This slander is one of the most common and often repeated slander against Ayesha(ra), that is why we would like to detail this one in a detailed manner, So that the Shias could understand their mistakes properly and they should never be able to use these arguments in future to Slander Ayesha(ra).
Before we begin let us cite you an authentic narration from which we will get an idea that the jealousy Ayesha(ra) had towards her co-wives was because of her extreme LOVE FOR PROPHET(SAW). Which shows us that how much she loved our beloved prophet(Saw).
Sahi muslim Bk 31, Number 5991: ‘A’isha reported that when Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) set ont on a journey, he used to cast lots amongst his wives. Once this lot came out in my favour and that of Hafsa. They (Hafsi, and ‘A’isha) both went along with him and Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to travel (on camel) when it was night along with ‘A’isha and talked with her. Hafsa said to ‘A’isha: Would you like to ride upon my camel tonight and allow me to ride upon your camel and you would see (what you do not generally see) and I would see(what I do not see) generally? She said: Yes. So ‘A’isha rode upon the camel of Hafsa and Hafsa rode upon the camel of ‘A’isha and Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) came near the camel of ‘A’isha. (whereas) Hafsa had been riding over that. He greeted her and then rode with her until they came down. She (‘A’isha) thus missed (the company of the Holy Prophet) and when they sat down, **‘**A’isha felt jealous. She put her foot in the grass and said: O Allah, let the scorpion sting me or the serpent bite me. And so far as thy Messenger is concerned, I cannot say anything about him.
Jealousy between co wives:
Woman’s jealousy towards her co-wives is something that is entirely natural, and it is not something that only some women feel and not others. Hence she will not be called to account for it unless she transgresses the limits and lets it lead to wronging her sister, which is something that Allaah has forbidden, by backbiting or spreading gossip or demanding the divorce of her co-wife or plotting against her and so on.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Basically, jealousy is natural and is not something that only some women feel and not others, but if a woman oversteps the mark then she is to be blamed. The guideline concerning that is the hadeeth which was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Ateek al-Ansaari, who attributed it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “There is a kind of jealousy which Allaah loves, and a kind which Allaah hates. As for the kind of jealousy which Allaah loves, it is jealousy when there are grounds for suspicion. And as for the kind of jealousy which Allaah hates, it is jealousy when there are no grounds for suspicion.” (Classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Irwa’, 7/80). So jealousy on the part of the husband and wife, if it is of the type that is part of human nature which no woman is free from, then it is excused, so long as she does not overstep the mark and do or say anything that Allaah has forbidden. This is the way in which the reports from the salaf which speak of women’s jealousy are to be understood. [Fath al-Baari, 9/326].
Ibn Muflih (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Al-Tabari and other scholars said: Jealousy on the part of women is to be overlooked and they are NOT to be punished for it because it is part of their nature.
Al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah, 1/248 Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on the hadeeth which describes ‘Aa’ishah breaking the vessel of one of her co-wives: They – i.e., all those who commented on this hadeeth – said: this indicates that the jealous women is not to be taken to task for what she does, because in that case her reasoning is overshadowed by the strong anger that was provoked by jealousy. Abu Ya’la narrated from ‘Aa’ishah with an isnaad with which there is nothing wrong a marfoo’ report which says: “A jealous woman cannot tell the bottom of the valley from its top.” Fath al-Baari, 9/325
The jealousy that occurred on the part of the best of women is something which no one can avoid, and they will not be taken to ask for it because it is not an action that transgresses the laws of Allaah.
The jealousy that Sarah(wife of Ibrahim(as)) felt towards Hajar(other wife of Ibrahim(as)) comes under this heading. For a woman to ask her husband not to let her see her co-wife and not to make her live with her is something that cannot be denounced. It should be noted that the scholars said that Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) is the one who took Hajar and her son away, and Sarah did not ask for that.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: And it is said that Sarah was intensely jealous, so Ibraaheem took Ismaa’eel and his mother to Makkah because of that. Fath al-Baari, 6/401
This is also indicated by the words of Hajar: “O Ibraaheem, will you go and leave us in this valley in which there are no people and nothing?” She said that to him several times, and he did not answer her. Then she said to him: “Is it Allaah Who has commanded you to do this?” He said: “Yes.” She said: “Then He will not forsake us.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3184.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When what happened between Ibraaheem and his wife happened, he went out with Hajar and Ismaa’eel, carrying a skin full of water…. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3185.
