Was Ayesha, really 6 or 7 Years old when married to Prophet?
Why would the Prophet marry a child? That is the question many would like to be answered Before that, however, let’s admit that it is more than a mere question; rather, an accusation and judgment of character. Underneath the question lies the notion that Muslims should be hurt by the Prophet, supposedly, marrying under-age (Child) Ayesha. It is the exploitation of; with contemptuous disregard to howsoever great the Prophet’s dispensation in his daily life was, the presumed young age of at Ayesha.
Allegation leveled by the non-believers is that Prophet Mohammed Married Ayesha when she was a 6- or 9-years old child! In this regard, a hadith from Sahih Bukhari narrated by Hisham bin Urwah*1 is quoted. Whereas, many authentic ahadith about the Prophet’s life show that Hisham’s narration is incongruous with several historical facts, on which there is consensus. Hisham was 71 years old when living in Iraq. Hafiz Zehbi has spoken about Hisham’s loss of memory in his later period. His students in Madina, Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifah do not mention this hadith. Imam Malik and the people of Madina criticized him for his Iraqi ahadith.
*1 [Sahih Al Bukhari 5134. Book 67, Hadith 70. [English USC-MSA] Volume 7, Book 62, Hadith 65].
Presented hereunder are shades of evidence, eschewing ahadith, which allude to Ayesh’s marriable age.
1) Ayesha said; When I got a consciousness of the world, (possibly at the age of 5, 6 or 7 years) I noticed that the Prophet used to come to our house daily in the morning and evening to meet my parents who were both Muslims and remarkably close to the Prophet. When the period of persecution started (around 3rd year of the Prophethood) my family was moving to Abyssinia to avoid persecution [Bukhari]. Hijra (migration) happened around the 12th year of the Prophethood and the Prophet got married to Ayesha 2 years after the Hijra (actual-migration) which would put her age around 19 or 20 years. [ prophet was born in 570 got prophethood at the age of 40 means it was year 610, migration took place after 12 years means it was 622, got married 2 years after Hijra] would mean Ayesha was12+2+5–3 =16 years old at the time of her marriage.
2) Surah Qamar was revealed in the 6th year of Prophethood. Ayesha claims that at that time she was a child and used to play. She, however, was fully aware of the revelations to the Prophet. She may be then 7, 8 years of age. If we add up, again her age comes to about the same.
3) In a narration, Imam Ahmed narrates the circumstances of the Marriage. He describes that a father-Al Mutim bin Adi approached Abu Bakr Siddique for Ayesha’s hand for his son Jubair. When the families met the mother of the boy was a bit hesitant and when enquired she expressed her concern that Ayesha (another narration does not mention her name) but “you” instead) might convert her son to Islam. The point here is that Ayesha must be grown up to be married away or to influence someone to change his religion! So, the marriage was called off and then Prophet married her.
4) Mohammad Ibn Ishaq, the first historian of Islam, puts Ayesha at number 19 among the first 20 Muslims who converted to Islam in the first year. It alludes to her maturity, exercising her own free-will. [In a similar narration Ishaq also described her as a child] For those who may not agree with the first assertion, let us consider her age 5 or 6 years and then add 12 years of Hijra and 2 years after that. It will conclude her age to around 18 or 19 years.
5) Ayesha was 10 years younger than her sister Asma bint Abu Bakr 27; who used to take food for the Prophet and her father Abu Bakr, hiding in the cave during Hijra. This difference is agreed upon by most scholars, that means Ayesha was 17 and two years later became 19 when she was married to the Prophet (PBUH).
In the book of sīra (of the Prophet) written by Mohammad Ibn Ishaq, edited by Ibn Hisham, Ishaq states that she was nine or ten years old at the consummation. Another historian Al Tabari also states that she was 9. {authenticity scrutinized later in this piece}
Informal views on the topic.
Leila Ahmed (In her book Women and gender in Islam 1992) notes that Aisha’s betrothal and marriage to Muhammad are presented as ordinary in Islamic literature, and may indicate that it was not unusual for children to be married to their elders in that era. {an Apologist- approach discussed later in this piece}
Some writers have calculated Aisha’s age based on details found in some biographies, eschewing the traditionally-accepted ahadith. One hadith recorded in the works of some medieval scholars, including, Al Dahabi states that Aisha’s older sister Asma was ten years older than her. This has been combined with information about Asma’s age at the time of her death and used to suggest that Aisha was over 13 years at the time of her marriage.
