faqir
08-01-2005, 11:07 AM
*Our Mother A'isha's Age At The Time Of Her Marriage to The Prophet*
Answered By Shaykh Gibril Haddad
[Questions in Dark Green]
*/To begin with, I think it is the responsibility of all those who
believe that marrying a girl as young as nine years old was an accepted
norm of the Arab culture, to provide at least a few examples to
substantiate their point of view. I have not yet been able to find a
single dependable instance in the books of Arab history 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./*
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
- Abu Tughlub ibn Hamdan married the daughter of `Izz al-Dawla Bakhtyar
when she was three and paid a dowry of 100,000 dinars. This took place
in Safar 360 H. (Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil).
- Al-Shafi`i in al-Umm reported that he saw countless examples of
nine-year old pubescent girls in Yemen. Al-Bayhaqi also narrates it
from
him in the Sunan al-Kubra as does al-Dhahabi in the Siyar.
- Al-Bayhaqi narrated with his chains in his Sunan al-Kubra no less
than
three examples of Muslim wives that gave birth at age nine or ten.
- Hisham ibn `Urwa himself (whom the objector claims to know enough to
forward the most barefaced judgments on his reliability) married Fatima
bint al-Mundhir when she was nine years old (al-Muntazam and Tarikh
Baghdad).
- Our liege-lord `Umar married Umm Kulthum the daughter of `Ali and
Fatima at a similar age per `Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn `Abd al-Barr and
others.
- And our Mother `Aisha herself was first almost betrothed to Jubayr
ibn
Mut`im before her father dropped that option when he received word from
the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless and greet him and be well-pleased
with them.
*/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 event reported, 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,
Ayesha's (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
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./*
Try more than eleven authorities among the Tabi`in that reported it
directly from `A'isha, not counting the other major Companions that
reported the same, nor other major Successors that reported it from
other than `A'isha.
*/ 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 Medinah his pupils included people as well known as
Malik
ibn Anas. /*
Not so. Al-Zuhri also reports it from `Urwa, from `A'isha; so does `Abd
Allah ibn Dhakwan, both major Madanis. So is the Tabi`i Yahya al-Lakhmi
who reports it from her in the Musnad and in Ibn Sa`d's Tabaqat. So is
Abu Ishaq Sa`d ibn Ibrahim who reports it from Imam al-Qasim ibn
Muhammad, one of the Seven Imams of Madina, from `A'isha. All the
narratives of this event have been reported
*/Nor by narrators from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have had
shifted after living in Medinah for seventy one years./*
Not so. In addition to the above four Madinese Tabi`in narrators,
Sufyan
ibn `Uyayna from Khurasan and `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya from
Tabarayya in Palestine both report it.
Nor was this hadith reported only by `Urwa but also by `Abd al-Malik
ibn
`Umayr, al-Aswad, Ibn Abi Mulayka, Abu Salama ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn
`Awf, Yahya ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn Hatib, Abu `Ubayda (`Amir ibn `Abd
Allah ibn Mas`ud) and others of the Tabi`i Imams directly from `A'isha.
This makes the report mass-transmitted (mutawatir) from `A'isha by over
eleven authorities among the Tabi`in, not counting the other major
Companions that reported the same, such as Ibn Mas`ud nor other major
Successors that reported it from other than `A'isha, such as Qatada!
*/ Tehzibu'l-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 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.
(vol11,
pg 48 - 51)/*
Rather, Ya`qub said: "Trustworthy, thoroughly reliable (thiqa thabt),
above reproach except after he went to Iraq, at which time he narrated
overly from his father and was criticized for it." Notice that Ya`qub
does not exactly endorse that criticism.
As for Malik, he reports over 100 hadiths from Hisham as is evident in
the two Sahihs and Sunan! to the point that al-Dhahabi questions the
authenticity of his alleged criticism of Hisham.
Indeed, none among the hadith Masters endorsed these reservations since
they were based solely on the fact that Hisham in his last period (he
was 71 at the time of his last trip to Iraq), for the sake of brevity,
would say, "My father, from `A'isha? (abi `an `A'isha)" and no longer
pronounced, "narrated to me (haddathani)".
