The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 248
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 248 the longest possible opportunity to remain in his company; so that she could be made fit for the sensitive and magnificent work which fell upon the wife of a law-giving Prophet. As such, the Holy Prophet sa succeeded in this purpose and Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra rendered such service in the reformation, education and training of the Muslim women, as is unparalleled in the history of the world. A very large and significant portion of the Aḥādīth of the Holy Prophet sa are based on the narrations of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra. As a matter of fact, the number of her narrations alone reach a grand total of 2,210. 1 The level of her knowledge and wisdom and deep understanding of religion was such that the most eminent companions accepted her as an authority and would benefit from her grace. It is even related in narrations that after the Holy Prophet sa , the companions were not confronted with a single scholarly issue, for which Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra did not have an answer. 2 There is a statement of ‘Urwah bin Zubair ra on record that: “In knowledge of the Holy Qur’ān, in knowledge of the law of inheritance, in knowledge of lawful and unlawful things, in the science of jurisprudence, in poetry, in medicine, in knowledge of the narrations of Arabia, and in the science of genealogy, I have not seen a greater scholar than ‘Ā’ishah ra. ” 3 In virtue and contentment, she possessed such a great status that on one occasion, she happened to receive a sum of 100,000 dirhams from somewhere, and before sunset, she had distributed the entirety of it in charity, even though she did not have anything to eat for that evening in her own home. 4 It was due to these very praiseworthy attributes, which had begun to show their splendour even in the era of the Holy Prophet sa , that she was held especially dear by the Holy Prophet sa. At times, he would say, “From among all the people, ‘Ā’ishah ra is most beloved to me. ” 5 At another instance, the Holy Prophet sa said, “There have been many excellent models among men, but very few among 1 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qasṭalānī, Volume 4, p. 389, ‘Ā’ishah Ummul-Mu’minīn, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābul-Manāqib, Bābu Faḍli ‘Ā’ishah, Ḥadīth No. 3883 3 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qasṭalānī, Volume 4, p. 389, ‘Ā’ishah Ummul-Mu’minīn, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 8, p. 276, Dhikru Azwāji Rasūlillāhi sa / ‘Ā’ishata bintu Abī Bakriṣ-Ṣiddīq, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 5 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ili Aṣḥābin-Nabī sa , Chapter 34, Ḥadīth No. 3662