QUESTION:
There are some who say that ‘Aisha is a family member, included amongst the Household of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family) and whether we like it or not, her sanctity is that of the Prophet’s. And since we practice good manners and morals, should we not protect the sanctity of the Prophet’s family by not bringing up her name in vain – even if she did commit a mistake?! Do you not pay heed to the words uttered by the poet when he says:
O Humarayh, insulting you is forbidden… for the sake of one person, a thousand eyes are honored.
Why do we tire and concern ourselves in matters involving the Prophet and his family, and hence, through our actions, possibly cause harm to him?! If she made a mistake, Allah will be her judge and the Prophet will be responsible for her on the Day of Judgment, and not us. Moreover, how do we know if Allah has not forgiven her for what she had committed, out of honor and respect for His Prophet (peace be upon him and his Family). Is it not befitting for us to hold our tongues when it comes to her affairs?!
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
Absolutely not! She is not counted amongst the family of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family). And that is because the woman who betrays her husband can no longer carry such honor. The betrayal of ‘Aisha has been established from several instances such as her poisoning and killing the Prophet, causing him pain and harm and her revolting and standing up against his rightful and Divinely appointed Successor. Her actions led to the launching of arrows on the dead body of Al-Hassan (peace be upon him), her innovations in Islamic Jurisprudence, and her allowing foreign men to gain entry to the Prophet’s home.
If a woman’s betrayal of her husband is confirmed, the legal relationship between them becomes void. Her sanctity is no longer an extension of his sanctity, and she is not counted as a member of his household. Moreover, a number of traditions that have been passed down to us from the Messenger and his Household (peace be upon them) have clearly outlined these matters concerning ‘Aisha.
Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that she remained a member of his family. That alone does not prevent us from accusing her regarding the crimes that she committed, nor does it prevent us from dissociating ourselves from her. The sanctity of the Prophet would not be violated. This is due to the fact that Islamic Jurisprudence and marital customs distinguish between an individual and his wife. They are bound by the contract of marriage which is just that, a contract. Once such a contract is breached it becomes void. The connection between the wife and husband has no relation to lineage.
Moreover, even when it comes to direct lineage, there is no harm in bringing an accusation to an individual’s daughter or son, as this will not reflect on the father’s image, especially if the father had raised his children in a good manner. That is true even if the daughter or son insisted on following the path of misguidance, temptation and corruption. Their deviation becomes reason enough to disregard the connection between them. This principle is established by Allah in His Holy Book as Noah (peace be upon him) said to his Lord:
My Lord, my son is from my household. Allah answered: O Noah, he is not from your household.” Allah then explained His response by saying: “he was entirely of unrighteous conduct.
(Qur’an 11:46-47)
This is the case with ‘Aisha. Although she was the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family), she is not from his household if we take the prior case regarding Noah and his son into consideration, because she is ‘entirely of an unrighteous conduct’ even if she was associated with the Prophet through a matrimonial contract and as we know such a contract can be terminated. It is also important to note that the crimes we find her guilty of occurred after the martyrdom of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Family), making the connection between them even weaker.
Furthermore, if we are to make it an obligation to protect the sanctity of an individual and avoid speaking of their crimes and judging them because of his or her connection to another (respected) individual’s household, then this would have to also apply to the son of Adam, Cain, the wife and son of Noah and the wife of Lot. We would have to protect the sanctity of any individual that comes from a pious household, regardless of whether they were infidels, corrupt individuals, adulators, or misguided! And we could always repeat the phrase like a parrot:
For the sake of one person, a thousand others are honored!
In that case, we shouldn’t accuse a murderer as long as his father (for instance) was righteous, nor should we in-act the punishment of the adulteress as long as her husband was pious! No one in their right mind would suggest this.
Moreover, ‘Aisha herself did not protect the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family). She tarnished his sanctity when she attributed to him foul and grotesque practices such as ‘adult breastfeeding. She also transgressed against the sanctity of the Prophet’s Family, despite being instructed to love them through the Revelation of Allah as outlined in the Holy Quran.
Say: I ask of you nothing except that you love my close relatives.
(Qur’an 42:24)
The evil deeds she committed against them have only darkened her heart until the Day of Judgment! It is, in fact, obligatory upon us to speak against her in the same manner that she has done against the pious ones, and her sanctity is not to be preserved. That is because transgressing against one’s sanctity is to be met with retribution, and Allah says:
and for [all] violations is legal retribution.
(Qur’an 2:195)
So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you. We will not stop our assault since she did not stop when she habitually overstepped upon the boundaries of the Prophet and his Household (peace be upon them). We only speak the truth and try to not let people be deceived in her web of lies by following her and her innovative teachings that contradict the Laws passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family).
As for the claim that Allah could forgive her out of honor for his Prophet, it is an unheard claim. You cannot negate certainty with doubt. If that was to happen then you might as well abolish the fundamental root belief of Divine Justice. For example, another woman could commit a crime and Allah would not forgive her, and she would then have the moral right to call out on the Day of Judgment:
My Lord! I am perplexed, you forgave ‘Aisha, yet you won’t forgive me, even though we have committed the same sin?! You only forgave her because she was the wife of your Prophet, for that reason only? And you have denied me this forgiveness because I was just the wife of someone from amongst your fallible creation! Why did you not marry me off to your Prophet so that my crimes would be cleared and my sins forgiven?! This is an act of injustice!
If this is the case, there would be no way to prove the Divine Justice of Allah, except if Allah was to forgive that lady along with everyone else who committed any crime. This is so that there lies none amongst Allah’s creation that will be capable of coming forth with an argument that Allah distinguished one woman from other sinful women only because she married His Messenger in this world.
If this was to be our belief, then belief in punishment in the Hereafter would become void, as would the belief in Hellfire, since no one would be punished in it! This would be the case especially since the belief of the ‘Sunnis’ is that the sins of all whom they refer to as ‘Sahaba’ will be forgiven, as in such a case, it would be right for the rest of the creation to object to this on the Day of Resurrection, as they performed the same crimes as them, but were prevented from forgiveness only because they did not accompany the Prophet, and that this was all decreed and destined by Allah, and that they could not do anything about it.
Since you have realized the absurdity of this claim, there lies before you no way to prove the Divine Justice of Allah, except by acknowledging that a wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Family) will be punished on the Day of Resurrection if she was to commit sins, crimes and obscenities just like other women. In fact, she will be punished two-folds, which is clearly spoken to us by Allah, as He said:
O wives of thy Prophet, whomsoever from amongst you commits a clear immorality, Allah will multiply that punishment two-fold. And ever is that, for Allah, easy.
(Qur’an 33:31)
Do you now object to the words of Allah, Glorified be He?! Wake up and clear your mind from this confusion that a woman becomes sanctified only because her husband is a Prophet. The criterion in the eyes of Allah is piety. If that woman has piety, then she is honored and dignified, and if not, she is excluded and disregarded, for Allah says:
Allah presents an example for those who disbelieved: The wife of Noah and Lut. They were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them, so those Prophets did not avail them from Allah at all, and it was said, “Enter the Fire with those who enter”.
(Qur’an 66:11)
Hence, ‘Aisha will enter the fire with those who enter for her betrayal of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his Family). Who are you to protest and object?!
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib
