Dt: 16/6/20
Ordeal Of Two Famous Women
Dr T H Chowdary*
Ayesha was the famous wife of Prophet Mohammed. She was daughter of Abu Bekr, close-companion of the Prophet and the first Caliph of Islam. At age seven she was betrothed to the Prophet when he was 50 years old; a few months after the death of Khadiza, the noble first wife of the Prophet. Ayesha was intelligent and assertive and was the dominant and the most beloved of the eight wives of the Prophet. When she was fifteen years of age, she accompanied the Prophet on his plundering raid on the Banu Mustalik. She stopped behind when the raiding party was returning to pick up a necklace which she had dropped in the sand. The raiding party unaware of Ayesha’s drop, returned to Medina. Ayesha expecting that the party would return to pick her up, her camel gone , rested in the shade of a palm tree. A young stranger Safwan noticed her, dismounted his camel, helped Ayesha to mount it and led the camel to Medina, himself leading the camel on foot. Many Medinese saw the young man and Ayesha. They gossiped about an affair between Ayesha and Safwan. The Prophet was sore distressed. He asked Ali’s advice. Ali was his son-in-law, wedded to his daughter Fatima. Later, he became the fourth Caliph. Ali’s advice was to divorce Ayesha.
2. The Prophet could not bring himself to divorce his most beloved of the wives. Distressed by the gossip and the Prophet not putting an end to it, Ayesha left for her mother’s home. “Even if the Prophet believed Ayesha guilty, it was not desirable to acknowledge such suspicion, since discredit falling on Abu Bekr, father of Ayeasha and his staunchest ally ( would be the first Caliph after the Prophet’s death) , “would affect his own cause”. So, “ he had recourse to a revelation; God Almighty declared Ayesha innocent”. “The queenly Ayesha told her husband that she thanked God, but owed him (Prophet) no thanks !” In the sequel was the Prophet’s edict that unless there are four witnesses to testify to any charge of adultery on the part of a woman, the woman would be held guilt-less and the gossipers and accusers would be put to death.
3. Ayesha did not forgive Ali for his advice to the Prophet, to divorce her. Ayesha’s vengence followed Ali relentlessly for 35 years, till Ali’s assassination . This narration tells how the fidelity (paativratyam) of the wife of a Prophet was established.
4. In contrast is the Ramayana event. In a 15-day long battle, Rama killed Ravana the abductor of his wife Sita. Sita was in the enemy’s land and control. What might ordinary folks think of her piety? So, Rama subjected to Agni Pariksha ordeal by fire . She jumped into the fire and came out unscathed. Later, in Ayodhya a washer-man, suspicious of his wife’s fidelity bragged. I am not like Rama who took back Sita as wife, knowing that she was in another man’s land and control. “Rama banished Sita, to Valmiki’s asrama”. “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion; is the adage”.
5. The readers may judge for themselves as to the appropriateness of the ways in which two ideal, divinely persons dealt with the most vexing event in their life and the requirement of four witness to prove the charge of adultery which is law in many Islamic countries.
Note: The above narration about Ayesha is based on the event’s coverage in the books 1) Mohammad and The Rise of Islam by D.S.Margoliouth and ii) The Life of Mahomet by Sir William Muir. The sentences in quotation marks are from the first book. (604 words)
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