Aisha’s Derivation
of Islamic Rulings
Aisha al-Siddiqah is credited with narrating a total of 2,210 hadiths in the major Hadith collections. However, in terms of the total number of narrations, several other Companions narrated more hadiths than she did. For example, Abu Hurayrah narrated 5,364 hadiths, Abdullah ibn Umar narrated 2,630, and Anas ibn Malik narrated 2,286. However, in one respect, Aisha al-Siddiqah holds a superior position: in explaining Hadith and deriving rulings from them.
Aisha al-Siddiqah attained this distinction because, owing to her close companionship with the Prophet of Islam, she had a deeper understanding of his temperament and method. A few examples are given below.
1. In Sahih al-Bukhari, there is a detailed narration from Aisha al-Siddiqah. Its translation is as follows:
“The first chapters of the Quran to be revealed were among the shorter chapters, known as the Mufassal, and they spoke about Paradise and Hell. Then, when people became inclined towards Islam, the injunctions concerning lawful and unlawful matters were revealed. If the command ‘Do not drink wine’ had been revealed at the beginning, people would have said, ‘We will never give up wine.’ And if the command ‘Do not commit adultery’ had been revealed at the beginning, people would have said, ‘We will never give up adultery.’ While I was still a young girl playing in Makkah, this Quranic verse was revealed: ‘Indeed, the Hour of Doom is their appointed time, and the Last Hour will be the most severe, and the most bitter.’ (54:46) Chapter al-Baqarah and chapter al-Nisa were revealed when I was with him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 4993)
What Aisha al-Siddiqah stated in this narration is not found in the Quran and Hadith in these exact words. However, through her continuous companionship with the Prophet of Islam, she came to understand that the Quranic injunctions were revealed according to the principle of gradualness.
In other words, the process of building a Quran-based society cannot begin with the enforcement of legal penalties and laws. Its proper beginning is to change human thinking and create within people a readiness to accept divine commands. Only after such an intellectual transformation can practical injunctions be implemented in society.
Aisha al-Siddiqah undoubtedly came to know this important truth through prolonged discussion and reflection with the Prophet of Islam.
2. Another narration from Aisha al-Siddiqah is as follows: “The Battle of Bu‘ath was an event that God had prepared in advance for His Messenger. When the Messenger of God came to Madinah, the unity of its people had already been broken, and their chiefs had been killed in mutual fighting. God had prepared this event in advance for His Messenger, so that the people of Madinah might enter Islam.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3777)
The people of Makkah strongly opposed the mission of the Messenger of God. In Madinah, however, situated about three hundred miles away, his message spread without resistance. What explains this difference? The answer is found in the above narration of Aisha al-Siddiqah.
This difference between Makkah and Madinah is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran or in the Prophet’s sayings. How, then, did Aisha al-Siddiqah come to understand this important reality? Its source was her close companionship with the Messenger of God. From what he said in his conversations on this subject, Aisha inferred this truth and then conveyed it to the Muslim community.
According to this narration, the real reason was that, unlike Makkah, Madinah no longer had the powerful tribal chiefs who usually become the main source of such resistance. Shortly before the Prophet’s arrival, a civil war had taken place there, in which most of Madinah’s leading chiefs had been killed. History shows that resistance to a mission is usually led by leaders. When the leaders of Madinah were no longer present, the root of resistance was removed. As a result, the common people accepted Islam as the voice of their own nature.
3. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that after the death of the Messenger of God, during the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, Ibn Abi Mulaykah, a student of Aisha al-Siddiqah, asked her: “If the Messenger of God had appointed someone as Caliph, whom would he have appointed?” She replied: “Abu Bakr.” He asked: “Who after him?” She replied: “Umar.” He asked: “Who after him?” She said: “Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.” When he asked who would come after him, Aisha al-Siddiqah remained silent. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2385)
This narration shows that one of the important lessons Aisha al-Siddiqah learned through her close association with the Prophet of Islam was the great importance of the individual in collective affairs. Collective life is not built merely through systems or structures. It always requires capable individuals—people endowed with exceptional qualities.
According to Aisha al-Siddiqah, even in the first period of Islamic transformation, there were only three men who could successfully shoulder collective responsibility. From this, it may be inferred that in the matter of social reform, the real task is not to demolish one structure and build another. Rather, the real need is to prepare capable individuals for collective responsibility. This political wisdom, which became known to the Muslim community through Aisha al-Siddiqah, was perhaps not conveyed through anyone else in the same way.
4. Another narration from Aisha al-Siddiqah states that a grave sinner is the poet who satirises an entire tribe. In other words, to condemn a whole tribe because of the fault of one or two individuals is a serious moral wrong. (Al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 874)
This narration shows that generalization in criticism is deeply harmful. It often happens that when a fault is found in one member of a nation or tribe, people begin to condemn the entire group on that basis. From a moral point of view, this is irresponsible, and from an Islamic point of view, it is impermissible. This profound principle of life was perhaps expressed with such clarity only through Aisha al-Siddiqah.
5. Abu Salamah, a Tabi‘i, says that there was a dispute between him and some people over a piece of land. He mentioned the matter to Aisha al-Siddiqah. She said: “O Abu Salamah, keep away from land disputes, for the Prophet said: ‘Whoever wrongfully takes even a handspan of land will have it placed around his neck from the seven layers of the earth.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 2453)
This narration points to an important social principle. It means that when a material dispute arises between two individuals or two groups, and the matter cannot be resolved through mutual settlement, the better party is the one who, entrusting the matter to God, ends the dispute unilaterally. This is undoubtedly one of the most important principles for establishing social peace.
