lagi2_aaisyah

8/6/2019 lagi2_aaisyah

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http://sudjanamihardja.blog.friendster.com/2008/11/what-was-ayesha

%E2%80%99s-ra-age-at-the-time-of-her-marriage/#comments

In my opinion, the age of Ayesha (ra) has been grossly mis-reported in the

ahadith. Not only that, I think that the narratives reporting this event are not

only highly unreliable but also that on the basis of other historical data, the eventreported, is quite an unlikely happening. Let us look at the issue from an

objective stand point. My reservations in accepting the narratives, on the basis of

which, Ayeshas (ra) age at the time of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh) is

held to be nine years are:

Most of these narratives are reported only byHisham ibn urwah

reporting on the authority of his father. An event as well known as the

one being reported, should logically have been reported by more people

than just one, two or three.

It is quite strange that no one fromMedinah, whereHisham ibn `urwahlived the first seventy one years of his life has narrated the event, even

though inMedinah his pupils included people as well known asMalik ibn

Anas. All the narratives of this event have been reported by narrators

from Iraq, whereHisham is reported to have had shifted after living in

Medinah for seventy one years.

Tehzibul-tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and

reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) reports

that according to Yaqub ibn Shaibah: narratives reported byHisham are

reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq. It

further states thatMalik ibn Anas objected on those narratives ofHisham

which were reported through people of Iraq. (vol 11, pg 48 - 51)

Mizanul-ai`tidal, another book on the narrators of the traditions of the

Prophet (pbuh) reports that when he was old,Hishams memory suffered

quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302)

According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born

about eight years beforeHijrah. But according to another narrative in

Bukhari(kitabul-tafseer) Ayesha (ra) is reported to have said that at the

timeSurah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Quran, was revealed, Iwas a young girl. The 54th surah of the Quran was revealed nine years

beforeHijrah. According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only been

born before the revelation of the referredsurah, but was actually a young

girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. Obviously, if this

narrative is held to be true, it is in clear contradiction with the narratives

reported byHisham ibn urwah. I see absolutely no reason that after the

comments of the experts on the narratives ofHisham ibn urwah, why we

should not accept this narrative to be more accurate.

According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (ra) accompanied the

Muslims in the battle ofBadrand Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reportedin books ofhadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years was


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allowed to take part in the battle ofUhud. All the boys below 15 years of

age were sent back. Ayeshas (ra) participation in the battle ofBadrand

Uhudclearly indicate that she was not nine or ten years old at that time.

After all, women used to accompany men to the battle fields to help them,

not to be a burden on them.

According to almost all the historiansAsma (ra), the elder sister of

Ayesha (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha (ra). It is reported in

Taqribul-tehzib as well asAl-bidayah wal-nihayah that Asma (ra) died

in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously ifAsma (ra) was

100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the

time ofhijrah. IfAsma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time ofhijrah,

Ayesha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus,

Ayesha (ra), if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, was

between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.

Tabariin his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioningAbu Bakr(ra)reports thatAbu Bakrhad four children and all four were born during

theJahiliyyah the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Ayesha (ra) was

born in the period ofjahiliyyah, she could not have been less than 14 years

in 1 AH the time she most likely got married.

According toIbn Hisham, the historian, Ayesha (ra) accepted Islam quite

some time before Umar ibn Khattab (ra). This shows that Ayesha (ra)

accepted Islam during the first year of Islam. While, if the narrative of

Ayeshas (ra) marriage at seven years of age is held to be true, Ayesha

(ra) should not have been born during the first year of Islam.

Tabarihas also reported that at the timeAbu Bakrplanned on migrating

toHabshah (8 years beforeHijrah), he went toMut`am with whose son

Ayesha (ra) was engaged and asked him to take Ayesha (ra) in his

house as his sons wife.Mut`am refused, becauseAbu Bakrhad embraced

Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Ayesha (ra). Now, if Ayesha (ra)

was only seven years old at the time of her marriage, she could not have

been born at the timeAbu Bakrdecided on migrating toHabshah. On the

basis of this report it seems only reasonable to assume that Ayesha (ra)

had not only been born 8 years before hijrah, but was also a young lady,

quite prepared for marriage.

