Supervisor’s Foreword

Unquestionably, all praises belong to Allah. We praise Him, seek help from Him, seek forgiveness from Him, and seek protection from Him from the evil of ourselves and our evil deeds. Whoever Allah guides will have none to misguide him and whoever He misguides will have none to guide him. I testify that there is no deity but Allah, He is one with no partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

After praises and salutations: Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, the finest guidance is the guidance of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the worst of affairs are the newly invented ones. Every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is deviation.

The Muslim Ummah has never ceased to face attacks upon attacks, against its body, already weakened by wounds. Poisoned arrows have always been directed towards it from the side of the enemies of Islam, both internal and external, with the intention to harm the belief structure and canonical law of Islam. Simultaneously, it is the extreme grace and benevolence of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala that there is no sinister effort made except that a favour follows it. Allah—the Mighty and Majestic—has certainly spoken the truth when declaring:

وَيَمْكُرُوْنَ وَيَمْكُرُ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِيْنَ

But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.[1]

The most severe of these attacks launched by the enemies of Islam is the assault against the honour of the Nabi of Islam and the leader of mankind, Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah—may the choicest of salutations and peace be upon him and his family—by raising objections against Umm al Mu’minin Sayyidah Aisha al Siddiqah bint al Siddiq radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, slandering and accusing her, and spreading misconceptions about her by adulterating the concrete facts of the Qur’an and Sunnah or simply fabricating lies against her.

The outcome, however, has come contrary to what they intended—and all praise belongs to Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala refuses except to perfect and complete His light even though the disbelievers despise it. Certainly, Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has turned their plots against them. This contemporary slander, renewed from time to time, has awakened the resentment of the Muslims [for the enemies of Islam] and, at the same time, their love for the Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his pure wives, especially Sayyidah Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anhu, has increased manifold. They have consequently embarked on a mission to defend her, manifest her excellences, enliven her biography, and stimulate the fervour to defend her in the souls of her young sons. This is a confirmation of Allah’s—the Mighty and Majestic—declaration:

إِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ جَاءُوْا بِالْإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِّنكُمْ لَا تَحْسَبُوْهُ شَرًّا لَّكُمْ بَلْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ

Indeed, those who came with falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather it is good for you.^[2]

It has been the great benevolence of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala upon al Durar al Saniyyah Foundation by allowing it to participate in this grand resistance in one of the various avenues of defending Umm al Mu’minin Sayyidah Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha and expressing love for her with something unique, the benefit of which will last and the effect of which will grow. The organisation embarked on preparing an international academic competition on Umm al Mu’minin Sayyidah Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha. The competition was:

Our Mother Aisha … the Queen of Chastity

The aim and purpose of this competition was to motivate scholars and researchers to study the biography of Sayyidah Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha in order to bring to light various angles of her life which are unknown to the majority, to expound on the strength of her relationship with the Ahlul Bayt radiya Llahu ‘anhum, to identify the most apparent fabrications and misconceptions about her and to refute them in a deep-rooted academic style, to highlight some of the useful lessons of the slander incident, as well as other aspects which will enrich the Islamic library, increase attachment to our mother Sayyidah Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, enliven her mention in the souls, and increase satisfaction with her purity, chastity, and lofty character.

The response to the competition was overwhelming and it produced an all-embracing echo by the grace of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Muslims from various corners of the globe responded. Treatises in the hundreds began pouring in, in succession. The academic team of the organisation took the responsibility of sifting through them, removing those entries which did not meet the standards of the competition. In addition, an international panel of adjudicators, comprising of a number of eminent ‘Ulama’ and Sheikhs, was set up to adjudicate these submissions.

The matter did not end at selecting the winning submissions and handing out prizes. Rather, this effort extended to the publication of a comprehensive book on Umm al Mu’minin prepared by the academic team of the organisation. We are honoured today to present it to the Arab and Islamic world, in fact, to the entire world. The contents of the book has been sourced from more than five hundred and fifty sources. Pure is He and all grace and favours are from Him.

Our Course of Action in the Book

The academic team at al Durar al Saniyyah Foundation carried out the following:

Selecting the most significant content of the winning submissions, composing the selected portions before cross referencing, refining, and editing them.
Perfecting the academic content by adding plentiful material to it ensuring that all the angles of the life of Umm al Mu’minin are covered, including her academic position and her effective effort in the field of Da’wah; gathering the most significant fabrications and misconceptions circulated about her; and other aspects, transforming the book into an academic encyclopaedia on Umm al Mu’minin—may Allah be pleased with her and make her happy.
Referencing ahadith and quotations the first time they appear in the book.
Defining obscure words from classical Arabic dictionaries and expounding on ahadith and statements.
Penning the biographies of eminent individuals, generally at their first appearance; except those who appear in the chain of narrators, those who are mentioned during critical examination of the narrators, those who have been mentioned by the way, and those who are contemporaries.
Designing a multifarious academic table of contents to the book.

This opportunity only allows me to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala profusely, the Being who favoured us with accomplishment of this task and honoured us by allowing us to defend the honour of His Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Coupled with this, I thank all those who participated in this effort, especially:

The academic team of the organisation who arranged the competition and ensured its success together with gathering academic material for the book and referencing, until the book reached this radiant form in the hands of the readers.

I thank the brothers in the printing, publishing, and distribution department who exhausted all efforts and went the extra mile to present this book in this wonderful form.

I am grateful to all the competitors who participated in the competition by preparing submissions. I single out those who were front-runners, whose submissions were exceptional and reveal the amount of effort spent in their preparation.

I present sincere gratitude and thanks to the members of the panel of adjudicators comprising of eminent ‘Ulama’—who spent their time munificently in adjudicating the submissions of the competition—and those scholars and researchers who proofread and edited the book.

Finally, I should not forget to thank Majmuʽat Al al Sheikh al Tijariyyah for financing and sponsoring this competition just as I am thankful to those who assisted in its publication and electronic dissemination.

At the end, I beg Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to reward all abundantly and to manifest the benefit of this book worldwide.

Allah is the giver of capability and the guide to the straight path.

Supervisor over the preparation of the book

‘Alawi ibn ‘Abdul Qadir al Saqqaf

saggaf@dorar.net

NEXT⇒ Favourable Comments about the Book

[1] Surah al Anfal: 30.

[2] Surah al Nur: 11.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents