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Prophets

Who was ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr?

The scholar among the Prophet's ﷺ wives, the narrator of over two thousand hadith, the woman the Prophet ﷺ said was 'above all women as tharīd is above all foods.'

10 passages from 7 books in the library

ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr was the Prophet's ﷺ wife and a foremost narrator and scholar among the believers. The cited passages preserve hadith on her authority: al-Ghazali records the Prophet ﷺ telling her, "O ʿĀʾisha, if obscenity were a person…" — praising gentleness over coarseness. Her narration through Muslim relates that when sleep or illness kept the Prophet ﷺ from his night prayer, he made it up by day with twelve units, and that he married and consummated his marriage with her in Shawwāl.

Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 7 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Book 40: The Book of the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
Book 40: The Book of the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "As for what is at the end of Aisha's statement, in the two Sahihs from her Hadith, Aisha said,"

Cover of Book 24: Evils of the Tongue
Book 24: Evils of the Tongue
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told Aisha, O Aisha, if obscenity were a person"

  2. "The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Aisha, O Aisha, if obscenity were"

Cover of Book 19: The Book of Commanding Good and Forbidding Evil
Book 19: The Book of Commanding Good and Forbidding Evil
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "him, all due to the blessing of ibn Aisha's gentleness. Ibn Aisha remarked, People enjoin"

  2. "ibn Aisha. One evening, after the Maghrib prayer, ibn Aisha was on his way home when"

Cover of Book 4: The Book of Prayer
Book 4: The Book of Prayer
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, shared that if the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was unable to perform his night prayer due to sleep or illness, he would make up for it by praying 12 units at the start of the day."

  2. "Aisha's Hadith, narrated by Muslim, states that if the Prophet, peace be upon him, was overcome by sleep or illness and missed his night prayer, he would make it up during the day."

Cover of Book 12: Book of Marriage
Book 12: Book of Marriage
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "Aisha reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, married her in Shawwal and consummated the marriage with her in Shawwal, as reported by Muslim."

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