Revisiting the Age of Aisha Pt. 2

We proceed with our response to Brown’s assertions.

Here is what Brown further wrote in an attempt to defend Muhammad’s marriage to a minor:

“The reason that no pre-modern critics paid attention to the Prophet’s marriage to a ten-year-old was because marrying girls considered underage today was commonplace in the pre-modern world. Under Roman law, the earliest permitted age for marriage WAS TWELVE. In the heyday of the Roman Empire (2nd century CE), BY FOURTEEN a girl was considered an adult whose primary purpose was marriage. In many pre-modern law codes, such as Hebrew biblical law and Salic Frankish law, marriage was not a question at all. It was assumed that when a girl REACHED PUBERTY and was able to bear children, she was ready for marriage.

“As a result, we find that average marriage ages in the pre-modern world were remarkably young. Surviving evidence from several centuries of imperial Roman history suggests that as many as 8% of women married at ten or eleven. In Italy in the 1300s and 1400s, the average age for women was sixteen to seventeen. Even in an 1861 census in England, over 350 women married under the age of fifteen in just two countries that year. According to both Christian and Muslim teachings, the Virgin Mary was not the mature maternal figure seen in artwork about the Bible. She was at most in her MID-TEENS, having only just begun menstruating, and is reported to have been as young as ten years old.

“Muhammad’s decision to consummate his marriage to a ten-year-old would have been based ON THE SAME CRITERIA AS MOST PRE-MODERN SOCIETIES: AISHA’S SEXUAL MATURITY and readiness to bear a child. Consummation of the marriage would have occurred when she had menstruated AND STARTED PUBERTY. As the great Muslim historian al-Tabari (d. 923) reported, ‘At the time of her marriage contract Aisha was young and not capable of intercourse.’ Three or four years later, however, she was able. Aisha herself would later remark that a girl can menstruate as young as nine and thus, ‘become a woman’.” (Muhammad, pp. 77-78; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Unfortunately for Brown, the claims he makes here are going to backfire against him.

To begin with, al-Tabari did not say or even imply that Muhammad only had sex with Aisha when she reached puberty. That is a gross misreading of al-Tabari’s words. Here is what this renowned scholar and commentator actually wrote:

Abu Ja‘far [al-Tabari]: The Messenger of God did not marry another woman during the life of Khadijah until she passed away. When she died, the Messenger of God got married, but [opinions] differ as to whom he married first after Khadijah. Some say that it was ‘A’isha bt. Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, while others say that it was Sawdah bt. Zam‘ah b. Qays b. ‘Abd Shams b. ‘Abd Wudd b. Nasr. As for ‘A’ishah, when he married her she was very young and not yet ready for consummation, whereas Sawdah was already married before… (The History of al-Tabari: The Last Years of the Prophet, translated and annotated by Ismail K. Poonawala [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany, NY 1990] Volume IX (9), p. 128; bold and underline emphasis ours)

As the readers can see for themselves, al-Tabari says absolutely nothing about Aisha attaining puberty at the age of nine, or that this was the reason why her parents waited three years before allowing her marriage to be consummated. If anything, one can argue that she was physically too young for a grown man to penetrate and so she had to wait a few more years before she would be able to handle having sex with a 54 year old man.

Furthermore, as we stated in the first part of our rebuttal the hadiths provide ample evidence that Aisha had not reached puberty when Muhammad had sex with her, since they report that she continued playing with dolls long after Muhammad had taken her to his bed:

A’isha reported that Allah’s Apostle 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 Muslim, Book 008, Number 3311)

And according to Muslim scholars such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, the reason why Aisha was allowed to continue playing with her dolls is because she hadn’t attained puberty yet:

Narrated ‘Aisha: 
I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah’s Apostle used to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for ‘Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, NOT YET REACHED THE AGE OF PUBERTY.) (Fateh-al-Bari page 143, Vol.13) (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 151)

In fact, the Muslim scholars were still debating whether Aisha had reached puberty at the age of 14!

