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

Imam 'ali Is Cursed On Islamic Pulpits

Imam 'Ali was cursed from the pulpits in all the eastern and westerns parts of the Islamic real in.

The plan of annihilating the Imam's supporters and the propagation of false traditions for the purpose of defaming the good, and attributing a good reputation to the wicked to conform with Mu'awiyah's intentions, was carried out in the 'Who1e of the Islamic realm. Ziyad ibn Abihi and other governors of Mu'awiyah (366) put his order into force and did their utmost to execute it success-fully and wholeheartedly.

Historians have narrated many bloody events related to the deeds of those agents, and the whole of the Umayyad period has witnessed the execution of this policy. Accordingly, to give the Muslims a complete brain-wash, Imam 'Ali was cursed from every pulpit in the east and west of Islamic lands, and only the province of Sistan disobeyed the order of Mu'awiyah, and only once was the Imam cursed from the pulpit there. Later on the people of this zone made a pact with the Umayyad government that they should be exempted from this order, whereas at the same time the Imam was being cursed from the pulpits in the most powerful cities of Islam, namely Mecca and Medina.(367)

Hired orators cursed the noble Imam sometimes in the presence of the Alawite household.

History remembers painful incidents related to this matter, but here we confine ourselves to the narration of a single incident. Ibn Hajar writes in the book of "Taahar al-lisan" that 'Amr ibn al-'As began to criticize Imam 'Ali from the pulpit. He was followed by al-Mughayrah on the pulpit uttering evil words. At this time it was suggested to Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba, who was present there, to climb the-pulpit and answer those two. The Imam stated that he would be willing to do so if the people promise to confirm his words if he told the truth, and if, God forbid, his words were false, they should contradict him. They agreed, and the Imam climbed the pulpit and after praising God Almighty, he addressed both 'Amr ibn al-'As and al-Mughayrah, and said: "I ask you in the name of God: Do you not remember that the Prophet cursed the position of that horseman, one of whom was that fellow (meaning Mu'awiyah)?"(368) They said:

"We do." Then he turned to 'Amr and al-Mughayrah and said: "Don't you know and don't you remember that the Prophet cursed 'Amr ibn al-'As for every line of his poem?"(369) They said: "By God! You are right!"(370)

Of course as the Muslim supporters of the Prophet's households were never prepared to listen to a sermon in which the Imam was reproached, abused or cursed, they immediately left the mosque after the prayer and before the sermon. So Mu'awiyah and his governors changed the procedure which was prescribed by God and His prophet, and delivered the sermon before the prayer.

Ibn Hazm writes in his book of "al-Muhalla": For the first time the Umayyad made the sermon prior to the Friday prayer. They accounted for this unlawful action of theirs by saying that as the people left the mosque immediately after the end of the prayer, they do not wait to listen to the sermon. But the truth was that they cursed Imam 'Mi from the pulpit, and as the people disliked this action, they left the mosque, and they were indeed right in doing so.(371)

In Sahih of al-Bukhari and Muslim and other reliable books of tradition it is quoted from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri as follows: I accompanied Marwan, then governor of Medina, out of the city on the Sacrificial (Qurban) or al-Fitr festival. At the spot chosen for the festival prayer, a pulpit had been put up by Kathar ibn an-Salt. On arriving there, Marwan wanted to climb the pulpit and deliver a sermon before the prayer. I caught his robe and tried to check him from doing so, but Marwan released himself by pulling his robe Out of my hand, and quickly ascended the pulpit, and recited the festival sermon.

When he descended the pulpit, I said to him: "By God! You have produced a change in the religion!" He answered: "O Abu Sa'id! Those things with which you were familiar in the name of religion, have disappeared."

I said: "By God! What I knew was much finer than these innovations and unfamiliar ways!" Marwan said: "The people never lingered our sermons. So we were compelled to place the sermon before the prayer."(372)

A group of people refuses to curse

O Muawiyah! In cursing 'Ali you are cursing God and the Prophet from the pulpit.

Umm Salamah

The governors and administrators of the Umayyad caliphate's organization id ot onfine hemselves o his tep. hey Iso ordered the Prophet's friends, who, in addition to their superior knowledge of Islam, had a deeper attachment to it, to follow the ways of these innovators. Sahl ibn Sa'd says: A man of Marwan's house(373) ruled Medina. One day he summoned me and ordered me to abuse. 'Ali, but I refused. He said:"Now that you refuse to Abuse 'Ali, at least say: May God curse Abu Turab." I said: "Imam 'Ali could not have chosen a better name than Abu Turab for himself, and when they addressed him by that name, he was very pleased." The governor said: "Tell us the story of this name and the reason for his gladness."

