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  Chapters
1. A word from the Persian translator
2. Preface: aim of the survey and discussion
3. The lineage of Mu'awiyah: Abu Sufyan and Hind
4. The Umayyads in pagan times
  5   Abu Sufyan in the battle of Badr
6. Abu Sufyan in the battle of Uhud
7. Hind in the battle of Uhud
8 Abu Sufyan as leader in the battle of al-Khandaq
9. Feeling of weakness and proposal of peace
11. Mecca is captured
  12.   Abu Sufyan and his position in the Islamic community
  13   Abu Sufyan in the time of the first two caliphs
  14   Abu Sufyan in the time of 'Uthman
  15   Mu'awiyah in the time of the Prophet
  16   Mu'awiyah in the time of the caliphs
  17   Mu'awiyah and 'Uthman
  18   Abu Dharr facing Mu'awiyah
  19   A fable in the history of Islam
  20   Quranic Memorizers and Interpreters of Kufah in ash-Sham
  21   Mu'awiyah after 'Uthman
  22   Siffin, the battlefield scene of right over wrong
  23   The trickery of Mu'awiyah
  24   Abu Musa and 'Amr ibn al-'As
  25   ash-Shami plunderes
  26   Jariyah ibn Qudamah, a man of the Alawite front
  27   Two opposing politics
  28   Mu'awiyah in the time of Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
  29   Motives for peace
  30   Cautious treatment of enemies
  31   Crafty Arabs in the trap laid by Mu'awiyah
  32   Heavy taxes
  33   The Shi'ah in torture and molestation
  34   Governing becomes hereditary and imperial
  35   Allegiance to Yazid in Basra
  36   Allegiance to Yazid in ash-Sham
  37   Allegiance to Yazid in Medina
  38   Allegiance to Yazid demands victims
  39   Ceremonies of allegiance to Yazid
  40   What caused the friendship between 'A'ishah and the Umayyads
41 Gifts of Mu'awiyah
  42   the influence of 'A'ishah in the rule of the Umayyads
  43   'A'ishah and Mu'awiyah in reciprocal contention
  44   Death of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
  45   'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr is poisoned
  46   'A'ishah is penitent about the battle of al-Jamal
  47   'A'ishah generosity
  48   Her family bigotry
  49   'A'ishah as an eminent orator
  50   'A'ishah as a well -dressed woman
  51   'A'ishah's monopoly of verdicts
  52   Anecdotes in the life of 'A'ishah
  53   TA brief glance at the life of Mu'awiyah
  54   Traditional making
  55   Freed persons and the caliphate
  56   A cover for inferiority complexes
  57   The fate of the noble persons who did not co-operate with Mu'awiyah
  58   Imam 'Ali is cursed on Islamic pulpits
  59   A group of people refuses to curse
  60   The ultimate goal of Mu'awiyah
  61   A tradition from 'A'ishah
  62   Conclusion and purpose
  63   Addendum
       

 

 

THE ROLE OF AISHAH IN THE HISTORY OF ISLAM
In the name of God, the almighty

The influence of 'A'ishah
in the rule of the Umayyads

 

Ziyad ibn Abihi said proudly: This is the letter of 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu-minin to me!

If the reader has paid sufficient attention to what has already been said about the life of 'A'ishah and her political and social activities, he will have distinguished the extraordinary political genius of this woman. From the viewpoint of social and political understanding, and the power of imposing her views and many other qualities, which are necessary for a politician, she has an evident superiority over most men and women of her own time. This point will be illustrated in many ways in the forthcoming pages.
One aspect of this woman's genius is the influence of her words. We read in the book of Tabaqfit al-kubra: Murrah ibn Abi 'Uthman was the freed slave of 'Abd ar-Rahman son of Abu Bakr. One day he went to 'Abd ar-Rahman and requested him to write a letter to Ziyad, asking him to meet his need. 'Abd arRahman wrote the letter but addressed Ziyad as the son of his real father 'Ubayd, not as Abu Sufyan's son. Murrah ibn Abu 'Uthman said: "I won't take such a letter to Ziyad, for instead of securing a benefit, I shall receive some harm."
Then he went to 'A'ishah and repeated the same request. 'A'ishah wrote: "This is a letter from 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin to Ziyad, son of Abu Sufyan." The man took the letter to Ziyad who said to him after reading it: "Go now and come back to me to-morrow so that I fulfill your wish." Next day when he went to Ziyad while he was surrounded by people, Ziyad told him to read the letter. He read this sentence which was written in it and nothing more: "This is a Letter from 'A'ishah Umm al-Mu'minin to Ziyad, son of Abu Sufyan." Then Ziyad complied with the man's request.(249)
Yaqut al-Hamawi narrates this story in the section on "Nahr Murrah" of his geographical encyclopedia, and writes: Ziyad was very pleased with 'A'ishah's letter and treated the man very kindly, and then turned to the people and said proudly: "This is

 

 

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