Al-Haafiz said: The words of Ibn ‘Abbaas – “When what happened between Ibraaheem and his wife happened” - “his wife” refers to Sarah and “what happened” refers to Sarah’s jealousy when Haajar bore Ismaa’eel. Fath al-Baari, 6/407
Other wives of Prophet(Saw) also possessed jealousy towards their Co-wives, here are few examples:
**1. **We find that another wife of Prophet(saw) who was muslim, was sent a proposal of marriage by Prophet(saw) she also expressed a general nature which is present in women before prophet(saw), because she knew that Prophet(saw) already had other wives. Umm Salama said: I am of jealous temperament. He (the Holy Prophet) said: I would supplicate Allah to do away with (her) jealous (temperament).( Sahi muslim Bk 4, Number 1999)
2. Sahi bukhari 3.755: Narrated Urwa from Aisha: The wives of Allah’s Apostle were in two groups. One group consisted of Aisha, Hafsa, Safiyya and Sauda; and the other group consisted of Um Salama and the other wives of Allah’s Apostle. The Muslims knew that Allah’s Apostle loved Aisha, so if any of them had a gift and wished to give to Allah’s Apostle, he would delay it, till Allah’s Apostle had come to Aisha’s home and then he would send his gift to Allah’s Apostle in her home. The group of Um Salama discussed the matter together and decided that Um Salama should request Allah’s Apostle to tell the people to send their gifts to him in whatever wife’s house he was. Um Salama told Allah’s Apostle of what they had said, but he did not reply. Then they (those wives) asked Um Salama about it. She said, “He did not say anything to me.” They asked her to talk to him again. She talked to him again when she met him on her day, but he gave no reply. When they asked her, she replied that he had given no reply. They said to her, “Talk to him till he gives you a reply.” When it was her turn, she talked to him again. He then said to her, “Do not hurt me regarding Aisha, as the Divine Inspirations do not come to me on any of the beds except that of Aisha.” On that Um Salama said, “I repent to Allah for hurting you.” Then the group of Um Salama called Fatima, the daughter of Allah’s Apostle and sent her to Allah’s Apostle to say to him, “Your wives request to treat them and the daughter of Abu Bakr on equal terms.” Then Fatima conveyed the message to him. The Prophet said, “O my daughter!Don’t you love whom I love?” She replied in the affirmative and returned and told them of the situation. They requested her to go to him again but she refused. They then sent Zainab bint Jahsh who went to him and used harsh words saying, “Your wives request you to treat them and the daughter of Ibn Abu Quhafa on equal terms.” On that she raised her voice and abused Aisha to her face so much so that Allah’s Apostle looked at Aisha to see whether she would retort. Aisha started replying to Zainab till she silenced her. The Prophet then looked at `Aisha and said, “She is really the daughter of Abu Bakr.”
3. In a slight different version this is the ending of the narration: Sahi muslim Bk 31, Number 5984: A’isha said: 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 some what 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….Zainab bint Jahsh 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.
Comment: Shias might argue that we don’t believe in these narrations of Ayesha(ra), but if they say so then they will have NO base to accuse Ayesha(ra) because the narrations they tried to use inorder to accuse Ayesha(ra) were also narrated by her.
Here are few examples of Jealousy from Shia narrations to shut the mouth of religious slanderers:
It was narrated in “Biharul anwar” (26/273), “Uyun akhbarul riza” (170) and in “Anwarul wilayah”:
فنظر-آدم عليه السلام- إليهم بعين الحسد وتمني منزلتهم، فتسلط الشيطان عليه حتى أكل من الشجرة التي نهي عنها، وتسلط على حواء لنظرها إلى فاطمة بعين الحسد حتى أكلت من الشجرة كما أكل آدم؛ فأخرجهما الله عز وجل عن جنته وأهبطهما إلى جوار الأرض
So Adam (as) looked upon them (ahlul-bait) with the eyes of jealousy and wished for himself their status, due to this Shaytaan overpowered him until he made him eat from the tree which he was forbidden from, and he overpowered Hawa because she looked at Fatimah with the eyes of jealousy until she too ate from the tree which Adam ate, so Allah Aza Wa Jal removed them from Jannah and dropped them on earth
Comment: This is an example from Shia books which shows that according to shia belief Prophet ADAM was JEALOUS with Ahlebayt.(Mazallah). So we would like to know the verdict of Shias on Prophet Adam(as), do they believe that because of this rank and honor of Adam(as) got degraded? Or was it a sin? If no! then why are they so keen to attack the mother of believers Ayesha(ra) regarding her jealousy towards her co-wives?