I said: "One day the great Prophet of Islam went to visit his daughter, Fatimah, and did not find 'Ali there. He said to his noble daughter: 'Where is your cousin?' She said: 'Something has occurred between us that made both of us uneasy. So he left the house without taking his afternoon nap.'(374) The Prophet asked a man to go and search for 'Ali. The man returned after some time and reported that 'Ali was asleep in the mosque.

The Prophet went to the mosque and saw 'All asleep on his side while his robe, which covered him, had slipped away and his body was on the earth. The Prophet with utmost kindness and affection wiped the dust from 'Ali's body and said: 'Get up, O Abu Turab! Get up, O AbuTurab!' "(375) (Turab means "earth", and Abu Turab' means A friend of the earth! The Umayyads supposed that this nickname was humiliating or Ali, whereas it was a proof of the Prophet's utmost affection for 'Ali. Thus the Umayyads ordered the people to curse Abu Turab!)

'Amir son of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas who was a witness of the following incident says: One day Mu'awiyah summoned my father, Sa'd, and asked: "Why do you abstain from reproaching and abusing Abu Turab?" Sa'd answered: "As long as I remember three remarks of the Prophet about 'Ali I shall never abuse him, since those words of the Prophet are more precious to me than the best property of the Arab people, namely; red-haired camels!

When the Prophet decided not to let 'Ali accompany him in one of the wars (battle of Tabuk), and left him in charge of the city of Medina against the malicious deeds of hypocrites, 'Ali came to the Prophet with tearful eyes and said: 'O Prophet of God! Are you leaving me amidst women and children, and depriving me of keeping your company in this war?' I heard the Prophet say to him: 'Are you not glad that your relation to me is like the relation of Aaron to Moses, except that there will come no Prophet after me?'

Another time I heard the Prophet say on the day of the battle of Khaybar: 'I will entrust this banner to a man who loves God and His Prophet, and is loved by God and his Prophet.' We all stretched our necks and looked eagerly at the Prophet to see who is meant. The Prophet said: 'Bring 'Ali to me.' They found and brought him to the Prophet, while he was suffering from a painful eye-ache. The Prophet touched his painful eye with the saliva of his own mouth. Then he handed him the banner, with the result that God granted us victory on that day.

I remember also that at this time the following verse descended: 'Then say: Come let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women and our near people and your near people... '(376) The Prophet summoned 'Ali Fatimah al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and said: 'This is my household!' "(377)

al-Mas'udi quotes the story of this meeting from at-Tabari as follows: When Mu'awiyah had come on pilgrimage to Mecca, he went with Sa'd ibn Abi Waqoas to circumambulate the House of God, and after that ceremony he visited Dar an-Nudwah, the gathering place of the Quraysh dignitaries in Pagan times, and let Sa'd sit by him. Then he began to insult and abuse the Imam. Sa'd was greatly vexed at this conduct of Mu'awiyah and stood-up, saying: "You are seating me in your place and engage in abusing such a man as 'Ali? I swear to God that if I possessed only one of his virtues and fine qualities, it would be more precious to me than anything else ."

After quoting the above remark, al-Mas'udi narrates the story with a slight difference from what we said, and then concludes by quoting the following words of Sa'd: "By God! I shall never enter your house as long as lam alive!" Then he rose and left Mu'awiyah's gathering.(378) Ibn 'Abd Rabbih al-Andulisi quotes the following story from his book in his account of Mu'awiyah: When Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba departed this world, Mu'awiyah came on pilgrimage as a caliph, and then visited Medina. He intended in this journey to curse the Imam from the Prophet's pulpit in Medina. His companions said to him: "In this town there is Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqa, the victor of Iran and an old influential companion of the Prophet. He will not approve of your action. You had better summon him and ask his view."

Mu'awiyah sent for Sa'd and informed him of his intention. Sa'd said: "If you do so, I will leave the mosque and will not return there." (Meaning that he refuses to go to a mosque where 'Ali has been cursed. The significance of this remark becomes clear when we remember that the mosque referred to, have been the mosque of the Prophet.)

Mu'awiyah who was apprehensive of Sa'd's great influence, abandoned his intention, and waited until Sa'd died. (379) It was then that Mu'awiyah was able to curse the Imam of the chaste from the Prophet's pulpit in Medina. It was also in these times that he wrote to all his agents to abuse the Imam from pulpits.

