Voice of British Muslim Women

Yusra Dahri, Tilford

The Age of Aisha^ra

Let’s play a game. How old am I?
If I was born before Islam, how old am I?
If I was playing when the moon split, how old am I?
If my ten-years-older sister – Asma – was twenty-seven
When she rent her sash to tie up provisions
At the time of Migration, how old am I?
If people get confused, miscount, or lie,
If politics brew and sects divide,
If millennia have passed since I lived or died,
How old am I? If you like
We could play with numbers until the end of time.
But more than age, I had a name.
And more than a name, I had a life.

I am Aisha, wife of the Messenger of Allah,
Daughter of his first Khalifa.
Younger sister of Dhat un-Nitaqayn,
And one of the early Muslims.
I am remembered mostly for what I taught:
Religion and medicine, poetry and Islamic law.
They write me as a scholar, but they forgot
That by Allah’s Grace, I was also strong.
Married just a year, the Battle of Uhud:
Heavy waterskins on my back, running fast as I could
Over terrain of rock and sand and blood.
Delivering water to the wounded who would drink.
Seventy martyrs who could not.

My name is Aisha bint Abi Bakr and my heart breaks
That it is used to attack the Holy Prophet^sa in these latter days.
Those who would slander me then are now trying to use me
To slander the man who is Rahmatul-lil-Alameen.
Despite my faith and spirit and will,
The sand I lost my necklace in must be blowing still.
But I am not beads to be scattered or thread to be frayed.
I take refuge with Allah even when they try to defame
My religion, my Prophet, my life, my name.
And Allah alone exonerates. All the evidence is present
If you sift through the sand with good faith.

So I ask you, my daughters of the latter days:
Let “the age of Aisha” no longer mean a number for debate,
But make it into an age, an era where lively girls give precedence to Allah
Over all worldly things. Pray for knowledge and understanding.
Defend the truth with bravery and passion.
Share what you have learned freely. Excel in generosity.
Show true remorse for your mistakes and ask forgiveness
For your infirmities. Live such a life that when people are questioned
They can say only good things. I have never been perfect.
But I have been both young and old, and as your mother I say:
At every age, these things gave my life purpose and meaning.
My name is Aisha. I pray that Allah be pleased with me.