Al-Haafiz goes on to say: [43: Fath al-Baaree 10/400, Baab (91), related to Hadeeth no.5954, 5955.]

Abu Daawood and An-Nasaa’ee have narrated with another chain (wajh aakhar) from ‘Aa’isha that she said:” The Messenger of Allah returned from the battle of Tabook or Khaibar…”.
Here he mentioned the Hadeeth about his tearing down the curtain which she attached to her door. She said:” Then the side of the curtain which was over the dolls of ‘Aa’isha was uncovered. He said: What is this, O ‘Aa’isha? She said: My dolls. She then said: then he saw amongst them a winged horse which was tied up. He said: What is this? I said: A horse. He said: A horse with two wings? I said: Didn’t you hear that Sulaiman (Solomon) had horses with wings? Then he laughed” [44].
Al-Khattaabee said: From this Hadeeth it is understood that playing with dolls (al-banaat) is not like the amusement from other images (suwar) concerning which the threat (wa’eed) of punishment is mentioned. The only reason why permission in this was given to ‘Aa’isha is because SHE HAD NOT, AT THAT TIME, REACHED THE AGE OF PUBERTY.
[al-Haafiz says:] I say: To say with certainty, [that she was not yet at the age of puberty] is questionable, though it might possibly be so. This, because ‘Aa’isha was a fourteen year old girl at the time of the Battle of Khaibar – either exactly fourteen years old, or having just passed her fourteenth year [and entering into the fifteenth year], or approaching it (the fourteenth year).
As for her age at the time of the Battle of Tabook – she had by then definitely reached the age of puberty. Therefore, THE STRONGEST VIEW is that of those who said: “It was in Khaibar” [i.e. WHEN SHE WAS NOT YET AT THE AGE OF PUBERTY], and made reconciliation (jam’) [between the apparent contradictory rulings, of permissibility of dolls, in particular, and the prohibition of images, in general] with what al-Khattaabee said (above).

[al-Khattabee said that images are prohibited, except in the case of dolls for young girls]. This, because to reconcile (make jam’) is better than to assume the ahaadith to be in contradiction (at-ta’aarud). Here Shaykh Bin Baaz concludes his quotation from al-Haafiz, saying: The above is the essence of the words of al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar. (The Beneficial Response Concerning the Islamic Ruling of Pictures/Images, by Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baaz, rendered in English by Abu Muhammad Abdur-Ra’uf Shakir; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

Pay close to attention to the fact that, according to the above reference, the strongest Islamic position is that Aisha had still not attained puberty during Muhammad’s expedition to Khaybar, an event that took place when she was already 14 years old!

Hence, the foregoing Muslim scholars soundly refute and expose Brown’s deliberate misinterpretation of al-Tabari and his assertion that Aisha was already a pubescent girl when Muhammad had sex with her.

And here are some additional reports, which further confirm that Muhammad took Aisha to his bed when she was still too young:

Narrated Urwa bin Al-Musayyab, Alqama bin Waqqas and Ubaidullah bin Abdullah: About the story of ‘Aisha and their narrations were similar attesting each other, when the liars said what they invented about ‘Aisha, and the Divine Inspiration was delayed, Allah’s Apostle sent for ‘Ali and Usama to consult them in divorcing his wife (i.e. ‘Aisha). Usama said, “Keep your wife, as we know nothing about her except good.” Buraira said, “I cannot accuse her of any defect except that she is still A YOUNG GIRL who sleeps, neglecting her family’s dough which the domestic goats come to eat (i.e. she was too simpleminded to deceive her husband).” Allah’s Apostle said, “Who can help me to take revenge over the man who has harmed me by defaming the reputation of my family? By Allah, I have not known about my family anything except good, and they mentioned (i.e. accused) a man about whom I did not know anything except good.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 805)

“… Buraira said, ‘No, by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, I have never seen in her anything faulty except that she is a girl of IMMATURE AGE, who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough for the goats to eat.’…” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 829)