After some time a letter was sent by Umm Salamah to Mu'awiyah, saying: "O Mu'awiyah! In cursing 'Ali ibn Abi_Talib and his friends, you are cursing God and His Prophet from your pulpits! I take God to witness that God and His Prophet love him." But the letter of Umm Salamah had no effect on Mu'awiyah, and he did not pay the least attention to it.(380)

The ultimate goal of Mu'awiyah

No! By God, I shall not rest until! Bury the name of the Prophet! Mu'awiyah suffered from irremediable complexes which were formed within him owing both to the lineage which had been attributed to him and also to the defects heaped on him and his family concerning their resistance and opposition to Islam. These complexes became more intense when he saw that Islam had humbled him and his house who had possessed a high rank and material opulence in Pagan times, and the Prophet had placed him, his father and brother in the rank of freed captives.

Against the low name of himself and his house in Islam, he saw the popular and immortal names of their rivals, namely the Banu Hashim. So these inferiority complexes were a very heavy burden on his back to bear, and he fervently sought a way to emerge from them. As we have already seen in past events and in his encounters with the Prophet's companions,

he was not able to reveal these internal rancours and hostilities on every occasion and in every place, since they were not harmonious with the personality he had somehow acquired and exposed his life and position to danger. But in private sessions with al-Mughayrah, whom he considered as one of the guardians of Paganism(381) and as both of them had collaborated with each other for many long years in wicked deeds, these complexes came to the surface and revealed his real beliefs and nature.

az-Zubayr ibn Bakkar quotes the son of al-Mughayrah ibn Shu'bah in his book of "al- Muwaffaqiyat", as follows:

I had accompanied my father al-Mughayrah on his travel to ash-Sham to see Mu'awiyah. My father went to him every day and talked with him for a long time. Whenever he returned home he spoke of the amazing intelligence and shrewdness of Mu'awiyah and of what he had seen. But one night when he returned, he refused to eat anything and he was very despondent. I waited for some time thinking that his despondency was due either to some actions of ours or to some hitch in our affairs. When I asked him why he was so dejected,

he said: "My boy, I have come back from the presence of the wickedest and most infidel of all people!" I asked: "How and who?" He said: "It was a private session with Mu'awiyah I said to him: O Amir al-Mu'minin, You have attained your wish. Now it would be fitting if in your old age you act justly and treat others kindly: If you favour your kith and kin of Banu Hashim and observe your bonds of kinship with them, you will leave a good name behind. I swear to God that today they have nothing left to frighten you with (meaning that they are remote from assuming the position of caliph)."

Mu'awiyah answered: "What you say is quite remote. Abu Bakr became caliph and acted justly, and bore so much trouble. By God, when he died, his name, too, died with him unless someone may one-day call: 'Abu Bakr!' Then 'Umar assumed the rule, and endeavored much and suffered many pains for ten years. But a few days after his death, nothing of him remained except an occasional word of someone, saying: ''Umar!' Then our brother 'Uthman became caliph, a man whose lineage nobody could rival, and he acted as he did, and was treated as we know. But by God, as soon as he was killed, his name, too, died, and his deeds were forgotten!

But you see that this Hashimi man's (The Prophet) name is spoken loudly and respectfully five times a day in the whole of the Islamic realm (referring to the Muslim prayer and the call for it). What deed, do you think, will leave a memory and what good name can last long? By God! I shall never rest until I bury that name!"(382)(383)

Mu'awiyah's breast was burning with a flame of rancor and envy at the popular name of the Prophet who had destroyed his brother, uncle and grandfather and other relatives of his in the battle of Badr. He longed to bury that name. To attain that goal he had two plans: His first scheme could be summoned up in this sentence: "Not even one member of Banu Hashim should remain alive." This is not only our understanding of it. Imam 'Ali himself says explicitly: "I swear to God that Mu'awiyah desires that not even one of the Banu Hashim should survive. He wishes to extinguish the light of God in this way, but God will not allow this light to be extinguished even if infidels are not pleased with His wish."(384)

The second plan of Mu'awiyah was to dispatch their names to oblivion. To attain this end he created the large organization of forging tradition, biography and history to defame those chaste personalities, and remove the signs of defects and shortcomings from the Umayyads. Consequently opposite the traditions, which existed from the Prophet damning Mu'awiyah and his father and Umayyad household and such creatures as al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As,

similar but false traditions were offered to the people as quotations from the Prophet, saying: "O God! I am only a human being exposed to error, oblivion and anger! If I have cursed or reproached a Muslim on account of my anger, consider that curse and abuse as expiation for his sins so that he may be cleansed of them."(385)

