If Ayesha (Mohammad's wife) was such a positive influence on Islam, then how do you explain the fact that?

Question

she led the troops against Hazrat Ali - the first Imam of the shias or fourth caliph of Islam (take your pick)

foofoo- if you are a muslim you should know muslim history better than me.

Actually this question is because I see a lot of people on YA justifying the marraige of Ayesha to Mohammad on the grounds that she was a positive influence on Islam.

ajmal - then pl tell me whats right.

Just for the record - She led troops against Ali in the battle of the camel - (Jung e Jamal)

Further an estimated 10,000 muslims died in that battle - a really huge number in that time.

ajmal- The first rule in any civilised discussion is - "DO NOT make personal attacks".
Such replies simply point to the fact that either you do not know the answer or do not have any reply.
I hope this is clear.

earnresp- Ayesha, the prophets wife & no other.

smiley...DNA difference between a chimpanzee & a human is 0.6%.
All the shias I know do not have any respect for Ayesha. Maybe (if you are a sunni) they might not be airing their feelings openly to you.

smiley ...yes, Ali & Ayesha patched up. But the battle really sealed the schism between shias & sunnis. Besides you cannot get back 10,000 lives.

Answer 1

Thank you for your question. One reason I am happy that you asked it is because once again it points out the appaling state of the education of Muslims around the world.

The influence of the fanatical fundamentalists in Islam has reduced our beautiful religion to memorizing Quran without understanding it, learning a small number of hadith that support only the fundamentalist views and a totally misconstrued meaning of jihad.

That's it! As if nothing else matters in 1400 years of history. Well the truth is so much more complex, and, I might say so much more beautiful.

The truth is, my fellow Muslims, that despite what you might have been taught, or failed to be taught in your madrases, that Aisha (ra) DID lead an army against Ali (as) after the assassination of Uthman. The battle that ensued was called the battle of the Camel after the animal that she rode became the focal point of the battle. This is NOT the battle in which Ali (as) died, nor Hassan (ra) or Hussein (ra).

But as far as the question goes, I think your IF...THEN statement is without merit. The fact that she led a battle has nothing to do with her other actions. It is simply a fact of her life amongst many others. She made an error in judgement, probably clouded by political and social ambition of those around her. After Ali (as) defeated her army he convinced her to return home where she became one of the most important and influential sources of Hadith.

Yes 10,000 people died in that battle, from both sides. It is a terrible tragedy and one that has been mirrored in battles before and since by people all over the globe. Any loss of human life is a tragedy.

It is high time that the Ummah start getting rid of the violent, unjust, UN ISLAMIC, teachings of the politically motivated.

And Allah knows best.

Peace and Blessings,

Salim

PS to Kimo - sorry you are talking about the wrong battle. She did lead this one.

Answer 2

Fanaticism is the real culprit. I don't care which flag they carry or what religion they tout, it's the zanies that are the problem. Another person tried to answer by saying it's the world leaders that are the problem, and that is a part of it (where do these terrorists get their technology and weaponry anyway? ...hmm Cheney and Rumsfeld back in the 1980's anyone?), but Bin Laden is not a world leader and he was the mastermind behind 9/11. He also stated that he committed the crimes because of our ties to Israel and our ties to the Saudi family. Sure we're infidels and must die, but he attacked the actions of our country as he feels they infringe on his world. So, sure, he's a nut-case and he's dangerous, but it's not his religion that solely inspired this action. However, the situation in Europe with Islamic fundamentalism is disturbing. In general dogmatic delusions are dangerous. The source is somewhat inconsequential. Certainly, a delusion that is supported by the majority of a society (i.e. religion) poses a greater potential threat. A leader can be proven wrong or judged on his/her merits. Can a god?

Answer 3

Did you also read that she apologized and Ali forgave her? She was human, capable of mistakes and being misled.

This battle really sealed the divide between Sunni and Shia, but if the two main parties involved were able to forgive each other, I think Sunni and Shia should look for unity too. Difference in belief is less than 1%. The majority of the difference is historical animosity.

Aisha was a very intelligent woman, who narrated many hadiths, and was a teacher of Islam after the death of the prophet (pbuh). Even the majority of Shia that I know respect her and acknowledge this fact, though they do not hold her in so high regard as most Sunnis.