“… ‘A’isha said… The women in those days were light of weight and they did not wear much flesh, as they ate less food; so they did not perceive the weight of my haudaj as they placed it upon the camel as I was A YOUNG GIRL at that time… Barira said: By Him Who sent thee with the truth, I have seen nothing objectionable in her but only this much that she is A YOUNG GIRL and she goes to sleep while kneading the flour and the lamb eats that…” (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6673)

Notice how all these narrations continue to describe Aisha as a young and immature girl long after her marriage to Muhammad. Obviously, a girl who is portrayed this way is far from being ready for sexual intercourse with a grown man. Therefore, what business did a 54-year-old man have marrying a physically and emotionally immature minor?

Here is a summation of the evidence we have examined thus, which prove Aisha had not attained puberty when Muhammad had sex with her:

The hadiths claim that, at the time when Aisha went to live with Muhammad, she took her dolls with her and continued playing with them.

The Muslim scholars explain that, though the playing of dolls is forbidden in Islam, Aisha was permitted to do so because she hadn’t attained puberty yet.

These same scholars argue that Aisha did not reach puberty until the age of 14, some five years after marrying Muhammad.

We’re not done just yet since we have more proof that Aisha hadn’t attained puberty at the time of the consummation of her marriage.

Note what the following hadith states:

Chapter 13. Marriage OF MINOR GIRLS Arranged By Their Fathers.

1876. It was narrated that ‘Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six years old. Then we came to Al-Madinah and settled among Banu Harith bin Khazraj. I became ill and my hair fell out, then it grew back and became abundant. My mother Umm Ruman came to me while I was on an Urjuhah with some of my friends, and called for me. When I got my breath back, she took some water and wiped my face and head, and led me into the house. There were some of women of the Ansar inside the house, and they said: ‘With the blessings and good fortune (from Allah).’ (My mother) handed me over to them and they tidied me up. And suddenly I saw the Messenger of Allah in the morning. And she handed me over to him, and I was at that time, nine years old.” (Sahih)

Comments:

1. The marriage bond of a girl who is not yet adult (HAS NOT REACHED THE AGE OF PUBERTY) IS PERFECTLY VALID IN ISLAM.

2. Urjuhah refers to both, a swing and a seesaw; it is a long piece of wood, its middle is placed at a high place and the children sit on both ends, when its one side goes down the other side goes up; it is called seesaw in English. (Sunan Ibn Majah – Compiled by Imam Muhammad Bin Yazeed Ibn Majah Al-Qazwini, From Hadith No. 1783 to 2718, Ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), final review by Abu Khaliyl (USA) [Darussalam Publications and Distributors, First Edition: June 2007], Volume 3, The Chapters on Marriage, pp. 76-77; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Here again is a Muslim source candidly acknowledging that Aisha wasn’t pubescent when Muhammad slept with her. And we are once again told that Aisha was still playing with her child friends on a swing/seesaw on the very same day that Muhammad came to consummate the marriage (i.e. have sex with her)!

What would possess someone (a professor to boot!) to try and justify a 54-year-old man sleeping with a 9 old minor who was still playing with dolls and riding on swings/seesaws?

This isn’t the only time that a Muslim and/or hadith scholar used Aisha as an example of a prepubescent child being given away in marriage:

XXXIX. A man giving his YOUNG CHILDREN in marriage

By the words of Allah, “that also applies to those who have not yet menstruated” (65:4) and He made the ‘idda of a girl BEFORE PUBERTY three months.

4840. It is related from ‘A’isha that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and consummated it when she was nine, and she was his wife for nine years. (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of Al-Bukhari, Chapter 70. Book of Marriage; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Here is another version of the above narration:

(39) CHAPTER. Giving one’s YOUNG CHILDREN in marriage (is permissible).

By virtue of the Statement of Allah: “…and for those who have no (monthly) courses (i.e. THEY ARE STILL IMMATURE) …” (v. 65:4)

And the ‘Idda for the girl BEFORE PUBERTY is three months (in the above Verse).

