Aisha could not quite understand why there were people in Mecca who hated the prophet and would have liked to expel him from the city. Once they had even tried to kill him. Aisha's father had interfered in the last moment to save his life. But in return, the others had beaten him until he lost his consciousness had to be carried home by his friends. Aisha could well remember the shock. Her grandmother had cried because his wounds looked very bad. But when he recovered, he did not complain about his pain but asked whether the Prophet (s) was all right. Grandmother had been quite surprised at this. If Abu Bakr loved someone so much that he found his wellbeing more important than in his own health, then that was certainly a very special person.

Later on, when Abu Bakr's wounds had healed, Grandmother had visited the Prophet herself in order to tell him that from now on she was going to serve none but Allah. That is what the Prophet (s) had come for. He told the people of Allah and His former messengers, and he told them not to worhip idols, to avoid bad actions and to be good and friendly to each other. He was himself good and friendly, and Aisha loved him very much.

Fo a long time the Muslims had to meet secretly when they wanted to pray and to study together and talk to each other. The enemies of Islam waylaid them, threw thorns and rubbish at them, insulted and beat them and sometines even killed them. One day a boy had been killed because of his faith. The worst was the situation of the slaves. Aisha remembered how one day came home with Bilal, an African slave whom he had bought from his cruel master who wanted to kill him, and set him free. Abu Bakr also bought the freedom of other slaves and slave-girls.

Later on a number of Muslims had to leave the city to emigrate to Abyssinia where the people were Christians who also believed in the One God and offered them hospitality and protection for some time. Before they went, Surah Maryam had been revealed in which the story of Maryam and her son Isa is told and the story of Ibrahim who had advised his father to give up his idol-worship, just as Prophet Muhammad (s) was now calling the people to worship the One God. These stories were well-known to the Christians.

Still later, the Muslims and their families were exiled from Mecca and had to live in a barren valley in the desert for three years. But then Aisha was older and thought carefully about everything she experienced and observed. It was true that the Muslims were persecuted because of their faith and had to suffer. But on the other hand they had received a wonderful revelation that guided them on the right path. In any case she would not have liked to be in the place of the idolaters even though they seemed to have a comfortable life and enjoyed their wealth and power. Aisha shuddered when she thought that the idolaters, while worshipping a number of female deities, despised their own females and sometimes even buried newborn girls alive because they did not like to have many daughters. The Prophet (s) loved his daughters and lived in mutual love and respect with his wife Khadija, the Mother of the Faithful. Now, with this revelation, a new time had begun. Certainly the people would soon liberate themselves from the fear of the old idols and live like brothers and sisters. Such a future perspective was worthwhile to have patience, not to mention the future after this life on earth.

Aisha shared her faith and hope with her sister Asma and her brother Abdullah. There were sometimes hot debates with her other brother Abdurrahman. He was not an outspoken enemy of Islam, but he preferred the traditional ways and beliefs to Islam and did not want to hear of the Prophet (s) and his teachings. Sometimes Aisha was slightly jealous of the children who grew up in the Prophet's household, of Ali, Fatima and Umm Kulthum who could be with him all the time and learn everything directly from him. But she was grateful enought hat her father invested great love and care into her education and was open for all the things that were interesting for her. This was anything but common in that time. When she grew up, she got engaged to a young man whose father Al-Mutamm had asked her father to give her in marriage to his son.

This happened at a time when the Muslims had been able to return to Mecca from their exile and to resume their normal social life. Soon afterwards, Khadija, the Prophet's wife, died from the consequences of the suffering and starvation during the boycot. The Muslims were very sad because she had always been a true Mother of the Faithful, and nobody would ever be able to take her place. The loss was most severe for her daughters Umm Kulthum and Fatima who were still living with their parents, and for the Prophet (s) himself because she had always supported him wholeheartedly, having been the first person to believe in his message and to pray together with him.