Al-Mizzi in Tahdhib al-Kamal (30:238) explained that it became a
foregone conclusion for the Iraqis that Hisham did not narrate anything
from his father except what he had heard directly from him.
Ibn Hajar also dismisses the objections against Hisham ibn `Urwa as
negligible in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (11:45), saying: "It was clear enough
to the Iraqis that he did not narrate from his father other than what
he
had heard directly from him".
In fact, to say that "narratives reported by Hisham ibn `Urwa are
reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq" is
major nonsense as that would eliminate all narrations of Ayyub
al-Sakhtyani from him since Ayyub was a Basran Iraqi, and those of Abu
`Umar al-Nakha`i who was from Kufa, and those of Hammad ibn Abi
Sulayman
from Kufa (the Shaykh of Abu Hanifa), and those of Hammad ibn Salama
and
Hammad ibn Zayd both from Basra, and those of Sufyan al-Thawri from
Basra, and those of Shu`ba in Basra, all of whom narrated from Hisham!
*/ Mizanu'l-ai`tidal, another book on the narrators of the traditions
of
the Prophet (pbuh) reports that when he was old, Hisham's memory
suffered quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302)/*
An outright lie, on the contrary, al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I`tidal (4:301
#9233) states: "Hisham ibn `Urwa, one of the eminent personalities. A
Proof in himself, and an Imam. However, in his old age his memory
diminished, but he certainly never became confused. Nor should any
attention be paid to what Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Qattan said about him and
Suhayl ibn Abi Salih becoming confused or changing! Yes, the man
changed
a little bit and his memory was not the same as it had been in his
younger days, so that he forgot some of what he had memorized or
lapsed,
so what? Is he immune to forgetfulness? [p. 302] And when he came to
Iraq in the last part of his life he narrated a great amount of
knowledge, in the course of which are a few narrations in which he did
not excel, and such as occurs also to Malik, and Shu`ba, and Waki`, and
the major trustworthy masters. So spare yourself confusion and
floundering, do not make mix the firmly-established Imams with the weak
and muddled narrators. Hisham is a Shaykh al-Islam. But may Allah
console us well of you, O Ibn al-Qattan, and the same with regard to
`Abd al-Rahman ibn Khirash's statement from Malik!"
*/ According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born
about eight years before Hijra. But according to another>narrative in
Bukhari (kitabu'l-tafseer) Ayesha (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 Hijra. /*
Not true. The hadith Masters, Sira historians, and Qur'anic
commentators
agree that the splitting of the moon took place about five years before
the Holy Prophet's (upon him blessings and peace) Hijra to Madina.
Thus it is confirmed that our Mother `Aisha was born between seven and
eight years before the Hijra and the words that she was a jariya or
little girl five years before the Hijra match the fact that her age at
the time Surat al-Qamar was revealed was around 2 or 3.
*/According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only been born
before
the revelation of the referred surah, 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 by Hisham ibn `Urwah. I see absolutely no reason
that after the comments of the experts on the narratives of Hisham ibn
`Urwah, why we should not accept this narrative to be more accurate./*
A two year old is not an infant. A two year old is able to run around,
which is what jariya means. As for "the comments of the experts" they
concur on 6 or 7 as the age of marriage and 9 as the age of
cohabitation.
*/ According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (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. Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of
Badr
and Uhud clearly 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./*
First, the prohibition applied to combatants. It applied neither to
non-combatant boys nor to non-combatant girls and women. Second,
`A'isha
did not participate in Badr at all but bade farewell to the combatants
as they were leaving Madina, as narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. On the
day of Uhud (year 3), Anas, at the time only twelve or thirteen years
old, reports seeing an eleven-year old `A'isha and his mother Umm
Sulaym
having tied up their dresses and carrying water skins back and forth to
the combatants, as narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
*/ According to almost all the historians, Asma, the elder sister of
Ayesha was ten years older than Ayesha. /*
Well, Ibn Kathir based himself on Ibn Abi al-Zinad's assertion that she
was ten years older than `A'isha, however, al-Dhahabi in Siyar A`lam
al-Nubala' said there was a greater difference than 10 years between
the
two, up to 19, and he is more reliable here.
*/It is reported in Taqri'bu'l-tehzi'b as well as Al-bidayah
wa'l-nihayah that Asma died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old.