According to a narrative reported byAhmad ibn Hanbal, after the death

ofKhadijah (ra), whenKhaulah (ra) came to the Prophet (pbuh) advising

him to marry again, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her regarding the choices

she had in her mind.Khaulah said: You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a

woman who has already been married (thayyib). When the Prophet

(pbuh) asked about who the virgin was,Khaulah proposed Ayeshas (ra)

name. All those who know the Arabic language, are aware that the word

bikr in the Arabic language is not used for an immature nine year old

girl. The correct word for a young playful girl, as stated earlier is

Jariyah. Bikr on the other hand, is used for an unmarried lady, andobviously a nine year old is not a lady.


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According toIbn Hajar, Fatimah (ra) was five years older than Ayesha

(ra). Fatimah (ra) is reported to have been born when the Prophet (pbuh)

was 35 years old. Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct,

Ayesha (ra) could by no means be less than 14 years old at the time of

hijrah, and 15 or 16 years old at the time of her marriage.

These are some of the major points that go against accepting the commonly

known narrative regarding Ayeshas (ra) age at the time of her marriage.

In my opinion, neither was it an Arab tradition to give away girls in marriage at

an age as young as nine or ten years, nor did the Prophet (pbuh) marry Ayesha

(ra) at such a young age. The people of Arabia did not object to this marriage,

because it never happened in the manner it has been narrated.

I hope I have been of some help.

Best Regards

The Learner

Reply

My answer was for your satisfaction, not for a debate, and I therefore avoided all

the actual quotes. I am extremely sorry for that.

In any case, I provide below my references as well as my answers to the

comments of your Christian friend:

The First Argument

My first argument was:

Most of these narratives are reported only byHisham ibn urwah

reporting on the authority of his father. An event as well known as the

one being reported, should logically have been reported by more people

than just one, two or three.

I am sure your Christian friend can see that this argument does not need any

reference. It is a simple fact.

The Second Argument

My second argument was:

It is quite strange that no one fromMedinah, whereHisham ibn `urwah

lived the first seventy one years of his life has narrated the event [from

him], even though inMedinah his pupils included people as well known as

Malik ibn Anas. All the narratives of this event have been reported by


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narrators from Iraq, whereHisham is reported to have had shifted after

living inMedinah for seventy one years.

Again, the argument that all those who heard this narrative fromHisham ibn

ùrwah were Iraqis, is a simple statement of fact. This can be checked in the

biographical sketches of these narrators in any of the books written on thenarrators.

The Third Argument

My third argument was:

Tehzibul-tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and

reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) reports

that according to Yaqub ibn Shaibah: narratives reported byHisham are

reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq. It

further states thatMalik ibn Anas objected on those narratives ofHisham

which were reported through people of Iraq. (vol 11, pg 48 - 51)

The actual statements, their translations and their complete references are given

below:

i.e. Yaqub ibn Shaibah says: He [Hisham] is highly reliable, his narratives are

acceptable, except what he narrated after moving over to Iraq. (Tehzibul-

tehzib,Ibn Hajar Al-àsqalani, Arabic,Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Vol 11, pg

50)

i.e. I have been told thatMalik[ibn Anas] objected on those narratives of

Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq. (Tehzibul-tehzib,Ibn

Hajar Al-àsqalani, Arabic,Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Vol 11, pg 50)

The Fourth Argument

My fourth argument was:

Mizanul-ai`tidal, another book on the [life sketches of the] narrators of

the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) reports that when he was old,

Hishams memory suffered quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302)

The actual statement, its translation and its complete references is given below:

i.e. when he was old, Hishams memory suffered quite badly (Mizanul-ai`tidal,

Al-Zahbi, Arabic,Al-Maktabatul-athriyyah, Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Vol 4, pg

301)

The Fifth Argument

My fifth argument was:


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According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born

about eight years beforeHijrah. But according to another narrative in

Bukhari(kitabul-tafseer) Ayesha (ra) is reported to have said that at the

timeSurah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Quran, was revealed, I

was a young girl. The 54th surah of the Quran was revealed nine years

beforeHijrah. According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only beenborn before the revelation of the referredsurah, but was actually a young

girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. Obviously, if this

narrative is held to be true, it is in clear contradiction with the narratives

reported byHisham ibn urwah. I see absolutely no reason that after the

comments of the experts on the narratives ofHisham ibn urwah, why we

should not accept this narrative to be more accurate.

The actual statements referred to in the above paragraph, their translations and

their complete references are given below:

i.e. Ayesha (ra) said: I was a young girl, when verse 46 ofSurah Al-Qamar, [the54th chapter of the Qur'an], was revealed. (Sahih Bukhari, kitabul-tafsir,

Arabic,Bab Qaulihi Bal al-saàtu Mawìduhum wal-saàtu adha wa amarr)

The Sixth Argument

My sixth argument was:

According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (ra) accompanied the

Muslims in the battle ofBadrand Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reported

in books ofhadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years wasallowed to take part in the battle ofUhud. All the boys below 15 years of

age were sent back. Ayeshas (ra) participation in the battle ofBadrand

Uhudclearly indicate that she was not nine or ten years old at that time.

After all, women used to accompany men to the battle fields to help them,

not to be a burden on them.

A narrative regarding Ayeshas (ra) participation inBadris given inMuslim,

Kitabul-jihad wal-siyar, Arabic,Bab karahiyatil-istiànah fil-ghazwi bikafir.

Ayesha (ra) while narrating the journey toBadrand one of the important events

that took place in that journey, says:

i.e. when we reachedShajarah. It is quite obvious from these words that

Ayesha (ra) was with the group travelling towardsBadr.

A narrative regarding Ayeshas (ra) participation in the battle ofùhudis given

inBukhari,Kitabul-jihad wal-siyar, Arabic,Bab Ghazwil-nisa wa qitalihinna

maàlrijal.

i.e. Anas reports that On the day ofUhud, people could not stand their ground

around the Prophet (pbuh). [On that day,] I saw Ayesha (ra) and Umm-i-Sulaim

(ra), they had pulled their dress up from their feet [to avoid any hinderance in

their movement].


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As far as the fact that children below 15 years were sent back and were not

allowed to particpate in the battle ofùhud, it is narrated inBukhari,Kitabul-

maghazi,Bab ghazwatil-khandaq wa hiyal-ahzab, Arabic.i.e. Ibn ùmar(ra)

states that the Prophet (pbuh) did not permit me to participate in Uhud, as at

that time, I was fourteen years old. But on the day ofKhandaq, when I was

fifteen years old, the Prophet (pbuh) permitted my participation.

The Seventh Argument

My seventh argument was:

According to almost all the historiansAsma (ra), the elder sister of

Ayesha (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha (ra). It is reported in

Taqribul-tehzib as well asAl-bidayah wal-nihayah that Asma (ra) died

in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously ifAsma (ra) was

100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the

time ofhijrah. IfAsma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time ofhijrah,

Ayesha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus,

Ayesha (ra), if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, was

between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.

The relevant references required in this argument are provided below:

For the Difference of Ayeshas (ra) and Asmas (ra) Age

According toAbdal-Rahman ibn abi zannad:

i.e. Asma (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha. (Siyar A`lamal-nubala,

Al-Zahabi, Vol 2, Pg 289, Arabic,Muassasatul-risalah, Beirut, 1992)

According toIbn Kathir:

i.e. she [Asma] was elder to her sister [Ayesha] by ten years. (Al-

Bidayah wal-nihayah,Ibn Kathir, Vol 8, Pg 371, Arabic,Dar al-fikr al-

àrabi,Al-jizah, 1933)

For Asmas (ra) Age at Her Death in 73 AH

According to Ibn Kathir:

i.e. She [Asma] saw the killing of her son during that year [i.e. 73 AH], as

we have already mentioned, five days later she herself died, according to

other narratives her death was not five but ten or twenty or a few days

over twenty or a hundred days later. The most well known narrative is

that of hundred days later. At the time of her death, she was 100 years

old. (Al-Bidayah wal-nihayah ,Ibn Kathir, Vol 8, Pg 372, Arabic,Dar al-

fikr al-àrabi,Al-jizah, 1933)

According toIbn Hajar Al-Asqalani:


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i.e. She [Asma (ra)] lived a hundred years and died in 73 or 74 AH.

