2 6 Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam ‘a’isha ‘A’isha’s status as the favorite wife of Muhammad undoubtedly contributed greatly to her authority as a transmitter of his preferences and opinions. She was also the daughter of Abu Bakr (d. 13/634), one of Muhammad’s closest associates and his successor. Her love of poetry as well as her extensive knowledge of genealogy, tribal lore, and accounts of the battles fought by Muslims is traced to her father. 2 The combination of privileged kinship and marriage uniquely qualified ‘A’isha as the locus for numerous reports on the early Muslim community. ‘A’isha’s role as the maternal aunt and teacher of ‘Urwa b. al-Zubayr (d. 93/71 If.), an outstanding early scholar, further amplified her reputation. Muslim historians credit much of his knowledge and authority in hadith transmission to ‘A’isha. 2 ! Ultimately, ‘Urwa’s scholarly achievements as her student enhanced her stature as a teacher. Biographers have paid varying levels of attention to ‘A’isha’s role as a transmitter of religious knowledge. They agree that she surpassed most of her contemporaries because she related Muhammad’s traditions with a critical sense for their meanings and an understanding ( fiqb ) of their legal implications. Ibn Sa‘d foreshadows the growth of ‘A’isha’s reputation as a legal expert (faqiha). He cites an exchange in which Masruq (d. 63/683) was asked whether ‘A’isha was well versed in the laws of inheritance and distributive shares (al-fara’id): 6 Masruq swears by God that indeed she 25 In a tradition cited by Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahanl (d. 430/1038), ‘Urwa quizzes her as to the source of her knowledge of medicine. He says that he does not marvel at her knowledge of fiqh, as he can trace that to the fact that she was the wife of the Prophet and the daughter of Abu Bakr. Similarly, her knowledge of poetry and battle lore (ayyam) can be traced to Abu Bakr. However, he cannot understand how she became an expert in medical treatments as well. ‘A’isha replies that her skills in this area derive from her ministrations to the Prophet during his final illness. See Abu Nu‘aym al-Isbahanl, Hilyat al-Awliya ’ (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanjl, 1932), 2:50. 24 See, for example, his biography in Ibn Hajar, Tabdhib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al‘Ilmiyya, 1994), 7:160. 25 Her reputation as an outstanding woman in various regards has been well documented in the biographical works and in secondary literature. Here I focus only on depictions of her as a hadith transmitter and a legal expert. For fuller treatment of ‘A’isha’s biography and historical roles, see Nabia Abbott’s Aishah: The Beloved of Muhammad (1942; repr., London: al-Saqi Books, 1985). A more recent study of her legacy is Spellberg’s Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past. Stowasser has translated “far a Id ” in the more general sense of “religious obligations” (see Stowasser, Women in the Qur ’an, 117, footnote 57). It is more likely that Ibn Sa‘d used the term in its technical sense to refer to the law of inheritance and the distribution of shares of inheritance.