In this post, I am republishing a Salafi refutation (https://islamqa.info/en/answers/124483/age-of-the-mother-of-the-believers-aaishah-may-allah-be-pleased-with-her-when-the-prophet-blessings-and-peace-of-allah-be-upon-him-married-her) to the desperate attempts by some Muhammadans to deny that their prophet had sex with a 9-year-old premature minor.
Age
of the Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah when the Prophet married her
Question
Whilst visiting some chat rooms, I read a very strange topic,
and I want someone who has knowledge of the Prophet’s biography (seerah) to
explain this matter to me, may Allah bless you. To sum up, after researching
the accusations the reports narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari which state that
‘Aa’ishah’s age, when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did
the marriage contract with her, was six years, and that he consummated the
marriage with her when she was nine years old, a journalist cast doubts on
Saheeh al-Bukhaari. The researcher did not only examine the reports from the
angle of figures and dates, but also from the angle of the isnaads through
which the most famous hadeeths were narrated, as mentioned in al-Bukhaari and
Muslim. In both cases he seems to have wanted to demonstrate that he is smart
and prove his point.
Answer
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The definition of the age of ‘Aa’ishah when the Prophet
did the marriage contract with her as being six years, and of the age when he
consummated the marriage with her as being nine years, is not a matter of ijtihaad
(individual opinion) on the part of the scholars, such that we could argue
whether it is right or wrong; rather this is a historical narration which is
proven by evidence that confirms its soundness and the necessity of accepting
it. That is for several reasons:
1.
It was narrated by the individual concerned herself, namely
‘Aa’ishah, and is not something that someone else said about her, or the
description of a historian or hadeeth scholar. Rather it comes in the context
of her speaking about herself, when she said:
The Prophet married me when I was six years old. We came to
Madinah and stayed among Banu’l-Haarith ibn Khazraj. I fell sick and lost my
hair, (then I reovered) and my hair grew down to my earlobes. My mother Umm
Roomaan came to me when I was on a swing and some of my friends were with me.
She called me loudly and I went to her, and I did not know what she wanted of
me. She took me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house, as I
was gasping for breath, until I had calmed down. Then she took some water and
wiped my face and head with it, then she took me into the house. There were
some women of the Ansaar in the house, who said: With good wishes and blessings
and good luck. She handed me over to them and they adorned me, and suddenly I
saw the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) at
mid-morning, and they handed me over to him. At that time I was nine years
old.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3894; Muslim, 1422.
2.
This report from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is in
the soundest of books after the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, namely the
two Saheehs of al-Bukhaari and Muslim.
3.
It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah via a number of isnaads (chains
of narration), not by one isnaad only, as some ignorant people claim.
·
The most well-known chain of narration
is that of Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr, from his father ‘Urwah ibn
az-Zubayr, from ‘Aa’ishah. This is one of the soundest narrations, as ‘Urwah
ibn az-Zubayr is one of the most well acquainted of people with ‘Aa’ishah,
because she was his maternal aunt.
·
It was also narrated via another chain,
by az-Zuhri from ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr, from ‘Aa’ishah. Narrated by Muslim,
1422.
·
It was also narrated via another chain
by al-A‘mash, from Ibraaheem, from al-Aswad, from ‘Aa’ishah, who said: “The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah
when she was six years old and consummated the marriage with her when she was
nine years old, and he died when she was eighteen years old. Narrated by
Muslim, 1422.
·
It was also narrated via another chain,
from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr, from Yahya ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Haatib, from
‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4937.
Shaykh Abu Ishaaq al-Huwayni compiled the names of those who
followed ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr, namely: al-Aswad ibn Yazeed, al-Qaasim ibn ‘Abd
ar-Rahmaan, al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, ‘Amrah bint ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan,
and Yahya ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Haatib.
He also compiled the names of those who followed Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah
in narrating this hadeeth. They were: Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhri and Abu Hamzah
Maymoon, the freed slave of ‘Urwah.
Then he named those who narrated it from Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah
among the scholars of Madinah. The reader should understand that this hadeeth is
one of those that were also narrated by Hishaam in Madinah. They were:
Abu’z-Zinnaad ‘Abdullah ibn Dhakwaan and his son ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn
Abi’z-Zinnaad, and ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn ‘Urwah.
Among the people of Makkah (it was narrated by) Sufyaan ibn
‘Uyaynah.
(It was also narrated by) Jareer ibn ‘Abd al-Hameed ad-Dubbi
among the people of ar-Rayy.