Now, obviously if Asma was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have
been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma was 27 or 28
years old at the time of hijrah, Ayesha should have been 17 or 18 years
old at that time. Thus, Ayesha, 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./*
Ibn Hajar reports in al-Isaba from Hisham ibn `Urwa, from his father,
that Asma' did live 100 years, and from Abu Nu`aym al-Asbahani that
"Asma' bint Abi Bakr was born 27 years before the Hijra, and she lived
until the beginning of the year 74." None of this amounts to any proof
for `A'isha's age whatsoever.
*/Tabari in his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioning Abu Bakr,
reports that Abu Bakr had four children and all four were born during
the Jahiliyyah -- the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Ayesha 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./*
Al-Tabari nowhere reports that "Abu Bakr's four children were all born
in Jahiliyya" but only that Abu Bakr married both their mothers in
Jahiliyya, Qutayla bint Sa`d and Umm Ruman, who bore him four children
in all, two each, `A'isha being the daughter of Umm Ruman.
*/ According to Ibn Hisham, the historian, Ayesha accepted Islam quite
some time before Umar ibn Khattab./*
Nowhere does Ibn Hisham say this.
*/This shows that Ayesha accepted Islam during the first year of Islam.
While, if the narrative of Ayesha's marriage at seven years of age is
held to be true, Ayesha should not have been born during the first year
of Islam./*
Rather, Ibn Hisham lists `A'isha among "those that accepted Islam
because of Abu Bakr." This does not mean that she embraced Islam during
the first year of Islam. Nor does it mean that she necessarily embraced
Islam before `Umar (year 6) although she was born the previous year
(year 7 before the Hijra) although it is understood she will
automatically follow her father's choice even before the age of reason.
*/ 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 was engaged -- and asked him to take Ayesha in his
house as his son's wife. Mut`am refused, because Abu Bakr had embraced
Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Ayesha (ra). /*
Not at all, there is no mention of emigration in Tabari's account of
Abu
Bakr's discussion with Mut`im. Nor did he ever ask him to take `A'isha
because there had been only some preliminary talk, not a formal
arrangement. Umm Ruman, Abu Bakr's wife, reportedly said: "By Allah, no
promise had been given on our part at all!" Rather, al-Tabari said that
when news of the Prophet's interest in `A'isha came, he went to see
Mut`im. Then Mut`im's wife manifested her fear that her son would
become
Muslim if he married into Abu Bakr's family. Abu Bakr then left them
and
gave his assent to the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace.
*/Now, if Ayesha 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 had not only been born 8 years before hijrah, but was also
a young lady, quite prepared for marriage./*
Your assumption fizzles at the root when you read al-Tabari's positive
assertion: "On the day he consummated the marriage with her, she was
nine years old."
*/According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the
death
of Khadijah, when Khaulah came to the Prophet advising him to marry
again, the Prophet 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 asked about who the virgin
was, Khaulah proposed Ayesha's 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"./*
*/ /*
This is ignorant nonsense, bikr means a virgin girl, a girl who has
never been married even if her age is 0 and there is no unclarity here
whatsoever.
*/ /*
*/According to Ibn Hajar, Fatimah was five years older than Ayesha.
Fatimah is reported to have been born when the Prophet was 35 years
old.
Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct, Ayesha 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./*
Rather, Ibn Hajar mentions two versions: (1) al-Waqidi's narration that
Fatima was born when the Prophet was 35; and (2) Ibn `Abd al-Barr's
narration that she was born when he was 41, approximately one year more
or less before Prophethood, and about five years before `A'isha was
born. The latter version matches the established dates.
So our Mother `A'isha was nineteen to twenty years younger than her
sister Asma' (b. 27 before Hijra-d. 74) and about five years to eight
years Fatima's junior.
*/These are some of the major points that go against accepting the
commonly known narrative regarding Ayesha's (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 marry Ayesha 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./*
Those that itch to follow misguidance always resort to solipsisms
because they are invariably thin on sources. In this particular case
"the Learner" proves to be ignorant and dishonest. It is no surprise he
moves on every single point, without exception, from incorrect premises
to false conclusions.
