Virtues of the Ahlul Bayt

Imam Bukhari R reports that Nabi ﷺ said to Aisha RA:
يا عائشُ هذا جبريل يقرئك السلام
O Aisha, this is Jibril, he is greeting you.
Aisha RA then replied to his greeting.
Famous personalities from the Ahlul Bayt: Aisha رضي الله عنها
The Departure of the Beloved
After twelve years of a splendid marriage, Aisha RA was widowed at the age of eighteen. The details are as follows:
The Final Illness
One day, both Rasulullah ﷺ as well as Aisha RA fell ill. This illness was the prelude to his demise. Aisha RA describes these moments:
I said, “O what a severe headache!”

Rasulullah ﷺ replied, “Rather, I am the one who has a severe headache.”
That was the beginning of the illness in which Rasulullah ﷺ passed away.
Thereafter, Rasulullah ﷺ said, “If you pass away before me, you will have nothing to lose, as I will be the one who will wash your body, cover you with a shroud, perform salaah for you and bury you.” [Bukhari]

Another narration of Bukhari records it in these words.
قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ وَارَأْسَاهْ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ ذَاكِ لَوْ كَانَ وَأَنَا حَىٌّ، فَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكِ وَأَدْعُو لَكِ ‏”‏‏.‏ فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ وَاثُكْلِيَاهْ، وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَظُنُّكَ تُحِبُّ مَوْتِي، وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَاكَ لَظَلِلْتَ آخِرَ يَوْمِكَ مُعَرِّسًا بِبَعْضِ أَزْوَاجِكَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ بَلْ أَنَا وَارَأْسَاهْ لَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ أَوْ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أُرْسِلَ إِلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَابْنِهِ، وَأَعْهَدَ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْقَائِلُونَ أَوْ يَتَمَنَّى الْمُتَمَنُّونَ، ثُمَّ قُلْتُ يَأْبَى اللَّهُ وَيَدْفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ، أَوْ يَدْفَعُ اللَّهُ وَيَأْبَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ‏”‏‏.
Aisha, RA (complaining of headache) said, “Oh, my head”! Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “I wish that had happened while I was still living, for then I would ask Allah’s Forgiveness for you and invoke Allah for you.” Aisha RA said, “Wa thuklayah! By Allah, I think you want me to die; and if this should happen, you would spend the last part of the day sleeping with one of your wives!” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Nay, I should say, ‘Oh my head!’ I felt like sending for Abu Bakr and his son, and appoint him as my successor lest some people claimed something or some others wished something, but then I said (to myself), ‘Allah would not allow it to be otherwise, and the Muslims would prevent it to be otherwise”.

Aisha RA, The Nurse of Rasulullah ﷺ
When the illness of Rasulullah ﷺ became severe, he would repeatedly ask, “Where will I be tomorrow.” The wives of Rasulullah ﷺ understood from this that he was hinting that he would like to be in the house of Aisha RA. Thus, they happily agreed that he should remain in her house. Sayed Sulaiman al Nadwi R explains the wisdom behind this choice of Rasulullah ﷺ. He says:

Aisha RA was gifted with a few special abilities such as; a phenomenal memory, outstanding intelligence, deep understanding, and unsurpassed potential in deducing laws. Thus, it is not far-fetched that Rasulullah ﷺ wanted to be in her home so that she could memorise all of his final sayings and actions. The truth of the matter, regarding which there is no dispute, is that the Muslims learnt of most of the happenings of these final moments only through Aisha RA.

Aisha RA relates:
When Rasulullah ﷺ would be afflicted by illness, he would do nafth (reading and then blowing upon oneself) after reciting the protective (supplications). During his final illness, I would do nafth on his hands and then wipe them over his body.

The Final Moments
Rasulullah ﷺ was resting upon Aisha RA when ‘Abd al Rahman ibn Abi Bakr RA entered with a miswaak in his hand. Rasulullah ﷺ began looking at the miswaak. Aisha RA saw this and she knew that he loved using the miswaak. Thus she asked, “Should I take it for you?” He ﷺ indicated that she should do so. When she gave it to him, he found it to be a bit hard so she offered to soften it and then gave it back to him ﷺ. She relates:

I then saw him brushing (with it) in the best manner that I had ever seen him brushing.
Shortly thereafter, Rasulullah ﷺ fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he looked towards the roof of the house and said, “O Allah, the Most Lofty Companion!” Aisha RA said, “Now he will not remain with us.”

Thus, Rasulullah ﷺ was shown his place in Jannat (as every Nabi is shown his place in Jannat at the time of his death, after which he is given the choice of staying alive or passing away), and he chose to spend his last moments before meeting Allah in the lap of Aisha RA. Added to that, the saliva of Aisha RA —as she softened the miswaak for him—remained in his mouth at that moment. This is sufficient a virtue for any level-headed person to understand the rank of Aisha RA.
انا لله وإنا إليه راجعون
اللهم صلي على النبي و علي آله وصحبه أجمعين