(Taqribul-tehzib,Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Pg 654, Arabic,Bab fil-nisa, al-

harful-alif, Lucknow)

The Eighth Argument

My eighth argument was:

Tabariin his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioningAbu Bakr(ra)

reports thatAbu Bakrhad four children and all four were born during

theJahiliyyah the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Ayesha (ra) was

born in the period ofjahiliyyah, she could not have been less than 14 years

in 1 AH the time she most likely got married.

The original statement in Tabari, its translation and reference follows:i.e. All

four of his [Abu Bakr's] children were born of his two wives the names of

whom we have already mentioned during the pre-Islamic period.(Tarikhul-

umam wal-mamluk,Al-Tabari, Vol 4, Pg 50, Arabic,Daral-fikr, Beirut, 1979)

The Ninth Argument

My ninth argument was:

According toIbn Hisham, the historian, Ayesha (ra) accepted Islam quite

some time before ùmar ibn al-Khattab (ra). This shows that Ayesha (ra)

accepted Islam during the first year of Islam. While, if the narrative of

Ayeshas (ra) marriage at seven years of age is held to be true, Ayesha(ra) should not have been born during the first year of Islam.

According toIbn Hisham, Ayesha (ra) was the 20th or the 21st person to enter

into the folds of Islam (Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah ,Ibn Hisham, Vol 1, Pg 227 - 234,

Arabic,Maktabah al-Riyadh al-hadithah ,Al-Riyadh) While ùmar ibn al-khattab

was preceded by forty individuals (Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah ,Ibn Hisham, Vol 1,

Pg 295, Arabic,Maktabah al-Riyadh al-hadithah ,Al-Riyadh).The Tenth

Argument

My tenth argument was:

Tabarihas also reported that at the timeAbu Bakrplanned on migrating

toHabshah (8 years beforeHijrah), he went toMutàm with whose son

Ayesha (ra) was engaged and asked him to take Ayesha (ra) in his

house as his sons wife.Mutàm refused, becauseAbu Bakrhad embraced

Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Ayesha (ra). Now, if Ayesha (ra)

was only seven years old at the time of her marriage, she could not have

been born at the timeAbu Bakrdecided on migrating toHabshah. On the

basis of this report it seems only reasonable to assume that Ayesha (ra)

had not only been born 8 years before hijrah, but was also a young lady,

quite prepared for marriage.


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Unfortunately, I do not have the primary reference to this argument at the

moment. The secondary reference for this argument is: Tehqiq e umar e Siddiqah

e Kainat,Habib ur Rahman Kandhalwi,Urdu, Pg 38,Anjuman Uswa e hasanah,

Karachi, Pakistan

The Eleventh Argument

My eleventh argument was:

According to a narrative reported byAhmad ibn Hanbal, after the death

ofKhadijah (ra), whenKhaulah (ra) came to the Prophet (pbuh) advising

him to marry again, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her regarding the choices

she had in her mind.Khaulah said: You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a

woman who has already been married (thayyib). When the Prophet

(pbuh) asked about who the virgin was,Khaulah proposed Ayeshas (ra)

name. All those who know the Arabic language, are aware that the word

bikr in the Arabic language is not used for an immature nine year old

girl. The correct word for a young playful girl, as stated earlier is

Jariyah. Bikr on the other hand, is used for an unmarried lady, and

obviously a nine year old is not a lady.

The complete reference for this reporting ofAhmad ibn Hanbalis:Musnad

Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Vol 6, Pg 210, Arabic,Dar Ihya al-turath al-`arabi, Beirut.

The Twelfth Argument

My twelfth argument was:

According toIbn Hajar, Fatimah (ra) was five years older than Ayesha

(ra). Fatimah (ra) is reported to have been born when the Prophet (pbuh)

was 35 years old. Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct,

Ayesha (ra) could by no means be less than 14 years old at the time of

hijrah, and 15 or 16 years old at the time of her marriage.