Hajj Gibril
Learn Islam <http://www.SunniPath.com>. Visit SunniPath -
http://www.SunniPath.com
An Online Academy for Traditional Islamic Knowledge
Answered By Shaykh Gibril Haddad
[Questions in Dark Green]
*/To begin with, I think it is the responsibility of all those who
believe that marrying a girl as young as nine years old was an accepted
norm of the Arab culture, to provide at least a few examples to
substantiate their point of view. I have not yet been able to find a
single dependable instance in the books of Arab history 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./*
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
- Abu Tughlub ibn Hamdan married the daughter of `Izz al-Dawla Bakhtyar
when she was three and paid a dowry of 100,000 dinars. This took place
in Safar 360 H. (Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil).
- Al-Shafi`i in al-Umm reported that he saw countless examples of
nine-year old pubescent girls in Yemen. Al-Bayhaqi also narrates it
from
him in the Sunan al-Kubra as does al-Dhahabi in the Siyar.
- Al-Bayhaqi narrated with his chains in his Sunan al-Kubra no less
than
three examples of Muslim wives that gave birth at age nine or ten.
- Hisham ibn `Urwa himself (whom the objector claims to know enough to
forward the most barefaced judgments on his reliability) married Fatima
bint al-Mundhir when she was nine years old (al-Muntazam and Tarikh
Baghdad).
- Our liege-lord `Umar married Umm Kulthum the daughter of `Ali and
Fatima at a similar age per `Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn `Abd al-Barr and
others.
- And our Mother `Aisha herself was first almost betrothed to Jubayr
ibn
Mut`im before her father dropped that option when he received word from
the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless and greet him and be well-pleased
with them.
*/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 event reported, 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,
Ayesha's (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
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./*
Try more than eleven authorities among the Tabi`in that reported it
directly from `A'isha, not counting the other major Companions that
reported the same, nor other major Successors that reported it from
other than `A'isha.
*/ 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 Medinah his pupils included people as well known as
Malik
ibn Anas. /*
Not so. Al-Zuhri also reports it from `Urwa, from `A'isha; so does `Abd
Allah ibn Dhakwan, both major Madanis. So is the Tabi`i Yahya al-Lakhmi
who reports it from her in the Musnad and in Ibn Sa`d's Tabaqat. So is
Abu Ishaq Sa`d ibn Ibrahim who reports it from Imam al-Qasim ibn
Muhammad, one of the Seven Imams of Madina, from `A'isha. All the
narratives of this event have been reported
*/Nor by narrators from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have had
shifted after living in Medinah for seventy one years./*
Not so. In addition to the above four Madinese Tabi`in narrators,
Sufyan
ibn `Uyayna from Khurasan and `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya from
Tabarayya in Palestine both report it.
Nor was this hadith reported only by `Urwa but also by `Abd al-Malik
ibn
`Umayr, al-Aswad, Ibn Abi Mulayka, Abu Salama ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn
`Awf, Yahya ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn Hatib, Abu `Ubayda (`Amir ibn `Abd
Allah ibn Mas`ud) and others of the Tabi`i Imams directly from `A'isha.
This makes the report mass-transmitted (mutawatir) from `A'isha by over
eleven authorities among the Tabi`in, not counting the other major
Companions that reported the same, such as Ibn Mas`ud nor other major
Successors that reported it from other than `A'isha, such as Qatada!
*/ Tehzibu'l-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 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.
(vol11,
pg 48 - 51)/*
Rather, Ya`qub said: "Trustworthy, thoroughly reliable (thiqa thabt),
above reproach except after he went to Iraq, at which time he narrated
overly from his father and was criticized for it." Notice that Ya`qub
does not exactly endorse that criticism.
As for Malik, he reports over 100 hadiths from Hisham as is evident in
the two Sahihs and Sunan! to the point that al-Dhahabi questions the
authenticity of his alleged criticism of Hisham.
Indeed, none among the hadith Masters endorsed these reservations since
they were based solely on the fact that Hisham in his last period (he
was 71 at the time of his last trip to Iraq), for the sake of brevity,
would say, "My father, from `A'isha? (abi `an `A'isha)" and no longer
pronounced, "narrated to me (haddathani)".