5133. Narrated ‘Aishah that the Prophet wrote the marriage contract with her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was none years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death). (The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan [Darussalam Publishers& Distributors, Riyadh – Saudi Arabia, July 1997], Volume 7, Ahadith 5063 to 5969, 67 – Book of An-Nikah (The Wedlock), p. 57; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Al-Bukhari employs the example of Aisha’s marriage to Muhammad at the age of 9 to illustrate the meaning of Q. 65:4, a verse which permits grown men to marry and have sex with young prepubescent girls. Now the Aisha’s example only works here if in fact Muhammad married her before she had reached maidenhood.

Thus, even though it may be true that some girls attain puberty at a younger age this is normally not the case, nor was it the case with Aisha as the preceding evidence conclusively proves. More importantly, just because a 9-year-old girl may have already reached puberty this doesn’t mean that she is physically and psychologically ready to sleep with a grown man, especially one who was 54 years old!

To make matters worse, Muhammad’s marriage to a minor set precedence for other men to follow suit, and even became enshrined in the Quran for future generations:

And if you are in doubt as to the prescribed period for such of your women as have despaired of monthly courses, then know that the prescribed period for them is three months, and also for such AS DO NOT HAVE not have their monthly courses YET. And as for those who are with child, their period shall be until they are delivered of their burden. And whoso fears ALLAH, HE will provide facilities for him in his affair. S. 65:4 Sher Ali

The surrounding context deals with the issue of the waiting period for divorcing and remarrying. Essentially, the Quran is informing Muslims to wait for a certain period of time before making the divorce final or deciding to forego it. The Islamic scripture exhorts men to wait a period of three months in the case of women who either are no longer menstruating or haven’t even started their menstrual cycles. Thus, the Islamic scripture is allowing men to marry and have sex with young minors!

This is further brought out from the fact that according to Quran 33:49, there is no waiting period for a woman whose marriage hasn’t been consummated by sexual intercourse. Here, once again, is al-Bukhari:

Narrated Sahl bin Sad:
 While we were sitting in the company of the Prophet a woman came to him and presented herself (for marriage) to him. The Prophet looked at her, lowering his eyes and raising them, but did not give a reply. One of his companions said, “Marry her to me O Allah’s Apostle!” The Prophet asked (him), “Have you got anything?” He said, “I have got nothing.” The Prophet said, “Not even an iron ring?” He said, “Not even an iron ring, but I will tear my garment into two halves and give her one half and keep the other half.” The Prophet; said, “No. Do you know some of the Quran (by heart)?” He said, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “Go, I have agreed to marry her to you with what you know of the Qur’an (as her Mahr).” ‘And for those who have no courses (i.e. they are still immature). (65.4) AND THE ‘IDDAT FOR THE GIRL BEFORE PUBERTY IS THREE MONTHS (in the above Verse). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 63)

Therefore, Muhammad’s god is actually permitting men to marry and have sex with prepubescent girls, as well as giving them the right to divorce their child brides if they so desired!

Now let us see how some of Islam’s greatest scholars and expositors interpreted Q. 65:4, beginning with Ibn Kathir:

“… There is a third type of divorce, which is neither a Sunnah nor an innovation where one divorces A YOUNG WIFE WHO HAS NOT BEGUN TO HAVE MENSES, the wife who is beyond the age of having menses, and divorcing one’s wife before the marriage was consummated…” (Q. 65:1; bold, capital and italicized emphasis ours)

And:

The `Iddah of Those in Menopause and Those Who do not have Menses

Allah the Exalted clarifies the waiting period of the woman in menopause. And that is the one whose menstruation has stopped due to her older age. Her `Iddah is three months instead of the three monthly cycles for those who menstruate, which is based upon the Ayah in (Surat) Al-Baqarah. [see 2:228] The same for THE YOUNG, WHO HAVE NOT REACHED THE YEARS OF MENSTRUATION… (Q. 65:4; bold, capital and italicized emphasis ours)

