Summary

Chapter Eight is titled “The Little Rosy One.” Aisha was the Prophet Muhammad's 11th wife. He received a vision instructing him to marry her. He was in his 50s and she was six or seven when they were betrothed. They did not live together until she was nine. Power says her first instinct was to turn away from the story in disgust.

Muhammad claimed that his love for Aisha was steady and enduring. Aisha became an authority on Islam, wrote texts that are still considered an integral part of the religion, and challenges everything about the role of women as submissive, quiet, wives and mothers. After Muhammad's death, she often debated what his words and actions meant. When Islam's third leader was murdered and his replacement refused...