Ibn Hajars original statement, its translation and reference follows:i.e. Fatimah

(ra) was born at the time the Ka`bah was rebuilt, when the Prophet (pbuh) was

35 years old she (Fatimah) was five years older that Ayesha (ra). (Al-isabah fi

tamyizil-sahabah,Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Vol 4, Pg 377, Arabic,Maktabatul-Riyadh al-haditha , al-Riyadh, 1978)

These are all the references for the material I provided in my initial response.

Your Christian friend, besides asking for these references has also briefly

commented on my reply, he writes:

And, the man which the paper was quoting from refers to Tabari. Well,

Tabari also says Aisha was 9 did your learned one miss that? If you

need the reference, check my paper.


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Holy Quran] entitled The Moon, the fifty-fourth chapter, was revealed,

she was a girl playing about and remembered certain verses then

revealed. Now the fifty-fourth chapter was undoubtedly revealed

before the sixth year of the Call. All these considerations point to but

one conclusion, viz., that Aisha could not have been less than ten years

of age at the time of hernikah, which was virtually only a betrothal.And there is one report in the Tabaqatthat Aisha was nine years of ageat the time ofnikah. Again it is a fact admitted on all hands that the

nikah of Aisha took place in the tenth year of the Call in the month ofShawwal, while there is also preponderance of evidence as to the

consummation of her marriage taking place in the second year of Hijra

in the same month, which shows that full five years had elapsed

between the nikah and the consummation. Hence there is not the least

doubt that Aisha was at least nine or ten years of age at the time of

betrothal, and fourteen or fifteen years at the time of marriage. [4]

(Bolding is mine.)

To facilitate understanding dates of these events, please note that it was in the tenth

year of the Call, i.e. the tenth year after the Holy Prophet Muhammad received his

calling from God to his mission of prophethood, that his wife Khadija passed away,

and the approach was made to Abu Bakr for the hand of his daughter Aisha. The hijraor emigration of the Holy Prophet to Madina took place three years later, and Aisha

came to the household of the Holy Prophet in the second year afterhijra. So if Aishawas born in the year of the Call, she would be ten years old at the time of the nikahand fifteen years old at the time of the consummation of the marriage.

Later research

Research subsequent to the time of Maulana Muhammad Ali has shown that she was

older than this. An excellent short work presenting such evidence is the Urdu

pamphletRukhsati kai waqt Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa ki umar(The age of Lady Aisha

at the time of the start of her married life) by Abu Tahir Irfani.[4a]Points 1 to 3

below have been brought to light in this pamphlet.

1. The famous classical historian of Islam, Ibn Jarir Tabari, wrote in his History:

In the time before Islam, Abu Bakr married two women. The first was

Fatila daughter of Abdul Uzza, from whom Abdullah and Asma wereborn. Then he married Umm Ruman, from whom Abdur Rahman and

Aisha were born. These four were born before Islam. [5]

Being born before Islam means being born before the Call.

2. The compiler of the famous Hadith collection Mishkat al-Masabih, Imam Wali-ud-

Din Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Khatib, who died 700 years ago, has also written

brief biographical notes on the narrators of Hadith reports. He writes underAsma, the

older daughter of Abu Bakr:
http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn4http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn4ahttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn4ahttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn5http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn4http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn4ahttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn5


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She was the sister of Aisha Siddiqa, wife of the Holy Prophet, and

was ten years older than her. In 73 A.H. Asma died at the age of

one hundred years. [6]

(Go here to see an image of the full entry in Urdu.)

This would make Asma 28 years of age in 1 A.H., the year of theHijra, thus making

Aisha 18 years old in 1 A.H. So Aisha would be 19 years old at the time of the

consummation of her marriage, and 14 or 15 years old at the time of hernikah. It

would place her year of birth at four or five years before the Call.

3. The same statement is made by the famous classical commentator of the Holy

Quran, Ibn Kathir, in his bookAl-bidayya wal-nihaya:

Asma died in 73 A.H. at the age of one hundred years. She was ten

years older than her sister Aisha.[7]

Apart from these three evidences, which are presented in the Urdu pamphlet referred

to above, we also note that the birth of Aisha being a little before the Call is consistent

with the opening words of a statement by her which is recorded four times in Bukhari.