This forged tradition and similar ones were like a double-edged sword serving the interests of Mu'awiyah. On the one hand they cleansed him and his household from all the things that, the Prophet had rightly said about them, and on the other hand they presented the prophets as ordinary men subject to human failings and in most cases unable to control their rage with the result that they may utter futile and unjust words, whereas we know that God has praised the Prophet and his character in the best possible way as the worthiest human being, saying in this verse:

"And most surely you conform yourself to sublime morality."'(386), and in this verse: "Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal them gently, and had you been rough and hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you. "(387) He says also that all his utterances have their source in revelation, as in the following verse:

"Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. '(388)

Not many people understand this evil plan of Mu'awiyah, and thus many simple-minded Muslims ignorantly followed and collaborated with him, and spread the traditions which had been fabricated by his hirelings. Although Mu'awiyah was unable to publicly reveal all his rancor and hostility towards the Prophet, yet in other extensive fields he succeeded in fulfilling his wishes. Indeed he was successful in the question of defending 'Uthman and ,his policy, and also in pounding 'Ali his household, his friends and supporters. We have already mentioned these points and seen how Mu'awiyah treated those who did not collaborate with him in these wicked deeds. Imam 'All's friends gained nothing by supporting the Jmam but torture, imprisonment, or death by hanging or being buried alive.

'~'ishah, as the main personality under our discussion, at the moment when human feelings were dead, and human beings's share was nothing but torture, imprisonment and execution, was greatly respected by him, and the caliph's organization showed the greatest possible considerations to her especially at the beginning, and these two co-operated closely in the overall combat with the Imam.

In order to see the role and task of 'A'ishah in Mu'awiyah's policy of forging traditions, we may speak of two incidents: A Muslim man named Sa'd ibn Hisham asked another Muslim named Hakim ibn Aflah to visit 'A'ishah. Hakim said: "I refuse to go to her. I had warned her against speaking of these two groups (the supporters of 'Ali and followers of 'Uthman), but she paid no attention to my counsel, and went her own way."(389)

What was the manner of 'A'ishah's talk about the Alawite party and 'Uthman's group? As we have already seen and will also see, at this time 'A'ishah spoke well of 'Uthman's party and quoted some traditions from the Prophet in favour of that party, and thus she resorted also to other traditions in reproach of the Alawite party. These two matters are what Hakim had warned her against, and to which she had paid no attention.

A tradition from 'A'ishah

'A'ishah! Had you forgotten this tradition?

Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his book of Musnad quotes an-Nu'man ibn Bashir, saying Mu'awiyah wrote a letter to 'A'ishah. I went with the letter to her in Medina and delivered it. After she took it, she said: "My son! should I not narrate for you something that I have heard from the Prophet?" I said: "Yes, of course!" She said: "Hafsah and I were with the Prophet one day and he said to us:

'How nice it would have been to have a man with us to talk to!' I said: 'Should I send for Abu Bakr?' He remained silent and said again: 'How fine it would have been to have a man with us to talk to.' This time Hafsah said: 'Couldn't we send for 'Umar?' He did not answer, and then called a man and whispered something to him. The man went out and after some moments. 'Uthman arrived. The Prophet began to speak eagerly with him, and I heard these words: 'O 'Uthman! Let us hope that God will adorn you with the garment of caliphate and greatness, and if they tried to remove it from your body, never submit to it', and he repeated this sentence three times."

an-Nu'man ibn Bashir says: I said to her: "O Umm al-Mu'minin! Had you forgotten this tradition when you combatted so much with 'Uthman, and wanted to depose him, and even incited the people to kill him?"(390) 'A'ishah said: "My son! I had forgotten this tradition. So thoroughly as if I had never heard it."(391)

The incident took place in the following way: A letter arrived for 'A'ishah from the caliph Mu'awiyah, and the messenger was waiting for an answer. At this moment 'A'ishah remembered a tradition of the Prophet and quoted it for the caliph's messenger, stating that the Prophet had predicted that 'Uthman would in future assume the position of caliph (392) and in such a case he should never abdicate.

