Aisha bint Abi Bakr (c. 614 CE – July 678) was a muhadditha, political figure, and the third and youngest wife of Islamic prophet Muhammad. Following the death of and succession to Muhammad, she was politically active during the caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and stands out as a prominent female figure during the period.
Aisha played a significant role in early Islamic history, both during Muhammad's life and after his death. She is regarded in Sunni tradition as intelligent, inquisitive, and scholarly, and is often described as Muhammad's most beloved wife after Khadija bint Khuwaylid. She contributed to the transmission of Muhammad's teachings and remained active in the Muslim community for 44 years after his death. Aisha is credited with narrating over 2,000 hadiths, covering not only aspects of Muhammad's personal life but also legal, ritual, and theological subjects such as inheritance, pilgrimage, prayer, and eschatology. Her intellectual abilities and knowledge of poetry, medicine, and Islamic jurisprudence were praised by early scholars, including al-Zuhri and her student Urwa ibn al-Zubayr.