Majlisi “Bihar” 43/201-202
إنه جاء شقي من الاشقياء إلى فاطمة بنت محمد صلى الله عليه واله فقال لها : أما علمت أن عليا قد خطب بنت أبي جهل فقالت : حقاما تقول : فقال : حقا ما أقول – ثلاث مرات – فدخلها من الغيرة ما لا تملك نفسها وذلك أن الله تبارك وتعالى كتب على النساء غيرة وكتب على الرجال جهادا .
وجعل للمحتسبة الصابرة منهن من الاجر ما جعل للمرابط المهاجر في سبيل الله .
قال : فاشتد غم فاطمة عليها السلام من ذلك ، وبقيت متفكرة هي حتى أمست وجاء الليل حملت الحسن على عاتقها الايمن والحسين على عاتقها الايسر وأخذت بيد ام الكثوم اليسرى بيدها اليمنى ثم تحولت إلى حجرة أبيها فجاء علي عليه السلام فدخل في حجرته فلم ير فاطمة عليها السلام فاشتد لذلك غمه وعظم عليه ، ولم يعلم القصة
ماهي فاستحيى أن يدعوها من منزل أبيها فخرج إلى المسجد فصلى فيه ماشاء الله ثم جمع شيئا من كثيب المسجد واتكا عليه .
فلما رأى النبي صلى الله عليه واله ما بفاطمة من الحزن أفاض عليه الماء ثم لبس ثوبه ودخل المسجد ، فلم يزل يصلي بين راكع وساجد وكلما صلى ركعتين دعا الله أن يذهب ما بفاطمة من الحزن والغم وذلك أنه خرج من عندها وهي تتقلب وتتنفس الصعداء فلما رآها النبي صلى الله عليه وآله أنها لا يهنئها النوم ، وليس لها قرار قال لها : قومي يابنية فقامت فحمل النبي صلى الله عليه واله الحسن وحملت فاطمة الحسين وأخذت بيد ام الكثوم فانتهى إلى علي عليه السلام وهو نائم فوضع النبي رجله على رجل علي فغمزه وقال : قم ياأبا تراب ، فكم ساكن أزعجة ، ادع لي أباكبر من داره وعمر من مجلسه وطلحة .
فخرج علي عليه السلام فاستخر جهما من منزلهما ، واجتموا عندرسول الله فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه واله : يا علي أما علمت أن فاطمة بضعة مني وأنا منها ، فمن آذاها فقد آذاني ومن آذاني فقد آذي الله ] ( 1 ) ومن آذاها بعد موتى كان كمن آذاها في حياتي ، ومن آذاها في حياتي كان كمن آذاها بعد موتى
Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Abdullah Jafar Al-Sadiq: A miserable of the miserables came to Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, and said to her: “Did you not know that Ali proposed to marry (Khataba) the daughter of Abu Jahl?” She said: “Is it true what you say? He said three times: “What I say is true.” Jealousy entered into her (heart) to an extent she could not control, for Allah has ordained that women be jealous and that men perform Jihad, and He has made the reward of the patient (woman) similar to that of the Murabit and Muhajir in the way of Allah.
He said: And Fatima’s anguish became severe and she remained thinking about it until night time…she moved to her father’s residence. Ali came to his residence and did not see Fatima and his anguish increased and became great on him, even though he did not know what happened, and he was ashamed to call her from her father’s house so he went to the Masjid and prayed as much as Allah willed, and he collected some of the sand in the Masjid and laid on it.When the Prophet saw how sad and anguished Fatima was, he poured water over himself and wore his clothes and entered the Masjid. He kept praying, making Rukoo and Sujood, and after every time he completed two Raka he made Du’a that Allah remove what Fatima had of sadness and anguish because he left her turning over and breathing heavily. When the Prophet saw that she could not sleep and could not rest he said: “O daughter, rise!” So she rose and the Prophet carried Al-Hassan and she carried Al-Hussain and took hold of Umm Kulthoom’s hand until they reached Ali (AS) while he was sleeping.The Prophet put his foot on Ali, pinched him, and said: “Rise Abu Turab! You have disturbed many a resting person. Call for me Abu Bakr from his house and Umar from his Majlis and Talha.” So Ali went and got them from their houses and they gathered around the Messenger of Allah.The Messenger of Allah then said: “O Ali! Do you not know that Fatima is a piece of me and I am from her. Whoever disturbs her, disturbs me and whoever disturbs me has disturbed Allah, and whoever disturbs her after my death then as if he has disturbed her in my lifetime and whoever disturbed her in my lifetime then as if he has disturbed her after my death.”(source: Ibn Babveh Al Qummi’s “Elal Al-Sharae’”, pp.185-186, Al-Najaf Print; also narrated in Majlisi “Bihar” 43/201-202)
Majlisi “Biharul anwar” 43/147
عن أبي ذر رحمة الله عليه قال : كنت أنا وجعفر بن أبي طالب مهاجرين إلى بلاد الحبشة ( 1 ) فاهديت لجعفر جارية قيمتها أربعة آلاف درهم ، فلما قدمنا المدينة أهداها لعلي عليه السلام تخدمه ، فجعلها علي في منزل فاطمة .
