the earliest period (1) of prophethood. She was therefore superior by virtue of this (2) added distinction, for the Ummah benefited from her more than from any other woman, and she attained a degree of knowledge and mastery of the Sunnah (3) that no other woman attained. As for Khadijah, the good she did was confined to the Prophet himself—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. She transmitted nothing from him, and the Ummah did not benefit from her as it benefited from Aisha. Nor had the religion yet attained perfection A (4), such that she could teach it and attain, through perfect faith in it, what was attained by those who knew it and believed in it (5) after its completion.

It is well known that one who devotes his entire concern to a single matter will attain greater excellence in it than one whose concern is divided among various deeds. Khadijah—may Allah Most High be pleased with her—was therefore better for him in this respect, but the forms of righteousness are not confined to that. Do you not see that those among the Companions (6) [who possessed greater faith and strove more with their lives and wealth—such as Hamza, Ali, Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh, Usayd ibn Hudayr, and others—were superior to those who served the Prophet] (7)—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and benefited him personally more than they did, such as Abu Rāfi‘, Anas ibn Mālik, and others?

In summary, this is not the place for an exhaustive discussion of the relative merits of Aisha and Khadijah. The point here, however, is that Ahl al-Sunnah unanimously revere (8) and love Aisha, and that, among his wives—the Mothers of the Believers—who (9) survived him, it was