Edit: I do not call myself Sunni or Shia. I am a Muslim, an American revert to Islam. I respect the views of all Muslims and encourage them to love and accept each other. It is in unity that we are strong. Over internet, I know many Sunni Muslims, and I know many Shia Muslims. Only a few Shia that I know openly despise Aisha, and even those will reluctantly admit that since Ali forgave her, they should too.

Answer 4

Actually during Hazarat Ali's Time the matter of Hazrat Usman's murder was still not settled. Two people namely Hazrat Aiesha, who was one of the wives of the Prophet, and Muawiya, who was a governor of Syria, gathered armies against him. They both wanted Ali to arrest the murderers of Hazrat Usman. But Ali challenged them to name the murderers. This argument led to two battles called Jung E Jamal and Jung E Siffin. These battles were bad for the Muslims because they set a precedence that Muslims could fight a Righteous Caliph. These two battles led to so much confusion and hate that a third group gathered to kill all the warring parties including Caliph Ali and Muawiya. They managed to kill Ali while he was praying in the mosque in Kufa. Muawiya escaped and is said to have wept when he heard that Ali was killed.

Answer 5

The answer is simple .. first of all she was in the side of Mo'awia ibn Sofian (not leader of troops) second she deeply regretted what happened in that day and she wept a lot, specially in her last days, for what happened in that battle .. third this battles were a proof of the prophethood of Muhammad (sas) as there are many prophesies told by him concerning it and even the names of some companion who died in it

Answer 6

ya i did hear some of it though , but i am not really sure about this.

Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, announced that his top priority was to restore law and order in the state, and only then he would be able to bring the assassins of Hazrat Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, to justice. But Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair did not agree with Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and started raising an army. Hazrat Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, who was not aware of the real situation, also joined Hazrat Talha and Hazrat Zubair, in effort to punish the assassins. The three led a small army towards Basra.

Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, tried his best to avoid the fighting and bloodshed, but all his efforts failed. Unfortunately, a battle took place between his forces and the forces of Hazrat Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her. Hazrat Talha, may Allah be pleased with him, and Hazrat Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him, left their forces even before the battle, and were killed by some other opponents. Hazrat Ayesha's forces were defeated, but Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, gave her due respect and took care of her safety.

Ummul Momeneen Ayesha the daughter of the first Caliph Abu Bakr, and the widow of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), was in Makka for the pilgrimage when third Caliph Uthman was killed. She had always expected either Talha or Zubayr to succeed him and when she heard of Imam Ali's (A.S.) appointment as Caliph, she was very upset.

Both Talha & Zubayr were brothers-in-law of Ummul Momeneen Ayesha. Her youngest sister was the wife of Talha, who was also a cousin of her father. Her eldest sister was a wife of Zubayr, whose son Abdullah was adopted by Ummul Momeneen Ayesha.

Ummul Momeneen Ayesha mounted on a litter on the camel al-Askar, and marched from Makka at the head of 1,000 men. On her right was Talha and on her left, Zubayr. On their way many more joined them, swelling their numbers to 3,000.

This battle was called the battle of Jamal (camel), because Hazrat Ayesha rode a camel during the battle. Later, Hazrat Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, was regretful to have fought against Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.

u must realise that she was a human -- to err is human -- and it is not important that she did make a mistake but what is more important is the REALISATION of the mistake. atleast this is a very clear proof that everybody -- be it prophets to their family members were humans and humans are capable of making mistakes. and only God is free of all errors.

but whatever it maybe atleast women were not meant to be just wives in Islam. they were scholars, to imaams to sermon givers and were even rulers and revolutionists.

hope i helped. have a nice day.

Answer 7

the fact that she was human and capable of human error! She admitted she was led into the war by some people and was sorry about it. She returned back when Ali approached her and spoke to her about her position in Islam.

people make mistakes and the wives of the prophet were human just as he was!

Answer 8

She was a human being and human beings make mistakes. I remember what i learned in school that she apologized later to Ali and Ali accepted her apology, but Shia's nowadays insist to make a conflict out of that and divide Ummah. I want to say to everyone who wants to split this Ummah: fear Allah, you might end up in hell, dont you read the Holy Quran?

Answer 9

the same way that Clinton boosted the economy while cheating on his wife?

What kind of question is this? This discussion board is everyone trying to bring down everyone else's faith.

The simple fact is that she may have influenced certain parts of Islam in great ways, and had negative effects on others.

Answer 10

Are you sure it's Ayesha THE Prophet's wife? Or some other woman with that name?