eighth year, and that her dowry consisted of twelve Oqyahs 43 of gold. It is an authentic fact that all the children of his lordship the best of the servants [of God] were born of Khodayjah, except the lord Ebrâhim, to whom Maryah the Coptess gave birth. As long as Khodayjah the greater-m. A. r. h.-was alive, the most excellent of men-the greater blessings be on him-would not, from regard for her noble mind, contract a marriage with any other woman.

h.

The virtues and good qualities of Khodayjah-m. A. r. -were numerous, her perfections and accomplishments innumerable. She was the first who believed in the prophetship of the prince of the righteous, and she freely spent everything she possessed in order to please him. There is a tradition of A'li the Commander of the Faithful -the blessings of the Most High be on him-that the prophet-the bl. of A. and peace be on him and on his family-said: 'The best woman of past times was Mariam [Mary], and the best woman of our times is Khodayjah.' There is also a tradition of Ebn A'bbâs-u. w. b.—that his holy and prophetic lordship said: The most excellent women among the inhabitants of paradise will be Mariam, the daughter of E'mrân; Khodayjah, the daughter of ;444 Khowylad; and Fattimah, the daughter of Muhammad; and Asiah, the daughter of Mozȧhum.' There is a tradition. of Anus, son of Mâlek, that the prophet said: The best women of both worlds are, Mariam, the daughter of E'mrân; Khodayjah, the daughter of Khowylad; Fattimah, the daughter of Muhammad; and Asiah, the wife of Pharao.'

It is recorded in the Kashafu-l-ghummah that A’ayshah said to Fattimah: Shall I not rejoice you by telling you that I heard the apostle of God—b. o. A., etc.-say: The princesses of the inhabitants of paradise are four-Mariam, the daughter of E'mrân; Fattimah, the daughter of Muhammad; Khodayjah, the daughter of Khowylad; and Asiah, the

443 About forty-eight pounds sterling.

444 This name is given to the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and ch. iii, of the Qurân bears the title, 'Family of E'mrân.'

daughter of Mozâhum, the wife of Pharao.' In the same book it is also mentioned that the lord of prophecy said: 'Paradise is anxious to receive four women-Mariam, the daughter of E'mrân; Asiah, the daughter of Mozâhum; Khodayjah, the daughter of Khowylad; and Fattimah, the daughter of Muhammad.'

In many respectable books it has been mentioned by veracious authors that one day Jebrâil-salutation to him -waited on his lordship the best of men-b. o. h. and on his family till the day of resurrection-and said: 'O apostle of God, this is Khodayjah, who is bringing to you a vessel full of almonds or of food. When she reaches you, announce to her the salutation of God and of me. Promulge to her the glad tidings that in paradise her abode will be in a hollow pearl, in which house there will be neither emnity nor strife.' When the lord Mussttafa [i.e., Muhammad] had informed Khodayjah of the greeting of God the Most High and Jebrâil, she replied: 'Upon Jebrâil and upon you, O apostle of God, be also the peace, mercy and blessing of God,' which elegant words bear testimony to the perfect intellect and discernment of Khodayjah-m. A. r. h.-because by the abundance of her penetration she was aware that the Most High could not be greeted as human beings are, and therefore she did not say and peace to God,' as some of the companions had done when they made their profession of the Faith and were reproved.

It is related of A'ayshah-m. A. r. h.-that she said: 'I bore no such intense jealousy towards any woman as towards Khodayjah, although she was no longer alive, when I was exalted to the bed of the apostle-b., etc.-because the seal of prophets remembered her much, and when he slaughtered a sheep, he cut it into pieces which he occasionally sent to the women who had been the friends of Khodayjah; and I said to him from jealousy: "Perhaps there existed no other woman besides Khodayjah ?" To which he replied: "She possessed many good qualities, and I had children by her." On a certain occasion Hâlah,

the sister of Khodayjah, knocked at the door for admission, when the apostle-b., etc.-remembered the reply he had given, and became sorry. But, according to another tradition, he was glad, and said: "O God, make her [i.e., A'ayshah] like Hâlah." I, however, was jealous, and exclaimed: "What makes you remember so much a Qoraish hag, who was so old that she had no longer any teeth in her mouth, whose life has come to an end, and in whose stead God-whose name be glorified has given you another and a better one ?" Hereon his lordship became so angry that his head shook, and he exclaimed: "I swear by Allah that He has not given me a better wife! She believed in me when all were infidels. She considered me to be veracious when everybody accused me of falsehood. She aided me with her property when all men kept aloof from me, and the boundless Giver has vouchsafed to me children by her." Ssiddyqah445 m. A. r. h.-says: 'I replied, I shall speak no more ill of Khodayjah.' According to another tradition, she said: 'I shall never blame you with reference to Khodayjah.'