In those days there was an old matchmaker called Hawla with a lot of professional experience and a good knowledge of human nature. She went to the Prophet (s) and said, "Messenger of Allah, I see that you have become lonely after you lost Khadija." "This is true," he replied, "for she was the mother of our children and the manager of the house. Who would ever be able to take her plase?" "What about Aisha, the daughter of your dearest friend?" Hawla asked in return. Muhammad saw in his mind the happy, intelligent girl. "But she is too young," he objected. Hawla was prepared for that. "You can ask her father now," she suggested, "and then you can wait until she is old enough. In the meantime, you can marry Sawda bint Zama. She is a widow and has enough life experience to look after your household and your daughters." For in those days ist was quite common for a man to marry more than one wife if he was able to provide for them and their children. Sawda was an elderly lady and one of the first Muslims. She had suffered a lot from the persecutions until she finally emigrated to Abyssinia with her husband. Unfortunately he had died there, and now Sawda lived in Mecca by herself with nobody to look after her.

Muhammad agreed with this suggestion. So finally Sawda found a new home with him that made up for everything she had suffered in all these years. She was very happy and did her best to help Fatima and Umm Kulthum to overcome the grief for their mother and to make the Prophet's burden easier.

Meanwhile Hawla had gone to Abu Bakr to talk to him about Aisha. At first he had not been sure if the two of them were really suited for each other, but Hawla had convinced him. Everybody knew how Aisha loved the Prophet and eagerly learned everything he taught. But there was another obstacle. Abu Bakr frowned and went out of the room, and Hawla asked, "What is the matter with him now?" "Al-Mutamm wants her as a wife for his son," Aisha's mother explained, "and Abu Bakr never promised anything without keeping his promise."

Abu Bakr went to Al-Mutamm to discuss the matter with him. His wife received him with bitter words, "If we would permit out son to marry your daughter, she would certainly divert him from our religion and persuade him to joun your religion!" Wondering what to think of that remark, Abu Bakr looked at Al-Mutamm. "You heard what she said," he remarked with an icy voice. Then Abu Bakr knew that this marriage would not materialize and he was free from his promise. Relieved, he went home, and soon afterwards the marriage contract between his daughter Aisha and the Prophet (s) was made. However, she continued to live in her father's house for the time being.

During the following years things happened that were to change the life of the Muslim community profoundly. Already during the boycot, in the season of the Great Pilgrimage, the Prophet (s) had talked to the strangers who visited Mecca in order to convey the message of Islam to them. Among them there were people from Yathrib, a city situated in an oasis north of Mecca, where for several generations there had been a feud between the local tribes. Those people had listened to the Prophet (s) and, after their return, had told their relatives and friends about it, and they all had thought about it carefully.

In the meantime, Prophet Muhammad (s) had a strange experience. Once when he spent the night in the house of his cousin Umm Hani bint Abi Talib, the angel Gabriel appeard with an animal called Buraq and told him to ride it. Fast as the wind, the journey took them to the "Farthest Mosque" in Jerusalem where former prophets and messengers were already waiting for them. When they arrived, they prayed together, Prophet Muhammad (s) being their imam. Then Gabriel took him to the seven heavens where he saw many miracles and finally met the Creator Himself. When he started to tell people of his nightly journey next morning, the idolaters made pointed comments and quarreled whether such a journey could be possibe. Even some of the Muslims did not believe him and turned away from him. When Abu Bakr joined them, he was just telling them about his visit to Jerusalem. He listened carefully while he described the mountain where he had prayed together with the other prophets. Abu Bakr had been in Jerusalem on a business journey and could only confirm the description he heard. "You said the truth, messenger of Allah," he said. From then on he had the nickname As-Siddiq ("the one who confirms the truth").

During the next pilgrimage season, twelve delegates from Yathrib met the Prophet (s). They asked him a number of questions and promised him not to worship idols, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to kill their children, not to backbite and to follow him in all that is good. The Prophet sent a Muslim from Mecca along with them as a teacher who could recite the Qur'an and explain things to them. Many people in Yathrib accepted Islam. In the next year, a delegation of seventy-three men and two women went to Mecca. They invited the Prophet and the Muslims to come to live in Yathrib, because after all the things they had learned about Islam they were convinced that the Prophet would be able to put an end to the long tribal feud there and introduce peace and security. In return, they promised him to follow him in everything that is good and to defend him and the Muslims. From then on Prophet Muhammad (s) began to gradually send the Muslims to Yathrib.

