Welcome to our blog! In this article, we will present narrations that describe the feeling of hatred and jealousy attributed to Aisha towards Umm al-Mu’mineen Sayyida Khadijah al-Kubra.
1) Muhammad Ibn Ismail al-Bukhari narrated :
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتِ اسْتَأْذَنَتْ هَالَةُ بِنْتُ خُوَيْلِدٍ أُخْتُ خَدِيجَةَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَعَرَفَ اسْتِئْذَانَ خَدِيجَةَ فَارْتَاعَ لِذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ ” اللَّهُمَّ هَالَةَ ”. قَالَتْ فَغِرْتُ فَقُلْتُ مَا تَذْكُرُ مِنْ عَجُوزٍ مِنْ عَجَائِزِ قُرَيْشٍ، حَمْرَاءِ الشِّدْقَيْنِ، هَلَكَتْ فِي الدَّهْرِ، قَدْ، أَبْدَلَكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
A’isha narrated : Once Hala Bint Khuwaylid, the sister of Khadija, asked the Prophet’s ﷺ permission to visit him. On that, the Prophet ﷺ remembered Khadija, and that upset him, and he said ‘O Allah! Hala.’
I became jealous and said, ‘What makes you remember an old woman of Quraysh with red gums who died long ago, when Allah has given you somebody better than her.’
~Sahih al-Bukhari, 3821
This is a profound display of disrespect towards the first Muslimah of this Ummah and the most beloved wife of Rasul-Allah ﷺ. Nevertheless, scholars of the Sunni tradition interpret this hadith as evidence of Aisha’s superiority over Sayyida Khadijah, despite its apparent implications.
Ibn Kathir mentioned :
وهذا ظاهر في التقرير على أن عائشة خير من خديجة، إما فضلا وإما عشرة، إذ لم ينكر عليها ولا رد عليها ذلك
This is clear in the report that A’isha was superior to Khadijah, since the Prophet ﷺ did not refute Aisha when she said this.
~al-Seerat al-Nabaviyyah vol 2:134
Ibn Kathir claims that the Prophet ﷺ did not refute A’isha when she remarked that Allah had given him someone better than Khadijah, referring to herself. However, the version recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari appears to omit the Prophet’s explicit refutation. Other narrations indicate that the Prophet ﷺ firmly rejected her statement. Let us check the narration of al-Bukhari first :
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ مَا غِرْتُ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْ نِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ مَا غِرْتُ عَلَى خَدِيجَةَ، وَمَا رَأَيْتُهَا، وَلَكِنْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ يُكْثِرُ ذِكْرَهَا، وَرُبَّمَا ذَبَحَ الشَّاةَ، ثُمَّ يُقَطِّعُهَا أَعْضَاءً، ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُهَا فِي صَدَائِقِ خَدِيجَةَ، فَرُبَّمَا قُلْتُ لَهُ كَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي الدُّنْيَا امْرَأَةٌ إِلاَّ خَدِيجَةُ. فَيَقُولُ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ وَكَانَتْ، وَكَانَ لِي مِنْهَا وَلَدٌ.”
A’isha narrated : I did not envy any of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ as much as I envied Khadijah, even though I never saw her. The Prophet ﷺ used to mention her frequently.
Whenever He ﷺ slaughtered a sheep, he would send some to the friends of Khadijah. Sometimes I would say to him, ‘You treat Khadijah as if there are no women on earth except her.’ He would say, ‘Khadijah was such and such (praising her), and from her I had children.’
~Sahih al-Bukhari, 3818
al-Bukhari omits the Prophet’s ﷺ actual words concerning Sayyida Khadijah and merely states that he said “such-and-such.” We will examine the omitted statement in the upcoming narrations. Before doing so, let us first address and refute Ibn Kathir’s claim that A’isha was superior to Sayyida Khadijah.
Muhammad Ibn Ismail al-Bukhari narrated:
عن عَلِيًّا ع يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَقُولُ خَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا مَرْيَمُ ابْنَةُ عِمْرَانَ، وَخَيْرُ نِسَائِهَا خَدِيجَةُ
Imam Ali said I heard the Prophet ﷺ say, ‘Maryam Bint Imran (The mother of Christ) was the best of the women, and Khadijah is the best of the women.’