Those words are as follows:

Ever since I can remember (or understand things) my parents were

following the religion of Islam. [8]

This is tantamount to saying that she was born sometime before her parents accepted

Islam but she can only remember them practising Islam. No doubt she and her parents

knew well whether she was born before or after they accepted Islam, as their

acceptance of Islam was such a landmark event in their life which took place just after

the Holy Prophet received his mission from God. If she had been born afterthey

accepted Islam it would make no sense for her to say that she always remembered

them as following Islam. Only if she was born before they accepted Islam, would itmake sense for her to say that she can only remember them being Muslims, as she

was too young to remember things before their conversion. This is consistent with her

being born before the Call, and being perhaps four or five years old at the time of the

Call, which was also almost the time when her parents accepted Islam.

Two further evidences cited by Maulana Muhammad Ali

In the footnotes of his Urdu translation and commentary of Sahih Bukhari, entitled

Fadl-ul-Bari, Maulana Muhammad Ali had pointed out reports of two events which

show that Aisha could nothave been born later than the year of the Call. These are asfollows.

1. The above mentioned statement by Aisha in Bukhari, about her earliest memory of

her parents being that they were followers of Islam, begins with the following words

in its version in BukharisKitab-ul-Kafalat. We quote this from the English

translation of Bukhari by M. Muhsin Khan:
http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn6http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age-mish.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn7http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn7http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn8http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn6http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age-mish.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn7http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftn8


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Since I reached the age when I could remember things, I have seen

my parents worshipping according to the right faith of Islam. Not a

single day passed but Allahs Apostle visited us both in the morning

and in the evening. When the Muslims were persecuted, Abu Bakr set

out for Ethiopia as an emigrant. [9]

Commenting on this report, Maulana Muhammad Ali writes:

This report sheds some light on the question of the age of Aisha.

The mention of the persecution of Muslims along with the emigration

to Ethiopia clearly shows that this refers to the fifth or the sixth year of

the Call. At that time Aisha was of an age to discern things, and so

her birth could not have been later than the first year of the Call. [10]

Again, this would make hermore than fourteen at the time of the consummation of

her marriage.

2. There is a report in Sahih Bukhari as follows:

On the day (of the battle) of Uhud when (some) people retreated and

left the Prophet, I saw Aisha daughter of Abu Bakr and Umm Sulaim,

with their robes tucked up so that the bangles around their ankles were

visible hurrying with their water skins (in another narration it is said,

carrying the water skins on their backs). Then they would pour the

water in the mouths of the people, and return to fill the water skins

again and came back again to pour water in the mouths of the people.

[11]

Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in a footnote under this report:

It should also be noted that Aisha joined the Holy Prophets

household only one year before the battle of Uhud. According to the

common view she would be only ten years of age at this time, which is

certainly not a suitable age for the work she did on this occasion. This

also shows that she was not so young at this time.[12]

If, as shown in the previous section above, Aisha was nineteen at the time of the

consummation of her marriage, then she would be twenty years old at the time of thebattle of Uhud. It may be added that on the earlier occasion of the battle of Badr when

some Muslim youths tried, out of eagerness, to go along with the Muslim army to the

field of battle, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sent them back on account of their young

age (allowing only one such youngster, Umair ibn Abi Waqqas, to accompany his

older brother the famous Companion Sad ibn Abi Waqqas). It seems, therefore,

highly unlikely that if Aisha was ten years old the Holy Prophet would have allowed

her to accompany the army to the field of battle.

We conclude from all the evidence cited above that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with

her) was nineteen years old when she joined the Holy Prophet as his wife in the year 2

A.H., the nikah or betrothal having taken place five years previously.
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The Bible on marriage of young girls with much older

men

As it is Christian evangelists and other believers in the Bible who have been bitterly

reviling the Holy Prophet Muhammad on account of his marriage with Aisha, we putto them the practices of the great patriarchs and prophets that are recorded in the Bible

itself in this connection. The main accusations regarding the marriage of Aisha are

that she was too young in age while the Holy Prophet was a much older man, being

fifty years of age, and that consent to marriage was either not obtained from her or she

was not capable of giving it.

Abraham

In the book of Genesis in the Bible it is recorded about Abraham:

Now Sarai, Abrams wife, had borne him no children. But she had an

Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, The Lord

has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant;

perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai

said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his

wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband

to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. So Hagar

bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she

had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him

Ishmael. (Genesis, chapter 16, verses 14, and 1516, New

International Version. Bolding is mine.)