An Ahmadiyya Scholar Muhammad Ali has estimated that Aisha was over 10 years old at the time of marriage and over15 years at the time of its consummation. {deniers of-prophethood-finality}
Denise Spielberg states that “these specific references to the bride’s age reinforce Aisha’s pre-menarcheal status and, implicitly, her virginity”. Aisha was divinely intended for him, and therefore the most credible regarding Aisha’s position in the debate of the succession to Mohammad, {a non-Muslims’ perspective}
Science of ḥadīth verification (muṣṭalaḥ al-ḥadīth)
There are several conditions to establish the veracity of a ḥadīth, the two of which are; the absence of ilal (hidden defects), and shudhudh (discrepancies).
Verification of Ayesha’s age statement (ḥadīth) has been carried out on this basis by a traditionalist Syrian hadith scholar, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Idlibī. He determines that Ayesha’s age ḥadīth is discrepant (shādhdh) and defective (maʿlūl); based on numerous pieces of evidence collectively suggesting that Ayesha was born four years before the start of the Prophethood. Ayesha was betrothed to the Prophet in the tenth year of prophethood at the age of fourteen, and married to him one year after the migration, at the age of almost 18. The discrepancy is established based on many shades off evidence including its contradiction of other aḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, e.g., where Ayesha explains that by the time, she attained awareness her parents were already following Islam—it logically means that she was born before their conversion. In addition to exhibiting discrepancies with ḥadīth sources, he also draws upon many biographical sources; such as Ibn Saʿd, Ibn Isḥāq, Al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAsākir, Abū Nuʿaym, Ibn al-Athīr, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, and others. On the strength of these pieces of evidence, he asserts that Ayesha’s age-statements are erroneous/mistaken transmittals. (at-tawahhum qawl al-murawī).
Modern researchers have debated on the veracity of this Hadith and inferred that she was much older. According to one of the scholars, Hisham mistakenly left out the word “ashara” i.e. “ten”, after the word “tis‘ah”, which means “nine” in Arabic; insinuating that she was 19 years old when she entered the household of her husband.
Prophet forbade younger boys and girls to take part in any battle. Allowing younger Ayesha and Umme Sulaiman in the battle of “Uhud” in 3 A.H fetching water and tending to the injured, would have been incongruous with his own instructions.
Qura’anic injunctions/deductions
Holy Qura’an in (4:6) says that; the guardian of the orphans should keep testing them, until they reach the age of marriage, before returning their property (4:6). From this, scholars deduced that a minimum age of marriage is at least puberty. Since the approval/acceptance by the girl has legal standing, Ayesha couldn’t have been a minor.
Marriage in Islam is a civil contract, and it can be solemnized only between persons of intellectual and physical maturity {RUSHD}, capable to understand, accept and fulfill the terms of the contract. (Q, 4:21)
It may be noted that the Quran makes intellectual maturity an inviolable imperative (even If it goes beyond the age of puberty) to determine marriageable age. Quranic description of marriage is a companionship between two mutually compatible spouses; based on developed understanding and emotional bonding; aspiring to dwell “in tranquility”, which is not possible if either of the spouses is lacking such a capability. (Q, 7:189 & 30:21)
The Prophet married off his own daughters Fatima at 21 and Ruqiya at 23. Abu Bakr married off his elder daughter Asma at the age of 26.
Based on established norms of authenticity, of any hadith, it ought to be in concordance with the Qura’anic injunctions/deductions, to be accepted as such! Although in many instances cited in this case we are dealing with narrations/traditions and not ahadith in the real sense or definition of the term.
Had Prophet been granted an exception to marry Ayesha at her minor age, Allah (SWT) m
Had Prophet been granted an exception to marry Ayesha at her minor age, Allah (SWT) most mercifully, would have granted it through Qura’an, as in the case of more than four wives (Q,33:50-51), to avoid it being followed by the common Muslims as a Sunnah of the Prophet.
This simply confirms that no such exception was granted or availed.
ost mercifully, would have granted it through Qura’an, as in the case of more than four wives (Q,33:50-51), to avoid it being followed by the common Muslims as a Sunnah of the Prophet.