~Sahih al-Bukhari, 3432
The Prophet ﷺ likened his wife, Sayyida Khadijah, to Mary, the mother of Jesus, describing both as among the greatest of women, and Allah ﷻ says :
وَإِذۡ قَالَتِ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصۡطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصۡطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ
The angels said, ‘O Maryam, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.’
~Surah Aal’ Imran 3:42
https://quran.com/ali-imran/42
Now let us examine the Prophet’s ﷺ response to A’isha, in which he defended his wife and steadfast supporter, Sayyida Khadijah al-Kubra. We will present his refutation point by point :
2) Ahmad Ibn Hanbal narrated :
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ: كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ إِذَا ذَكَرَ خَدِيجَةَ، أَثْنَى عَلَيْهَا، فَأَحْسَنَ الثَّنَاءَ، قَالَتْ: فَغِرْتُ يَوْمًا، فَقُلْتُ: مَا أَكْثَرَ مَا تَذْكُرُهَا حَمْرَاءَ الشِّدْقِ، قَدْ أَبْدَلَكَ اللهُ ﷻ بِهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا، قَالَ: مَا أَبْدَلَنِي اللهُ عز وجل خَيْرًا مِنْهَا، قَدْ آمَنَتْ بِي إِذْ كَفَرَ بِي النَّاسُ، وَصَدَّقَتْنِي إِذْ كَذَّبَنِي النَّاسُ، وَوَاسَتْنِي بِمَالِهَا إِذْ حَرَمَنِي النَّاسُ، وَرَزَقَنِي اللهُ ﷻ وَلَدَهَا إِذْ حَرَمَنِي أَوْلَادَ النِّسَاءِ
Aisha narrated : When the Prophet ﷺ mentioned Khadijah, he would praise her and speak highly of her. One day I became jealous and said, ‘How often you mention the red-faced one! Allah has given you someone better than her.’
He replied, ‘Allah has not given me anyone better than her. She believed in me when people disbelieved in me; she affirmed me when people denied me; she supported me with her wealth when people deprived me. Allah blessed me with children through her while other women were deprived of children.’
~Musnad Ahmad vol 41:356
• Shuayb al-Arnaut classified the Hadith Sahih (حديث صحيح)
3) Abu al-Qasim al-Tabarani narrated :
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِذَا ذَكَرَ خَدِيجَةَ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَسْأَمُ مِنْ ثَنَاءٍ عَلَيْهَا وَالِاسْتِغْفَارِ لَهَا، فَذَكَرَهَا ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ وَاحْتَمَلَتْنِي الْغَيْرَةُ إِلَى أَنْ قُلْتُ: قَدْ عَوَّضَكَ اللهُ مِنْ كَبِيرَةِ السِّنِّ، قَالَتْ: فَرَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ غَضِبَ غَضَبًا سَقَطَ فِي جِلْدِي، فَقُلْتُ فِي نَفْسِي: اللهُمَّ إِنَّكَ إِنْ أَذْهَبْتَ عَنِّي غَضَبَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ لَمْ أَذْكُرْهَا بِسُوءٍ مَا بَقِيتُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ الَّذِي قَدْ لَقِيتُ، قَالَ: كَيْفَ قُلْتِ؟ وَاللهِ لَقَدْ آمَنَتْ بِي إِذْ كَفَرَ بِيَ النَّاسُ، وَصَدَّقَتْنِي إِذْ كَذَّبَنِي النَّاسُ، وَرُزِقَتْ مِنِّي الْوَلَدَ إِذْ حُرِمْتِيهِ مِنِّي ، فَغَدَا بِهَا عَلَيَّ وَرَاحَ شَهْرًا
Abd-Allah Ibn Yasar narrated that A’isha said, ‘Whenever Rasul-Allah ﷺ mentioned Khaijdah, he would never tire of praising her and seeking forgiveness for her.’
One day he mentioned her, and jealousy overcame me until I said, ‘Allah has given you something better than that old woman.’ I saw Rasul-Allah ﷺ become so angry, and it filled me with fear. I said to myself, ‘O Allah, if You were to remove the anger of Rasul-Allah ﷺ upon me, I shall never speak bad about Khadijah for as long as I live.’
