by 
Ali J Tama posted on 1248979112|%A: %d %B, %Y|agohover
Islam has become a target of slander and ignorance in the last few years. Of the many disinformation campaigns, one is regarding the age of Sayyidna Aisha (ra) at the time of her marriage with Nabi Muhammad (pbuh). Instead of any justification or rebuttal, my intention here is to shed some light over the more mainstream references literature by different parties and throw some light over another issue. Before I start, I would also like to say that to date there has been no convincing proof that Arabs used to marry off their daughters while they were adolescent (around the time of Islam). For anyone claiming such, other than verbal verbatim a substantial proof should be accompanied. For myself, to-date I have not found a single dependable instance in the history books of Arabia where a girl as young as nine years old was given away in marriage. Unless such examples are given, we do not have any reasonable grounds to believe that it really was an accepted norm.
The main topic of the discussion - Sayyidna Aisha (ra)'s age - in my honest opinion is grossly misreported in history books. 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 event reported, is quite an unlikely happening. Let us look at the issue from an objective stand point.
According to the generally accepted tradition, Sayyidna Aisha (ra) was born about eight years before Hijrah. This needs to be remembered as we go through the article.
Sahih Bukhari
| Sahih Bukhari says she was under the age of 10 |
|---|
i) Narrated Aisha: "The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Alright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.
(Bukhari, Book of Qualities of the Ansar, chapter: ‘The Holy Prophet’s marriage with Aisha, and his coming to Madina and the consummation of marriage with her’ trans. Muhsin Khan Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234)
ii) “Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed [alone] for two years or so. He married Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consummated that marriage when she was nine years old.”
(Bukhari, Book of Qualities of the Ansar, chapter: ‘The Holy Prophet’s marriage with Aisha, and his coming to Madina and the consummation of marriage with her’ trans. Muhsin Khan Volume 5, Book 58, Number 236)
iii) 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) married her when she was seven years old, and he was taken to his house as a bride when she was nine, and her dolls were with her; and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old.
| Sahih Bukhari says she was over the age of 10 |
|---|
i) Narrative in Sahih Bukhari (Kitab al-Tafseer) Sayyidna Aisha (ra) is reported to have said that at the time Surah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Qur'an, was revealed, "I was a young girl".
The 54th surah of the Qur'an was revealed nine years before Hijrah. According to this tradition, Sayyidna Aisha (ra) had not only been born before the revelation of the Surah Al-Qamar, but was actually a young girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. So if her age is assumed to be at least 5 at this time then at the time of her marraige she would have to be 12 years old.
ii) According to many Ahadith in Bukhari (and in Muslim), it is believed Aisha participated in the battle of Badr (624 CE) and Uhud. Also in Bukhari (Kitabu’l-maghazi) Ibn `Umar states that the Prophet did not permit me to participate in Uhud, as at that time, I was 14 years old. But on the day of Khandaq, when I was 15 years old, the Prophet permitted my participation. So if it was not allowed to participate in Uhud for people younger than 15, then Aisha would be atleast 15 in those battles, making her age atleast 13 to 14 at the time of marriage.
iii) “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 Allah’s 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.”
(Sahih Bukhari (Kitab-ul-Kafalat) trans. Muhsin Khan Volume 3, Book 37, Number 494)
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.”
iv) "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
(Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Jihad wal-Siyar, Chapter: ‘Women in war and their fighting alongside men’ trans. Mohsin Khan Volume 4, Book 52, Number 131)
Aisha joined the Holy Prophet’s 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.
According to a number of narratives, Sayyidna Aisha (ra) accompanied the Muslims in the battle of Badr and Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reported in books of hadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years was allowed to take part in the battle of Uhud. All the boys below 15 years of age were sent back. Sayyidna Aisha's (ra) participation in the battle of Badr and Uhud clearly indicates that she was not nine or ten years old at that time. After all, the purpose of women accompnying men to the battle fields was to help them, not to be a burden on them.
Tabari
| Tabari says she was under the age of ten |
|---|
“My mother came to me while I was being swung on a swing between two branches and got me down. My nurse took over and wiped my face with some water and started leading me. When I was at the door she stopped so I could catch my breath. I was brought in while Muhammad was sitting on a bed in our house. My mother made me sit on his lap. The other men and women got up and left. The Prophet consummated his marriage with me in my house when I was nine years old. Neither a camel nor a sheep was slaughtered on behalf of me.” Tabari IX:131
| Tabari says she was over the age of 10 |
|---|
i) In the time before Islam, Abu Bakr married two women. The first was Fatila daughter of Abdul Uzza, from whom Abdullah and Asma were born. Then he married Umm Ruman, from whom Abdur Rahman and Aisha were born. These four were born before Islam.”
