عائشة

Aisha (AD 613 or 614-678, full Arabic name Āʾishah bint Abī Bakr) was the Islamic prophet Muhammad's third, youngest, and favorite wife, a hero to Sunni Muslims, and one of history's great female badasses.

The daughter of Muhammad's best friend and first convert to Islam Abu Bakr, Aisha was either 6 or 7 years old at the time of her arranged marriage to Muhammad (570-632), who was in his early 40s at the time, and according to classical Islamic sources the marriage was consummated when Aisha was 9 years old (a fact that has been the focus of attacks by critics of Islam).

Following Muhammad's death in 632, Aisha became a major leader within early Islam, continuing to serve the Muslim community and spread her husband's message for the next 44 years. Scholarly, inquisitive, and introspective, she narrated 2,210 hadiths (sayings, deeds, decisions of Muhammad), not only on matters relating to her husband's life and work, but on a variety of other legal, historical, and religious matters, displaying an outstanding memory for historical detail, a deep understanding of Muhammad's religious teachings, and a extensive knowledge of law, medicine, and poetry.

Her father, Abu Bakr (573–634), became the first caliph to succeed Muhammad, and after his death just two years after Muhammad's, was succeeded by Umar (582 or 583–644). During the time of the third caliph Uthman (576–656), Aisha became a leading figure in the opposition to his policies, though she endeavored to punish those responsible for his assassination.

During the reign of the fourth caliph Ali (600-661), Aisha sought to avenge Uthman's death, which she blamed on Ali, personally leading an army of around 10,000 men into battle against Ali's forces at the Battle of the Camel in December 656. Aisha roused her troops with soaring speeches and directed their attack from the back of her camel, hence the name of the battle. Although the tide of the battle turned against Aisha when her two main generals were killed, she refused to give up and her troops fought furiously to defend her until her camel was finally killed out from under her and she was taken prisoner by Ali's forces.

Her defeat in the Battle of the Camel ended Aisha's political ambitions, but Ali was generous in victory, granting her a full pardon for her rebellion. Thereafter, she lived out the remaining two decades of her life in Medina, engaging in extensive scholarship and indulging her love of poetry, but refraining from further participation in politics. She eventually acknowledged the caliphate of Ali, and did not oppose Mu'awiya I (605–680) when he became the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate. Aisha died peacefully in her home in Medina on July 16, 678 at the age of 67.

Today Aisha is deeply revered by Sunni Muslims as "mother of the faithful," but she is disliked by many Shia Muslims for opposing their hero Ali in the Battle of the Camel.