What is the connection of this letter with the tradition? Had Mu'awiyah asked her in his letter to defend 'Uthman? Or did 'A'ishah intend that an-Nu'man, Mu'awiyah's messenger, on his return to him, should quote the tradition for his master? Or was there some other reason for it? Is it possible at all that 'A'ishah had really forgotten this tradition and similar ones which she had quoted for different people during Mu'awiyah's rule, all the time that she combatted against 'Uthman and incited the people to rise against him?

Whatever the reason may be, this tradition and similar ones which we will quote in the tradition section of this book, as well as the traditions that 'A'ishah has narrated in praise of the excellence of her father Abu Bakr, and 'Umar, and her cousin Talhah and others, place her in the rank of the most superior individuals who did their utmost in pleasing Mu'awiyah in connection with his special policy of fabricating traditions. Naturally his greater endeavors, were directed towards the propagation of the virtue and excellence of his own kith and kin and of their supporters; for, as the proverb says: Blood is thicker than water.

In our discussion we have no intention of propagating the excellence of some, or cavilling at others. What we are investigating are the traditions, which we will mention in the last part of this book. Our task is to survey the traditions which are narrated from the Prophet, and that is why we have stepped in this course.

Conclusion and Purpose

'A'ishah made use of the life of the Prophet in quoting traditions for the promotion of her own goals. The Conclusion of previous discussions:

In previous chapters we made a careful survey of the life of 'A'ishah in order to become familiar with her social and political personality and with her ideas and objectives, and discover her particular mental and social motives which roused her to quote so many traditions.

Our conclusion is briefly that 'A'ishah was a very intelligent woman, a fine orator familiar with the way of speech making and oration, and fully aware of the effect of words in capturing the hearts and influencing the minds of people. She was a statesman well acquainted with the political and governmental affairs of the time. She was able to lead and command a large and powerful army. She possessed a great social personality, and such a wide influence among the Muslims that she could with a small effort rouse the people against the government of the time and overthrow it.

'A'ishah was a domineering and ambitious woman who did not halt or remain idle anywhere, and sought the highest point in every course and purpose, and spared no effort and action, and no factor could check her from following her objective. She was filled with a deep emotional attachment for her kith and kin, so much so that she showed a high degree of devotion and self-sacrifice in their favour and interest.

She was at the same time violently vindictive towards those who opposed her and her household, and strict and hard and hostile to the point of desiring their death and destruction. She was a woman the like of whom has rarely been witnessed or even known by history. Sometimes she uttered brief remarks in defense of her relatives and supporters that they were then frequently repeated by people, as a lasting phrase in history. She created such a bright spot in their lives that later on it helped to win them a name, a reputation and popularity. Sometimes she spoke so smashingly against her opponents that its effect remained long on their character like a stain on the pages of history.

Her words, whether in favour or against a person, passed from mouth to mouth, and were handed oh as a souvenir from one city to another, and were then transferred to books, left for future generations for many centuries as her traditions. This was the greatest evidence of 'A'ishah's personality in the Islamic world of those days.

Thus we have observed 'A'ishah from the angle of the true facts of history, and depicted her as she really was. But those who have desired to build up a different greatness and personality for her, seem to have wished to introduce her as an offspring of the Prophet; a matter which is wholly wrong and untrue.

We should neither introduce the personalities of the early period of Islamic period according to our fancy, since such a picture would be illusory and fanciful, nor depict a true personality and his life differently from what he has actually been.

The purpose of the survey of 'A'ishah's life:

As we have repeatedly said, we point out in conclusion, too that 'A'ishah skilfully made use of two things in order to attain her end: 1-In all her adventurous life she emphasized her being the Prophet's consort and mother of the faithful, and used this advantage as an effective weapon against her opponents and as a means of encouraging her supporters.

2-Whenever she found it necessary, she quoted a tradition from the Prophet and his life, and made use of her overflowing talent in referring to that tradition to promote her goal. The number of such cases when 'A'ishah used her position as the Prophet's consort is so large that it is beyond the scope of this book. But the following incident illustrates the above point. We read in the story of the battle of al-Jamal that 'A'ishah wrote a letter to Zayd ibn Sawhan asking his aid, and to rouse his ardor, she began her letter with this phrase: "From 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin daughter of Abu Bakr and consort of the prophet of God."(393)

We have repeatedly seen in our discussions how 'A'ishah made use of the title "Umm al- Mu'minin" and "The Prophet's consort" in order to produce great events on that basis and impress people. Even up to now it is still used as an effective weapon in the hands of her supporters and in her defense.

