Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Rajmohan Gandhi, Eight Lives: A 

Study of the Hindu-Muslim Encounter (Albany: State 

University of New York Press, 1986); Hafeez Malik, Sir 

Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Muslim Modernization in India 

and Pakistan (New York: Columbia University Press, 

1980).

Aisha bint Abi Bakr ibn Abi Quhafa

 

(ca. 

614–ca. 678)  one of Muhammad’s favorite wives 

and a leading member of the early Muslim community

Aisha (Aysha) was born in m

ecca

 to a

bU

  b

akr

(d. 634), the close friend of m

Uhammad

 and first 

caliph

 of Islam. Aisha was betrothed to Muham-

mad in the year 623 in m

edina

, when she was 

nine years old. Aisha was the only virgin whom 

Muhammad married, and she never bore any chil-

dren. She is often remembered as Muhammad’s 

closest and most beloved wife, as the person 

having the most intimate understanding of the 

Prophet’s practices. As a result, Aisha is credited 

by Sunnis as the transmitter of more than 2,000 

hadith

 accounts. After Muhammad’s death, she 

was consulted as an authority on his habits and 

recommendations.

In 627, Aisha was accused by some Medinan 

Muslims of committing 

adUltery

. During a jour-

ney with Muhammad and his caravan, she had 

become separated from the group while searching 

for a lost necklace. A young man found her and 

accompanied her back to Medina safely. Rumors 

began to circulate, accusing her of engaging in