فدخلت فاطمة عليها السلام يوما فنظرت إلى رأس علي عليه السلام في حجر الجارية فقالت : يا أبا الحسن فعلتها ، فقال : لا والله يا بنت محمد ما فعلت شيئا فما الذي تريدين ؟ قالت تأذن لي في المصير إلى منزل أبي رسول الله صلى الله عليه واله فقال لها : قد أذنت لك .
فتجللت بجلالها ، وتبرقعت ببرقعها
Translation: Al-Qummi and Al-Majlisi narrated on the authority of Abu Thar: I migrated with Jafar ibn Abi Talib to Abyssynia. A slave girl worth 4,000 dirhams was given to Jafar as a gift. When we came to Medinah he gave it to Ali as a gift that she may serve him. Ali kept her in Fatima’s house. One day Fatima entered and saw that his head was in the girl’s lap. She said: “O Abu Al-Hasan! Have you done it!?” He said: “O daughter of Muhammad! I have done nothing, so what is it that you want?” She said: “Do you allow me to go to my father’s house?” He said: “I will allow you.” So she wore her Jilbab and went to the Prophet. ((source: Ibn Babaveh Al-Qummi’s “Elal Al-Sharae’”, p.163; it is also narrated in Bihar Al-Anwar, pp.43-44, Chapter on “How her life with Ali was”)
Comment: From the above ahadeeth of Shias we find that even Fatima(ra) wasn’t free from incurring jealousy. So we leave it upon Shias to consider jealousy between co-wives as Natural behaviour or Sin or Mistake.
Similar thing is reported in book of Ahlesunnah:
Sahi Bukhari 4.342:When `Ali bin Abu Talib demanded the hand of the daughter of Abi Jahal to be his wife besides Fatima, I heard Allah’s Apostle on his pulpit delivering a sermon in this connection before the people, and I had then attained my age of puberty. Allah’s Apostle said, “Fatima is from me, and I am afraid she will be subjected to trials in her religion.”
Ayesha(ra) used to love some other wives of Prophet(Saw)
Sahi Muslim Bk 8, Number 3451:’A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Never did I find any woman more loving to me than Sauda bint Zam’a**.** I wished I could be exactly like her who was passionate.
Even other wife of Prophet(Saw) testified about the goodness of Ayesha(ra)
Sahi bukhari 3.829: Narrated Aisha: Allah’s Apostle asked Zainab bint Jahsh (i.e. the Prophet’s wife about me saying, ‘What do you know and what did you see?’ She replied, ‘O Allah’s Apostle! I refrain to claim hearing or seeing what I have not heard or seen. By Allah, I know nothing except goodness about Aisha.”
Comment: If Ayesha(ra) possessed such a bad behaviour with her co-wives then why would another wife of Prophet(Saw) say that she only know goodness about Ayesha(ra)?
Lastly let us suppose that incurring jealousy is a kind of sin as the shias tried to portray, So even if it was then who are the Shias to accuse Ayesha(ra) and codemn her for that? When Quran teaches us the opposite: {Our Lord, forgive us and [forgive] our brethren who preceded us in faith. And do not put in our hearts rancour towards the Believers. Our Lord, You are Most Kind, Most Merciful.” (59:10).} We find that by criticizing and slandering wives of Prophet(saw) Shias are going against the teaching of Quran.
Point to Ponder: If supposedly what Ayesha(ra) did was something unlawful or against Shariah then why didn’t Prophet(Saw) punish Ayesha(ra) or divorced her? The prophet(saw) is ofcourse best example for us to follow, he considered it something natural that is why he didn’t took any strong step against Ayesha(ra). So only hypocrites could use these issues which occurred between a family to cirtiize Ayesha(ra), though the head of family never did this. THE FACT WHICH SHIAS MISSED IS THAT IT WAS THE TRUTHFUL MOTHER AYESHA(ra) WHO narrated us these reports. Suppose if She wouldn’t have transmitted these reports in order to hide her flaws, then would the Shias had got anything to accuse her