The Role of Aishah in the History of Islam (volume 2)

A Word From Mahmud Abu Rayh1

In the name of God, the almighty

Some individuals, who consider themselves men of learning, imagine that they have attained a high degree of knowledge. They take for granted that the history of Islam, especially that part which is related to the early periods of this faith, is altogether correct and wholly free from doubt and ambiguity.

Such persons, who should be called unlettered simpletons, imagine that the narrators of Islamic history have been without exception chaste, truthful and trustworthy individuals. They therefore believe everything that is narrated about that period and are fully convinced about all the contents of well known books of tradition and history, whereas these book contain all kinds of subject matter including 1. The great Egyptian scholar, ash-Shaykh Mahmud Abu Rayh, has written such valuable books on the survey of tradition as "Adwa' 'ala as-sunnat al-Muhammadiyah", and "ash-Shaykh al- Mudayrah" the like of which is not seen among other Sunni scholars. He has been influenced by the facts stated in that book after studying its Arabic copy in 1381 of the Hijrah and has written the above article. May God reward this great man for his endeavors in the way of truth.

even superstitious and unacceptable points in such a way that they offer little that is right and true and much that is wrong and untrue. The assurance of such simple persons concerning the traditions and other topics of those books has reached a point where that they may accuse anyone who expresses doubt about truth of one of these traditions and points of iniquity and excommunicate them.

Although God has granted intelligence and mental power to these individuals to enable them to reflect and base their judgment on fairness and justice, yet owing to their obstinacy and mental rigidity as well as their undue imitation of their predecessors they make their thought and inactive and useless, so that in being faced with logic and clear reasoning they refuse to surrender to truth and remain obstinate in their prejudice and reject that truth and criticize it. I hope that you, too, may be secure from their stinging tongue and unmanly attacks, but this is impossible since they will not remain silent before those who speak the truth. At the time I published my book of "Adwa' 'ala as-sunnat al- Muhammadiyah", I was involved with many difficulties by these so-called scholars.

In that book I had made a survey of the Prophet's traditions and showed how and when and by whom these traditions had been quoted, and what lies had found their way into them and how badly they had been mutilated. In that book I mentioned these and many other illuminating points, but as soon as the book was published they abused and criticized me from every side, from Egypt, Hejaz and ash-Sham. I ignored those futile talks and bravely tolerated those abuses, since I believed in my goal and had no doubt stepped on the path of truth.

Surprisingly enough such persons are like poisonous thorns in the way of learning and knowledge; they accuse and violently attack seekers of truth and true scholars. How negligent they are of the serious and ill-omened consequences of their deeds! For, with this ugly-deed they do not only betray knowledge and truth, but also make educated and enlightened individuals pessimistically about religion and piety. These enlightened individuals wish to weigh everything with the criteria of intellect and investigation, and when they deal with religious research they are faced with the attacks of these dry sectarians and their enmity, and in consequence they become weary of Islam and Muslims.

It is now incumbent upon all scholars and learned individuals to break down the mental letters of dependence, by not following and imitating; our predecessors. We must courageously endeavor to make a careful and profound survey of Islamic history, and cleanse it from the pollution of lies, prejudices, spitefulness and misinterpretations, and bring out the truths from behind the thick clouds of imitation and alteration, and fear no criticism and reproach in this course.

I am now very glad to express this truth and announce that a great scholar of Iraq, Professor Murtada 'Askari has risen to undertake this great scientific and religious responsibility and has published some books on this topic which are truly the mirror of truth and right thoughts. Anyone can thus study the real and genuine history of Islam which is reflected in those books and discover the truth. This great scholar has already published a book entitled 'Abd Allah ibn Saba'2 in which he has scientifically and convincingly proved that in the history of Islam there never existed such a man as 'Abd Allah ibn Saba', but, that this figure was created by wicked and mysterious political hands, so that, they may divert the history of Islam from its true course under the cover of this shadowy figure, to their own interests.

This noble scholar has also proved in his book that at-Tabari, the same leader of all historians, is the first person to have mentioned the name of 'Abd Allah ibn Saba', that fabulously false character, in his book, and in quoting that name he had relied only on the words of a story-teller called Sayf ibn 'Umar at- Tamimi, who was a notorious liar and fabricator of stories. Other historians have imitated at-Tabari in this matter.

Now the same exalted scholar, Professor 'Askari, has published another valuable book entitled: "Ahadith of Umm al-Mu'minin 'A'ishah" in which he has described the adventurous life of 'A'ishah. In his book through research, this author has avoided any prejudice and has tried to investigate the angles of history as they really were and to clarify them. This book is written fluently and on the basis of scholarly scrutiny, and with a full respect for both science and religion.

The exalted author has investigated several important subjects and clarified a number of facts:

1-He has pointed out that some of the traditions attributed to the Prophet of Islam are contradictory and sometimes inharmonious with Quranic verses. Some of them are even so mean and far removed from the criteria of science and intellect that they have been employed by our enemies as pretexts to attack our dear Islam and its noble prophet. Therefore it is incumbent upon scholars to classify these series of traditions from the viewpoint of evidence and narrators and deal with the evidence of each group in its proper place, so as to clarify the criterion and real value of those traditions and separate right from wrong. In this task especially, such characters as 'A'ishah, Abu Hurayrah, Anas ibn Malik and 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar from whom most of the traditions have been quoted, should be subjected to a closer scrutiny, and their biography, political, social position, and mentality which deeply influenced their traditions, should be studied deeply.

