Give an account of the life of the Prophet's wife Aisha during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] She was the daughter of the Prophet's close companion, Abu Bakr.
2. [1] She was married to the Prophet (pbuh) in Madina at a young age and became his third wife.
3. [1] She was married to the Prophet (pbuh) for nine years.
4. [1] She was known for her intelligence and sharp memory.
5. [1] Whilst she was living with the Prophet (pbuh) she learnt a lot from him about revelations and the law, and later went on to teach Islam and became a narrator of hadith.
6. [1] She initially stayed with Sawda after migration, while her living quarters were built next to the mosque.
7. [1] She was involved in many important events in the life of the Prophet, and Qur'an verses were revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) about her in relation to the event of the necklace (Nur:11–19).
8. [1] They relate to the incident where she was accompanying the Prophet (pbuh) on an expedition to Banu Mustaliq. The caravan had stopped on the return journey and she had dropped her necklace whilst she had gone to relieve herself, and so went to look for it.
9. [1] The caravan left without her and so she fell asleep while hoping for a search party to come and get her.
10. [1] Safwan As-Salami found her and took her on his camel back to Madina.
11. [1] The hypocrites used this as a way to slander Aisha which caused her great distress.
12. [1] The verses were revealed to prove her innocence.
13. [1] She, at times, felt jealousy to the Prophet's other wives.
14. [1] She did not like that the Prophet (pbuh) showed so much love towards his first wife Khadija.
15. [1] She also did not like it when the Prophet (pbuh) stayed longer with his wife Zaynab on account of her having honey that he (pbuh) liked.
16. [1] She was considered to be the Prophet's favourite wife. He used to call her Humayra.
17. [1] The Prophet (pbuh) chose her house to rest in during his final illness and he passed away whilst he was with her.
18. [1] For 5(b): Some lessons could be that it shows that education is important for men and for women, and that men can learn from women and vice versa, as long as they keep proper etiquette as Aisha would have.
19. [1] For 5(b): It also tells us that knowledge should be taken from authentic and reliable sources.
20. [1] For 5(b): Aisha took her knowledge from the Prophet (pbuh) and people took their knowledge from Aisha because of her accuracy and reliability.
21. [0] For 5(b): Other relevant answers should be credited.