Finally:

“… Abu Ishaq al-Muqri’ informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamdun> Makki ibn ‘Abdan> Abu’l-Azhar> Asbat ibn Muhammad> Mutarrif> Abu ‘Uthman ‘Amr ibn Salim who said: “When the waiting period for divorced and widowed women was mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, some women of Medina are saying: there are other women who have not been mentioned!’ He asked him: ‘And who are they?’ He said: ‘THOSE WHO ARE TOO YOUNG [SUCH THAT THEY HAVE NOT STARTED MENSTRUATING YET], those who are too old [whose menstruation has stopped] and those who are pregnant’. And so this verse (And for such of your women as despair of menstruation…) was revealed’.” (Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi; bold, capital and italicized emphasis ours)

Keep in mind that Brown himself stated that nearly all the people before, during and after Muhammad’s time (e.g., the pre-modern world as Brown calls it) adopted puberty as the earliest possible age when a girl could get married. As such, Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha went against the standards set by all the different cultures of his own day in respect to what they deemed to be appropriate sexual relations.

Worse still, by permitting marriages with prepubescent girls the Quran fails to live up to the very criterion adopted by virtually everyone (as Brown himself admits), despite the fact that it’s supposed to be the uncreated speech of the Creator and Sustainer of all creation who supposedly knows what is best for mankind.

We hate to break this to Brown but we are far from finished. Therefore, please proceed to the third part  of our refutation.

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/revisiting-the-age-of-aisha-pt-2/ 

IHS

Revisiting the Age of Aisha Pt. 1

In this rebuttal we are going to be addressing another shameful attempt to justify Muhammad’s marriage to a 9-year-old minor. The following comments and interaction are taken from the website of Muslim apologist and Georgetown professor Jonathan A. C. Brown:

bigdumbbear 7 points 6 months ago

Dr. Brown if you do not mind, one more question!

The age of Aisha at the time of her marriage to Prophet Muhammad.

Keep in mind that I (and many others on this board) became your biggest fan after your video response to this question. My question is as follows: The critics admit that the age of Aisha between 9 and 12 when she married the Prophet was not out of the norm at that time. However, they argue, that Prophet Muhammad is the role model of humanity and hence, him marrying Aisha at that age means that either Prophet Muhammad was not a role model in every way, but a product of his time and place and also that since marrying at 9 in this day and age is a crime in pretty much every country out there that would then mean that Prophet Muhammad’s actions do not have meaning today. Sorry if this came out as a stream of consciousness. Would you address this issue with regards to Lady Aisha’s age? Thank you kindly sir.

[–]DrJonathanBrown [S] 29 points 6 months ago

Salam, the Prophet’s marrying Aisha at the age of nine was not unusual at the time. We know this because there is no record of him being criticized for this, while the Quran does record criticisms of his marriage to Zainab, which was controversial and unusual at the time. The Prophet’s actions are not all normative for us; we do not have to do everything he did, and in many cases, it would not be right to act as he did in our particular circumstances. We know that because according to a Hadith in the Sunan of Al-Nasai, the Prophet did not allow his daughter Fatima to marry Abu Bakr because of the age difference between the two. Finally, there are some elements of the Prophet’s Sunnah that are actually prohibited for us, like continuous fasting and marrying more than four women. To say that “the Prophet being our role model” means that we have to do everything he did is to misunderstand the nature of the Sunnah’s normative quality.

[–]bizzish 2 points 6 months ago

Fatima (ra) married Abu Bakr?

Don’t you mean Ali?

[–]tinkthank 3 points 6 months ago

Re-read his comment.

the Prophet did not allow his daughter Fatima to marry Abu Bakr because of the age difference between the two.

Ali (ra) was married to Fatima

[–]Dirtydunn 1 point 6 months ago

You misread. He saying that rasulallah didn’t marry Fatima to abu bakr RA for the reason of age differences. Abu bakr is about two years younger than rasulallah and about 27 years older than Fatima.

