Aisha (may Allah have mercy on her).

Aisha (r) wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hf).

Shias are usually accused of hatred and not loving this wife of the Prophet (pbuh&hf). And while it is true that there are some that go to extremes in issues amongst Shias we can find extremists in all walks of life and no nation or group of people are free from this type of mind set. Even Police and Politicians from the east or the west are guilty of extremism.

Even though I promote Shia and Sunni unity it does not mean that we cannot talk or discuss certain issues. As long as there is no cursing or abusing then we can talk about these sensitive subjects. Unity does not mean ignore everything as if we dont see problems to sort out. Nor does unity mean as Sunni and Shia we should not be allowed to mention certain things. And it is definetly not about forcing someone to accept your views wholesale before any point of unity are agreed. Unlike some Sunnis who say it is not allowed to mention anything but good about the wives and companions we do not accept this methodology because Allah in the Quran not only informs us about the wives but also informs us about hypocrites that surounded the Prophet from among some of the companions. Some of whom were exposed.

The other source of information about the wives and companions are hadeeths (narrations) of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hf) and from the mouths of individulas themselves. Just look for example at what Fatima a.s. did when Aisha's (r) father Abu Bakr (r) refused her her property Fadak. Not only did Fatima a.s. bring her husband Ali a.s. and other witnesses but she also refused to speak to Abu Bakr after that. So all this information is readily available in books like Bukhari, Muslim, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaaq and more the list is endless and mentioned by Sunni scholars and speakers at the microphnes of meetings and minbars all over the world for hundreds of years until today.

Aisha was the third third wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hf) and mother of the believers. Although the Prophet had no children from her or any other wife except Maariya and Khadijah a.s., she was the daughter of a great companion of the Prophet Abu Bakr (r).

She is regarded as mother of the believers by Shia and Sunni, but this term is a misunderstood term, by many who use it. It is true that she is Mother of the believers (Ummul Mumineen) but in the first instance this title was given so that the Muslims would not marry any of the wives of the Prophet in the event of his death or if they were divorced.

This title does not mean that they are not able to do wrong, nor does it absolve them of any acts of disobedience or criticism. If someone does wrong, especially by people who are supposedly the best examples after the Prophet then attention should be drawn to it and highlighted and discussed. Otherwise people may mistakenly be praising and giving some individulas a status that has been allocated to them not by Allah and His Prophet but by others who do this for other motives.

Aisha was Muslim and anyone that accuse her of being a Kafir (disbeliever) has uttered a serious saying and I personally distance myself from any such remarks.

Aisha was one of the mothers of the believers but still some of the Sahaba (Companions) were accusing her of Ifk (an act of indecency). And we agree that a verse was revealed in the Quran that informed the Muslims of the innocense of Aisha, and that she was free of the charge that was being directed at her by some companions of the Prophet (pbuh&hf).

But that verse being revealed about her should not lead us to think that just because she was innocent of wrong doing on one occasion that she is free of any wrong doing on other occasions too. Aisha was not free from sin and mistakes, as agreed by mnay Muslim scholars, Sunni and Shia.

The Quran informs us in Surah Tahreem that not only did Aisha and Hafsa (see all Tafseers sunni and shia) make up and attribute something false to the Prophet but that they were also threatened with divorce and told that if they did not repent then Allah would replace them with better wives. This point is not taken on board by many who seem to think that Aisha was the best wife of the Prophet. It is not true because it is evident from hadeeths and history that the Prophets first wife Khadijah, was his favourite wife, he married no other wife while he was married to her such was her position. Khadijah a.s. also gave him a daughter Fatima Az Zahra a.s. who was more beloved to the Prophet (s) than even Aisha or other wives.

The fact of being married to the Prophet does not mean you are the best of women we only have to look at other wives of Prophets namley the wife of Lut a.s. (Lot) and Nuh a.s (Noah) these wives were not able to be saved by the righteouness of the Men that they were married to. So the argument that God only marries good men to good women is a bit misleading, Nuh and Lut were the amongst the best of men but they had their own trials. And how many a man or woman in this life has a partner that is far from good. Was not Asiyah the wife of Firaun (Pharoah) a good woman?

A question that often arises is why did Aisha end up in an army in opposition to Ali a.s. despite the sayings of the Prophet that Ali a.s. is with the truth and the truth is with Ali a.s. As well as the saying of the Prophet none will hate Ali a.s. except a hypocrite? As well as the fact that Ali a.s.ws the clear Khalifah of Allahs Messenger (s) In many books it is clearly stated that Aisha was the one who lead this army, which is called the battle of Jamal. Many thousands of Muslim believers were killed by the army of Aisha. Which raises other questions about blood money and so forth, and the order to stay at home etc.

As for those that they say both groups are in heaven..........stop pulling my leg. The only people that ended up being dealt with by Ali's sword were not people on their way to heaven. And as for the verse about two groups of believers fighting I think people need to study the word baghy and tabghy as mentioned in the verse in surah Al Hujurat:9 it is not a nice descrption, it is to do with transgressing the limits, which is exactly what those companions who were with Aisha did. If you follow this word as mentioned in other verses you will get a better idea of Allah's view of people that behave in this way. Allah says in the verse to bring about peace between believers but if one party trangresses against the other then one of them ceases to be believers and the order to fight is given until they come back to their senses, but if they do not and die in that state of transgression then ..........need I say more.

Finallay just to reiterate, everyone can go through patches of being good and bad, if someone is good at one stage it does not mean they are good forever. Bad actions done in private are one thing but in public is another thing, and especailly when the actions and beliefs of the ummah are affected and formed in a negative way because of it. If there is substantial evidence to show that someone does not deserve the pedastal that some others have given them, then discuss it dont denounce them over it.