2-The exalted author especially points out that the true meaning of Islamic

2. This book has been translated into Persian by the exalted scholar, Mr. Sayyid Ahmad Zanjani, in two volumes.

history until the rule of Yazid is obtainable only if 'A'ishah's traditions and narrations are fully discussed and surveyed, since 'A'ishah had been most active in the first period of Islam, and has assumed a significant role in the creation of historical events. She has narrated many traditions on the correctness or incorrectness of which depends the fate of Islamic history.

For this reason the exalted author has in his book of Ahadith of Umm al- Mu'minin 'A'ishah has discussed her traditions before dealing with other subjects. In this survey, he at first describes the history of her life and divides it into several periods, he speaks of her lineage, birth place, her marriage with the Prophet, and then deals with her spirit, mental and moral qualities her conduct with the Prophet, and he also reveals her inner complexes. Thus it becomes clear that, as Shawqi the famous Egyptian poet says, she is like any other woman who adopts the way of slyness and cunning with her husband, the Prophet.

3-The learned authority of this book employs historical evidence to prove that 'A'ishah was the real killer of 'Uthman. For, after the Prophet she supported the first and second caliphs, and at the beginning of 'Uthman's rule she acted in harmony with him, but later on owing to certain reasons she opposed him and incited the people against him and eventually issued the verdict of his death.

4-After 'Uthman's assassination, 'A'ishah began her opposition to 'Ali, sparing no effort in this way and adopting conduct that she would not allow towards anyone else. Her first opposition to 'Ali began on hearing of the: people's allegiance to him, she shouted in a great rage full of hatred: "This matter will never end even if all the heavens descend upon the earth!" It was not long before she made Talhah and az-Zubayr turn away from 'Ali, and eventually the three of them prepared a large army to fight 'Ali by starting the battle of al-Jamal. In this battle she mounted a camel to engage personally in the fight.

When 'Ali became victorious in this battle, he respectfully sent her back to Medina without any injury. But she did not appreciate the generous treatment, and did not remove from her heart her rancor for 'Ali. She spent the rest of her days in full hostility to him, making use of every possible means to this end, and employing every pretext to rise against him. The flame of her heart was not extinguished until the day that 'Ali was martyred and it was then that her eyes shone with joy and she sighed with relief.

On hearing the news of 'Ali's assassination, she sang this poem: "She (herself) attained her long cherished desire, and she felt the peace and tranquility of the hearts in the same way that one is filled with joy and relief at the return of one's traveler."

There were two reasons for this hostility, one of which was the well-known incident of Ifk3, and the other was 'Ali's marriage with Fatimah, the daughter of Khadijah. The great Islamic poet, Ahmad Shawqi, in his eloquent poem addresses 'Ali and describes the unpleasant happenings caused by 'A'ishah against 'Ali.

In a letter written by the Imam during the bitter battle of al-Jamal to 'A'ishah, Talhah and az-Zubayr, he had spoken of matters, a careful perusal of which would have made her repentant and caused her to beg God's pardon for her blunders, even though she was not likely to be forgiven.

He writes to her as follows: And you, O 'A'ishah, have stepped out of your house and have thus disobeyed God and His prophet! 'A'ishah, you, are desiring something that has no connection with you! Tell me, what do women have to do with mobilizing an army and engaging in ostentation among fighting men? Tell me, what have you to do with starting a war with the believers in the qibla and causing the shedding of innocent blood? After all these matters, you pretend that you are avenging 'Uthman's blood. What have you to do with avenging 'Uthman's blood? Is it not true that he was of the Umayyads and you are of the Banu Taym? Moreover, it was only yesterday that you exclaimed in the presence of the Prophet's companions: "Kill this Na'thal ('Uthman) who has become an infidel!" And yet today you rise up to avenge his blood! Fear God and return to your home, and cover yourself with the veil of chastity and self-respect! That is all.

These few pages have presented a brief glance at the contents of present book; for, if we were to explain the contents of the whole book, another big book would be required. Therefore, we bring our comments to an end and state in all sincerity: Anyone who wishes to learn of the facts of Islamic history since its advent till the allegiance to Yazid, should study the two valuable research books of " 'Abd Allah ibn Saba'" and "Ahadith of Umm al-Mu'minin 'A'ishah" and do so with care and reflection, since both of them have been written with the able pen of the great scholar, Mr. 'Askari.

But our expectation from Mr. 'Askari is to persevere in this course with courage and steadfastness. I beg God Almighty to aid him in the attainment' of his goal and success in this course.

Mahmud Abu Rayh Cairo, 23 February 1962

3. The incident of Ifk, which had taken place at the time of the Prophet, will be described in the subsequent volumes of this book.

The Persian translator's preface

The present book which is at the disposal of the reader, is the translation of a part of the book called Ahadith of Umm al-Mu'minin 'A'ishah The text of the book is written by the great traditional scholar, Mr. Sayyid Murtada 'Askari. The religious, social and cultural services of this author are so many that he is lauded by both enemies and friends, and a description of his services requires an independent pamphlet.

One example of his scientific and cultural service is the book of "Ahadith of Umm al-Mu'minin 'A'ishah" in which he portrays the ideas, beliefs, qualities; characteristics and spiritual peculiarities of 'A'ishah for the reader and familiarizes him with the true visage of this women. This book gives an account of 'A'ishah's life and her role in producing some very important political events. But the main purpose of the author is not to give a full and detailed history and biography. He has a much wider and higher goal, namely to discuss the large and considerable number of traditions narrated by her and show to what extend they are right or wrong, reliable or unreliable.

Before beginning the discussion of this wide subject, it has been considered necessary to describe in an introduction to this book, some of the historical events in the occurrence of which 'A'ishah had played a part, in order to give a true picture of the personality of this narrator of so many traditions, thereby clarifying their value and validity.

Therefore the author has, in his study of 'A'ishah's adventurous life, divided it into definite parts and periods the most important of which are the following three:

1-'A'ishah in the time of 'Uthman's rule. 2-'A'ishah in the time of 'Ali's rule. 3-'A'ishah in the time of Mu'awiyah's rule.

The first part as well as the previous periods of 'A'ishah's life has been translated into Persian by the learned scholar Mr. Sardar-Niya, entitled The Role of 'A'ishah in the History of Islam.

The second part too has been, translated at the request of the exalted author in the form of the present book and placed at the disposal of the reader, and the third part is to be translated in the near future and offered to the public. In conclusion, it is necessary to mention the following points:

1-As the original text has been written in Arabic, this translation offers a wider opportunity for those who intend to study the book, and wherever necessary explanations have been added about historical terms etc. to; clarify the matter.

2-In view of the above objective, a free translation has been resorted to.

3-While the goal of the author has been adhered to, the topics have been arranged in the form of historical incidents and short stories and some details have been added to prevent boredom.

4-If the reader comes across certain repetitions, he should not consider it as a defect, since the author does not intend to narrate a series of historical events, but wishes to clarify certain facts through some of these events attain this goal it is only possible if a subject or an event is described by reference to all the sources even with a slight change where necessary. That is why some happenings have been repeated with the same differences that had existed in the original source.

Such repetitions, without being a defect, may also be an advantage in giving a greater reliability and clarifying the subject in a better way.

Muhammad Sadiq Najmi Hashim Hirisi Qom, 1383 of the Hijrah

The author's introduction

In the course of this discussion and survey we follow neither a theological goal, nor a historical or jurisprudentially one or such like. In other words we have no intention of criticizing the views and beliefs of a group or supporting and defending another group. Nor do we wish to praise some and slander others.

Moreover, we do not want to bring up a jurisprudentially discussion and survey the verdict of death from the viewpoint of Islamic jurisprudence. Nor is our purpose to write history so as to need to narrate all the historical details. Our object is rather to take certain historical matters out of reliable historical texts so as to enable the reader to recognize the true visage and personality of 'A'ishah through his study of them, and become familiar with her thoughts, beliefs and spirit, thereby to clarify the true worth and validity of her traditions and narrations which will be discussed later, and to make the path of this survey easier and smoother.

Therefore, we abstain from narrating such events which have no connection with our goal and the subject under discussion, we will describe only those parts of historical events which are related to our objective. For, a description of such matters reveals the strange and mysterious personality, political, and intellectual genius of 'A'ishah. It shows how well-acquainted she was with the way of winning public opinion, and how she managed to shake the foundation of the rule of two caliphs, resulting in the assassination of one of them, namely 'Uthman, whose verdict of death was issued by her, for she, had acted as an effective agent of his death. For, without her verdict he would not have been murdered, since no one would have dared to shed a caliph's blood or to show disrespect to the position of the caliphate.

It shows also with what skill and policy she succeeded, after 'Uthman's assassination, despite her former rancor and hostility with him, so easily and quickly to assume the role, of the avenger of his blood and his supporter. Indeed, she was so dexterous and smart that she managed to exonerate the real assassin and present him as the supporter and avenger of the murdered. It is astonishing how she succeeded in bringing 'Uthman's enemies and murderers into the same military camp as his sons and friends, and create a united army to avenge 'Uthman's blood.

How skilful she was to accuse 'Ali of 'Uthman's murder despite the fact that 'Ali had not taken the slightest part in this event, and to be able to rouse the Muslims against him, despite his clear and brilliant record! Indeed this amazing and unparalleled political power belongs to 'A'ishah for which she has won fame as an outstanding historical personage.

Unfortunately so far her role and character have not been properly investigated to show her real visage and reveal true facts. We now beg God's aid in this task to enable us to illuminate some of these dark corners of history and reveal the truth and introduce 'A'ishah's true character, and thereby discover the extent of the validity and reliability of her traditions.

Sayyid Murtada 'Askari Naba Cultural Organization NabaCultural .Org