As for the cases when 'A'ishah relied on the details of the Prophet's life to attain her purpose and forge a tradition, there are many of them, some of which are as follows:

1-Muslim narrates in his book of Sahih: 'A'ishah said: "When the Prophet was in his deathbed, he said to me: Call your father and brother to write down my will, for, I fear that a claimer may claim that he has a greater merit to be caliph, whereas God and believers accept none but Abu Bakr as caliph."

2-al-Bukhari says in his book of Sahih that 'A'ishah said:

When the Prophet fell seriously ill, he said to 'Abd ar-Rahman son of Abu Bakr: "Fetch a shoulder blade(394) or a tablet to write a letter to Abu Bakr so that no one opposes his caliphate." When 'Abd ar-Rahman rose to bring writing materials, the Prophet said: "O Abu Bakr! God and believers do not wish any disagreement to arise about your right."(395) As you see, 'A'ishah has made use of the Prophet's illness and concurrent incidents to create these two traditions for the purpose of consolidating her father's position as caliph. 3-At a time when 'A'ishah's relation with 'Uthman was friendly and co-operative, she made a similar use of forged traditions in his favour on the basis of the Prophet's private and family life. Muslim quotes 'A'ishah in his book of Sahih, saying:

'The Prophet and I were lying down under the same cloak when Abu Bakr arrived and asked leave to enter. The Prophet gave him permission, and when he left, 'Umar asked leave to enter and he was allowed to see us in that condition. When 'Umar left, 'Uthman asked leave to meet the Prophet. This time the Prophet rose and arranged his clothes and then admitted 'Uthman to his presence. After 'Uthman left, I said to the Prophet: "You allowed Abu Bakr and 'Umar to see you in your former state of lying down, whereas in admitting 'Uthman, you rose and arranged your clothes. There must be a mystery in this behaviour." The Prophet said: "As 'Uthman is a shy and modest person, I was afraid he would not divulge his request on seeing me in that condition."

4-In his book of Sahih, Muslim narrates this story differently, and says: One day the Prophet was lying down in his bed and had spread 'A'ishah's robe on himself. When 'Uthman arrived, the Prophet ordered 'A'ishah to cover herself. 'A'ishah said: "0 Prophet! When Abu Bakr and 'Umar came to see you, you made no change in your state, whereas you were at a loss to what to do when 'Umar arrived and you re-arranged your garment!" 5-We read in another narration of Muslim in his Sahih that 'A'ishah says: When I asked the Prophet this question, he said:

"Why should I not be coy of 'Uthman and show no respect, whereas I swear to God that God's angels are shy and respectful towards 'Uthman?"(396)

The same 'A'ishah who makes so much use of the Prophet's private life to support the caliphate of 'Uthman, very soon uses the same weapon to vanquish 'Uthman. When a leaf of history was turned over and the relation of 'A'ishah with 'Uthman was darkened, 'A'ishah held up the shirt of the Prophet and to rouse the people against 'Uthman she addressed the Muslims, saying: "O Muslims! This is the Prophet's shirt, which is not worn-out yet, but 'Uthman has so soon altered the Prophet's ways and tradition, and has made his religion old and worn-out."

Another time, too, she showed the Prophet's slippers to the people in the mosque, and third time a hair of the Prophet, in support of her accusation. Thus we see her making use of the tangible things of the Prophet to incite the people against 'Uthman.(397) For, at this time 'A'ishah is pursuing other motives and goals, which necessitate a change in the use of the means!

With the assassination of 'Uthman another leaf history is turned over, and now 'A'ishah forgets the past and once more she begins to eulogise 'Uthman, and again she employes the details of the Prophet's life in support and praise of 'Uthman and because of fresh goals and motives! 6-At a time when Mu'awiyah had made it obligatory for all the people to sing the praises of 'Uthman, and by his order the machinery for fabricating traditions about 'Uthman's personality was functioning, 'A'ishah quoted in amazing tradition about 'Uthman in the presence of the deputy of Mu'awiyah's court, saying: Hafsah and I were in the Prophet's presence, when he said:

"I wish someone were here to talk with me!" I suggested my father Abu Bakr as a talking companion, and Hafsah proposed her father 'Umar, but he remained silent about our suggestions. Then he summoned a man and whispered something to him. Very soon 'Uthman arrived and the Prophet was greatly pleased and began talking with him. I heard him with my own ears, saying: "O 'Uthman! God will adorn you with the garment of caliphate, and if they try to remove this garment from you, you must resist and not take off with your own hands the garment with which God has adorned you!"(398)

