Sayyidah ‘Aaishah [radhiyallahu ‘anha] – Part Seven

Humble to the Last

When Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was lying on her deathbed, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) requested permission to enter to which Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) said, “I fear that he will praise me.” Hearing this, her nephew, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdir Rahmaan (rahimahullah) felt that she did not wish to grant Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) permission to enter, and thus he interceded saying, “He is the cousin of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and from the seniors of the Muslims!” Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) said, “Allow him to enter.”

On entering, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) enquired as to how she was feeling, to which she replied, “I am well, provided I have taqwa.” To this, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) responded, “In that case, you are well Insha Allah. The only thing that remains between you and meeting Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and those whom you love (that have 

passed away) is for your soul to leave your body.”   

He then began to mention some of the virtues of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) saying, “You were the most beloved to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) from all his wives, and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) only loved that which was pure. He did not marry any virgin besides you. (When you were falsely accused of fornication,) your exoneration was revealed from the sky, through the medium of Jibreel (‘alaihis salaam) and will be recited in every masjid on earth. When your necklace fell on the night of Abwaa, (and Rasulullah [sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam] halted the army to retrieve your necklace,) then the following morning, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the army of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) had no water, Allah Ta‘ala revealed the verse of tayammum. Thus, the concession of tayammum that Allah Ta‘ala granted to this Ummah was on account of you. Therefore, by Allah, you are indeed blessed!”

When Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) heard Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) praising her in this manner, she said, “Please cease this, O Ibnu ‘Abbaas! By the Being Who controls my life, I wish that I was something totally forgotten!”

(Saheeh Bukhaari #4753, Musnad Ahmad #2496 and Fat-hul Baari)

Lessons:

1. Despite Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) being blessed with all these outstanding virtues, she still thought nothing of herself. Such was her level of humility that she did not wish to be praised, and even exclaimed, “I wish that I was something totally forgotten!” In total contrast to this, we post every small detail of our lives on social media, merely to obtain the ‘likes’ and praises of others. 

2. Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) did not feel that she was deserving of Jannah due to her unique position. On the contrary, when Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was asked as to how she was, she replied that she was well – provided that she possessed taqwa. In other words, more than the family that one comes from, or who a person marries, it is the quality of taqwa that will pave the path to success.

May Allah (swt) grant us such humbleness and humility, Aameen

Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (adhiyallahu ‘anha) – Part Six

Passion for Spending on the Poor

(Sayyidah ‘Aaishah [radhiyallahu ‘anha] – Part Six)

As previously discussed, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was extremely generous and loved spending on the poor. Hence, whenever she received any wealth, she would begin to spend it on the poor.

On one occasion, the dear and beloved nephew of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), became concerned over the large amounts of wealth that she was spending in charity, and thus mentioned, “Her spending must be curtailed.”

When Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) heard about this, she was greatly disappointed that her nephew wished to restrict her in spending on the poor. In fact, her disappointment was so much that she took a vow to cease speaking to Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma).

When Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) could not bear being separated and cut off from his beloved aunt for such a long time, he requested many people to intercede on his behalf. However, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was not prepared to break her vow.

Eventually, when the separation became too much to bear, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) approached Sayyiduna Miswar bin Makhramah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Sayyiduna ‘Abdur Rahmaan bin Aswad (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asked them to intercede on his behalf and assist him to gain an audience with Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha). Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) would show a lot of consideration to these Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) on account of them being relatives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

Accordingly, they went to the home of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) where Sayyiduna Miswar bin Makhramah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Sayyiduna ‘Abdur Rahmaan bin Aswad (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked permission to enter. Not knowing that Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) was with them, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) gave them all permission to enter.

They entered the home and remained behind the screen which separated them from her, while Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) seized the opportunity and went to the other side of the screen, hugging his aunt, weeping and begging her to forgive him. At the same time, Sayyiduna Miswar bin Makhramah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Sayyiduna ‘Abdur Rahmaan bin Aswad (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) interceded for Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), urging Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) to speak to him once again. Finally, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallah ‘anha) agreed and recommenced speaking to her nephew.

However, as compensation for breaking her vow, she thereafter freed forty slaves. Furthermore, whenever she would think of the vow that she broke, she would weep profusely, to the extent that her clothing would become wet with her tears, as she had taken a vow in the name of Allah Ta‘ala and thereafter broke the vow.

(Saheeh Bukhaari #3503, #3505 & #6073 and Fat-hul Baari vol. 10, pg. 605)

Lessons:

1. Generally, when one person becomes upset with another person and ceases speaking to him, it is because he was insulted, offended, hurt or his ego was dented. In other words, it is generally due to a personal grievance and a trivial matter. However, in the case of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), her displeasure was for the sake of Deen, as she could not tolerate that her nephew wished to restrict the amount that she spent in charity.

2. Whereas it would have sufficed Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) to free one slave as compensation, she freed forty slaves. The reason is that the vow was made in the name of Allah Ta‘ala, and she thus viewed breaking the vow as an extremely serious offence. Hence, instead of freeing one slave, which was the requirement, she ‘went the extra mile’ and freed forty slaves. Furthermore, due to her fear of accountability in the court of Allah Ta‘ala, she continued expressing her regret and remorse by weeping profusely when recalling the incident.  

3. When Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) realised that he had made a mistake, he immediately tried his best to rectify it and repair the relationship with his aunt, even going to the extent of asking others to intercede for him and gain him an audience with her. In the same way, if we make a mistake or damage our relationship with some person, then we should try our best to make amends and repair the damage.

4. Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was blessed by Allah Ta‘ala to be one of the blessed wives of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam). Hence, she was privileged to witness, first hand, the manner in which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) conducted himself in the home, as well as other dimensions of the life of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) which were not before the public. She thus possessed important knowledge of Deen which others required, due to which many people would come and learn Deen from her. However, when imparting this knowledge of Deen, she ensured that she remained behind a curtain where non-mahrams could not see her. Accordingly, in the incident above, it was only her nephew who went behind the curtain.

The Power of Repetition

There was once a class of students who were determined to get a day off from school. Hence, they put their heads together, scheming and plotting, and eventually came up with a plan.

When the teacher entered the class and called the first student to read his lesson, the student remarked, “Sir! You look quite sick!” The teacher brushed him aside and replied that he felt perfectly healthy. Then, when the second student was called to the desk, he also made a similar remark, even going as far as to suggest that Sir looked flushed and may even have a fever. Thereafter, every student who came to the desk ‘sincerely’ sympathized with the teacher, insisting that he looked dreadfully unwell, until the teacher was finally convinced that he really was sick, thus sending the students home so that he could rest.

In the story above, the teacher was perfectly healthy and fine. However, when the same information was repeatedly drummed into his head, it completely changed his perception and reshaped his reality, until he actually began to feel sick and miserable.

In the same way, through the different forms of media, be it the news or even WhatsApp messages, the same message is currently repeated, day and night – the message of death and disaster unleashed by the coronavirus. The result of the corona “overload” is that many people now suffer from stress and anxiety and live with the perpetual fear that corona could strike them at any moment.

While the coronavirus is certainly a serious disease, and contracting the illness is not a trivial matter, it is vital for us to view the issue in the correct perspective and not lose sight of the broader picture. If we fail to do so, the overwhelming fear and anxiety may have such an impact on us that that we may perhaps suffer even more health complications than those caused by the virus.

In order to gain some perspective, consider the following 2017-2018 statistics for SA:

1. There are approximately 56 murders a day.

2. Over 40 people are fatally injured in car accidents daily.

3. There are 110 cases of rape reported daily (and only 1 in 13 rapes are reported).

4. 45 cars are hijacked daily.

5. 380 people are mugged daily.

Despite the disturbing statistics above, and the fact that almost every person personally knows multiple people who have suffered hijackings, robberies, murders and car accidents, life goes on and the majority of people continue in their day-to-day lives without succumbing to anxiety, stress and worry.

The reason is simple – these topics seldom make it onto the front page of the news anymore, and there is seldom a hype created around these topics (unless a prominent personality is affected). Hence, people had the correct perspective, due to which they sufficed on adopting the permissible means and taking reasonable precautions, while relying on Allah Ta‘ala and entrusting their wellbeing and safety to Him.

Conversely, the hype that has been created around corona is perhaps unprecedented in recent history, and it is this unrelenting repetition of CORONA-CORONA that is now changing people’s perception and reshaping their reality.

In essence, people are so steeped in the ‘zikr’ of corona, that this ‘zikr’ (continuously speaking or hearing about something) has created a lasting impression on their hearts and minds. The power of this impression and mindset can be easily understood by considering the billions of people who have voluntarily made such sacrifices and lifestyle changes (remaining in the home, covering the face, etc.) which they were previously unprepared to make for any reason.

By contemplating over this total transformation, which resulted from the ‘zikr’ of corona, imagine what would happen if instead of speaking about corona all the time, we began to make the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala! Imagine how our lives would be transformed if we decreased the media, and instead spoke of Allah’s greatness, His love for us, His mercy and His compassion! Naturally, if we revived the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala in our lives, through recitation of the Quraan Majeed, speaking of Allah Ta‘ala, conducting home ta’leem, engaging in du‘aa, etc., our imaan and Deen would be revived, together with us feeling a deep sense of comfort and peace of mind.

May Allah Ta‘ala protect us from all diseases and bless us to remain engaged in His zikr, Aameen.

Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) – Part Five

Firm Faith in Allah

On one occasion, a beggar came to the home of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) and asked for some food. At that time, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was fasting, and besides a loaf of bread, she had no other food in her home.

Nevertheless, on seeing the beggar, she instructed her freed slave, “Give the bread to him.” The freed slave responded, “There is nothing else for you to eat as iftaar (to break your fast).” However, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) insisted, “Give the bread to him.” The freed slave thus obliged and gave the bread to the beggar.

That evening, a person who would not generally send food for Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) unexpectedly sent her some goat meat covered in bread. On receiving the meat and bread, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) called her freed slave and said to her, “Eat this, for it is better than the bread that you wanted.”

(Muwatta Imaam Maalik #3655)

Lessons:

1. From the fact that the food came from a person who was not in the habit of sending food for Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), we realize that she was not expecting this food to arrive. Hence, when she gave her bread to the beggar, she did so with complete reliance and trust in Allah Ta‘ala to provide for her.

2. When Allah Ta‘ala sent food for her, He sent her food that was far better than that which she had given the beggar. Hence, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) addressed her freed slave and taught her that when a person sacrifices something for the sake of Allah Ta‘ala, then Allah Ta‘ala will always give him something far better in return.

3. In our current situation, where many of us are undergoing financial constraints, we need to constantly remind ourselves that it is Allah Ta‘ala who provided for us till this point, and it is He alone that will provide for us in the future as well. The more we entrench this belief in our hearts and minds, the greater the peace of mind and calmness we will experience.