Then Rasul-Allah ﷺ said to me, ‘What did you say? By Allah, she believed in me when people disbelieved and she affirmed me when people denied me and she was blessed with a child from me when you were deprived of it.’ He then continued speaking about her to me for a month.
~al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer lil-Tabarani vol 23:13
• Nur ad-Deen al-Haythami commented :
رَوَاهُ الطَّبَرَانِيُّ وَأَسَانِيدُهُ حَسَنَةٌ.
al-Tabarani narrated it with Hasan chains.
~Majmaa’ al-Zawa’id vol 9:224
4) Muhammad Ibn Ishaq narrated :
نا أبو نجيح أبو عبد الله بن أبي نجيح قال: أهدي لرسول الله ﷺ جزوراً ولحم، فأخذ عظماً منها فناوله الرسول بيده فقال له: اذهب بهذا إلى فلانة، فقالت له عائشة: لم عمرت يدك؟ فقال رسول الله ﷺ: إن خديجة أوصتني بها، فغارت عائشة، وقالت: لكأنه ليس في الأرض امراة إلا خديجة! فقام رسول الله ﷺ مغضبا، فلبث ما شاء الله، ثم رجع فإذا أم رومان فقالت: يا رسول الله ما لك ولعائشة إنها حدث وأنت أحق من تجاوز عنها، فأخذ بشدق عائشة وقال: ألست القائلة كأنه ليس على الأرض امراة إلا خديجة؟! والله لقد آمنت بي إذ كفر قومك، ورزقت مني الولد وحرمتموه
A camel and some meat were presented as a gift to Rasul-Allah ﷺ, and He took some from it and said, ‘Give this to so and so because Khadijah entrusted it to me.’
A’isha became jealous and said, ‘It is as if there is no woman on earth except Khadijah.’ Rasul-Allah ﷺ stood up in anger and left the house and found Umm Ruman, and she said, ‘O Rasul-Allah, what is the matter with you and Aisha? She blabbers, and you are more deserving of overlooking her mistakes.’
He then held Aisha by her cheeks and said, ‘Aren’t you the one who said this? By Allah, she believed in me when your people disbelieved in me, and she bore me children while you were deprived of them.’
~Seerat Ibn Ishaq page 271-272
This is the portion that we contend al-Bukhari omitted. This incident not only demonstrates A’isha’s disrespect toward the Prophet ﷺ but also indicates the loss of her Iman :
Shaykh al-Albani mentioned :
أنّ رسول الله ﷺ قال: لا يَجْتَمعُ في جوفِ عبدٍ غُبارٌ في سبيلِ الله وفَيْحُ جهنَّمَ، ولا يجتَمعُ في جوفِ عبدٍ الإيمانُ والحَسدُ
Rasul-Allah ﷺ said, ‘The dust of fighting in the way of Allah and the heat of Hell can not be combined in the heart of a servant of Allah, nor will Iman and envy (حسد) coexist in the heart of a servant of Allah.’
~Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb vol 3:98
• al-Albani commented that the Sanad is Hasan (حسن)
Abu Eesa al-Tirmidhi narrated :
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ مَا حَسَدْتُ أَحَدًا مَا حَسَدْتُ خَدِيجَةَ وَمَا تَزَوَّجَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلاَّ بَعْدَ مَا مَاتَتْ.
A’isha narrated : ‘I did not envy (حسد) any woman as I envied Khadijah. Rasul-Allah ﷺ did not marry me except after she died.’
~Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 3876
• Zubayr Ali Zae commented that the Hadith is Sahih (صحيح)
5) Abd al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri wrote:
وما تزوجني رسول الله ﷺ ألا بعد ما ماتت. أشارت عائشة بذلك إلى أن خديجة لو كانت حية في زمانها لكانت غيرتها منها أشد وأكثر
(And Rasul-Allah ﷺ did not marry me until after she died). Aisha indicated by this that if Khadijah had been alive in her time, her jealousy of Khadijah would have been more intense.
~Tuhfat al-Ahvadhi vol 10:264
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