A'isha bint Abi Bakr: The Favorite Wife of the Prophet

Reflections on the origins of Islam and the problems of Islamic historiography

I focus on a central and controversial figure in early Islam: A'isha bint Abi Bakr in order to reflect on the problems of  historiography of Islamic Origins.  The example of A'isha, the third and most favored wife of the Prophet, provides an interesting window to the multitude of concern raised by the 'revisionists'. Much of what we know about A'isha's life was formulated by Muslim scholars in the second and third century of Islam.

There is a general agreement on the central outline of her life but tremendous disagreements among the Shia and the Sunni over the meanings of key events in her life. 

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