You could come out with the understanding that when looking for a potential spouse for your child that you look at their fitrah (nature). Some children may have no problems with a large age gap while others may have problems. (Dr. Jonathan Brown, /r/Islam!; bold emphasis ours)

We’ll have more to say about Muhammad prohibiting Abu Bakr from marrying Fatima due to the age difference a little later.

Brown makes the same point in his book on Muhammad:

“There is nothing more controversial to the modern reader than Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha, who is believed to have been between nine and ten years old when the marriage was consummated. (The MOST RELIABLE historical sources on this marriage are the Sahih Hadith collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim (see Chapter 3)). Interestingly, no critic of Muhammad, from his fiercest opponents in the Quraysh to medieval Christian clerics, objected to his marriage to so young a wife until the modern period. This is noteworthy, since there has certainly never been a shortage of detractors seeking chinks in the armour of Muhammad’s character to exploit.

“It was his marriage to Zaynab, his adopted son’s former wife, which attracted criticism even during Muhammad’s own lifetime. The fact that Zayd is one of only two contemporaries of Muhammad ever mentioned in the Quran (the other is Abu Lahab), as well as the book’s sizeable passage on the Zaynab episode, testifies to the controversy surrounding Muhammad’s marriage to her. One of the earliest Christian polemicists against Islam, John of Damascus (d. 749), accused Muhammad of ‘tailoring’ the Quranic laws on marriage and adoption to legitimize his ‘desire’ for Zaynab. This accusation has been repeated endlessly throughout Christian writings on Islam. The 13th-century English historian Matthew Paris, for example, wrote in his great chronicle that Muhammad had pronounced polygamy permissible to cover up an affair with a servant’s (presumably Zayd’s) wife.” (Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction [Oxford University Press Inc., New York 2011], pp. 76-77; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Suffice it to say Brown’s claims are brimming with errors, as we are about to demonstrate.

To begin with, Brown is doing nothing more than to argue from silence, which is a gross logical fallacy. Just because we have no extant written record of people raising an objection to a 54-year-old Muhammad marrying a 9-year-old minor doesn’t mean that no one ever objected. The only thing this proves is that no one preserved a written record of any complaint. As such, absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.

This brings us to the next point. As Brown acknowledges, Muhammad objected to giving his young daughter in marriage to either Abu Bakr or Umar:

7) Chapter: A Woman Marrying Someone WHO IS SIMILAR IN AGE TO HER

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Buraidah: It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Buraidah that his father said: “Abu Bakr and ‘Umar proposed marriage to Fatimah but the Messenger of Allah said: ‘SHE IS YOUNG.’ Then ‘Ali proposed marriage to her AND HE MARRIED HER TO HIM.”

Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)

Reference: Sunan an-Nasa’i 3221

In-book reference: Book 26, Hadith 26

English translation: Vol. 4, Book 26, Hadith 3223 (Sunnah.com; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Some say that Fatima was born in the year 605 AD, while others say it was 615 AD. According to the Islamic sources, Fatima married Ali in the second year of the Hirah, which would be approximately 624 AD. This places her age at the time of her marriage at either 9 or 19. Keep in mind that Abu Bakr is believed to have been born around the year 573 AD, while Umar’s birth is placed at approximately 583 AD. This means that Abu Bakr was 51 years old, while Umar was 41 years old, when they had asked for Fatima’s hand in marriage.