When the idolaters got news about this agreement, most of the Muslims had already reached safety. Outraged, they decided to kill the Prophet. They choose a young man from each clan who should then all together attack him in the dark of the night so that none of them could be identified as the murderer and taken to account. Right on time the Prophet (s) was informed about their plan by revelation. In that night, Ali went to sleep in the Prophet's bed so that anyone who might look inside through the window thought it was the Prophet sleeping there. With Allah's help, the Prophet himself succeeded in leaving the house without being noticed and to meet Abu Bakr whom he had chosen as his travelling companion. They set off to hide in a cave in the desert. When the assassins entered the Prophet's house, they only found Ali. Furiously they went to Abu Bakrs house. At Abu Jahls angry knocking, Asma opened the door. "Where is your father?" shouted Abu Jahl. "He is not at home," replied Asma. "Where did he go, then?" Abu Jahl asked, "Did he go alone, or is there someone with him?" "I do not know," the girl said. But Abu Jahl felt that she did know where her father was but did not want to tell him, so he gave her a painful smack and went off. A rewart of a hundred camels was promised to the one who would bring the Prophet and Abu Bakr, dead or alive.

Meanwhile Asma and Aisha quickly packed food and clothes for the two men for their journey to Yathrib. It was a big parcel. When they could not find a string to tie it up, Asma cut her belt into halves and used one half to tie up the parcel with it. Tat is why the Prophet (s) later on gave her the nickname "The One With The Two Belts". Then they loaded the parcel on a camel, and their brother Abdullah secretly took it to the cave, pretendig to lead the camel out to graze. The Prophet and Abu Bakr reached Yathrib safely after several days.

Shortly afterwards the other Muslims followed except for very few of them who were too poor or too weak to travel or whose families would not let them go, like Zeinab, the Prophet's daughter whose husband was no Muslim. Abu Bakr rented a house in Yathrib for his family. He himself lived in the house of a man with whom he had become blood brothers when he first arrived in Yathrib, and he helped building the new mosque. Soon afterwards, the wedding of the Prophet and Aisha was celebrated even though the Muslims had had to leave most of their property in Mecca and there was not much food. Nevertheless is was a nice celebration, and Aisha came to live in a little house next to the new mosque. One of her neighbours was Sawda who was responsible for the Prophet's children.

The Prophet (s) did succeed in making peace between the tribes of Yathrib. All the local tribes, both the Arab and the Jewish ones, made a treaty agrreing upon their mutual rights and obligations just as it is nowadays done in the constitution of a country. They all promised to stick together against enemies from outside. For the first time the freedom of religion was proclaimed for all. The city of Yathrib was, from then on, called Madinat-un-Nabi ("City of the Prophet).

There were several wars between the Muslims and the polytheist Meccans during the next few years. The first of them was the war of Badr where the Meccans were three times as many as the Muslims and had much better weapons than them, but nevertheless the Muslims were able to defeat them. One year later there was a war at Uhud. Even though the Muslims were again able to defeat their enemies, many men lost their lives, leaving their wives as widows and their children without fathers. Often the women were persons who themselves had struggled for Islam from the beginning, who had been persecuted because of their faith and had to leave their home. In order to make life easier for them and to give them and their children a proper family life, Prophet Muhammad (s) asked his companions to marry them. He himself gave some of these women a new home. Aisha was sometimes jealous of them, but the most jealous she was of Khadija whom the Prophet remebered often.

During those first years, life in Medina was not easy for the Muslims. They were poor and had to share with each other whatever they had. The men worked in the fields, looked after the animals, made tools, built houses and tried to do some business. The women baked bread, span the wool of their scheep, made clothes, cushions and mats and looked after their children. Sometimes there was not enough food, and it happened that two people had to share one date. One day Aisha had made bread for the Prophet (s) when a beggar came who had not eaten anything for several days. So she gave the bread to the beggar, while the Prophet and herself went to bed hungry. Most Muslims had only one garment; when this was laundererd they had to stay home. Anyway they trusted in Allah and were happy. Later on Aisha often told of how she went for walks with the Prophet (s) and they raced. She could run fast, and she often won the race.

