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==Male companions== | ==Male companions== | ||
7th century Arabian society was, as can only be expected of any society operating in a harsh environment of scarce resources and perpetual warfare, dominated by men. The most influential of Muhammad's companions on the trajectory of Islam were, it should therefore come as no surprise, men. The four of Muhammad's companions to succeed him were also reported to have been highly influential and near to Muhammad during his own life. It is not clear, through the eyes of a historian, whether the central role of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan, and Ali - in roughly order - during Muhammad's lifetime is the obvious precedent which enabled them to be chosen as his successors or whether their centrality in the narratives of the s''eerah'' (prophetic biographies) and ''hadith'' (prophetic narrations) written down long after their own demise was a product of their influence on the historical imagination of devout Muslims posthumous to Muhammad's death. In either case, however, their influence on the trajectory and history of Islam was, and perhaps inextricably remains, immense. It should also be noted that whereas the patriarchal arrangements of early Islamic society hardly deserve indictment, given their historical situation and the fact that they were in a limited sense an improvement upon pre-Islamic gender norms, the same can, perhaps, not be said about the perpetual enshrinement of those patriarchal norms - however much an improvement in 7th century Arabia - as took place in the ideas of Islamic law that | 7th century Arabian society was, as can only be expected of any society operating in a harsh environment of scarce resources and perpetual warfare, dominated by men. The most influential of Muhammad's companions on the trajectory of Islam were, it should therefore come as no surprise, men. The four of Muhammad's companions to succeed him were also reported to have been highly influential and near to Muhammad during his own life. It is not clear, through the eyes of a historian, whether the central role of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmaan, and Ali - in roughly order - during Muhammad's lifetime is the obvious precedent which enabled them to be chosen as his successors or whether their centrality in the narratives of the s''eerah'' (prophetic biographies) and ''hadith'' (prophetic narrations) written down long after their own demise was a product of their influence on the historical imagination of devout Muslims posthumous to Muhammad's death. In either case, however, their influence on the trajectory and history of Islam was, and perhaps inextricably remains, immense. It should also be noted that whereas the patriarchal arrangements of early Islamic society hardly deserve indictment, given their historical situation and the fact that they were in a limited sense an improvement upon pre-Islamic gender norms, the same can, perhaps, not be said about the perpetual enshrinement of those patriarchal norms - however much an improvement in 7th century Arabia - as took place in the ideas of Islamic law that finally emerged. | ||
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==Female companions== | ==Female companions== | ||
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<div class="articleSummaryColumn"> | The female companions of the prophet Muhammad were, on the whole, far less influential with respect to the early history and trajectory of Islam than his male companions. To the extent that some women were exceptionally important in the narratives that emerged about Muhammad's life and influential in the materially-evidenced historical experience of Islam, they were either blood relatives of Muhammad or his sexual mates (or, in the case of Zaynab, both). Exceptions to these exceptions also existed, such as Muhammad's foster-mother, although these were of still reduced significance. The two most influential women in early Islamic history are, without question, Khadija bint Khuwaylid (Muhammad's first wife) and Aisha bint Abi Bakr (Muhammad's youngest and most favored wife). The former was the first confidant of and in all likelihood a formative influence upon Muhammad when he first proclaimed his prophethood. The latter, after being cause of much controversy and domestic discord during Muhammad's own life (albeit of less direct impact other than that), would become hugely important in the direction Islam took after Muhammad's death when she decided to take a stand against Ali - a move on her part without which Shi'ism, as it is today known, would not have existed.<div class="articleSummaryColumn"> | ||
{{PortalArticle|image=Aisha.png|summary=|description=Aisha bint Abi Bakr was Muhammad's third and favorite wife, who was married to Muhammad at the age of six, and the daughter of Abu Bakr Abdullah b. Uthman, Muhammad's best friend. During the conflict that gave rise to and followed the assassination of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan, however, Aisha lead a campaign alongside the companion Talha ibn Ubaydullah and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr against Ali ibn Abi Talib. Aisha's party lost the ensuing battle, known as the Battle of the Camel.|title=Aisha bint Abi Bakr}}{{PortalArticle|image=Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.jpg|description=Khadīja bint Khuwaylid was Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and she was his only wife as long as she lived. Twelve of Muhammad’s wives are credited with the title Umm al-Muminun (“Mother of the Faithful”), but Khadijah occupies a unique position as the Mother of Islam herself. Khadijah was the mother to all of Muhammad's children, including Fatimah, save one.|summary=|title=Khadijah bint Khuwaylid}} | {{PortalArticle|image=Aisha.png|summary=|description=Aisha bint Abi Bakr was Muhammad's third and favorite wife, who was married to Muhammad at the age of six, and the daughter of Abu Bakr Abdullah b. Uthman, Muhammad's best friend. During the conflict that gave rise to and followed the assassination of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan, however, Aisha lead a campaign alongside the companion Talha ibn Ubaydullah and Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr against Ali ibn Abi Talib. Aisha's party lost the ensuing battle, known as the Battle of the Camel.|title=Aisha bint Abi Bakr}}{{PortalArticle|image=Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.jpg|description=Khadīja bint Khuwaylid was Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and she was his only wife as long as she lived. Twelve of Muhammad’s wives are credited with the title Umm al-Muminun (“Mother of the Faithful”), but Khadijah occupies a unique position as the Mother of Islam herself. Khadijah was the mother to all of Muhammad's children, including Fatimah, save one.|summary=|title=Khadijah bint Khuwaylid}} | ||
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