Among the people of Basra (it was narrated by): Hammaad ibn
Salamah, Hammaad ibn Zayd, Wuhayb ibn Khaalid, and others.
See the lecture given by Shaykh Abu Ishaaq al-Huwayni (may Allah
preserve him) discussing the ignorance of the one who wrote the article
mentioned in the question, and the response to it, on the following link (in
Arabic): http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Lesson&iw_a=view&lesson_id=86106
See also the following link (in Arabic):
http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Lesson&iw_a=view&lesson_id=86495
All of these lists are mentioned in order to ward off the
specious argument of some ignorant people who say that Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah was
the only one who narrated it. Even if we accept [?} that Hishaam became
confused at the end of his life, the correct view is that this accusation was
made only by Abu’l-Hasan ibn al-Qattaan in Bayaan al-Wahm wa’l-Eehaam, and he
was mistaken in doing so.
Adh-Dhahabi said:
Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah was one of the prominent and authoritative
scholars, but when he grew old his memory failed, although he did not get
confused, and there is nothing valid in the view of Abu’l-Hasan ibn al-Qattaan,
which suggests that he and Suhayl ibn Abi Saalih became confused and changed.
Yes, the man changed a little and his memory was not as sound as it had been in
his youth. He forgot some of the things he had memorized and he made some
mistakes, but so what?! He was not infallible. When he came to Iraq at the end
of his life he passed on a great deal of knowledge, among which were a few
hadeeths that he did not remember well. Something similar happened to Maalik,
Shu‘bah, Wakee‘ and other senior, trustworthy narrators. So forget about this
nonsense and mixing trustworthy scholars with weak narrators and those who became
confused. Hishaam was Shaykh al-Islam, and may Allah help us against what Ibn
al-Qattaan suggested and what ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Kharaash said:
Maalik did not approve of him because he got angry with him for going and
narrating hadeeth in Iraq. End quote.
Mizaan al-I‘tidaal, 4/301-302
4.
There are reports from people other than ‘Aa’ishah that speak of
the Prophet’s marriage to her when she was nine years old. Among those who were
her contemporaries and knew her better than others were the following:
Imam Ahmad narrated in al-Musnad, 6/112 from Muhammad ibn Bishr,
who said: Muhammad ibn ‘Amr told us: Abu Salamah and Yahya told us: When
Khadeejah died, Khawlah bint Hakeem, the wife of ‘Uthmaan ibn Maz‘oon, came and
said: O Messenger of Allah, why don’t you get married? He said: To whom? She
said: If you wish, a virgin, and if you wish, a previously married woman. He
said: Who is the virgin? She said: The daughter of the dearest of Allah’s
creation to you: ‘Aa’ishah bint Abi Bakr… And he mentioned the story in detail,
including the fact that she was six years old when the marriage contract was
done, and was nine years old when the marriage was consummated.
5.
This is what ‘Aa’ishah narrated concerning herself, and it was
conveyed by the narrators from her, and it is what is stated in all the
historical sources that give the biography of ‘Aa’ishah. There is no difference
among them concerning that, and the matter was not subject to ijtihaad. When a
person speaks about himself (or herself), no one has the right to suggest
anything else.
6.
The historical sources are also agreed that ‘Aa’ishah was born
in Islam, four or five years after the Prophet’s mission began.
Imam al-Bayhaqi said – commenting on the hadeeth, “I only ever
remember my parents as following Islam”–:
‘Aa’ishah was born in Islam, because her father became Muslim at
the beginning of the Prophet’s mission. It is proven from al-Aswad, from
‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah married
her when she was six years old, and consummated the marriage with her when she
was nine years old, and he died when she was eighteen years old. But Asma’ bint
Abi Bakr was born during the Jaahiliyyah, and became Muslim when her father
became Muslim. … According to what Abu ‘Abdullah ibn Mandah said, narrating
from Ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad, Asma’ bint Abi Bakr was ten years older than ‘Aa’ishah,
and the mother of Asma’ became Muslim later on. Asma’ said: My mother came to
me and she was (still) a mushrik. According to a hadeeth that she quoted, her
name was Qateelah, from Banu Maalik ibn Hasal. She was not the mother of
‘Aa’ishah. Asma’ became Muslim when her father did, not her mother. With regard
to ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakr, it seems that he was an adult when his parents
became Muslim, but he did not follow them in becoming Muslim, until he became
Muslim a long time after that. He was the oldest of the children of Abu Bakr.