Either age raises problems for Muhammad’s marriage with Aisha. If Fatima was too young at 9 to marry either Abu Bakr or Umar then what does this say about Aisha’s marriage seeing that she was the exact same age when a 54 year old Muhammad took her to bed? In fact, the hadiths say that Aisha was still playing with her dolls and on swings when Muhammad took her home to have sex with her:

‘A’isha reported: Allah’s Messenger married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house at the age of nine. She further said: We went to Medina and I had an attack of fever for a month, and my hair had come down to the earlobes. Umm Ruman (my mother) came to me and I was at that time on a swing along with my playmates. She called me loudly and I went to her and I did not know what she had wanted of me. She took hold of my hand and took me to the door, and I was saying: Ha, ha (as if I was gasping), until the agitation of my heart was over. She took me to a house, where had gathered the women of the Ansar. They all blessed me and wished me good luck and said: May you have share in good. She (my mother) entrusted me to them. They washed my head and embellished me and nothing frightened me. Allah’s Messenger came there in the morning, and I was entrusted to him. (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3309)

‘A’isha reported that Allah’s Apostle married her when she was seven years old, and she 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 Muslim, Book 008, Number 3311)

Aisha said: The Apostle of Allah married me when I was seven years old. The narrator Sulaiman said: Or six years. He had intercourse with me when I was nine years old. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 11, Number 2116)

Yunus b. Bukayr stated, from Hisham b. ‘Urwa, from his father who said, “The Messenger of God married ‘A’isha three years after (the death of) Khadija. At that time (of the contract) ‘A’isha had been a girl of six. When he married her she was nine. The Messenger of God died when ‘A’isha was a girl of eighteen.”

This tradition is considered gharib (unique in this line).

Al-Bukhari had related, from ‘Ubayd b. Isma‘il, from Abu Usama, from Hisham b. ‘Urwa, from his father, who said, “Khadija died three years before the emigration of the Prophet. He allowed a couple of years or so to pass after that, and then he contracted marriage with ‘A’isha when she was six, thereafter consummating marriage with her when she was nine years old.”

What ‘Urwah stated here is mursal, incomplete, as we mentioned above, but in its content it must be judged as muttasil, uninterrupted.

His statement, “He contracted marriage with ‘A’isha when she was six, thereafter consummating marriage with her when she was nine” IS NOT DISPUTED BY ANYONE, and is well established in the sahih collections of traditions and elsewhere. (Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), translated by professor Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr. Muneer Fareed [Garnet Publishing Limited, 8 Southern Court, south Street Reading RG1 4QS, UK; The Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, first paperback edition, 2000], Volume II, pp. 93-94; bold and capital emphasis ours)

If instead we go with the age of 19 then what does this say of a 9 year old minor marrying a man that was old enough to be her great great grandfather? After all, if a 19-year-old girl was too young to marry a 51 or a 41 year old man, then how much more a 9-year-old girl? How could it be right for a 54-year-old man to bed someone so young in age, especially when that man is supposed to be a prophet whom God sent to be an example for all humanity? More on this last point later.

And if Fatima was too young for marriage then why did her father marry her off to his paternal first cousin Ali? After all, if she were too young for either Abu Bakr or Umar then this would also make her too young for Ali as well.

Or should we take this as another instance of Muhammad telling a boldfaced lie, especially to his two best friends, since it wasn’t that he believed she was too young, but that he didn’t want to give her in marriage to them since he intended to give her away to his first cousin? Muhammad, therefore, had to come up with some excuse for his unwillingness to wed his daughter to his two fathers-in-law.

Now a Muslim may argue (as Brown himself does above) that the point of the hadith isn’t that Fatima was too young to get married. Rather, what Muhammad meant was that she was too young to marry someone as old as Abu Bakr or Umar. Yet even this explanation raises problems. After all, if a 51-year-old Abu Bakr and a 41-year-old Umar were too old to marry someone as young as Fatima then again what does this say about a 54-year-old Muhammad marrying a 9 year old minor still playing with her dolls?

Besides, what does this say about Muhammad’s consistency or lack thereof? Doesn’t this again perfectly illustrate that Muhammad failed to practice what he preached, and was therefore a hypocrite, since he imposed rules and restrictions upon others that he himself did not follow?

