About ʿĀ’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, and her stance toward the Commander of the Faithful
About ʿĀ’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, and her stance toward the Commander of the Faithful:
It is reported from ʿĀ’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, that she said:
“When the Prophet (peace be upon him) became gravely ill and his pain intensified, he sought permission from his wives to be nursed in my house. They granted him permission, so he went out leaning on two men, his feet dragging on the ground, and he was between al-ʿAbbās and another man.”
ʿUbaydullāh said:
“I mentioned to Ibn ʿAbbās what ʿĀ’ishah had said, and he asked me: ‘Do you know who the other man was whom ʿĀ’ishah did not name?’
I said: ‘No.’
He said: ‘It was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.’”
So why did Lady ʿĀ’ishah not name Imām ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib?
This report was narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their Ṣaḥīḥ collections. In the authentic narration of Ibn Saʿd:
“I informed Ibn ʿAbbās of what ʿĀ’ishah had said. He asked: ‘Do you know who the other man was whom ʿĀ’ishah did not name?’ I said: ‘No.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said: ‘It was ʿAlī! ʿĀ’ishah’s soul did not find ease in mentioning him with goodness.’” [1]
The Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (peace be upon him), said about her:
“As for that woman, she was overcome by the opinion typical of women, and a rancor boiled in her heart like the boiling of a blacksmith’s cauldron. Had she been called to attack anyone other than me as she came against me, she would not have done so. Nevertheless, her former sanctity remains, and her reckoning is with Allah, the Exalted.” [2]
And in ʿUmdat al-Qārī by al-ʿAynī it is stated:
“It was answered that there was in her heart toward him what naturally occurs in human hearts, which caused her to refrain from mentioning his name.” [3]
In summary, it has not been established from any of the Imams of the Prophet’s Household — foremost among them the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) — that they ever insulted or cursed her. The statement of the Commander of the Faithful suffices:
“Nevertheless, her former sanctity remains, and her reckoning is with Allah, the Exalted.”
May Allah grant you success.
Answered by: Ustadh al-Kāẓim al-Zaydī, may Allah bless him.
O Allah, bless Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad.
Footnotes
([1]) Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, vol. 2, p. 232.
([2]) Nahj al-Balāghah.
([3]) ʿUmdat al-Qārī, vol. 3, p. 92.