6. Ibn Abi al-Sa’ib, a Tabi‘i, was a preacher in Madinah. He used to compose and recite prayers in rhymed prose and was always ready to deliver sermons. Aisha al-Siddiqah said to him, “Promise me three things; otherwise, I will take you to task.”
He asked, “O Mother of the Believers, what are they?”
Aisha al-Siddiqah replied: “Do not compose your prayers in rhymed prose, because the Prophet’s Companions did not do so. Preach only once a week. If that is not enough for you, then preach twice, or at most three times. Do not make people grow weary of the Book of God. Also, do not approach people while they are sitting together, interrupt their conversation, and begin preaching to them. Speak only when they wish to listen and ask you to do so.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 25820)
This account of Aisha al-Siddiqah reveals the true spirit of religion. According to this spirit, prayer is a sincere expression of the feelings of the heart, whereas a prayer deliberately composed in rhymed prose may involve affectation and insincerity. Similarly, preaching is a word of counsel, and sincere counsel always takes into account the condition and receptivity of the listener. Likewise, the temperament of a believer is to listen carefully to others and, when speaking, to take people’s disposition into consideration.
7. A man once asked Aisha al-Siddiqah: “O Mother of the Believers, some people recite the whole Quran two or three times in a single night.” Aisha replied: “They have recited, yet they have not truly recited.” The Messenger of God would stand in prayer throughout the night, yet he would not go beyond Chapters al-Baqarah, al-Imran, and al-Nisa. Whenever he came to a verse containing glad tidings, he would pray to God; and whenever he came to a verse containing warning, he would seek God’s protection. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 24609)
This narration reveals the spirit of religion in two matters: how the Quran should be recited, and what the true form of voluntary prayer is. The Messenger of God generally performed both these acts in his room. Therefore, the wider world could learn these important details only through his wife. Aisha al-Siddiqah fulfilled this role for the Muslim community. This narration shows that what is primarily required in the recitation of the Quran is reflection, not merely what is commonly called completing the Quran.
8. When a new covering is placed on the Kaaba and the old covering is removed, the question arises as to what should be done with the old covering. In earlier times, out of reverence and respect, the old covering would be buried in the ground. Shaybah ibn Uthman, who was the keeper of the key of the Kaaba at that time, told Aisha al-Siddiqah: “We gather the entire covering, dig a deep well, and bury it there, so that people do not wear it while in a state of impurity.” Aisha al-Siddiqah said to Shaybah: “This is not right. You are doing wrong. Once the covering has been removed from the Kaaba, it becomes ordinary cloth. If a person in a state of major ritual impurity or a menstruating woman wears it, there is no harm. You should sell it and give the proceeds to the poor and to travellers.” (Al-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi, Hadith No. 9731)
Through her insight, Aisha al-Siddiqah understood that such reverence was not sanctioned by the Shariah and had not been commanded by God or His Messenger. Aisha al-Siddiqah’s view was fully in accordance with the true spirit of religion. Yet this was such a delicate matter that an ordinary Muslim would hardly have had the courage to say it. Through her continuous and close association with the Prophet of Islam, Aisha al-Siddiqah gained a sound understanding of religion. This gave her the confidence to state such matters with certainty.
Many other similar narrations from Aisha al-Siddiqah are found in the books of Hadith. Such narrations show how important it was, from a religious point of view, that Aisha al-Siddiqah became closely attached to the Prophet at an early age. Had this not happened, many pieces of deep wisdoms of religion would not have become known to later generations, for they could only be known through such close learning from the Prophet.
9. Aisha al-Siddiqah narrated an important report. In Sahih al-Bukhari, this narration has been cited under several chapters because of its different aspects. The wording of the narration is: Ma khuyyira Rasul Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam bayna amrayn illa akhadha aysarahuma—“Whenever the Messenger of God was given a choice between two matters, he would choose the easier of the two.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3560)
In this narration, Aisha al-Siddiqah describes the general policy of the Prophet of Islam. In practical life, his consistent method was that whenever he had to choose between two possible courses, he would leave the harder option and adopt the easier one. This point about the Prophet’s general policy is so profound that it could be understood only through long companionship, and only by someone possessing exceptional intelligence.
No saying of the Prophet of Islam has been reported in exactly these words as a formal principle from his own lips. Yet there is no doubt that this principle is reflected throughout his life. It is therefore of great importance in understanding the life and character of the Prophet.
For example, when the Prophet began his mission of Tawheed, or monotheism, in Makkah, one possible course was to destroy the 360 idols placed in the Kaaba, the centre of Islam. But instead of directly confronting the issue of the idols, he began his mission with peaceful communication of the message. This was clearly an instance of choosing the easier option rather than the harder one.
Similarly, towards the end of the Makkan period, he faced a choice between two courses: either to fight the polytheists of Makkah or to migrate from Makkah to Madinah. He chose the second course, which was undoubtedly a case of adopting the easier option rather than the harder one.
Likewise, after the Hijrah, at Hudaybiyyah, he again faced a choice between two courses: either to break through the opposition of the polytheists and attempt to enter Makkah for the performance of Umrah, or to return from Hudaybiyyah to Madinah. The first course was the way of war, while the second was the way of peace. In this case, he chose the way of peace, which again meant choosing the easier option over the harder one.
The entire life of the Prophet of Islam is an example of this wise method. Through intellectual exchange with the Prophet and deep observation of his practical life, Aisha al-Siddiqah discovered this key principle and conveyed it to the Muslim community. This important key to understanding the Prophet’s Seerah was perhaps not made known to the world through any other man or woman in the same way. (Aurat Memar e Insaniyat)
