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'A'isha Bint Abi Bakr
Ahmad Thompson
eBook: The Wives of the Prophet
source: Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.
... continued from Page 6
When they were about to resume their journey, A'isha' s camel rose to its feet, and there was the necklace. The camel had been lying on it all the time! Being the daughter of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, who on one occasion had given away all his wealth to be spent in the way of Allah, and the wife of Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with her) who kept nothing for himself, A'isha was very generous. On one occasion, the Prophet had sacrificed an animal, and A'isha was so generous in sharing the meat out amongst the poor, that she found that she had left nothing for the Messenger's large household except the shoulder of the animal. Feeling a little distressed, she went to the Prophet, and said, "I've only been able to save this." "That is the only part that you have not saved," smiled the Prophet, "for whatever you give away in the name of Allah, you save, and whatever you keep for yourself, you lose."
It is sometime forgotten that the Prophet Muhammad and his wives and Companions, may the blessings peace of Allah be on him and his family and his Companions, led very simple lives. It has been related that sometimes there was no smoke to be seen coming from the Prophet's home for weeks at a time meaning that there was not even flour to bake bread, let alone meat so that all there was to eat was dates and water, dates that came from palms whose roots the Prophet said were in the Garden.
On another occasion, a beggar asked A'isha for some food while she was fasting, and there was only a loaf of bread in her house. She said to her maid servant, "Give it to him." "But you will not have anything to eat when you break your fast." Protested the servant. "Give it to him," repeated A'isha. So she did so. When evening came, the people of the house of a man who did not usually give to them, gave them a sheep and some food to go with it. A'isha called her servant and said, "Eat from this. This is better than your loaf of bread!"
It has been related by A'isha, that once when it was the Prophet's turn to spend the night with her, he quietly got up towards the end of the night and slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. A'isha was curious to see where he was going, thinking that he had waited until he thought she was asleep. Quickly she got up, covered her head and silently followed him until he came to the graveyard of al Baqi. "He stood there," said A'isha, 'and he stood for a very long time. Then he lifted his hands (in prayer) three times, and then turned to go, so I turned, He quickened his step, so I quickened my step. He began to run, so I began to run. I got back before he did, and entered my room and lay down. He came in and said, "Why are you out of breath, A'isha?"
"It's nothing." I said. "Tell me, or the One Who is All Pervading and All Ware will tell me." "Messenger of Allah," I said, "May my father and mother be a ransom for you." And then I told him. "Was it you who I saw running in front of me?" he said. "Yes." I replied, and he hit me on the chest and it hurt. "Did you think that Allah and His Messenger would treat you unjustly?" he asked. "Whatever anyone conceals, Allah knows it." I replied. "When you saw me leaving," the Prophet explained, "it was because Jibril had come to me. He called me without you knowing it and I replied, but without you knowing it, because you were not fully dressed. I thought that you were asleep, and did not want to awaken you in case you were frightened. He (Jibril) said, "Your Lord has commanded you to go to the people of Al Baqi and to ask forgiveness of them." "I said, "How should I pray for them?" "Say; Peace be on the people of this place (the graveyard), from among the believers and the Muslims, and may Allah have mercy on those who have gone ahead of us, and on those who will follow later; and inshAllah we will join you."
As the day of his own death approached, it is clear that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished to die in the company of A'isha, for it is reported that during his final illness, which was probably the result of the poisoned food that he had been given at Khaybar, he inquired, "Where will I be tomorrow, where will I be tomorrow?" since he was hoping it would be A'isha's turn to be with him. In fact the Prophet asked his wives ' permission to remain in A'isha 's room during his illness, and his other wives, (may Allah be pleased with them all), agreed to forego their turns. For much of the time during his last few days on earth the Prophet lay on a couch with his head resting on A'isha's breast or lap. She it was who repeatedly recited the last two surahs of the Qur'an, the two surahs of seeking protection, and then blew her breath over him, just as he had taught her to do in the past, and then passed his hand over his body. It is related by A'isha that she used his hand rather than her own, because she knew that his had had greater healing in it than her hand.
She was the one who took a toothstick from her brother chewed it soften it and then gave it to the Prophet. Despite his weakness, he rubbed his teeth with it vigorously. "So," said A'isha some time later, "Allah made my saliva mix with his saliva on his last day in this world and his first day in the next world." Not long afterwards, he lost consciousness and A'isha thought it was on the onset of death, but after a while, he opened his eyes and murmured softly, "The Highest Company." A'isha remembered that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had been in good health in the past, he had said, "No prophet is taken by death until he has been shown his place in the Garden, and then offered the choice, to remain in this world or go to the Next World."
Remembering these words, she said to herself, "Then he will not stay with us." Then she heard him murmur, "O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me and join me with the Highest Company, the people whom Allah has blessed from among the Prophets and the truthful ones, and the martyrs, and the righteous ones and the best of company are they." [Quran 4:69]
It was then that A'isha knew that he had been given the choice, and that he had made it. Again she heard him murmur, "O Allah, with the Highest Company," and these were the last words she heard him speak. Gradually his head grew heavier upon her breast, and gently she laid it on the pillow. Her beloved husband, the Messenger of Allah, the Seal of the Prophets, the Best of Creation, had died in her arms. At the time of his death, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sixty three years old, and A'isha was eighteen.
At first the Prophet's Companions were not sure where he should be buried, but then Abu Bakr as Siddiq remembered what when he was alive, the Prophet had said that the Prophets were always buried where they had died, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was buried in A'isha's room where he had died. A'isha has related that during his final illness, Umm Habiba and Umm Salamah mentioned that when they had been in Abyssinia they had seen a church which had pictures in it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, "When one of their righteous people die, they build a place of worship on his grave and then decorate it with such pictures. In the sight of Allah they will be the worst of people on the Day of Judgment."
A'isha has also related that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Allah has cursed the Jews and the Christians because they made the graves of their Prophets and righteous ones places of worship." A'isha continued, "If it had not been for this, his grave would have been in an open place ,but it could not be so, due to the fact that it might become a mosque."
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