Firstly, it is evident that as Abraham (who then had the name Abram) was 86 years

old, Hagar must have been some fifty years younger than him, and probably even

younger, to bear a child. Secondly, the Bible speaks of Saraigivingher maidservant

Hagar to Abraham. So Hagars consent was not obtained but rather she was

commanded by Sarai to go and become Abrahams wife.

David

The first book of Kings in the Bible begins as follows:

When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not

keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his servants said to

him, Let us look fora young virgin to attend the king and take care of

him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.

Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found

Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very

beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had

no intimate relations with her. (1 Kings, chapter 1, verses 14, New

International Version. Bolding is mine.)

So there seems nothing wrong, according to the Bible, in procuring a young virgin,again apparently without her consent, whose duties include lying with the elderly king


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in bed. The intention was certainly for sexual enjoyment, otherwise there was no

necessity of looking for a young, beautiful virgin. A much older woman, perhaps a

widow, could have performed all these duties, including lying with the king to keep

him warm.

Mary and Joseph

The most famous marriage in Christianity is no doubt that of Mary, Jesus mother,

with Joseph. While the following details are not in the canonical Gospels in the Bible,

it appears from other early Christian writings (known as apocryphal writings) that

Mary was twelve years oldwhen the temple elders decided to find a husband for her.They selected the husband by drawing lots, and Joseph whom they chose was an

elderly man, being according to some accounts ninety years old. The husband wasselected and Mary was handed over to him, and she played no part in his selection.

These accounts are summed up in the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 edition, which is

available online, as follows:

It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though they

are, the lengthy stories concerning St. Josephs marriage contained in

the apocryphal writings. When forty years of age, Joseph married a

woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they lived

forty-nine years together and had six children A year after his

wifes death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished

to find in the tribe of Juda a respectable man to espouse Mary, then

twelve to fourteen years of age, Joseph, who was at the time ninety

years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates; a miraclemanifested the choice God had made of Joseph [13] (Bolding is

mine.)

Although these apocryphal accounts are not now accepted by many Christians, and

the Catholic Encyclopedia says that they are void of authority, yet it also speaks of

their influence as follows:

they nevertheless acquired in the course of ages some popularity; in

them some ecclesiastical writers sought the answer to the well-known

difficulty arising from the mention in the Gospel of the Lords

brothers; from them also popular credulity has, contrary to allprobability, as well as to the tradition witnessed by old works of art,

retained the belief that St. Joseph was an old man at the time of

marriage with the Mother of God.

However, these accounts are accepted by the Eastern churches. The website of the

Ukrainian Orthodoxy has an article on this subject entitledAn Elderly Joseph which

agrees with the presentation in the apocryphal writings of Joseph as an elderly man,

a widower with adult children. It concludes:

The Christian Easts picture of Joseph as a courageous, faithful, God-

centred elderly widower rings true.[14]
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We give below, as Appendix, a quotation from one of these apocryphal books, TheInfancy Gospel of James, describing how Marys husband was selected.

While the Western Christian churches may not accept these accounts as authentic, the

Eastern churches in Europe do accept that Mary was 12 years old and Joseph a

widower 90 years old when they married. Moreover, there is nothing in the Gospels ofthe New Testament to contradict these accounts, and the Gospel stories are not at all

inconsistent with these ages for Mary and Joseph.

References

[1]. Tirmidhi,Abwab-ul-Manaqib, i.e. Chapters onExcellences, under Virtues of Aisha.

[2]. Muslim Saints and Mystics, abridged English translation ofTadhkirat-ul-Auliya,by A.J. Arberry,

p. 40.

[3].Bukhari, Book of Qualities of theAnsar, chapter: The Holy Prophets marriage with Aisha, and

his coming to Madina and the consummation of marriage with her. For Muhsin Khans translation, see

this linkand go down to reports listed as Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234 and 236.

[4].Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad, 1992 U.S.A. edition, p. 30, note 40.

[4a]. This Urdu pamphlet was published by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam, Bombay, India. A

partial English translation is available atthis Lahore Ahmadiyya website.