It is related that one day Omm Zafar, who had been the tire-woman of Khodayjah, came on a visit to his lordship the best of men-greeting and peace to him-and he received her honourably, saying: 'This woman used to come to our house in Khodayjah's time.' And, 'A good custom is a part of religion.' According to the most prevalent and correct tradition, the death of Khodayjah-m. A. r. h.-took place in the month Ramadzân, in the tenth year after the mission [A.D. 619]. The prophet-o. w. b. b. a. p.— entered her grave and buried her. It is in the Hajûn cemetery. According to the current tradition, she had attained the age of sixty, but according to another of sixty-five years, but Allah knows best the true state of the

case.

445 A'ayshah is called by this name after the epithet of her father 'the righteous,' whose full name was Abu Bakr-ussidyq, namely, 'father of Bakr, the faithful witness to the truth.'

SOADAH-M. A. R. H.

She was the

Her cognomen was Omm446 Alaswad. daughter of Zamqah, s. of Qays, s. of A'bdu-sh-shams, s. of A'bdu, s. of Nadzar, s. of Mâlek, s. of Jabal, s. of A'amer, s. of Lowâ, s. of Ghâleb, and in Lowâ her pedigree becomes connected with that of the prophet-o. w. b. b., etc.Her mother was Shamûs, the daughter of Qays, s. of A'mru, s. of Zayd, s. of Lobeyd, s. of Khoddâsh. Soadah had first been married to her cousin Sikrân, s. of A'mru, s. of A'bdush-shams, and had by him a son called A'bdu-r-rahman, who attained martyrdom in the battle of Halaullâ, during the time of the Commander of the Faithful O'mar. Both Sikrân and Soadah had made their profession of Islâm in the beginning of the mission, and were enrolled among the exiles of Abyssinia; but after they had returned from that country to Mekkah, Soadah dreamt one night that his lordship the apostle-p. b. o. h.-had come to her, and had placed his foot on her neck. This dream she related to Sikrân, who replied: If you speak the truth I shall die, and Muhammad will marry you.' After the death of Sikrân, in the tenth year after the mission, the prophet had, according to authentic traditions, married and taken her to himself before A'ayshah, and her dowry was four hundred dirhems+47 of silver. When Soadah was overtaken by the weakness of old age, the apostle-b., etc.—wanted to divorce her, but she said: O prophet of God, do not divorce me, for I wish to have no carnal intercourse with you, because that appetite has left me; but I wish on the day of the resurrection to be reckoned among your noble spouses, and I yield my turns to A'ayshah. Accordingly the prince of this world-b., etc.-gave up his intention.

446 Although Omm literally means mother, it was often applied as a respectful term to women, and even to girls, thus being synonymous with madam' or 'miss.'

447 About forty pounds sterling.

448 The husband is supposed to have intercourse by turns with every one of his wives, unless she surrenders her right.

There is a tradition of Abu Harirah-m. A. r. h.-that he said: The apostle-b., etc.-took all his wives with him to the Hajjatu-l-wodaa' [pilgrimage of valediction], and on returning from that journey he said: "This was the pilgrimage of Islâm, which you have performed, and henceforth you are no longer under the obligation to repeat it. You must hereafter abandon travelling, and go nowhere." But after the decease of his lordship the prince of inspired messengers-b., etc.-the mothers of the Faithful again went on pilgrimage, except Soadah and Zaynab, the daughter of Jahash, who, acting according to the above injunction, and said: "After the death of the seal of prophets we shall mount no beast." According to one tradition, the death of Soadah-m. A. r. h.-took place towards the end of the Khalifate of the Commander of the Faithful O'mar, and according to another it happened in the fifty-fourth year after the flight [A.D. 674], when the government of Moa'wiah prevailed. According to the first tradition, she was also the first person for whom a bier was made.

A'AYSHAH, DAUGHTER OF ABU BAKR, S. OF ABU QOHAFAH-M. A. R. H.

Her cognomen was Omm A'bdullah, and her mother was Omm Ruman, the daughter of O'mayr, s. of Aa'mer, of the Bani Wohmán B. Alhåreth B. Ghanam B. Mâlek B. Kanânah. After Khodayjah—m. A. r. h.—had been removed to the highest paradise, the seal of prophets received A'ayshah into the bonds of matrimony when she was but six years old, and consummated it with her in the first year of the exile [A.D. 623], when she had become nine years of age. According to one tradition, her dowry was an amount of goods valued at fifty dirhems, but according to another it consisted of five hundred dirhems. A'ayshah-m. A. r. h.-was, according to the U'lamâ, distinguished by her knowledge of matters pertaining to