When the Muslims got news that the Meccan idolaters were about to attack Medina for the third time, they made a ditch around the city and took the women and children into a fortified building. The Meccans had made treaties with various allies and now laid siege on Medina and tried to get into the city or at least to cut off the supplies of food and water. Even in the city itself there were spies. Some of them were hypocrites who only pretended to be Muslims while they really sided with the idolaters. One day, a spy was trying to find a way into the building where the women and chlidren were. Just in time he was discovered by the Prophet's aunt Safiya. With great presence of mind she got hold of a tent pole and killed him and took off his weapons. The siege lasted several weeks, and resistance became more and more difficult for the Muslims because while the enemies could easily get supplies and enforcement, the supplies of the Muslims inside the city were nearly finished, and they were left to themselves. Suddenly during one night, a heavy storm broke loose, tearing away the aggressors' tents, and a cold rain chased them to look for shelter. Thus the enemies dispelled and did not come back.

Whenever Prophet Muhammad (s) left Medina for a journey one of his wives came along. There were also women who went along on expeditions in order to look after the wounded because they knew many a healing herb that could be found in the wilderness. They guarded the camp, went to get water, prepared the meals and even took part in active fighting when the situation demanded it. Aisha had travelled with the Prophet like that many times and remembered many incidents. On those journeys women travelled in special camel seats covered with a curtain that protected them from the burning sun. One morning when the camels were ready to move on, Aisha noticed that she had lost her necklace when washing at the well, and she went to look for it. Nobody had notice that she had gone. They all tought that she had already got into her seat because the curtain was closed, and when they were ready they set off. When Aisha had found the necklace and came back, the others were gone. But she was not scared. She knew that they would soon miss her and come looking for her, and then it was important that she stayed there and waited, because there was a well with water that would keep her alive in the desert. So she wrapped her garment closely around her body and sat down in the shadow. Soon she was found by Safwan, a young man who made up the rear of the caravan. He recognized Aisha, made her sit on the camel, walking on foot himself until, early in the afternoon, they arrived in Medina and met the others.

Now everything would have been fine, and the otherwise quite normal incident would soon have been forgotten if there had not been bad people who immediately started to talk about the two of them. They neither had any respect for Aisha, the Mother of the Faithful, nor did they appreciate Safwan's self-evident desire to help, but they only had dirty thoughts and started an evil campaign of backbiting. In the beginning Aisha did not even now about it because she was ill and had asked the Prophet to stay with her parents for the time being until she felt better. When she finally got news of the rumours, she was upset and sad. Of course the Prophet had also got the news in the meantime, and he had admonished the people in a sermon to think only the best about Aisha and Safwan. But the hypocrites used the story to deride the Prophet and cause suspicions among the Muslims. Finally the Prophet went to Aisha who was still staying at her parents' house in order to talk to her about that matter. He said to her, "If what you have heard is true than fear Allah. If you have done what they say about you, then seek Allah's mercy. Allah accepts the repentance of His servants." At hearing this, Aisha's sadness was turned into anger. She looked at her parents, expecting them to say something, but theyy kept quiet. "Are you not going to answer?" she asked. "By Allah," Abu Bakr said, confused, "What can we say to that? We do not know." Aisha started to cry, but after a while she controlled herself and said, "I have nothing to repent of all that you have accused me of. By Allah, if I confessed anything of what people are saying about me - and Allah knows that I am innocent - then I would not tell the truth. But if I deny it, then nobody will believe my anyway. So, like the father of Prophet Yusuf, I can only say, 'There remains beautiful patience' with what you say." At this, the Prophet went into deep thought, and finally he got into the state in which he received revelations. He was told,

So Abu Bakr was relieved and kissed his daughter, and her mother asked her to stand by her husban's side. "By Allah," Aisha replied, "I will not stand by his side because I have only Allah to thank for being vindicated." But the revealed verses are there forever to remind us not to slander of backbite our fellow human beings.