[5]. Tarikh Tabari, vol. 4, p. 50.

[6]. Mishkat al-Masabih, Edition with Urdu translation published in Lahore, 1986, vol. 3, p. 300301.(Go here to see an image of the full entry in Urdu.)

[7]. Vol. 8, p. 346.

[8]. Those four places in Sahih Bukhari are the following:Kitab-us-Salat, ch. A mosque which is in

the way but does not inconvenience people;Kitab-ul-Kafalat, ch. Abu Bakr under the protection of anon-Muslim in the time of the Holy Prophet and his pact with him; Kitab Manaqib-ul-Ansar, ch.

Emigration of the Holy Prophet and his Companions to Madina; and Kitab-ul-Adab, ch. Should aperson visit everyday, or morning and evening.

[9]. Muhsin Khans English translation of Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 37, Number 494. See this link.

[10].Fadl-ul-Bari, vol. 1, p. 501, footnote 1.

[11]. Sahih Bukhari,Kitab-ul-Jihad wal-Siyar, Chapter: Women in war and their fighting alongsidemen. Seethis linkin Muhsin Khans translation and go down to report listed as Volume 4, Book 52,

Number 131.

[12].Fadl-ul-Bari, vol. 1, p. 651.

[13]. In article St. Joseph, under letterJ. Here isa link to this article in the online CatholicEncyclopedia.

[14]. Here is a link to this articleAn Elderly Joseph.
http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#apphttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref1http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref2http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref3http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.htmlhttp://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref4http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref4ahttp://www.aaiil.org/text/acus/islam/aishahage.shtmlhttp://www.aaiil.org/text/acus/islam/aishahage.shtmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref5http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref6http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age-mish.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref7http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref8http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref9http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/037.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref10http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref11http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/052.sbt.htmlhttp://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/052.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref12http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref13http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref14http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/articles_a/joseph.htmhttp://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/articles_a/joseph.htmhttp://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/articles_a/joseph.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#apphttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref1http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref2http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref3http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref4http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref4ahttp://www.aaiil.org/text/acus/islam/aishahage.shtmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref5http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref6http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age-mish.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref7http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref8http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref9http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/037.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref10http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref11http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/052.sbt.htmlhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref12http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref13http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htmhttp://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm#_ftnref14http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/articles_a/joseph.htm


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Appendix: The Infancy Gospel of James, Chapter 8 verse 2 to Chapter 9 verse 11

When she [Mary] turned twelve, a group of priests took counsel together, saying,

Look, Mary has been in the temple of the Lord twelve years. What should we do

about her now, so that she does not defile the sanctuary of the Lord our God? And

they said to the high priest, You have stood at the altar of the Lord. Go in and pray

about her. And if the Lord God reveals anything to you, we will do it. And thepriest went in taking the vestment with twelve bells into the holy of holies and prayed

about her. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood before him, saying, Zachariah,

Zachariah, depart from here and gather the widowers of the people and let each one

carry a staff. And the one whom the Lord God points out with a sign, she will be his

wife. So the heralds went out to the whole surrounding area of Judea and the

trumpet of the Lord rang out and all the men rushed in.

Throwing down his axe, Joseph went out to meet them. And after they had gathered

together with their rods, they went to the high priest. After receiving everyones rod,

the high priest went into the temple and prayed. When he was finished with the

prayer, he took the rods and went out and gave them to each man, but there was no

sign among them. Finally, Joseph took his rod. Suddenly, a dove came out of the rod

and stood on Josephs head. And the high priest said, Joseph! Joseph! You have

been chosen by lot to take the virgin into your own keeping. And Joseph replied,

saying, I have sons and am old, while she is young. I will not be ridiculed among the

children of Israel. And the high priest said, Joseph, fear the Lord your God and

remember what God did to Dathan and Abiron and Kore, how the earth split open

and swallowed them because of their rebellion. Now fear God, Joseph, so that these

things do not happen in your house. Fearing God, Joseph took her into his own

possession.

Translation by Shelly Matthews,available at this link. For other translations of

this gospel see this
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