Aslam

Praise be to Allah.The hadeeth to which you refer was reported by Imaam al-Bukhaari (may

Allaah have mercy on him) in his Saheeh from Aaishah (may Allaah be

pleased with her), who said that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

said to her: You were shown to me twice in a dream. I saw you in a piece of silk

(i.e., he saw her image on a piece of silk, or he saw her wearing a silken garment). I was

told, This is your wife, so unveil her, and it was you. I said: if this dream

is from Allaah then it will come to pass. (Saheeh al-Bukhaari,

3606).

In his commentary on this hadeeth, Ibn Hajar (may Allaah

have mercy on him) said: This dream came after his mission had started, and it was a

wahy (revelation) that had implications in real life. (Its implication was that he did

indeed marry her later on). His words and it was you indicate that he had seen

her before and knew what she looked like. (See Fath al-Baari)

There is nothing in the hadeeth to indicate that his marriage to

Aaishah was as a result of that dream. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) asked her father for her hand in marriage, and her father Abu Bakr

gave her in marriage, in the usual fashion, as is indicated in the following hadeeth:

Urwah reported that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) asked Abu Bakr for Aaishahs hand in marriage, and

Abu Bakr said to him: But I am your brother. He said: You are my brother

according to the religion and Book of Allaah (i.e., my brother in Islam), and she is

permissible for me (to marry). (Bukhaari, 4691).

In his commentary Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Ibn Abi Aasim reported via Yahyaa ibn Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Haatib from

Aaishah that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent

Khawlah bint Hakeem to Abu Bakr to ask for Aaishahs hand in marriage.

Abu Bakr asked her, Is she right for him? Because she is the daughter of my

brother. Khawlah went back and mentioned this to the Prophet

(peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him). He told her: Go back and tell him: You are my brother

in Islam, and your daughter is right for me. She went back to Abu Bakr and

told him, and he said: Call the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him). So he came and the marriage was performed.

The phrase You are my brother according to the religion and Book

of Allaah (i.e., my brother in Islam) was referring to the aayah (interpretation of

the meaning): The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic

religion) [al-Hujuraat 49:10] and other similar aayaat. The phrase

she is permissible for me (to marry) means it is permissible to marry her even

though she is the brothers daughter, because the kind of brotherhood that would

prevent such a marriage is the brotherhood of descent (same parent) or of radaaah

(by being breastfed in infancy by the same woman), not the brotherhood of faith.

As regards the woman to whom the Prophets marriage was arranged

in heaven, as it were, by Allaah, and not in the customary fashion, this was Zaynab bint

Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with her), as is indicated by the hadeeth of Anas (may Allaah

be pleased with him), who said: Zaynab used to boast (to her co-wives) about how she

had got married to the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), saying:

Your families arranged your marriages but Allaah arranged my marriage from above the

seven heavens. (al-Bukhaari, 6870). No other wife except Zaynab was married to

the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in such a unique fashion;

Aaishahs marriage was arranged as described in the reports quoted above.

May Allaah reward you with good for your question. And Allaah knows best.