(Tarikh Tabari, vol. 4, p. 50)
If Sayyidna Aisha (ra) was born in the period of jahiliyyah, she could not have been less than 14 years in 1 AH - the time she most likely got married.
ii) Tabari has also reported that at the time Abu Bakr planned on migrating to Habshah (8 years before Hijrah), he went to Mut‘am - with whose son Ayesha (ra) was engaged - and asked him to take Ayesha (ra) in his house as his son’s wife. Mut`am refused, because Abu Bakr had 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 time Abu Bakr decided on migrating to Habshah. 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.
iii) “
Some Other Historians
Taqrib al-tehzib and Al-bidayah wa'l-nihayah state that Sayyidna Asma (ra) (elder sister of Sayyidna Aisha (ra)) died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. This makes her 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Aisha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Aisha (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.
According to Ibn Hajar, Sayyidna Fatimah (ra) was five years older than Sayyidna Aisha (ra). Sayyidna Fatima (ra) is reported to have been born when Nabi (pbuh) was 35 years old. Thus, if this information is taken to be correct, Sayyidna 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.
According to the historian Ibn Hisham Sayyidna Aisha (ra) accepted Islam quite some time before Umar ibn Khattab (ra). This shows that Sayyidna Aisha (ra) accepted Islam during the first year of Islam. While, if the narrative of Sayyidna Aisha's (ra) marriage at seven years of age is held to be true, Ayesha (ra) shouldn't even have been born during the first year of Islam.
In another note: Nearly all historians consider Sayyidna Asma (ra), the elder sister of Sayyidna Aisha (ra) being ten years older than Sayyidna Aisha (ra). Again it is reported in Taqrib al-Tahzib and also in Al-bidaya wal-Nihaya that Sayyidna Asma (ra) died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. Obviously if Sayyidna Asma (ra) was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah to Medina. If Sayyidna Asma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Sayyidna Ayesha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Sayyidna Ayesha (ra), if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, she would have been between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.
According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the death of Sayyidna Khadijah (ra), when Khaulah (ra) came to the Nabi (pbuh) advising him to marry again, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her regarding the choices she had in her mind. Khaulah (ra) said: "You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a woman who has already been married (thayyib)". When the Nabi (pbuh) asked about who the virgin was, Khaulah (ra) proposed Sayyidna Ayesha's (ra) name.
**It should be noted here that in Arabic language the word "bikr" 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".
Hisham bin Urwah
Most of these narratives are reported only by Hisham 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 from Medinah, where Hisham ibn urwah lived the first seventy one years of his life has narrated the event, even though in Medina his pupils included people as well known as Malik ibn Anas. All the narratives of this event have been reported by narrators from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have had shifted after living in Medina for seventy one years.
Teqrib al-Tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of Nabi Muhammad (pbuh) reports that according to Yaqub bin Shaibah:
"narratives reported by Hisham are reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq".
It further states that Malik ibn Anas objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq. (Taqrib al-Tehzib: vol 11, pg 48 - 51)
Mizan al-Tidal, another book on the narrators of the traditions of Nabi Muhammad (pbuh) reports that when he was old, Hisham's memory suffered quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302)
Imam Bukhari
The author of Sahih Bukhari completely lost his eyesight in his early childhood thus when he started studying at the age of ten (205AH) he was blind. Thus when in 213AH he started collecting ahadith for his book and travelled far and wide he was already blind.
Note: Some scholars have explained the conundrum of a blind man travelling thousands of miles and writing thousands of pages that Imam Bukhari's mother cried with such passion that Nabi Ibrahim (as) visited and restored his eyesight.
Ibn Jarir Tabari
He has a plethora of works - then again it cannot be assuredly of his, since he used two different names to write his books with "very" opposing views which today define the foundations of Shia and Sunni divide.
Authenticity
The entire essence of this discussion is based on the assumption: The history and ahadith books which we have today have not changed by a single word in the last 1000 years.
Of course, this assumption can only even remotely be considered if we take into consideration the fact: This books were compiled from oral traditions many centuries after the actual events took place. To understand the gravity of this compilation style let us consider an example which might be a lot more recent.
| Think of writing the life story of George Washington today (year 2000) completely through oral traditions and assuring that no one in the chain had read even a single book. Let's assume that I decide to do it. Once I finish it will you trust my version or the version which has been handed down through some more authenticated written sources. Let us make another assumption. Even if I somehow manipulate Internet and copy and paste different sections of the book over thousands of websites, you will think twice before accepting such a material. |
Isn't it strange how logic eludes us in places where we want to.
Conclusion
To be honest, it is impossible today, with the resources we have, to know what age Sayyidna Aisha (ra) was at the time of her marriage. As I have just shown that the books which claim her to be 6-9 years old also claim her to be 17-21 years old. Thus, it falls onto us that which version we want to believe and propogate. Of course here, I have not used references from those history books which paint completely different picture of Sayyidna Aisha's (ra) age i.e. 40 at the time of marriage.
A well researched and good article.
Really a well researched one. Authentically discussed, and logically proved. A bow in the faces of slanderers of Islam, and also to ignorent muslims.
Ali J Tama is to be appriciated. His work is worth of Almighty's rewards.