This isn’t the only case where a person was reprimanded for desiring to marry a young premature girl. When the Caliph Umar asked to marry Ali’s daughter, he was expressly told that she wasn’t mature enough for marriage:

The marriage of `Umar with Umm Kulthum al-Hashimiyya (6 – 49) the daughter of `Ali and Fatima took place on the year 17 of the Hijra. `Ali gave her away to `Umar upon his request although he was afraid at first that `Umar might not accept her due to her youth and because he wished her to marry one of her cousins among the sons of Ja`far ibn Abi Talib. But `Umar said, “Marry her to me for I swear I have toward her more dedication to excellent companionship than any man on the face of the earth.”…

Ibn Kathir’s Tarikh states the year 16 for the marriage of `Umar with Umm Kulthum; so she was between 10 and 12 since her date of birth is mentioned by al-Dhahabi in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala’ as around the 6th year after the Hijra. Allah knows best from where the claim that she “was 5 or 4” comes from…

The Sunnis do not claim that she was 4 or 5 in the year 17 but 11 or 12…

What was the age for Omar at the time of the marriage?

Approximately forty-seven. Umm Kulthum was between 10 and 12.

When Omar died what was the age of Umm Kulthum?

Between 17 and 19. `Umar was fifty-four or five. (The Marriage of `Umar ibn al-Khattab with Umm Kulthum bint ‘Ali, by GF Haddad; bold and underline emphasis ours)

And:

‘Umar asked ‘Ali for the hand of his daughter, Umm Kulthum in marriage. ‘Ali replied that she has not yet attained the age (of maturity). ‘Umar replied, ‘By Allah, this is not true. You do not want her to marry me. If she is underage, send her to me’. Thus ‘Ali gave his daughter Umm Kulthum a dress and asked her to go to ‘Umar and tell him that her father wants to know what this dress is for. When she came to Umar and gave him the message, he grabbed her hand and forcibly pulled her towards him. ‘Umm Kulthum asked him to leave her hand, which Umar did and said, ‘You are a very mannered lady with great morals. Go and tell your father that you are very pretty and you are not what he said of you’. With that ‘Ali married Umm Kulthum to ‘Umar.

Tarikh Khamees, Volume 2, p. 384 (‘Dhikr Umm Kalthum’) and Zakhair Al-Aqba, p. 168 (Bold and underline emphasis ours)

Here is the final reference:

‘Umar marries Umm Kulthum Daughter of ‘Ali

1. fo. 79a-b

This and some of the following traditions have nothing to do with the Sira proper and belong in time to the caliphate. After reporting that Zayd and an unnamed girl were born of the marriage, Ibn Ishaq reports a tradition from ‘Asim ibn ‘Umar ibn Qatada to the effect that when ‘Umar asked ‘Ali for Umm Kulthum’s hand ‘Ali made the excuse that she was too young. ‘Umar replied that that was not the real reason for his hesitation: he wanted to refuse his consent. Let him send her to him that he might see for himself. So ‘Ali gave her a robe and told her to go to the commander of the faithful and say, “My father says ‘What do you think of this dress?'” She went and said these words and ‘Umar took hold of her shift. She tried to get it from him saying “Let go!”, and he let go exclaiming “A virtuous woman! Go and say to him ‘It is fine and beautiful, not at all as you said it was’.” (Alfred Guillaume, New Light on the Life of Muhammad [Manchester University Press], p. 50; bold and underline emphasis ours)

We are again confronted with a situation where a 10-12 year old girl is said to be too young to get married, especially to a 47-year-old man.

Once again, if a 10-12 year old girl is not mature enough to marry then what do we say of a 9-year-old minor who hadn’t reached puberty yet marrying a man old enough to be her great great grandfather? After all, if the age of 47 made Umar too old for Umm Kulthum, then what does this say of a 54 year-old Muhammad marrying a prepubescent child?

More importantly, these examples of Muhammad and Ali complaining about the young age of Fatima and Umm Kulthum expose the boldfaced lie that no one at that time had a problem with grown men marrying and having sex with prepubescent minors.

This is just the beginning of Brown’s woes, as we shall see in the next part of our rebuttal.

Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/revisiting-the-age-of-aisha-pt-1/ 

IHS