>From the door of her room Aisha could watch everything that happened in mosque. Every day the Prophet taught his students there. Sometimes people came to him to ask questions or to get advice for a problem. People who did not have a home of their own found shelter in the mosque until they found a place to live elsewhere. The Muslims met in the mosque in order to discuss important matters and to make decisions. Sometimes messengers came from strange nations and tribes for negotiations and treaties. There were also criminal cases to be tried and disagreements to solve. Aisha was an intelligent observer, and through her we know many of these things so that we still can learn from them. She also reported ua many things about the Prophet's family life so that he is the only prophet about whose everyday life we have a clear idea and who can be an example for us in all spheres of life.

After several years of war with the Meccan idolaters there finally was a peace treaty, the treaty of Hudaibiyah. During the following months and years, many tribes from the Arab peninsula had a possibility to com to know Islam, and quite a number of them joined the Prophet (s). Aisha who had no children to look after started to teach others what she had learned from the Prophet. So did some of the other Mothers of the Faithful. They all had an important position in the community. With reserved dignity they fulfilled their tasks. This was still very uncommon among the women of their time. Through their dress and behaviour they made it clear that they were to be respected, at a time when women seldom enjoyed any respect at all.

The allies of the Meccan idolater s did not keep the peace treaty for long. But in the meantime the Muslims had become numerous. They finally managed to take over the city of Mecca without any bloodshed, and instead of punishing the idolaters for all their crimes and persecution, they forave them generously. At this, the Meccans were utterly surprised. They all accepted Islam.

Aisha accompanied the Prophet on his last pilgrimage to Mecca where he gabe his famous farewell sermon and where for the last time a passage of the Qur'an was revealed. Allah said,

Soon after his return to Medina, Allah's messenger fell ill. He asked for his wives' permission to stay in Aisha's house to be looked after. Often he felt too sick even to go the few steps to the mosque. He then asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers. When his fever was high, Aisha and Fatima cooled him with water. About the end of his life, Aisha tells us,

"I noticed tht the Prophet had become heavy in my lap. Looking into his face, I saw that his sight had become weak, and he said, 'To the Highest Companion in the Garden!'"

On hearing the news of the Prophet's death, his closest relatives came to wash and shroud him. They buried him in Aisha's house. Pain and grief struck the Muslims. 'Umar bin al-Khattab was so overcome with emotions that he drew his sword and threatened to kill anybody who said that the Prophet had died. But Abu Bakr said, "If anyone of you has believed in Muhammad - well, he has died. But if you have faith in Allah - Allah is alive and will never die."

The Muslims were not only sad but also confused. Some of them could not imagine how life could go on now. In order to keep the community from falling apart, someone had to be found who had enough experience and was trusted by the others to direct the fate of the community. So Abu Bakr was elected caliph, "representative of the Prophet". Aisha was worried about her father because he was old, and his task was certainly not easy. Again and again, selfish people tried to create splits among the Muslims. When Abu Bakr died two years later, he asked 'Umar to take over the resposnibility in his place because he hoped that he was most able to deal with the problems.

During all these years, Aisha lived in her house with the Prophet's grave and taught many men and women who came to her to learn. In the course of time, many students attended her study circles, and her house became a centre of scholarship. She reported of the things the Prophet (s) had done and said, how he behaved with his friends and his enemies, how he made treatied and reconciled quarreling parties. For all this is part of the Sunna, the "life practice" of the Prophet which is very important for the Muslims because we are supposed to follow his example. She answered the questions of those who sought advice, and explained the Qur'an. She took part in the social life of the community and was among those who accompanied the electec caliphs with advice and criticism.

To the greatest dismay of the Muslims, 'Umar was murdered one day during prayer by a slave who felt treated unjustly by him. Before he died, Umar was able to name six important companions of the Prophet including Uthman and Ali as candidates and to point out that he had forgiven his murderer who had committed suicide after the crime. He was buried in Aisha's house beside the Prophet (s) and Abu Bakr.

