Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 49
'kishah (I&,) should or should not have done the things that she did.
Rather what may be understood from them is that the Prophet (&)
was wondering which one of his wives would pass by the oasis of 2-
Haw'ab. The reports that contain the word 'beware', indicating that
the Prophet (g) wamed against going there, were not classified as
sound by the scholars; in fact, they were classified as weak. One
example is the report which says, "Beware lest you he there, 0
Humayra." lZ8
Hence the correct view, which we follow, is that the fact that
'kishah (&) passed by the water of al-Haw'ab did not have the
negative effect which was suggested by the fabricated reports. It did
not have any far-reaching effect on '~ishah(I&) herself to the point
that she started seriously of turning hick and giving up the
cause for which she had set out, namely to set matters straight among
the Muslims and correct their mistakes. The matter did not go beyond
a passing thought on her part, in which the possibility of turning back
merely crossed her mind. This is how she expressed it when she said:
"I thought about going back, but it was only an idea that did not last
for long." Then her mission became clear again, after az-Zubayr
reminded her of what Allah (&) might bring about at her hands in
terms of setting things straight among the ~uslims.'~~
The issue of the oasis of al-Haw'ab, and the hadiths in which
al-Haw'ab is mentioned, were and still are fertile ground for the Shia
and others, which they use to criticise the Mother of the Believers
'kishah (I&). They criticised her for going out and campaigning to
seek vengeance for the murder of 'Uthm2u (&), and they even went
so far as to deny that her decision was based on valid ijtihiid on her
part; they claimed that she went against the instrnctions of the
Messenger (g) not to go to the oasis of al-Haw'ab. The historical
sources mentioned this story, and it is mentioned by at-Tabari in a
lengthy report that was narrated by Ismi'eel ihn Moosa al-Fa&, of