it is possible through the study of traditions, the following pages which describe various periods of this lady of early Islam are at his disposal. It is worthier to follow truth. May the right spirit be blessed!

Sayyid Murtada 'Askari Baghdad, College of Theology

**Part One

'A'ishah in the Prophet's household Chapter al-Ahzab of the Qur'an Verses 28 to 33:**

"O Prophet! Say to your wives: If you desire this world's life and its nature, then come, I will give you a provision and allow you to depart a goodly departing;

And if you desire Allah and His Apostle and the latter abode, then surely Allah has prepared for the doers of good among you a mighty reward. O wives of the Prophet! Whoever of you commits an open indecency, the punishment shall be increased to her doubly; and this is easy to Allah. And whoever of you is obedient to Allah and His Apostle and does good, We will give to her reward doubly, and We have prepared for her an honorable sustenance.

O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other of the women; if you will be on your guard, then be not soft in your speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn; and speak a good word. And stay in your houses and do not display your finery like the displaying of the ignorance of yore."

A glance at 'A'ishah's life

'A'ishah had a nervous, sharp and unruly Tempe.

The author

'A'ishah was the daughter of the first caliph 'Abd Allah Abu Bakr, son of Abu Quhafah 'Uthman, and granddaughter of 'Amir ibn Ka'b of the house of Taym (Quraysh). She was born in the fourth year after the Prophet's ordainment in Mecca and grew up in the same city. After the death of his first loyal wife, Khadijah, and two years before his emigration to Medina, the Prophet wedded 'A'ishah, and a year and a half after the emigration, in the lunar month of Shawwal, and after the battle of Badr, on the insistence of her father, Abu Bakr, took her to his own house. When the Prophet died, she was only eighteen years old. Thus Umm al-Mu'minin spent only eight years and five months of her life in the Prophet's house.

After the departure of the Prophet, 'A'ishah was a staunch supporter of the government of the time in the caliphate of her father Abu Bakr, and after him, in the rule of his sincere friend, 'Umar, and evens in the first half of 'Uthman's caliphate.

In the second half of 'Uthman's caliphate, for certain reasons which will be explained later, 'A'ishah got offended with 'Uthman, and this vexation gradually changed into rancor and hostility owing to certain incidents which occurred between her and 'Uthman. As a result of the sharp acts of 'Umm al- Mu'minin and violent reactions of 'Uthman, this hostility went so far that despite all her support of the caliphs and caliphate, she joined the ranks of 'Uthman's opponents, and even acted as their leader, opposing 'Uthman to such an extent that she fanned up the flame of public uprising and revolution until 'Uthman was assassinated.

With the death of 'Uthman, and people's allegiance to Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib as caliph, 'A'ishah saw that her plan was ruined21 and so she raised the banner of opposition to the Imam, and roused his rivals and opponents to wage the battle of al-Jamal22 in Basra against him and herself commanded the opponents' forces in this fight.

'A'ishah was defeated in the battle of al-Jamal and her forces were badly crushed, but Imam 'Ali brought her back respectfully to Medina, where she continued to stay until the assassination of Imam 'Ali. When Mu'awiyah, son of Abu Sufyan seized power, he resorted to fabricating and publishing false traditions through his supporters and hirelings, describing the merits and virtues of his own house in particular, and those of 'A'ishah's group and supporters and Imam 'Ali's opponents in general. In the propagation of these praises and eulogies, 'A'ishah herself played an important role which will be described later.

'A'ishah died on the night of Tuesday 10th of Shawwal, 57 or 59 AH, in Medina and Abu Hurayrah, successor to Marwan ibn al-Hakam, who was Governor of Medina, performed her funeral prayers,23 and according to her will she was buried in the al-Baqi' alongside the graves of other wives of the Prophet.24 'A'ishah had a nervous, sharp and unruly temper. A forceful nature, quickness of understanding the position and taking decision, sharp intelligence, envy and intense jealousy, too, were elements of her personality. She was extremely jealous of her he husband, and this jealousy was so intense that she could not allow anyone else to find a place in his heart, or let the smallest 21. There is no doubt that in her uprising against 'Uthman, 'A'ishah intended to bring the caliphate back to her family (Taym tribe), nominating her cousin Talhah for this position. The second volume of this book reveals this political plot. (Sardar-Niya)

22. al-Jamal means "camel" in Arabic, and the reason for calling this combat as the battle of al-Jamal was that 'A'ishah rode mailed camel and commanded the army against Imam 'Ali (Sardar-Niya). 23. In that year, Marwan, Governor of Medina, had left that city on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
23. For a detailed account of 'A'ishah, refer to the book al-Isabah 38-40 and al-Mustadrak, al-Isti'ab, Usd al- ghabah and Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd.

particle of his affection be given to another person whoever he or she may have been.

'A'ishah deeply loved her kith and kin, and was so prejudiced in their favour that she lost her head whenever their interests were endangered, and thus she forgot her position and, by no means, abstained from supporting their interests. All these were her moral qualities, which held away during her whole life, especially the short years of her married life with the Prophet. Lastly 'A'ishah is one of those everlasting women whose name will be remembered in history until the end of the world.

The secret behind the plurality of the Prophet's wives Why did the Prophet have several wives?

A discussion of nation's customs

Every nation's customs are produced by its environment from the viewpoint of geography, economics, education, ideas and beliefs, taking shape in a succession of eras and centuries, and finding firm and strong roots in the texture of that nation.