When Uthman was elected caliph, he was already an old man. In the meantime, Islam had spread all over the Arab peninsula and far into Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia. It was not easy to govern such a large empire. The Muslims also became increasingly rich, and this made those among them whose faith was weak careless and proud. Mean people tried to gain the caliph's attention with flattery. Aisha and other surviving companions of the Prophet often warned Uthman from serious mistakes. There were also enemies of Islam who were planning mischief and trying to incite people against the old caliph. They caused an uprising in Medina, demanding Uthman's retirement or even his life. One of the ringleaders even tried to win Aisha for their plans because he had heard that she had criticised him occasionally, but she would not have anything to do with it. Criticism among the Prophet's companions was never meant to be hostile but as a constructive help. Aisha also warned her brother Muhammad not to get involved with the rebels. Soon afterwards she went to Mecca for pilgrimage.

On the way back to Medina, Aisha met Talha and Zubair who brought bad news grom there. The rebels had entered Uthman's house with their swords drawn while he was reading the Qur'an, and they had killed him. His wife who had tried to protect him had lost three fingers. There had been a real state of war in Medina for three days. The rebels had looted shops and houses and killed some of Uthman's relatives, while others fled. In this chaos Ali had been elected caliph, and he was now struggling to restore law and order. Aisha also met refugees from Uthman's clan, the Bani Umayyah, who suggested to assemble a large army to fight the rebels and to punish Uthman's murderers. So Aisha returned to Mecca, and soon a strong army was ready for action. Her plan was first to go to Medina where Ali had meanwhile tried to rearrange a somewhat normal everyday life. Once peace and order were restored, he thought, the complicated prosecution of Uthman's murderers could start. This was rather difficult while being based in Medina. For that reason, he moved to Kufa where people had sworn allegiance to him.

However, there were unreasonable people who did not agree with Ali's plans. In their view the most important priority was to punish Uthman's murderers even though this might be difficult. And if Ali took general peace and order for more important, they were ready to suspect that he did not want to punish them, or that he was even glad that all had turned out that way. That is also how they described the situation to Aisha who was very disappointed at Ali's reaction, and they persuaded her to lead her army against him. For the first time in history, two Muslim armies were confronting each other even though neither Ali nor Ali wanted to make war. They agreed to meet next morning and negotiate and find a peaceful solution for the matter.

But the mischief-makers did not like this at all. Once Aisha and Ali talked to each other, the misunderstandings would soon clear up and their machinations come to light. Then they would be punished for their intrigues. In order to prevent this, they did all they could to cause a clash between the armies. Early at dawn they raised the war cries so that each army was led to bellieve that the other one was treacherously attacking them. Within a few minutes the battle was raging. Ali tried in vain to keep his men back. Ausha mounted her camel and rode straight into the battlefield in order to tell her men to stop, but they misunderstood this gesture and crowded around her camel shouting, "She is the best Mother of the Faithful! We are ready to give our lives to defend her!" How was it then possible to put an end to the menaingless fighting?

Finally Ali sent some brave and skilful men who hamstrung Aisha's camel. That is why this battle has become known as "the Battle of the Camel". This interrupted the actual fighting. When Aisha dismounted unharmed, Ali succeeded in getting close enough to her. With few words the misunderstanding were cleared, and Aisha felt sorry that she had listened to false advice and mistrusted Ali's intentions because in realities they had the same aims. After they had rested and talked for a few days, Aisha and Ali gave a talk to the people. She said, "My children, there is no hostility between Ali and me. It was a bad misunderstanding. I consider Ali a very good man." "The Mother of the Faithful is right," Ali added, "She is a honourable wife of our dear Prophet in this world and in the life to come."

Aisha spent the rest of her life in Medina, teaching and helping people with good advice. She was one of the most important scholars of early Islam. Her nephew Urwa later on said about her, "I never met anyone with a better knowledge of Islamic law, medicine and poetry than my aunt Aisha." Since she never had children of her own, she gave a home to her niece whose name was also Aisha and who was similar to her in many ways. She was her aunt's student and became an great scholar. Aisha died in Median at a very old age.