The Day of the Camel, and Her Last Years

After the murder of 'Uthman in 35 AH, 'A'ishah went to Basrah with Talhah and al-Zubayr. In the Sunni understanding, they went out seeking justice for 'Uthman and to set things right among the Muslims, not to fight 'Ali or to claim power. Efforts at reconciliation were under way, but fighting broke out near Basrah in 36 AH amid confusion, and many Muslims were killed on both sides — in what became known as the Battle of the Camel, after the camel she rode.

'Ali treated her with honour, and sent her back to Madinah with an escort, including her brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Even on 'Ali's side, 'Ammar ibn Yasir said of her that she was the wife of their Prophet ﷺ in this world and the next, but that Allah was testing them to see whether they would follow Him or her (Sahih al-Bukhari 7100).

She later regretted going out. It is reported that when she recited, ﴿وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ﴾ (“And abide in your houses”) (33:33), she would weep until her veil was wet. She spent her remaining years teaching in Madinah, and died there in Ramadan of 57 or 58 AH. Abu Hurayrah led the prayer over her, and she was buried at al-Baqi'.

01Why it matters

Good people can reach different judgements in a time of trial; the Sunni way honours them all, learns from their regret, and leaves their accounts to Allah.

02Reflection

How can you speak about a painful disagreement between good people without taking from the honour of either?

03Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 7100 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Qur'an 33:33
al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-MulukHistorical report
Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-NihayahHistorical report
al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'Historical report

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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