She was called the “most truthful daughter of the most truthful one.”

She was most devout. Most beautiful. And she was wed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, in the latter part of his lifetime.

The story of Aisha bint Abu Bakr (may God be pleased with her) is one of divinity, fortitude, knowledge and love. She contributed more than 2,000 hadith (sayings of the Prophet) to mankind- and is one of the most extraordinary figures in Islamic history.

The Prophet’s first wife, Khadija, supported him in the beginning of his Prophet hood in Mecca and through his most difficult days up until her death. Aisha supported the Prophet after his migration to Medina, through various battles and divine revelations up until his death.

Contextualizing the societal constructs of the Prophet’s time is critical when discussing Aisha. Her story is one that is used and abused to discredit the Prophet – at the hand of challengers insisting she was a child bride.

What is the real story of Aisha?

Some incredible facts about Aisha, may God be pleased with her:

Her Existence Was Divine
“Marry her, since she is your wife,” Angel Gabriel revealed during the time the Prophet’s mosque was established in Medina and civilization was thriving.

The marriage of Aisha to the Prophet was divinely decreed. It was quite literally “a match made in heaven.”

Muhammad saw Aisha in a dream. Her father, companion to the Prophet, Abu Bakr, was delighted about the marriage. As an esteemed “Mother of the Believers,” he treated her with great honor. Muhammad had other wives (previously divorced or widowed) which was customary since women did not hold rights in pre-Islamic times. Women were treated like property; marriage was about survival. Aisha was his only pure wife who never married before or after him.

She Helped Establish a Woman’s Right to Choose Her Husband
Pre-Islamic times were referred to as the Era of Jahiliyya or the Age of Ignorance. It was common practice for women to have no say in who they could marry, forced by their fathers and societal predilections. Women turned to Aisha for issues in their lives as well as marital advice. When a girl came to Aisha unhappy that her father was forcing an arranged marriage upon her, Aisha brought the matter to the Prophet who for the first time- established that a woman’s choice in marriage was hers to make. Though arranged marriages exist still today in many cultures of various faiths with both good and bad outcomes, it is this period in time thatforced marriage became prohibited in Islam.

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