http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/aishah.html

found a good article on this refuting that the Prophet pbuh wasn't a pedophile.However it doesn't mention about Aisha's engagement to Mumin.

Following Posted in Why Islam FAQs of Islam section.

http://whyislam.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1525&PN=1


Question:
1. Why did the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) marry a 9 year old?

Answer:
1. When talking about Islam, there are many questions that are asked by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. One of the most common questions is about Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) marriage to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). The reason for this question to arise is because of the age difference between the two. Prophet Muhammad was 54 years old and Aisha was 9 years old when the marriage was consummated. They were engaged when Aisha was 6 years old, and Prophet Muhammad waited until she reached the age of puberty to marry her.

Because of this difference in age, there has been some undeserved and unnecessary controversy about this marriage. People have also disgraced and humiliated Prophet Muhammad by calling him a pedophile, child molester, pervert, and many other degrading terms and phrases. During that time, once a man or woman reached puberty, they were eligible for marriage. Though it is not practiced in many societies today, it was practiced during those times in Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, and in Europe.

Though Prophet Muhammad has been maligned for this marriage, he had no history of committing illegal sexual acts, nor did he lust or fantasize about anyone. Besides this marriage, all his other marriages were to women 17 years and older; some of them were widows. Except for one, all of the marriages were to spread and pass on Islam by creating and strengthening relations (Prophet Muhammad married his first wife Khadijah after she proposed to him; this marriage took place before his Prophethood). This was also a reason why Prophet Muhammad had three of his daughters married to Uthman and Ali, who would become the last two caliphs of Islam.

The information below will give a clear and concise explanation of the legality of this relationship, thus hoping to clear any undeserved and unnecessary controversy created.

Brotherhood

In pre-Islamic times, people were accustomed to befriending one another to the extent that they behaved like brothers by blood. Therefore, they would not marry the daughters of the men they befriended and took as brothers. One of the female companions Khawlah bint Hakim organized the engagement between Aisha and Prophet Muhammad. When she went to Abu Bakr he said: “Could Aisha be lawful to him (i.e. Prophet Muhammad) while she was his brother’s daughter?” When Khawlah went back to Prophet Muhammad and told him what had happened, he said: “Tell him, you are my brother in Islam and your daughter is lawful to me.”

Thus, this example of Prophet Muhammad showed the people that Islamic brotherhood is not the same as blood brothers and it did away with the pre-Islamic practice of forbidding men to marry the daughters of their friend.

It should be noted that there are no accounts of anyone within their society disagreeing with the marriage, not even Aisha herself. It is only now in recent times that people are attacking this marriage.

In a tribal society, it was customary to seal treaties through marrying into tribes. Prophet Muhammad’s closest Companions later became the four caliphs who led Islam at the critical stage after his death. Two of them were the fathers of his wives Aisha (daughter of Abu Bakr) and Hafsa (daughter of `Umar); the other two married his daughters (`Uthman married Ruqayyah and Zaynab in succession, and `Ali married Fatimah). (i have to add a couple of sentences and some rephrasing of the paragraph)

Brief History of the Marriage Arrangement

At first, Prophet Muhammad was hesitant to marry again after the death of his first wife, Khadijah. He had dreams of the angel Gabriel carrying Aisha wrapped in sheets where Prophet Muhammad was told “This is your wife.” He said to himself that if this was a true dream from Allah, it will happen. These dreams were kept to himself thinking he was much older than her and that Abu Bakr, her father, had already given her hand in marriage to a man named Mut’im. With the memories that he had of Khadijah, he did not give any indication of getting married again. One should notice that since a proposal was already made, this indicated that Aisha was eligible for marriage.

It was not until his housekeeper, Khawlah bint Hakim, insisted that Prophet Muhammad get married because she thought it would be better for him to have a companion instead of being alone. Khawlah suggested that he could marry Aisha, or Sawdah bint Zam`ah, who was an old widow. The suggestion of Aisha confirmed the dream that Prophet Muhammad had of Aisha. He told Khawlah to arrange both marriages.

When Abu Bakr found out about Prophet Muhammad’s request to marry Aisha, he went to Mut’im to cancel his marriage with Aisha, and he amicably agreed.

Islam does not specify a minimum age when man and woman should be married, but both should be able to perform their marital duties. Prophet Muhammad was more than capable, and Aisha had the help of Sawdah. She guided and helped Aisha, until her death, as she was learning her role as a wife.