Al-Mizzi in Tahdhib al-Kamal (30:238) explained that it became a
foregone conclusion for the Iraqis that Hisham did not narrate anything
from his father except what he had heard directly from him.
Ibn Hajar also dismisses the objections against Hisham ibn `Urwa as
negligible in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (11:45), saying: "It was clear enough
to the Iraqis that he did not narrate from his father other than what
he
had heard directly from him".
In fact, to say that "narratives reported by Hisham ibn `Urwa are
reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq" is
major nonsense as that would eliminate all narrations of Ayyub
al-Sakhtyani from him since Ayyub was a Basran Iraqi, and those of Abu
`Umar al-Nakha`i who was from Kufa, and those of Hammad ibn Abi
Sulayman
from Kufa (the Shaykh of Abu Hanifa), and those of Hammad ibn Salama
and
Hammad ibn Zayd both from Basra, and those of Sufyan al-Thawri from
Basra, and those of Shu`ba in Basra, all of whom narrated from Hisham!
*/ Mizanu'l-ai`tidal, another book on the narrators of the traditions
of
the Prophet (pbuh) reports that when he was old, Hisham's memory
suffered quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302)/*
An outright lie, on the contrary, al-Dhahabi in Mizan al-I`tidal (4:301
#9233) states: "Hisham ibn `Urwa, one of the eminent personalities. A
Proof in himself, and an Imam. However, in his old age his memory
diminished, but he certainly never became confused. Nor should any
attention be paid to what Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Qattan said about him and
Suhayl ibn Abi Salih becoming confused or changing! Yes, the man
changed
a little bit and his memory was not the same as it had been in his
younger days, so that he forgot some of what he had memorized or
lapsed,
so what? Is he immune to forgetfulness? [p. 302] And when he came to
Iraq in the last part of his life he narrated a great amount of
knowledge, in the course of which are a few narrations in which he did
not excel, and such as occurs also to Malik, and Shu`ba, and Waki`, and
the major trustworthy masters. So spare yourself confusion and
floundering, do not make mix the firmly-established Imams with the weak
and muddled narrators. Hisham is a Shaykh al-Islam. But may Allah
console us well of you, O Ibn al-Qattan, and the same with regard to
`Abd al-Rahman ibn Khirash's statement from Malik!"
*/ According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born
about eight years before Hijra. But according to another>narrative in
Bukhari (kitabu'l-tafseer) Ayesha (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 Hijra. /*
Not true. The hadith Masters, Sira historians, and Qur'anic
commentators
agree that the splitting of the moon took place about five years before
the Holy Prophet's (upon him blessings and peace) Hijra to Madina.
Thus it is confirmed that our Mother `Aisha was born between seven and
eight years before the Hijra and the words that she was a jariya or
little girl five years before the Hijra match the fact that her age at
the time Surat al-Qamar was revealed was around 2 or 3.
*/According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only been born
before
the revelation of the referred surah, 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 by Hisham ibn `Urwah. I see absolutely no reason
that after the comments of the experts on the narratives of Hisham ibn
`Urwah, why we should not accept this narrative to be more accurate./*
A two year old is not an infant. A two year old is able to run around,
which is what jariya means. As for "the comments of the experts" they
concur on 6 or 7 as the age of marriage and 9 as the age of
cohabitation.
*/ According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (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. Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of
Badr
and Uhud clearly 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./*
First, the prohibition applied to combatants. It applied neither to
non-combatant boys nor to non-combatant girls and women. Second,
`A'isha
did not participate in Badr at all but bade farewell to the combatants
as they were leaving Madina, as narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. On the
day of Uhud (year 3), Anas, at the time only twelve or thirteen years
old, reports seeing an eleven-year old `A'isha and his mother Umm
Sulaym
having tied up their dresses and carrying water skins back and forth to
the combatants, as narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
*/ According to almost all the historians, Asma, the elder sister of
Ayesha was ten years older than Ayesha. /*
Well, Ibn Kathir based himself on Ibn Abi al-Zinad's assertion that she
was ten years older than `A'isha, however, al-Dhahabi in Siyar A`lam
al-Nubala' said there was a greater difference than 10 years between
the
two, up to 19, and he is more reliable here.
*/It is reported in Taqri'bu'l-tehzi'b as well as Al-bidayah
wa'l-nihayah that Asma died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old.