That is why it is a very difficult matter for a scholar to discuss and survey the customs of a people who possess a history in accordance with their position; for, one cannot look upon the way of life and moral and spiritual characteristics, customs and habits of a nation from the viewpoint of the present-day society, or at our customs and social and economic environment as well as our means of communication, education and association of various nations, and draw a conclusion and pass a judgment. Today we live in relatively large cities, stay in rather comfortable houses, and benefit from all the facilities provided by modern architecture for an easy life as well as parks, well-equipped stores, fast transport, different means of communications such as telephone, microwave etc. So that when some famous figure, for instance, sneezes at the other end of the world, every one at this end hears and sees it in less than a second. Customs and habits conform with such an environment.

With this very brief and concise introduction, how can we, in view of the vision and understanding of our society, pass judgment to reach a conclusion about the habits, customs and traditions that existed fourteen centuries ago? What do we know of the tribal life in forts, under tents and in deserts within the framework of tribal customs and traditions? Even if we know something, will this knowledge be enough to enable us to feel at home amidst that tribe and within the bounds of its customs and traditions? Can we, like them, view matters from the same angle of that time and place, and the same habits and customs of several centuries ago of tribal upbringing and pass a judgement? possible way, or place at your disposal all the social customs and circumstances of various tribes of Arabia in a perfectly clear and tangible manner related to fourteen centuries ago, to the extent that you may feel to be one of them. What we can do is to try to describe the circumstances of that environment to the extent of acquainting you with the historical facts of that land.

Certain facts of history

All historians in the world, both friendly and hostile, are unanimous in the following points: 1-The people of Arabia before advent of Islam, owing to the unfavorable nature of the environment, lived mostly in tents and consequently the means of their livelihood were obtained, not through agriculture or in some cases, not through animal husbandry, but through plunder of each other or massacre of other tribes, so that they could provide themselves with sustenance for a few days and rescue themselves from hunger.

2-With the exception of Yemen and ash-Sham, and several small and insignificant oases in the parched deserts of Arabia, and a few villages and small towns (if they could be called so) the biggest and the most populous of which were Mecca and Yathrib, no sign of development and civilization could be seen in that scorched land. 3-Wealth and property were monopolized by the idolatrous feudals of Mecca and chiefs of the Quraysh tribe, and perhaps the Jews of Yathrib and other neighboring oases. Other inhabitants of that dry land had nothing but hot sighs which rose from their bare breasts on account of such an intense poverty and distress, and no smoke emitted from their hearths. Also no water boiled in their pots, and it was only their tears of despair, which flowed down their lackluster eyes.

4-Lack of harmony of environment and tent-dwelling, the scourge of scorching seasonal winds of the dry and burning desert, bloodshed, massacre and plunder for making sustenance even for a few days; poverty and indigence, hard life, savagery and thousands of other miseries had deprived most of those poor and unhappy people of tender and fine human feelings to such an extent that they buried alive their unfortunate daughters with their own hands in order to get rid of any additional burden at their paltry and miserable meal, and check themselves from offering that unhappy, broken and poor community of Hejaz another creature who would be more unfortunate than themselves.

The Qur'an says in chapter al-An'am, verse 151:

"Say: (O Prophet!) Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you. Remember that you do not associate anything with Him, and show kindness to your parents, and do not slay your children for fear of poverty." And in Chapter al-Isra' (Banu Isra'il), verse 31, it says: "And do not kill your children for fear of poverty; we give them sustenance and yourselves too; surely to kill them is a great wrong." And in Chapter at-Takwir, verses 8 and 9 it says: "And when the one buried alive is asked (on Resurrection Day), for what sin was she killed?"

They were afraid for the following reasons:

1-In fights, retreats, massacres and plunders, girls not only were a hindrance, but owing to poverty and indigence they were also likely to be driven to disgraceful deeds and debauchery, thus ruining the honour of the family. 2-Owing to their physical peculiarities, in defeats and retreats, women and girls were often taken prisoner by the enemy and sold as slaves. 3-In the family and tribe, girls had the role of consumers and were an economic burden on the family, and could thus usurp the place of active and efficient men and boys of the family and tribe. Chapter an-Nahl of the Qur'an, verses 58 and 59 say: "And when a daughter is announced to one of them his face becomes black and he is full of wrath.

He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that which is announced to him. Shall he keep it with disgrace or bury it alive in the dust?" It is clear as to what the life of such girls who remained alive would be. Moreover, in the society of Arabia of those days, a woman had no position at all. She was regarded by men as a means of quenching their lust, and sometimes she was inherited by the eldest son who as her sole owner could offer her to anyone he wished or arranged her marriage to him. He could force his slave-girls to sell their bodies and offer the money thus gained to their owner, or to throw themselves into the arms of any men of their master's choice. She could be deprived of all inheritance, and be rated as a captive, a slave, an outcast, a hated being, a wicked element lacking all worth and asset, a troublesome creature and a burden to society. She had no right to her own belongings, and was even deprived of living in the way she desired.

God Almighty says in Chapter an-Nur of the Qur'an, verse 33: "And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution, when they desire to keep chaste, in order to seek frail good of this world's life, and whoever compels them, then surely after their compulsion Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" This was how the pre-Islamic Arabs treated their women, and when we speak of Arab women, we are referring to the land of Hejaz. But in those days in no nation or religion were women considered to be free-born human beings. Let us lay aside futile prejudice, and turn the pages of history books of various nations and religions to see that our claim is supported fully, and then realize that it is only Islam that completely respects the rights of women as free-born human beings.25

25. If we are fair we could see that in this era of the conquest of space, woman's position is not any better than the period of paganism except that she is now exploited under the deceptive cover of women's liberty and In view of the regrettable state of the Arabs' life in those days, the position a woman held in such a society, and the problems caused by her in every family and tribe, let us now turn to the study of the attitude of Islam towards women as a result of the noble Prophet's wise treatment of this divine creature who has been created by God as man's partner and companion and given the task of bringing stability and tranquility into human life.