Pedophilia and Lust

Here is a definition:

"Pedophile: also spelled PEDOPHILIA, psychosexual disorder in which an adult's arousal and sexual gratification occur primarily through sexual contact with prepubescent children. The typical pedophile is unable to find satisfaction in an adult sexual relationship and may have low self-esteem, seeing sexual activity with a child as less threatening than that with an adult." Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998

Though he is criticized for marrying Aisha, one can see that none of his marriages can lead to the conclusion that he is a pedophile; all of his marriages, with the exception of Aisha, were with women that were the age of 17 or older. If he was a pedophile, he would not have waited for three years to consummate the marriage. He would have taken her to his home immediately at the age of 6 without marriage. If Prophet Muhammad had a desire for women he would choose someone over 9 years old who had an ideal appearance; he would not wait for a person to turn a certain age to achieve beauty.

Prophet Muhammad’s Marriages

Prophet Muhammad did not have lust for any woman. Many women who were believers offered him themselves in marriage. He could have had any woman he wanted, but he married the woman he needed to marry to cement and create relations with other tribes to spread Islam.

Including the marriages of Aisha, Prophet Muhammad had married 12 people. Out of Prophet Muhammad’s 12 marriages, 11 were socio-political. He married first wife, Khadijah, when she proposed to him. From islamonline.net: “Most of his wives after the death of Khadijah were old, devoid of beauty, and previously married, except Aisha, who was the only young virgin. He married from other nations and religions; some were the daughters of his worst enemies, and his marriage to one woman won all her people into Islam. Regardless of his neutral feelings towards many of them, he was a model example of equal justice and kindness to them all, and he would never discriminate among them.”

The Quraish

The Quraish was a tribe that was present during Prophet Muhammad’s time. This tribe did not believe in the word (Islam) Prophet Muhammad revealed to the people. The tribe found every opportunity to belittle, mock, and humiliate him at any open opportunity. This can be seen when reading about Prophet Muhammad. If they knew Prophet Muhammad was marrying a person who was not yet eligible to be married, they would have harassed him when they had the chance. Since they knew this marriage was legal, this proved two things: Marriages with young women who had reached puberty was normal and that it must have been practiced by other people, Muslim or not.

Aisha’s Intelligence

Aisha from a very young age was known to have a formidable memory. She was born into Islam, as her parents reverted before she was born, and therefore was taught from a very tender age by her pious father Abu Bakr. When she married Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) her education continued. She transmitted more than 2000 hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Az-Aubairi said, ‘if we compared Aisha’s knowledge to all women, Aisha would surpass them. Hisham ibn Urwa said. I have never seen anyone who could have knowledge of an ayah, an obligatory act, a sunnah act, poetry, history, lineage, judgment or medicine better than Aisha. I asked her, ‘what about medicine, how did you learn it aunt?’ She answered, ‘when I was sick, Prophet Muhammad prescribed (treatment) for me as did he when the people became ill. I also heard people prescribing treatment to each other. Thereby I memorized such prescriptions.’ So by her marriage to Prophet Muhammad, many prophetic traditions were passed down through generations to reach us today.

Abu Bakr, father of Aisha, companion of Prophet Muhammad

Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was the successor of Prophet Muhammad, making him the first caliph. He was also the father of Aisha. The marriage between Prophet Muhammad and Aisha was also done to cement the relationship between Abu Bakr and Prophet Muhammad, to make it stronger: “Prophet Muhammad’s love for Aisha was a sign of his love for her father. On being asked about the dearest person to his heart, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned Aisha. Then, on being asked about the dearest man to him and he, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned her father, Abu Bakr.”

Middle Ages, Mary – Mother of Jesus Christ, the West

Marriage ceremonies were usually simple during this time where the Church was not that involved. Christian marriage ceremonies became part of a wedding when the Middle Ages ended. The marriages were arranged marriages where often the couple was very young. Sometimes girls were as young as 12 years of age, and the man could have been as old as 50.

Today in western societies such as America, there are several laws and freedoms. An example is that people who are 18 years or older are considered adults and if they have sexual relations with a person under the age of 18, they are categorized as “statutory rapists.” But at the same time, it is permissible to have sexual relations with people who are 12 and 13, 14 and 15, etc. Men have multiple girlfriends and women have multiple boyfriends. Extra-marital affairs are very common. These actions are so common that no one sees these actions as immoral. Actions like this are encouraged everyday. But if a marriage to someone that young is done, it is considered controversial, such as the marriage between Prophet Muhammad and Aisha. When assess this one can see which action is moral and which one is immoral.

