Aisha's life Part Two

During the nine years that Aisha was married to the Prophet Mohamed, she witnessed many of the great events that shaped the destiny of the first Muslim community of Madina al Munawarra.

It was during the course of their marriage that she direction of the qibla was changed from Jerusalem to Mecca, thereby more clearly distinguishing the Muslims from the Jews and the Christians. And it was during the course of their marriage that she must have listened to many of the Jews, Christians and  idol worshippers who came not to listen to the Prophet (PBUH) but to argue with him, in the hope that they could find a plausible excuse to justify their rejection of him.
It was through exchanges such as these that Aisha learned to distinguish what was true from what was false. As the prophetic guidance continued to be revealed through the Prophet Mohamed, Aisha's way of life - along with that of all the Muslims - was gradually reshaped and refined: It was during the course of their marriage that drinking alcohol was finally forbidden, that it was made clear what food was halal and what food was haram, that the guidance of how to fast was revealed, that paying the Zakat became obligatory on all Muslims, and that all rites of the hajj were purified and clarified.

In fact every aspect of life, from birth to death and everything that happens in between, was illuminated by the way in which the Prophet behaved - and it was this way of behavior, the Sunna, that Aisha helped to preserve and protect, not only by embodying it herself, but also by teaching it to others.

 Aisha was once asked to describe the Prophet, and she replied that he was “the Quran walking”, meaning that his behavior was the Quran translated into action.
She did all that she could to do likewise. Thus she not only knew and embodied the Sunna, but also she memorized the Quran by heart and understood it. It was during the course of their marriage that, amongst others, the battles of Badr, and Uhud, and Al-Khandaq (the Ditch) were fought. These were the three major battles against the Quraish, that shifted the balance of power out of the hands of the kafirun (non believers) and into the hands of the Muslims.

Aisha participated in them all, bringing water for the Muslims warriors, and helping to look after the wounded. She witnessed both in the way of and death in the way of Allah and in the way of the kafirun.  She understood both. Indeed one of the meanings of her name, Aisha, is life.

It was during the course of their marriage that the Jews plotted and tried to kill the Prophet on more than one occasion, without success, and were punished for this.
First the Banu Qayunqa and then the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina; and then Banu Qurayza - who had broken their agreement with the Muslims during the battle of al-Khandaq and conspired to exterminate all of them - were subjected to the punishment that was decided by the man whom they themselves had chosen to judge their actions: Sa'id ibn Mu'adh.
In accordance with the commands contained in their own book, the Torah, all the men were killed - with the exception of four who accepted Islam and all the women and children were taken as slaves.