Some of the visits people paid to the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were for a specific purpose. Many of the visits by the Prophet’s companions and their successors were social and some to learn the Prophet’s guidance concerning certain matters. However, some people had particular business for which they needed to visit one or the other of the Prophet’s wives. We will give two examples.
Before we relate the first one, we should make clear that a Muslim may pledge to God to do something. It could be a pledge to do some voluntary act of worship or give something in charity. In such a case, whatever is pledged becomes obligatory for that person. He could do a good work voluntarily if he so wished, and that would have been better rewarded, but once he makes it a pledge, he has to fulfill it. However, a pledge must be a promise to do something lawful. If what is pledged is forbidden, then it must not be done.
Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr was one of the youngest companions of the Prophet, as he was the first child to be born in the Muslim community in Madinah after the Prophet’s immigration. Later in his life, he claimed the position of a caliph and he ruled Arabia and Iraq. His mother was Asma bint Abu Bakr, which means that he was Lady Ayesha’s nephew. Once Ayesha did a business, or more probably she gave a large amount of money to charity, and he felt that her action was unwise. It was reported to her that he said: “Ayesha shall stop such actions or else, by God, I will impose an order stopping her financial dealings.” She asked: “Are you certain that it was he who said that?” They answered in the affirmative. She said: “I pledge to God that I will never speak to Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr again.”
“When he felt the boycott to have lasted long, he tried to plead for reconciliation through intermediaries, but she refused all mediation, saying: ‘By God, I will not accept mediation from anyone and will not break my pledge.’ Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr felt the boycott to be hard and to have lasted too long. Therefore, he spoke to Al-Musawwir ibn Makhramah and Abd Al-Rahman ibn Yaghooth, both of whom belonged to the Zuhrah clan of Quraysh, saying: ‘I appeal to you by God Almighty that you take me to Ayesha and get me to enter her home. It is unlawful for her to pledge to God to boycott me.’ The two men took him with them and screened him with their clothes. They sought permission to enter Ayesha’s home, and she told them to come in. They asked: ‘All of us?’ She said, unaware that Abdullah was with them: ‘Yes, all of you.’ When they went in, Abdullah entered right into the room behind her screen and hugged her. He earnestly appealed to her, weeping. Both Al-Musawwir and Abd Al-Rahman also appealed to her to speak to him and accept his apology. They reminded her that the Prophet prohibited the sort of long boycott she did and that no Muslim was permitted to boycott another for more than three days. When they had spoken much about the need to forgive, she reminded them that she had made a pledge to God, and to break a pledge was not an easy matter. They, however, continued to urge her to forgive him until she relented and spoke to him. In order to atone for her pledge, she freed forty slaves. Later, when she remembered her pledge, she used to cry hard, to the extent that her tears often wetted her scarf.” (Related by Al-Bukahri.)
There are several points to note in this authentic report, which I will briefly highlight:
• It is clear that the two men who helped Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr to enter his aunt’s home were unrelated to him or to her, yet they went to see her and she admitted them without knowing that her nephew was with them. She did not ask what was the purpose of their visit.
• When they went in, she was behind a screen. They could not go beyond it, but Abdullah, being her nephew, could. He behaved with her as a dutiful man would do with his beloved aunt, hugging her and pleading for forgiveness.
• The two men did not mean to play a trick on Ayesha. They wanted to achieve reconciliation between family members.
• Abdullah was right when he told the two men that the pledge made by his aunt was unlawful for her to make. His aim was to reconcile with his beloved aunt and to relieve her of her pledge.
• Ayesha needed to compensate for her unfulfilled pledge, by feeding ten poor people, or giving them clothes, or fasting for three days, or freeing one slave. In the event, she freed 40 slaves.
Another report shows that people also visited the Prophet’s wives when they were ill. Visiting the ill to comfort and reassure them, and to tell them that we think of them and sympathize with their troubles, is an important act of kindness that cements relations within society. It is a well-established social tradition in any Muslim community.
It goes back to the days when the Prophet laid the basis of the Islamic society. “Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet’s cousin, sought permission to visit Ayesha when she was in her final illness. She said: ‘I fear that he might praise me.’ They said: ‘He is the Prophet’s cousin and a distinguished figure in the Muslim community.’ She let him come in. He asked her how she felt. She said: ‘I am in a good state if I remain God-fearing.’ He said: ‘You are in a good state. You are the Prophet’s wife ...’” In another version of this Hadith, he is reported to have added: “Mother of the believers! You shall join those noble people who went ahead of you: God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr.” (Related by Al-Bukhari.)
