Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Cross-Dressing
From WikiIslam, the online resource on Islam
Narrated by Ismail, narrated by his brother, narrated by Sulaiman, narrated by Hisham ibn Urwah, narrated by his father, narrated by Aisha who related that the wives of the prophet were divided into two groups. One group consisted of Aisha, Hafsa, Safiya and Sawdah while the other group consisted of Um Salamah and the rest of the women that belonged to the prophet. The Muslims had learned of the great love that the prophet had for Aisha so that if one of them had a gift he desired to give to the prophet, he would delay giving it until the prophet came to Aisha’s house.
Then the group who sided with Um Salamah came to Um Salamah and asked her to tell the prophet that he should command the people that if any of them had a gift to give to the prophet, they should give it him in whatever house of his wives the prophet was in at the time.
So Um Salamah went and talked with the prophet but he did not respond to her. When the group asked her what the prophet said she told them that he did not respond. So they asked her to go talk to him again until he responds… then the prophet said to her, “Do not hurt me with Aisha, for the inspiration did not come upon me when I was in a women's garment [fee thawb imra’ah] except that of Aisha.”[1]Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abdel Wahab, narrated by Hamad, narrated by Hisham, narrated by his father who related that the people would present their gifts (to the prophet) when he was at Aisha’s house. The companions of Um Salamah said, “O Um Salamah! By Allah the people wait to give their gifts till it is Aisha’s day and we desire the good things just as Aisha does. So ask the prophet to command the people to give him his gifts in whatever house of his wives he may be in.”
Um Salamah mentioned this to the prophet but would not respond to her. She repeated it a second time but he still would not respond to her, but on the third time he said, “O Um Salama! Do not hurt me with Aisha; for by Allah, the inspiration did not descent on me while I was in the coverings (lihaf) of any of you (women) except Aisha.”[2]
'A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), said: The wives of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) sent Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him). She ouaht permission to get in as he had been lying with me in my mantle. He gave her permission and she said: Allah's Messenger, verily, your wives have sent me to you in order to ask you to observe equity in case of the daughter of Abu Quhafa. She ('A'isha) said: I kept quiet. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to her (Fatima): 0 daughter, don't you love whom I love? She said: Yes, (I do). Thereupon he said: I love this one. Fatima then stood up as she heard this from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and went to the wives of Allatt's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and informed them of what she had said to him and what Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) had said to her. Thereupon they said to her: We think that you have been of no avail to us. You may again go to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and tell him that his wives seek equity in case of the daughter of Abu Quhafa. Fitima said: By Allah, I will never talk to him about this matter. 'A'isha (further) reported: The wives of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) then sent Zainab b. jahsh, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him), and she was one who was somewhat equal in rank with me in the eyes of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I have never seen a woman more advanced in religious piety than Zainab, more God-conscious, more truthful, more alive to the ties of blood, more generous and having more. sense of self-sacrifice in practical life and having more charitable disposition and thus more close to God, the Exalted, than her. She, however, lost temper very soon but was soon calm. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) permitted her to enter as she ('A'isha) was along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in her mantle, in the same very state when Fatima had entered. She said: Allah's Messenger, your wives have sent me to you seeking equity in case of the daughter of Abu Quhafa. She then came to me and showed harshness to me and I was seeing the eyes of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) whether he would permit me. Zainab went on until I came to know that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) would not disapprove if I retorted. Then I exchanged hot words until I made her quiet. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) smiled and said: She is the daughter of Abu Bakr. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with the same chain of transmitters, but with a slight variation of wording.
Narrated by al-Hassan ibn Ali al-Hilwani, narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Nadir, narrated by Abd ibn Hamid, narrated by Yakun ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa’d Ibn, narrated by his father, narrated by Salih ibn Shihab, narrated by Muhammad ibn Abdel Rahman ibn Harith ibn Hisham related that Aisha, the wife of the prophet, said, “The wives of the prophet sent Fatimah, the daughter of the prophet, to him and she requested permission to enter while he was lying down on my bed (wearing) in (fee) my robe (Mirt). He gave her permission to enter and she told him that his wives had sent her to him seeking justice concerning the daughter of Abu Kahafa (Aisha). The prophet said to her, ‘O daughter, do you not love what I love?’ She replied, ‘Yes! I do.’ He then said to her, ‘Then love her also.’ So Fatimah got up when she heard that from the prophet and returned to the wives of the prophet.
Then the wives sent to the prophet Zaynab Bint Jahsh… who requested permission from the prophet to enter while he was with Aisha in (fee) her robe (Mirt) and in the same state that Fatimah found him in.”[3]
It is related from 'A'isha that the wives of the messenger of Allah fell into two parties. One party contained 'A'isha, Hafsa, Safiyya and Sawda, and the other party contained Umm Salama and the rest of the wives of the messenger of Allah. The Muslims knew of the love of the messenger of Allah for 'A'isha, so when any of them had a gift which he wanted to give to the messenger of Allah he would delay it until the messenger of Allah was in 'A'isha's house. Then the person with the gift would send it to the messenger of Allah while he was in 'A'isha's house. The party of Umm Salama spoke about it and said to her, "Tell the messenger of Allah to speak to the people and say, 'Whoever wants to give a gift to the messenger of Allah should give it to him in the house of whichever wife he is.'" Umm Salama spoke to him about what they had said, but he did not say anything. They asked her and she said, "He did not say anything to me." They said to her, "Speak to him." She said she spoke to him when he went around to her as well, but he did not say anything to her. They asked her and she said, “He did not say anything to me.” They said to her, “Speak to him until he speaks to you.” He went around to her and she spoke to him. He said to her, “Do not injure me regarding 'A'isha. The revelation does not come to me when I am in the garment of any woman except 'A'isha.” She said, "I repent to Allah from injuring you, Messenger of Allah.” Then they called Fatima, the daughter of the messenger of Allah, and sent her to the messenger of Allah to say, “Your wives ask you by Allah for fairness regarding the daughter of Abu Bakr.” She spoke to him and he said, “O my daughter, do you not love what I love?” She said, “Yes indeed.” She returned to them and informed them. They said, “Go back to him,” but she refused to go back. They sent Zaynab bint Jahsh and she went to him and spoke harshly, saying. “Your wives ask you by Allah for fairness regarding the daughter of ibn Abi Quhafa.” She raised her voice until she turned to 'A'isha, who was sitting down, and abused her until the messenger of Allah looked at 'A'isha to see if she would speak. ‘A'isha spoke to answer back Zaynab until she had silenced her. She said, “The prophet looked at 'A'isha and said, ‘She is indeed the daughter of Abu Bakr.’”[4]
She told that the people used to choose: ‘A’isha’s day to bring their gifts, seeking thereby to please God’s messenger. She said that God’s messenger’s wives were in two parties, one including ‘A’isha, Hafsa, Safiya, and Sauda, and the other including Umm Salama and the rest of God’s messenger’s wives. Umm Salama’s party spoke to her telling her to ask God’s messenger to say to the people, “If anyone wishes to make a present to God’s messenger, let him present it to him wherever he happens to be.” She did so and he replied, “Do not annoy me regarding ‘A’isha, for inspiration has not come to me when I was in any women's garment but ‘A’isha’s.” They then called Fatima, sent her to God’s messenger, and she spoke to him, but he replied, “Do you not like what I like, girlie?” She said, “Certainly,” so he said, “Then love this woman.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)[5]
Mishkat Al Masabih, Volume II Book XXVI
See Also
- Muhammad (Primary Sources) - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Muhammad (Primary Sources)
External Links
References
- ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith Number 2393 Volume Title, “Grace and its Virtues.”Chapter Title, “What was Granted to the Companions and the Wives.”
- ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith Number 3941 Volume Title, “The Book of Virtues.” Chapter Title, “The Virtues of Aisha.”
- ↑ Sahih collection of Imam Muslim, Hadith Number 4472 Volume Title, “From the Virtues of the Companions.” Chapter Title, “From the Virtues of Aisha.”
- ↑ Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Hadith Number 2442 Chapter 52. Book of Setting Free, VII: The one who gave a gift to his friend aiming for a time when he was with one of his wives rather than another.
- ↑ Mishkat Al Masabih, Volume II Book XXVI- Fitan. Chapter XXXVIII, “The Fine Qualities of the Prophet’s Wives.” English translation with explanatory notes by Dr. James Robson, Sh. Muhammad Ahsraf Publishers, Booksellers & Exporters, Lahore-Pakistan, Reprint 1990, p. 1361