Mary, according to Christian scholars, was around the age of 14 when she took the responsibility of bearing Jesus Christ. Mary was sent to study at the temple and enjoyed frequent visits from
holy angels. At the age of fourteen, a priest wanted to send Mary home to be married but she argued that she vowed virginity and couldn't have a husband. All Jewish women were to marry someone as an accomplishment of a natural duty. Joseph was chosen by the Holy Ghost
to marry the virgin.

After Mary and Joseph were wed, she was visited by the angel Gabriel and asked to bear the son of god. At first, Mary was frightened and curious as to how she was to keep her virginity if she was pregnant. If Mary had declined this proposal, God would have had to find another. Mary agreed to bear a child and was told that her child was to be born a boy named Jesus. The visitation of the angel and acceptance of Mary is known as the Annunciation.

If one would assess this, one would say that this event is controversial for two reasons. One is that how could a young girl get pregnant. If you assess this with today’s society, people would look at shame to a 14 year old pregnant female. (I need to rephrase and continue this paragraph)

Conclusion

The marriage between Prophet Muhammad and Aisha has received unnecessary exposure due to the age range between the two ages. Aisha had reached the age of maturity and began her life with Prophet Muhammad. During their time together, they gained a love and devotion that many people respect and admire. The information that was passed down to her from Prophet Muhammad has been vital to Islam and its followers. After Prophet Muhammad’s death, many of his hadith and sayings were passed down by Aisha to the followers of Islam. Prophet Muhammad married Aisha for the benefit of Islam and Humanity, under the command of Allah. (I have to edit and rephrase this)

This was a 9 year old girl. Please forgive my criticism, but pedophilia is wrong in any culture, at any time and with any young prepubescent that is not old enough to safely handle child birth. A 9 year old is not a sexually mature adult and it disgusts me to think that so many people are willing to make excuses for this example.

Be careful that you don't warp the minds of others who will intentionally molest other young girls after using the prophet as an example.

it was something that was okay at that time ,but not now we know that.

Your criticism is refuted in the following articles:
http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel6.htm
http://www.load-islam.com/C/rebuttal...age_of_Aishah/

When the Prophet's life is examined in perspective, the charge of paedophilia falls flat on its face. Besides, children who suffered at the hands of pedophiles grow up with psychological problems that cause them difficultiues in integrating with society. But when it comes to A'isha rd we find that she was amongst those who narrated the most ahadith, she used to have public teaching circles and other companions would learn from her, she was outspoken and very bold. She went on to lead in a military role (at the battle of the Camel) later in her life and she only had the best things to say about the Prophet Muhammad saws.

Greetings,

This is pretty shocking, and I don't see how the charge can be refuted. A paedophile is an adult who has sexual relations with a child. A 9 year old girl is a child. A 54 year old is an adult. I have no reason to think that the Prophet (pbuh) abused this young girl, but if he had sex with her, as I think is implied by "the marriage was consummated", he was a paedophile - there is simply no way around that.

Maybe different moral standards were in force in Arabia 1400 years ago; maybe a 9 year old was considered to be an adult; but all these rebuttals are simply making excuses - trying to deny something that seems blindingly obvious. The ancient Greeks had a similar attitude to adult males having sexual relations with young boys, so in modern parlance, they would be called homosexual paedophiles.

Peace

Here's the dictionary definition of 'paedophile'

paedophile
(US pedophile)

• noun a person who is sexually attracted to children.

— DERIVATIVES paedophilia noun paedophiliac adjective & noun.

— ORIGIN from Greek pais ‘child’.

Source

The word 'paedophile' though is usually used in the context of some sort of sexual predation.

[my emphasis] That is your personal opinion. The logic is faulty; by it, all orphans might 'quite possibly' use the 'innocence and naviete of young girls' as a crutch.

What about the 'older woman' he married, Fatima? Did this make him some sort of 'necrophiliac' or other freak specimen?

I agree.

Forgive my bluntness but: What utter tosh.

one q- your gender avator implies you to be muslim- is that a mistake or correct?

Greetings,
That would be a 'gerontophile' - not necessarily a freak, though.

Peace

Hello,
First of all, bin direnken, based on what you have written it seems like you are a non-muslim. I don't have any issues with you being a non-muslim, but if that is truly the case then you should not record "brother in Islam" as your gender as it is misleading, causing unnecessary confusion.

