This study by Dr. Resit Haylamaz, an expert on the life of the Prophet and his leading Companions, reflects her life in various aspects based on reliable reports. The book clarifies her critical role at establishing the Islamic teaching, with particular reference to her role in the transmission of private matters concerning women and marital relations, as well as recording the authentic sayings of the Prophet. As her sensitivity at practicing religion is related in a rich variety of examples, much disputed issues like her marriage age and her stance about Ali ibn Abu Talib are covered as separate topics.
Aisha: The Wife, the Companion, the Scholar
by Resit Haylamaz READ ON 
- PAPERBACK : 2012-05-16 • 224 Pages • 6x9 inches inches • ISBN 9781597842662
- CATEGORIES Interfaith Dialogue, Backlist, Forthcoming
- PRICE : $15.95
- Buy This Book
First ten pages (click to see) PREFACE Khadija and Aisha had a special position among the wives of God’s Messenger; while the former was like the royal vizier in Mecca for fifteen years before the revelation, the latter fulfilled the same duty during the Medina years and later on. When they are considered in terms of the mission that they performed, each of them had the proper qualifications. God Almighty provided the Messenger of God with a strong character: in Mecca where belief, self-sacrifice and bravery were so necessary, He gave him Khadija; in Medina where the requirements of knowledge, intelligence and reasoning were felt, He bestowed him Aisha. Certainly, Khadija was the sturdiest woman of Mecca. She provided unyielding support to God’s Messenger during the hardest days when troubles were at peak, during his days of suffering when there were problems and disasters one after the other. When he began to call people to Islam, she was his greatest supporter, both materially and spiritually. Khadija was the first Muslim; believing in God’s Messenger at a vital moment when he needed her most meant a special place at the side of God and His Messenger. Aisha’s place was different; she was a special vizier to the Messenger of God after the hijrah to Medina, when it was necessary to render service to religion. Aisha, with a bright, inquisitive mind and a quick wit, distinguished herself in the Prophet’s house. God Almighty bestowed her with extraordinary brilliance. She had a questioning nature, and did not blindly accept what she heard.She was critical of everything she heard, according to the criteria of the Qur’an and behavior of the Prophet (the Sunna). Her ear was on the alert for revelation and her eyes were on the result. Aisha was like a bridge between the time of the Prophet and the future of Islam. Aisha: the Wife, the Companion, the Scholar Aisha represented the vitality of revelation during the half-century after the death of God’s Messenger, and did not deprive her students of the light of Prophethood. Like a meeting point for travelers from different directions, her place was by the Four Rightful Caliphs. When possible controversies arose, Aisha was a kind arbitrator. For mistakes on religious issues that emerged, she was a dignified corrector, and a decisive and patient example of the straight path of Islam. Wherever she went, that place would come to life. People who entered into her ambience felt that they became colored with the light of revelation and returned in excitement and vividity, almost as if they had visited the Messenger of God. There was no one who came to her with a question but was unable to get an answer for it. She concluded nearly every matter with revelation, and found solutions to others’ problems directly from the Qur’an and the Sunna. In other matters, she evaluated, compared and interpreted based on her own vast knowledge of the religion. Aisha was the mother of all believers.Among the things that passed onto us from her, there was certain information that would normally remain private between spouses. Out of necessity, she appeared to convey details of the religion. Many matters would have remained unknown to us if she had not existed. Behind closed doors she asked the most intimate questions to God’s Messenger, as if she was throwing a life ring to us. Aisha is reinviting people of conscience to the Straight Path of Islam. Hoping that this book in your hands, like an invitation, will be the means for good deeds…
W.B.Abdullah Azizah Magazine Volume 7, Issue 4(2014)
Aisha bint Abi Bakr remains one of the most compelling figures in Islamic history. Not only was she one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), but her contributions to Islamic scholarship and her influence on the foundation of the first Islamic state cannot be overstated. In a new book titled Aisha: The Wife, the Companion, the Scholar, author Resit Haylamaz takes a closer look at the life of this fascinating woman.When questioned about why he thought Aisha was a compelling enough figure to write about, Haylamaz said, “Aisha has a historically critical role in the transmission of Prophet’s knowledge and practice to the Muslim world. She is perhaps one of the most important links or bridges between the Prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims. Her place in the history of Islam is vital particularly with regard to the way Islam addressed the issue of women in the society. The Prophet showed through Aisha how Islam raised woman and made her equal partner to the message of God. During her life with the Prophet, Aisha was like the representative, or the deputy, of women before the Prophet. In other words, she was directly instrumental to the embodiment of the message of the Qur’an the Prophet in the real life.”Indeed, Aisha is often held up as evidence of Islam’s progressive stance on women’s rights by today’s Muslim feminists. Far from embodying the popular ‘oppressed Muslim woman’ trope found in contemporary dialogue, Islamic scholars have thoroughly documented Aisha’s dedication to rights of education for women and girls, and her powerful influence on Islamic jurisprudence through authentic hadith and historical accounts.Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of this book, however, was the manner in which it has been written. Obviously the stories of Aisha’s life are all derived from hadith. However, Haylamaz has retold these stories in a narrative style making it more like reading a story than reading scholarly exegesis. Muslims of all ages will enjoy reading the book in both formal and informal settings and will appreciate the artful storytelling that makes it entertaining, as well as educational.Non-Muslims will also find this an accessible path to learning about one of the Sahabah, especially one who has been maligned and misrepresented in so many ways. Haylamaz does not shy away from any of the controversy and even addresses the age of Aisha, which his research reveals to be older than that claimed by some of the most extreme scholarly interpretations (as well as by religious critics).Haylamaz also believes that “non-Muslims will see in Aisha a real life example of the way Islam handled the subject of woman at the time and for the centuries to come. They would be impressed with her intelligence, her relation with the Prophet and love of the Prophet, how she as a woman educated and inspired many scholars to come. When the conditions of the time considered, Aisha’s life provides a very strong and compelling example to how Islam empowered women.”While there is certainly no end to authentic hadith and scholarly works about her life, Aisha: The Wife, the Companion, the Scholar sets itself apart by bringing the stories about Aisha to contemporary audiences, particularly those with little or no background knowledge of her life and work.Amanda Quraishi Writer, interfaith activist and technology professional living in Austin, Texas November 11, 2014 www.Patheos.com
ABOUT AUTHOR
Resit Haylamaz
Dr. Haylamaz is the editor-in-chief of Kaynak Publishing Group in Istanbul. He has many publications on the lives of Prophet Muhammad and His leading Companions. His Gonul Tahtimizin Essiz Sultani Efendimiz is the best-selling biography of Prophet Muhammad in his native Turkish.
