The hadith states that Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) took a bath in front of non-mahram men
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari: 252)
, whereas it is impossible for a great lady like Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) to do such a thing.① First point:
The people who came to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) were not strangers; rather, one of them was Sayyida Aisha’s milk nephew because Abu Salama bin Abdul Rahman was breastfed by Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr, making him a nephew of Sayyida Aisha in this regard.
Reference: (Al-Tamhid by Ibn Abd al-Barr, vol. 7, p. 61; Siyar A'lam al-Nubala by Al-Dhahabi, vol. 4, p. 288)
As for the other man, the hadith text itself mentions that he was Sayyida Aisha’s milk brother. Therefore, calling them strangers is incorrect.
② Second point:
Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) took this bath behind a curtain. Unlike the present time, washrooms enclosed by four walls did not exist then; however, curtains were used in homes to provide privacy for bathing and similar activities. Sayyida Aisha also did the same, which is a known fact.
Except for mental illness, no objector has any valid, explicit argument indicating that Sayyida Aisha acted contrary to this commonly known and practiced method.
It should be noted that the purpose of Sayyida Aisha's action was to show that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to perform ghusl with one sa' of water, and this is practically possible. When the purpose was only to indicate the quantity, it is possible that Sayyida Aisha took the water behind the curtain and performed ghusl.