Now, obviously if Asma was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have
been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma was 27 or 28
years old at the time of hijrah, Ayesha should have been 17 or 18 years
old at that time. Thus, Ayesha, 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./*
Ibn Hajar reports in al-Isaba from Hisham ibn `Urwa, from his father,
that Asma' did live 100 years, and from Abu Nu`aym al-Asbahani that
"Asma' bint Abi Bakr was born 27 years before the Hijra, and she lived
until the beginning of the year 74." None of this amounts to any proof
for `A'isha's age whatsoever.
*/Tabari in his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioning Abu Bakr,
reports that Abu Bakr had four children and all four were born during
the Jahiliyyah -- the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Ayesha 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./*
Al-Tabari nowhere reports that "Abu Bakr's four children were all born
in Jahiliyya" but only that Abu Bakr married both their mothers in
Jahiliyya, Qutayla bint Sa`d and Umm Ruman, who bore him four children
in all, two each, `A'isha being the daughter of Umm Ruman.
*/ According to Ibn Hisham, the historian, Ayesha accepted Islam quite
some time before Umar ibn Khattab./*
Nowhere does Ibn Hisham say this.
*/This shows that Ayesha accepted Islam during the first year of Islam.
While, if the narrative of Ayesha's marriage at seven years of age is
held to be true, Ayesha should not have been born during the first year
of Islam./*
Rather, Ibn Hisham lists `A'isha among "those that accepted Islam
because of Abu Bakr." This does not mean that she embraced Islam during
the first year of Islam. Nor does it mean that she necessarily embraced
Islam before `Umar (year 6) although she was born the previous year
(year 7 before the Hijra) although it is understood she will
automatically follow her father's choice even before the age of reason.
*/ 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 was engaged -- and asked him to take Ayesha in his
house as his son's wife. Mut`am refused, because Abu Bakr had embraced
Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Ayesha (ra). /*
Not at all, there is no mention of emigration in Tabari's account of
Abu
Bakr's discussion with Mut`im. Nor did he ever ask him to take `A'isha
because there had been only some preliminary talk, not a formal
arrangement. Umm Ruman, Abu Bakr's wife, reportedly said: "By Allah, no
promise had been given on our part at all!" Rather, al-Tabari said that
when news of the Prophet's interest in `A'isha came, he went to see
Mut`im. Then Mut`im's wife manifested her fear that her son would
become
Muslim if he married into Abu Bakr's family. Abu Bakr then left them
and
gave his assent to the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace.
*/Now, if Ayesha 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 had not only been born 8 years before hijrah, but was also
a young lady, quite prepared for marriage./*
Your assumption fizzles at the root when you read al-Tabari's positive
assertion: "On the day he consummated the marriage with her, she was
nine years old."
*/According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the
death
of Khadijah, when Khaulah came to the Prophet advising him to marry
again, the Prophet 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 asked about who the virgin
was, Khaulah proposed Ayesha's 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"./*
*/ /*
This is ignorant nonsense, bikr means a virgin girl, a girl who has
never been married even if her age is 0 and there is no unclarity here
whatsoever.
*/ /*
*/According to Ibn Hajar, Fatimah was five years older than Ayesha.
Fatimah is reported to have been born when the Prophet was 35 years
old.
Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct, Ayesha 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./*
Rather, Ibn Hajar mentions two versions: (1) al-Waqidi's narration that
Fatima was born when the Prophet was 35; and (2) Ibn `Abd al-Barr's
narration that she was born when he was 41, approximately one year more
or less before Prophethood, and about five years before `A'isha was
born. The latter version matches the established dates.
So our Mother `A'isha was nineteen to twenty years younger than her
sister Asma' (b. 27 before Hijra-d. 74) and about five years to eight
years Fatima's junior.
*/These are some of the major points that go against accepting the
commonly known narrative regarding Ayesha's (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 marry Ayesha 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./*
Those that itch to follow misguidance always resort to solipsisms
because they are invariably thin on sources. In this particular case
"the Learner" proves to be ignorant and dishonest. It is no surprise he
moves on every single point, without exception, from incorrect premises
to false conclusions.
Hajj Gibril
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