al-Qasida al-Wudahiya fi Madh al-Sayyida Aisha Umm al-Muminin
- Author died
- 497 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmīyah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Al-Qasida al-Wudahiya fi Madh al-Sayyida Aisha Umm al-Muminin is an Arabic devotional and apologetic poem composed by the Andalusian preacher and scholar Abu Imran Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Bahij al-Andalusi (fl. 496 AH / 1102 CE) in praise of the Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisha bint Abi Bakr and in defense of her standing .
Content and Themes
The poem is composed from the perspective of Aisha speaking in the first person, articulating her merits, status, and rebuttal of detractors . It opens with the line:
ما شَانُ أُمِّ المؤمنين وشَاني ... هُدِيَ المُحِبُّ لها وضَلَّ الشَّاني "What is the affair between the Mother of the Believers and me? Guided is the one who loves her, and astray is the one who despises her."
The text details key biographical and theological facets of Aisha's life, including:
- Her exclusive status as the Prophet's only virgin bride, and Gabriel presenting her image to him prior to marriage .
- The descent of divine revelation while she was under the Prophet's garment .
- Her exoneration in the Quran from the false slander (al-ifk), affirming her chastity and divine vindication .
- The death of the Prophet Muhammad in her arms, and his burial in her chamber alongside Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab .
- The bond and mutual affection uniting the Prophet's Companions (sahaba) and his household (qaraba), presenting the four Rightly Guided Caliphs as structural pillars of religion and comparing their unity to the fingers of a hand .
Transmission and Reception
The poem circulated widely among hadith scholars and transmitters:
- Abu Tahir al-Silafi recorded verses of it in Mu'jam al-safar (Dictionary of Travels) via Abu al-Tahir Abd al-Mun'im ibn Mawhub al-Qari, who received it directly from Ibn Bahij in Egypt .
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani documented several chains of transmission for the work in al-Majma' al-mu'assas li-al-mu'jam al-mufahras through his teachers, including Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad (Ibn al-Shaykha) and Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Salihani .
- Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti cited the poem's transmission chain in Anshab al-kuthub fi ansab al-kutub .
- It was also preserved in the transmission registry (thabat) of Jamal al-Din Ibrahim ibn Ali al-Qalqashandi .
- A historical report transmitted by al-Zabidi states that the vizier of Egypt, al-Afdal Shahanshah (d. 515 AH), granted Ibn Bahij a reward of one hundred dinars when the poem reached him .
The poem was later expanded into a five-line stanza versification (takhmis) by the Meccan Shafi'i scholar Abd al-Hamid Quds (d. 1334 AH) under the title Bulugh al-sa'd wa-al-umniyyah fi madh sayyidatina Umm al-Mu'minin al-mubarra'a al-Siddiqiyyah, published in Cairo in 1319 AH .
Modern Editions
The poem has been edited and published in modern scholarly editions:
- An edition prepared by Nizam Muhammad Salih Ya'qubi, based on manuscripts from the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the British Library, published by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut . This text was read in a public recitation gathering in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca in 1422 AH before the Hanbali scholar Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Aqil .
- An edition edited by Fahd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Rumi under the title Qasidat al-Wa'iz al-Andalusi fi Manaqib Umm al-Mu'minin al-Siddiqah Aisha .
Answer updated