This simply confirms that no such exception was granted or availed.
Non-Muslim’s criticism of the Prophet generally hovers around one or more of these aspects of his life:
1) He ordered and participated in wars against other religions. [intolerance]
2) He was a religious and political ruler awarding harsh-punishments. [incompatibility with western values]
3) He married Ayesha, a 6, 7 years old minor. [pedophilia]
These criticisms are used to malign Islam as a backward and violent religion and the contemporary Muslims as naïve and backward (‘medieval’) adhering to the teachings of such a man. Although the first two criticisms can be refuted satisfactorily without resorting to apologetics, only the third one—due to its sensitive nature–is addressed logically and rationally in this treatise.
When we look at prophetic traditions there are several aḥadīth (Āyesha’s age traditions) which go back to Ayesha with almost the same wording:
“The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six years old and consummated the marriage with me when I was nine years old”
Therefore, the historical truth of her being a minor at the time of the marriage is rarely challenged and has generated several apologetic responses which can be categorized as voluntarism, contextualism/universalism, or modern projectionism and revisionism.
Voluntarism: is what the Quran’an and the Prophet say is exemplary and cannot be termed as unethical or sinful, even if we experience it as such, for God’s commands and will are beyond human judgment in terms of right and wrong. This is called theological-voluntarism or Divine-command theory.
Those who do not admit it but admit that having sex with a minor before puberty is harmful, actually adhere to a position of—confining Qura’anic text and Sunnah to the specific historical-cultural context, yet sticking to ethical-hermeneutical norms while interpreting Qura’an and Sunnah [objectives of the (sharia’a) law]. “maqasid al sharia’a”
Contextualism/Universalism: is the acceptance of the idea that event {such as marrying with pre or early pubescent children} was a norm in the 7th century, therefore, someone exceptional {Prophet} having done so is not unethical. And that, such things—puberty, maturity and family law are the product of cultural influences, therefore, are not universal {either being historical-cultural or ahistorical-universal}, implying different ethical norms and applicability. The majority of scholars have been victims of this fallacy; confining the elements of Sunnah and some of the Qura’anic verses in their interpretation and applicability—to the time/place of their revelations/occurrences! [else, making them either having been abrogated or specific to the Prophet].
Modern Projectionism and revisionism: In this approach, the modern, mainly western, ethical standards (often falsely) are taken as universal and applied to the interpretation of the Qura’anic verses, Sunnah and ahadith of the Prophet. In this pursuit, when the historical context is found conflicting with modern thoughts, is rejected as unauthentic and reinterpreted. The sources and interpretations presenting underage marriage as acceptable are rejected, for they are misogynistic, patriarchal and abusive. They however accept the notion that the revelations cannot become outdated. The modern projectionists/revisionists’ approach, therefore, accepts and applies hermeneutical elements of contextualism/universalism, using modern ethics as its default position.
The apologetic approach [apologeticism], in the matter of Ayesha’s age, was initially adopted by the Arabs in the early 20th century while responding to the orientalists’ discourses. From the last few decades, however, these approaches are being widely used, by the west-educated modernist Muslims [especially Ph.ds] in secular disciplines/sciences; under the delusion of having become a scholar of every field of knowledge, including Islam.
Of all the criticism that Islam, Prophet and Muslims endured, since the emergence of Islam fifteen centuries ago, the marriage of Prophet Muhammad to Ayesha was not one of them, until fairly recently!
During the lifetime of the Prophet, his enemies would search for any way possible to harm and defame him. They called him crazy, spread false rumors about his wife committing adultery, and tried to even kill him on multiple occasions. They would also not leave any stone unturned to physically harm him or expose a potential flaw in his pristine life. So, then why his enemies didn’t use Ayesha’s child-age against him?
The controversy over the age of ‘Ayesha is a recent phenomenon fabricated by Islamophobes. It is simply an attempt to malign Islam, and its Prophet—questioning his judgment, ethics and morality—to make ill-informed Muslims affront, apologetic and defensive.
It is hoped that this treatise will arm them with logical arguments to rebut the absurd accusation with confidence. InshaAllah.
{Allah knows the best; I seek refuge in His mercy}
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