End quote.
As-Sunan al-Kubra, 6/203
Adh-Dhahabi said:
‘Aa’ishah is one of those who were born in Islam; she was eight
years younger than Faatimah. She used to say: “I only ever remember my parents
as following Islam”. End quote.
Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 2/139
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
She – i.e., ‘Aa’ishah – was born four or five years after the
Prophet’s mission began. End quote.
Al-Isaabah, 8/16
Based on that, her age at the time of the Hijrah was eight or
nine years. This is in accordance with the hadeeth quoted above from ‘Aa’ishah
herself.
7.
The historical sources are also agreed that the Prophet died
when ‘Aa’ishah was eighteen years old, so at the time of the Hijrah she must
have been nine years old.
8.
The books of biography and history state that ‘Aa’ishah died at
the age of sixty-three years, in 57 AH. So before the Hijrah her age was 6
years. So if you round up or down – as is the custom of the Arabs in counting
years – they round up or down the first and last years, so her age at the time
of the Hijrah was eight years, and her age at the time when the Prophet married
her, eight months after the Hijrah, was nine years.
9.
The above is also in accordance with what the scholars have
narrated concerning the difference in age between Asma’ bint Abi Bakr and
‘Aa’ishah. Adh-Dhahabi said: She – i.e., Asma’ – was ten or more years older than
‘Aa’ishah. End quote.
Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 2/188
‘Aa’ishah was born four or five years after the Prophet’s
mission began. Abu Na‘eem said in Mu‘jam as-Sahaabah that Asma’ was born ten
years before the Prophet’s mission began. End quote.
So the difference in age between ‘Aa’ishah and Asma’ was
fourteen or fifteen years. This is the view of adh-Dhahabi quoted above: She –
i.e., Asma’ – was ten or more years older than ‘Aa’ishah.
10.
Although we quote these numbers that are mentioned in the books
of biography and history, what we mostly rely on is what is narrated with
saheeh isnaads, not what we find in books quoted without any isnaad. But all of
the reports are in accordance with the hadeeths with undoubtedly saheeh isnaads
that we quoted at the beginning of this answer. Hence we quoted reports from
the history books that support what we quoted above.
Secondly:
As for the response to the author of the hostile article quoting
as evidence what is narrated in some sources about the age difference between
Asma’ and ‘Aa’ishah being ten years, we say:
That is not proven in terms of the isnaad or chain of narrators.
If its isnaad is proven, then it may be understood in a manner that is in
accordance with the definitive evidence mentioned above.
With regard to the isnaad or chain of narrators, it was narrated
from ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad that he said: Asma’ bint Abi Bakr was
ten years older than ‘Aa’ishah.
This report was narrated via two isnaads from al-Asma ‘i from
‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad.
The first isnaad was narrated by Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq
(69/10). He said: Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Maaliki told us: Ahmad ibn ‘Abd
al-Waahid as-Sulami told us: My grandfather Abu Bakr told us: Abu Muhammad ibn
Zabr told us: Ahmad ibn Sa‘d ibn Ibraaheem az-Zuhri told us: Muhammad ibn Abi
Safwaan told us: al-Asma‘i told us, that Ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad said: … and he
quoted the report.
The second isnaad was narrated by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in
al-Isti‘aab fi Ma‘rifat al-Ashaab (2/616): Ahmad ibn Qaasim told us: Muhammad
ibn Mu‘aawiyah told us; Ibraaheem ibn Moosa ibn Jameel told us: Ismaa ‘eel ibn
Ishaaq al-Qaadi told us: Nasr ibn ‘Ali told us: al-Asma‘i told us: Ibn
Abi’z-Zinnaad told us: Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, who was ten years or so older than
‘Aa’ishah, said:…
If the fair-minded researcher thinks about this report it will
become clear to him that accepting its apparent meaning and rejecting all the
proven evidence to the contrary is an offence against knowledge and
scholarship, for the following reasons:
1.
‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad (100-174 AH) is the only one
who stated that the difference in age between Asma’ and ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be
pleased with them both) was ten years. The evidence mentioned above, on the
other hand, is abundant and was narrated from more than one of the Taabi‘een.
It is known that what is abundant takes precedence over that which is
smaller.
2.
