Inspiring Women of Islam

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Hazrat Fatima(as): Pride of the World

Imam Al Hassan Ibn Ali Al Askari reported that his father quoted Jabir Ibn Abdullah as saying : ' The Messenger of Allah, Peace be Upon him and his cleansed progeny, said : ' When Allah created Adam and Eve, they strutted through paradise and said : ' Who are better than we ? ' At that moment they noticed an image of a girl like they had never seen before; from this girl came an illuminating light so bright that it almost blinded the eyes.
They said : ' O Lord, what is this ? ' He answered : ' This is the Image of Fatima ( as ), the mistress of your women descendants. '

As the Holy Prophet (S) said, "Whoever harms (bodily or sentimentally) Fatima, harms me; and in that he harms Allah! Such a person practices incredulity. O, Fatima! If one earns your wrath, he then earns the wrath of Allah; and if you are happy, it makes Allah happy too."

She was like no other woman created by the Almighty.

The beloved daughter of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (S), Fatima (SA) was born in Mecca, Arabia at a time when her revered father had begun to spend long periods of contemplation in the solitude of Hara cave outside Mecca, meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation.
She was the symbol of womanhood and the embodiment of a transcendental personality, a quality making her the paradigm of virtue.
Hazrat Aisha (RA) says: "I have never seen anyone whose habit, character and the manner of speech were as similar to the Prophet (pbuh) as Fatimah's ".

The Holy Prophet (S) always paid great respect to her upon seeing her. The celestial angels uttered songs of praise, a firmamental recitation to praise her. God the Almighty called her the blessed Fountain of Kowthar and vouchsafed her virtue in the Verse of Purity (Holy Quran 33:33).

Hazrat Aisha (ra)

A role model is a person whom you admire and because of that you try to emulate their qualities. It is a person who you use to identify yourself with because of that admiration you have for them. In today's society it is vital that as Muslimahs we have a role model, especially for the youth.

There are many Sahaabiyah whom all possessed beautiful and unique qualities that should be imitated and followed. However, the traits and characteristics that Hazrat Aisha(ra) possessed were unlike any of the others.

Hazrat Aisha(ra) was the youngest wife of the Rasool(peace be upon him) . But even at a tender young age, she was able to illustrate such significant traits that are to this today greatly exhorted and mentioned.Here are a few merits of Hazrat Aisha(ra) that we should try to inculcate in our lives:

1. Her ilm / knowledge

Hazrat Aisha(ra) was well known for the magnitude of ilm that she possessed. Because of her youth and her closeness to the Rasoo(peace be upon him)l the amount of ilm she acquired was great. With regards to ahaadith/traditions, her memory was excellent. It has been said that she narrated more than 2000 traditions from the Prophet . Many of the eminent Tabi'en would flock to her door with respect to certain laws because of the vast amount of ilm she possessed.Hazrat Ata ibn Rabah(ra) has said that, "Aisha was more learned than any of the men of her time".

2. Her modesty

Hazrat Aisha(ra) was very strict when it came to observance of purdah/veil. She used to give advice to some of the sahaabas and taa'bieen from behind a curtain. Anytime she intended to teach young students, she would have them fostered by a close relative so that she would be able to educate them at an older age. It has been narrated that once Aisha(ra) prevented her foster uncle from entering upon her without hijaab, he became very troubled by this and went to the Prophet(peace be upon him) complaining to him, whereupon the Prophet advised her to allow him to enter since he was her foster uncle. She used to advise many of the women-folk to observe proper hijaab, she also admonished them for visiting the masjids in an improper manner.

3. Love for her husband

Hazrat Aisha(ra) loved her husband immensely. They would race together when there was no one there and he even allowed her to watch the Abyssinians display their spear techniques while he stood in front of her shielding her away from any gazes. She would sometimes become jealous of her co-wives for his affection, but this was expected as rivalry between co-wives is normal. Hazrat Aisha(ra) would become angry when anyone annoyed the Prophet(peace be upon him) .

Once some Jews came and greeted the prophet saying, "As-Saamu alaikum", which means death be upon you. Hearing this Hazrat Aisha responded saying, "May Death and the Curse of Allah be upon you." She was very obedient to her husband. Once she had put up a curtain that had some images on it onto the door, seeing the dislike of the Rasool(peace be upon him) for it, she immediately tore it down and ripped it into pieces.

4. Her virtues

The Rasool(peace be upon him) has said that, "Aisha has superiority over all other women just as Tharid has over dishes". This in itself shows the status Hazrat Aisha(ra) ranked above other women. Jibrael (A.S) used to greet her with salaams. When the Prophet(peace be upon him) was asked whom he loved the most from amongst the women and he would reply Aisha(ra) . From the virtues that had been favored upon her was the fact that the Rasool(peace be upon him) died in her lap and was buried in her room. This is indeed a great favour from Allah. Because of certain actions of Hazrat Aisha(ra) , Tayammum was given to the Muslims in the absence of water, another of the great favours and mercy from Allah.These are only a few of the many merits and virtues of Hazrat Aisha(ra).

5. Her piety

With all of these beautiful traits that Hazrat Aisha(ra) had, she possessed the most important one of them which was fear of Allah and piety. Hazrat Aisha(ra) was extremely pious.

It has been narrated about her that she used to sit and say,

"I wish I was a tree so that I could always be busy in praising Allah."

"I wish I had been a leaf of a tree or a blade of grass."

"I wish I had not been born at all!"

She was very charitable, many a times she would free many slaves that would come to her as gifts and she would give sometimes as much as 70,000 dirham in charity. Her nephew Ibn Zubair(ra) once mentioned that she should withhold from giving too much in charity while she herself was in poverty. This angered Hazrat Aisha(ra) and she made an oath never speak to him again. Upon breaking that oath it has been narrated that she freed up to 40 slaves. And she would still weep remembering that oath she took. This was the fear that a woman, so dignified and intelligent but yet so humble and pious possessed.

It is of no doubt that the contribution Hazrat Aisha(ra) gave to women and Islam on the whole is vast. And as Muslimahs we should take these qualities and inculcate them and weave them into our own lives. At a time where immorality is on the rise, the women sahaaba such as Hazrat Aisha(ra) are a beacon of light. She is a perfect role model not only for the young Muslimahs but also for the older ones. Here is an example of a woman who demonstrates that a Muslim woman living a life of simplicity and observing purdah, could also be religiously, socially and intellectually vibrant.