7-'A'ishah had her own particular view about sucking and said that five times sucking of a stranger creates a legitimate intimacy as a relative. She advised her own sisters and kith and kin to follow her example. In issuing this verdict, her intention was to create intimacy with those whose aid she needed socially,

so that no one could protest against this relationship; But the other wives of the Prophet rejected this view and said that this sucking must be related to early babyhood and be repeated ten times, not five times.(399)'A'ishah claimed against this protests saying: "In a verse descendent to the Prophet it is stated that the creation of legitimate intimacy by sucking adult boys is possible with ten times' sucking, and this verdict was written on a piece of paper placed under my bed, but during the Prophet's illness when I was busy nursing him, a domestic animal came in and ate the paper on which this subject was written!"(400)

In another narration of Muslim in his book of Sahih, 'A'shar says that there was a verse declaring legitimate intimacy with ten definite sucking, and then the number was reduced to five times' sucking, thus abrogating the previous verse.

Then 'A'ishah adds: When the Prophet died the verse related to five times' sucking existed in the Qur'an and it was even recited.(401) She meant that the above number of sucking was adequate for creating legitimate intimacy, since such a Quranic verse confirmed it in the Prophet's time but it has been forgotten now!(402) The above traditions were examples of the kinds of things fabricated and presented to the Islamic society by this lady on the basis of the Prophet's life. In future discussions where 'A'ishah's traditions will be surveyed and evaluated independently, we shall see that no one has spoken so abundantly about the Prophet's life as 'A'ishah has, and in her descriptions of him she has depicted an astonishing picture to the extent of lowering him even below the level of an ordinary human being!

What is even more important is that since the time of 'A'ishah's influence in the Islamic society till today, all the Muslims except the followers of the Prophet's household seek the true character and real life of the Prophet in 'A'ishah's narrations. The result is that the real character of the Prophet has remained unknown even for the Muslims, since they have relied only on 'A'ishah's narrations in this matter, and have shown the same way to others to pursue, whereas these traditions have misrepresented and wholly reversed the true personality of the Prophet.

The conclusion is therefore that to know the real character of the Prophet we should make a careful study and investigation of 'A'ishah's traditions in order to remove all obscurities and alterations in it. Moreover, to have a proper understanding of Islam, too, depends on a real recognition of the Prophet's true visage.

Therefore in this book, which is translated into three volumes, we have made a survey of 'A'ishah's life from the viewpoint of reliable history, and will continue this survey by investigating her traditions, too.

In this course and this survey we apologize to those who are attached to 'A'ishah, and we hope for their forgiveness. We have stepped on a very hard and painful route in our search for the true character of the Prophet and his faith, and have honestly tried to render a service in presenting the true facts of Islam and real visage of Islamic personalities. The above point has been our goal and purpose, which took the form of the study of 'A'ishah's life in the first part, and will continue to deal with her traditions in the second part. May we succeed in winning God's satisfaction in following this objective! May God be a witness to what we have narrated!

Sayyid Murtada 'Askari

Addendum The effort made by the Sunnis in correcting and explaining a tradition Here in bringing our discussion to an end, it would be fitting to pause for a while and make a survey of the tradition quoted in previous pages, and evaluate the efforts made by Sunni scholars in explaining and interpreting it and comparing it with true facts. It is narrated in Muslim's book of Sahih that the Prophet said:"My sanctity is in Medina in the land situated between the mountains of Thawr and 'Ayr or 'A'ir."(403)

The narrators of this quotation have intended to create boundaries of sanctity for Medina, as it has been done for Mecca. But they have erred in choosing Thawr mountain as a boundary since this mountain is situated in Mecca. It is the spot where the Prophet went into hiding in a cave on his emigration from Mecca to Medina (404) and Medina does not possess a mountain named Thawr, as it is testified by the following great scholars.

1-Mus'ab az-Zubayri of Medina, who is a great scholar of that city and died in 236 of the Hijrah, says about this tradition: "Thawr mountain is not in Medina."(405)

2-Famous scholar Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam, who died in 224 of the Hijrah, writes: "This is an Iraqi narration. The people of Medina know of no mountain in Medina called Thawr. This mountain is in Mecca. My belief is that the tradition was related to the mountain of Uhud, which was mistaken for Thawr."(406) What Abu 'Ubayd means is that the said narration has been quoted by the people of Iraq who had no knowledge of Medina and was not aware that Thawr is not a Medinan mountain.