Most of the scholars regarded ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad
himself as da‘eef (weak). In his biography of him in Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb
(6/172), Imam Ahmad is quoted as saying concerning him: He is mudtarab
al-hadeeth (his hadeeth is faulty). Ibn Ma‘een is quoted as saying: He is not
one of those whom the scholars of hadeeth quote as evidence. ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni
is quoted as saying: Whatever he narrated in Madinah is saheeh, but whatever he
narrated in Baghdad was corrupted by the Baghdadis. I saw ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan –
i.e., Ibn Mahdi – draw a line through the hadeeth of ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn
Abi’z-Zinnaad. Abu Haatim said: His hadeeth may be written down but it may not
be quoted as evidence. An-Nasaa’i said: His hadeeth cannot be quoted as
evidence.
With regard to at-Tirmidhi describing him as thiqah
(trustworthy) in his Sunan, following hadeeth no. 1755, this contradicts the
criticism of the previous commentator, and criticism (of a narrator) takes
precedence over praise, especially with regard to the reports that were
narrated only by ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi’z-Zinnaad , especially when he says
something that is contrary to what is well-known in the books of the Sunnah and
history.
3.
According to the report of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, he said: “She
(Asma’) was ten years or so older than ‘Aa’ishah.” This report is more sound
than the report of Ibn ‘Asaakir, because Nasr ibn ‘Ali, who narrated it from
al-Asma‘i in the isnaad of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr is thiqah (trustworthy), as it says
in Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 10/431. With regard to Muhammad ibn Abi Safwaan, the
narrator from al-Asma‘i in the isnaad of Ibn ‘Asaakir, no one described him as
trustworthy.
The words in the report of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, “or so”, indicate
that he was not certain about (the difference in age) being ten years. This
makes his report weak and it is not permissible for the fair-minded researcher
to reject the evidence quoted above for the sake of this uncertainty.
4.
Moreover, it is possible to reconcile this report with the other
reports by saying that Asma’ was born six years or five years before the
Prophet’s mission began, and ‘Aa’ishah was born four or five years after his
mission began. When Asma’ died in 73 AH, she was ninety-one or ninety-two years
old, as was mentioned by adh-Dhahabi in Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 3/380: Ibn
Abi’z-Zinnaad said: She was ten years older than ‘Aa’ishah. I (adh-Dhahabi)
say: Based on that, her age would have been ninety-one years. Hishaam ibn
‘Urwah, on the other hand, said: She lived for one hundred years and not one of
her teeth fell out. End quote.
5.
It may also be said that Asma’ was born approximately 14 years before
the Prophet’s mission began – which is what is affirmed by the author himself
in his previous article – and that in the year of the Hijrah she was
twenty-seven years old, and her age at the time of her death in 73 AH was one
hundred years, so as to be in harmony with what the historical sources are
agreed upon with regard to Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, that she died in the same year
in which her son ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr was killed (73 AH), and that she died
at the age of one hundred years. Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah said, narrating from his
father: Asma’ reached the age of one hundred years and not one of her teeth
fell out and she remained alert all her life.
There follow the names of the sources that mention that:
Hilyat al-Awliya’, 2/56
Mu‘jam as-Sahaabah by Abi Na‘eem al-Asbahaani
Al-Isti‘aab by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, 4/1783
Tareekh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asaakir, 69/8
Asad al-Ghaabah by Ibn al-Atheer, 7/12
Al-Isaabah by Ibn Hajar, 7/487
Tahdheeb al-Kamaal, 35/125
With regard to the idea of her having been born ten years before
the Prophet’s mission began, this was only stated by Abu Na‘eem al-Asbahaani,
in a statement in which he said:
She – i.e., Asma’ – was the sister of ‘Aa’ishah through her
father. She was older than ‘Aa’ishah; she was born twenty-seven years before
the Hijrah, and ten years before the mission of the Prophet began. When she was
born, her father (Abu Bakr) as-Siddeeq was twenty-one years old. Asma’ died in
73 AH in Makkah, a few days after her son ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr was killed,
at the age of one hundred years, having lost her sight. End quote.
It is as if Abu Na‘eem meant that the Makkan period (of the
Prophet’s mission) lasted for seventeen years, which is the view of some of the
scholars of seerah; it is a da‘eef (weak) view, but it should be pointed out
when trying to understand the opinion of Abu Na‘eem.
For the wisdom behind the marriage of the Prophet to ‘Aa’ishah
despite the difference in their ages, please see the answer to question
no. 44990.
And Allah knows best.
Please proceed to the second part of the Salafi response (https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/10/25/a-salafis-defense-of-muhammads-marriage-to-a-minor-pt-2/).
IHS
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