Wrath of Pharaoh: When the Tyrant Murdered His Wife, Lady Asiya | Shaykha Ieasha Prime
Channel: Muslim Community Center - MCC East Bay
Date: 2023-06-10

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This talk was delivered at the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California, on April 15, 2023. Watch the lecture: https://youtu.be/ZqwrJQmXhT0

Ieasha Prime is the Director of Women’s Programming at Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia and the founder of the DC Muslim Women’s Conference. 

She converted to Islam more than 20 years ago after being a Youth Ambassador to Morrocco and Senegal. There she developed a thirst for knowledge that would cause her to sit at the feet and learn from some of the top Islamic Scholars of our time. 

After having participated in several circles of knowledge in the US, Ieasha decided to pursue religious studies abroad. She studied Arabic, and Quran at the Fajr Institute in Cairo, Egypt. Later, she moved to Hadramaut, Yemen and enrolled in Dar al Zahra, an Islamic University for Women. 

There she studied Aqeedah, Quran, Hadith, Arabic, Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Islamic law, Purification of the Heart and other religious related learning. She has received several scholarly licenses (ijaza). 

The work that she is most committed to and enjoys have been the development of Islamic programming, Islamic Studies curriculum and Rites of Passage programs for youth and adults. The majority of her life has been as an educator and activist. She is most passionate about combining Islamic studies, cultural art, activism and service for the purpose of training leaders to rise above whatever challenges stand in their way and that of the community they serve. 

In addition to her full-time work, she is the co-founder and Executive Director of Barakah INC, an organization committed to training Muslim women in traditional Islamic sciences with a focus on modern application. 

Sister Ieasha is recently known for her participation in the National Women’s March, and the courses she teaches on traditional knowledge, the challenges of race and gender in the Muslim community and Spirituality. Ieasha Prime is a proud wife and mother of three children.

Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh, was no ordinary woman. Her strength and her status will forever remain unsurpassed.

She was a woman who never allowed herself to be defined or limited by her painful circumstances, but rather carried in her such a deep faith and sense of self that she was willing to die for what she believed in.

It was for this reason that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned her as one of the greatest women of all time.

“Many men reached perfection but none among the women reached perfection except Mary, the daughter of ‘ `Imran, and Asya, Pharaoh’s wife. And the superiority of `Aisha to other women is like the superiority of Tharid to other kinds of food.” (Al-Bukhari)

Asiya’s story begins in Egypt where she lived with her husband, Pharaoh — known as the greatest tyrant of all time. After being told by a fortune teller that he would be overtaken by a man from the Children of Israel, Pharaoh ordered all male babies to be executed.

The Noble Quran describes the horrific life of the Children of Israel as follows:

{And remember, We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh: They set you hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered your sons and let your women live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.} (2:49)

So when Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was born, his mother feared for his life. But God assured her that he would be safe, and told her to place him in a basket and put him on the Nile. The Quran tells us:

{And We inspired the mother of Musa, (saying): “Suckle him [Musa], but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers.”} (28:7)

And just as God had promised, Prophet Moses came safely to shore, where he was found by Asiya, who was able to convince her husband to keep the child. God says in the Quran what means:

{Then the household of Pharaoh picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a (cause of) grief. Verily! Pharaoh, Haman and their hosts were sinners. And the wife of Pharaoh said: “A comfort of the eye for me and for you. Kill him not, perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son.” And they perceive not (the result of that).} (28:8-9)

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