3-Qadi 'Ayyad, who died in 544 of the Hijrah, author of Description of Muslim's book of Sahih. 4-Bakri, a geographer who died in 478 of the Hijrah, in the book of Mulam ma ista'jam. 5-Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Musa H azimi, memorizer of the Qur'an and tradition scholar who died in the year 548 of the Hijrah.(407)

6-Great scholar Ibn al-Athir Jazirj, who died in 606 of the Hijrah, in the book of an-Nihayat al- lughah, on the word "Thawr" (408)

7-Yaqut al-Hamawi, who died in 626 of the Hijrah, a geographer and writer of the geographical encyclopedia of Mu'jam al-buldan in the same book on the word "Thawr".(409) All the above scholars assert that no such mountain named Thawr exists in Medina. Therefore to correct and compensate this error, Sunni tradition scholars have made the following efforts: The leader of their tradition scholars, al-Bukhari who died in 256 of the Hijrah, abstain from mentioning the name of Thawr mountain in his book of Sahih, and says in one place:

"Medina is a sanctity from the mountain of 'Ayr to so-and-so mountain"(410) while in Muslim's book of Sahib the word Thawr is mentioned in the place of so-and-so.

Beside al-Bukhari other scholars, too, have in one way or other spoken of the incorrectness of this tradition. One of them says: "Maybe the holy Prophet himself has given names to two mountains of Medina." Another scholar says: Maybe the Prophet intended to fix the limits of the sanctity of Medina, and he has compared its boundaries to the space which lies between the two mountains of Mecca, since Thawr is in Mecca, not in Medina.

A third scholar writes: The narrator mistakenly uses the name of Thawr mountain, and he should have said "Uhud", since Uhud is in Medina, not Thawr. A fourth writer has left a blank space for the name of the mountain in the narration so as to avoid probable difficulties.

Still others make different suggestions as a way of correcting the above tradition.(411) These successive efforts, some of which we have mentioned continued until the first half of the 7th century, until 'Abd as-Salam ibn Muhammad ibn Mazru' a Hanbalite tradition scholar of Basra, who died in 669 of the Hijrah, ably corrected the above error with his constructive hand in the second half of the same century, and created a mountain named Throw next to Uhud mountain, and to prevent the negation of his claim by others, he stated that the people of Medina are familiar with this mountain!

Next to him 'Abd Allah Matri, who died in 765 of the Hijrah, quotes the same point from his late father Muhammad Matri and adds: "The people of Medina have for many generations been familiar with a mountain called Thawr alongside Uhud mountain. It is a small and red mountain!"

Thus Ibn Mazru' was the first person to discover this mountain, and after him 'Abd Allah Matri used his particular method confirm that discovery! But the great memorizer of the Qur'an and tradition scholar Yahya an-Nawawi who died in 676 of the Hijrah, has made no reference to this great discovery in his famous description of Muslim's book of Sahih.

But he describes the efforts of great scholars of the past for correcting and explaining the tradition, which subject we have already mentioned. After him scholar Ibn Manzur, a great philologist who died in 711 of the Hijrah, in discussing the word Thawr in his book of "Lisan al-'Arab", confirms the non-existence of such a mountain in Medina. Thus these two great experts of tradition and philology have either been ignorant of the above so-called great geographical discovery, or they have mistrusted it, even though they lived at a time after Ibn Mazru'. But the following scholars have made a reference to it:

1. Muhibb ad-Din at-Tabari, who died in 694, in his book of al-Ahkam.
2. al-Firuzabadi who died in 817 of the Hijrah, in his book of al-Qamus on the word Thawr.
3. Ibn Hajar 'Asqalani, who died in 852 of the Hijrah, in his description of the said tradition in the book of Fath al-b an.
4. az-Zabidi, who died in 1205 of the Hijrah in his book of Taj al-'arus on the word Thawr. But the order of our contemporary scholars has been greater in this field, and they have even registered the mountain of Thawr on the geographical map of Medina! For example Professor 'Abd al-Quddus, author of "The Monuments of Medina" on page 139 of his book draws the map of the mountain, and Dr. Muhammad Hassanein Heikal produces this map on page 512 of the book of "Manzil al-wahy", and on page 440 he says that he has used the former book as a reference.(412)

Thus the mountain of Thawr was first discovered in the second half of the 7th century, and then after another seven centuries, namely in the 14th century, it was registered on a geographical map!