Secondly, I hope that people are reading the articles linked. It is pointless for me to link articles and then have to repeat everything because people are reading them. The charge of paedophilia was specifically examined in detail in the first article I linked. And the second article also examined the issue of marriage at puberty.

The charge of paedophilia was specifically examined in this article. I'm sure we can always re-defined any word so that it would fit any individual but that isn't going to change anything. The fact is that paedophilia is medically recognized as a psychosexual disorder with specific symptoms that the Prophet Muhammad pbuh simply doesn’t fit. He didn’t marry Aisha because of an attraction towards children, on the contrary, as the Islamonline teams notes:

As for the purpose of this marriage, it was purely for sociopolitical reason. The Prophet’s main concern was the future of Islam. He was interested in strengthening the Muslims by all bonds. This also explains the reason why he married the daughter of `Umar, his Second Successor. It was by his marriage to Juwayriyyah that he gained the support for Islam of the whole clan of Bani Al-Mustaliq and their allied tribes. It was through his marriage to Safiyyah that he neutralized a great section of the hostile Jews of Arabia. By accepting Mariya, the Copt from Egypt, as his wife, he formed a political alliance with a king of great magnitude. So his marriage to `Aisha could never be of anything save cementing his relation with Abu Bakr, `Aisha’s father. (SOURCE)

The entire reason why the Prophet Muhammad pbuh delayed the marriage until after migration to Madinah was to wait for Aisha to attain puberty. If he really was attracted to children he would not have waited three years to consummate the marriage. And we know medically that people mature at different rates, some people attain puberty earlier than others. So to classify a set age as the limit is naturally illogical. How can anyone claim that such-and-such an age is the boundary between child and adult while the age fluctuates per person? Marriage should be done after puberty, and in the hot arid climate in arab lands, women mature and attain puberty much earlier. This is clear from the fact that Aisha was already engaged to someone else before it was decided that she would marry the Prophet saws. The following link contains more information on this point:
http://www.load-islam.com/C/rebuttal...e_of_Aishah/#5

As Shaykh Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips points out in one of his lectures:

We have to look at what is the definition of a paedophile? Is it a grown man who marries young girls? No, he is a person gratifying himself with children, he is not considering marriage. It is just abuse, not marriage. But the reality is that Prophet Muhammad pbuh married Aisha. So it is not an issue of paedophilia. You may call it an issue of child marriage, or what you consider to be a child, but it is not an issue of paedophilia.

You as a non-muslim consider that Aisha was a child. She was nine years old when she came to live with the Prophet. What happened at the age of nine? She had her menses. According to Islamic law she is now considered a young women. And this is the natural dividing line between a child and a women. In the west if you look at the numbers at what age can men and women have consensual sex. In the UK it is 16 for heterosexual and for homosexual it is eighteen. You go to Ireland, it’s seventeen. You go to Germany, it’s sixteen. You go to France, it’s fifteen. Go to Italy, it’s fourteen. Go to Holland, it’s twelve. What in England is considered to be paedophilia in Holland is considered to be consensual sex. So their numbers are not based on any tangible dividing point. These numbers have just evolved or have been modified from cultural practices and norms. These figures were derived from a Newsweek article.

…So on one hand, the argument that she was a child falls because they don’t have an accurate point of deciding who’s a child and who’s not.(Bilal Phillips, Contemporary Issues Audio CD set, Part 5, Track 7-8.)

So to categories Prophet Muhammad pbuh with a label describing sexual predators with a psychosexual disorder is simply ludicrous. Not only does Prophet Muhammad pbuh not fit the description of paedophilia, but the historical fact that Aisha attained puberty before she moved in with the Prophet saws refutes the charge entirely. Look at the definition of paedophilia:

Pedophile: also spelled PAEDOPHILIA, psychosexual disorder in which an adult's arousal and sexual gratification occur primarily through sexual contact with prepubescent children. The typical paedophile is unable to find satisfaction in an adult sexual relationship and may have low self-esteem, seeing sexual activity with a child as less threatening than that with an adult." (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998.)

The following links should also contain useful information on the subject:
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...AskAboutIslamE
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...=1119503544940

You're using a two-step method of trying to classify the Prophet Muhammad pbuh as immoral. First by adjusting the definition of paedophilia so that it fits him, and then sliding him back to be categorised amongst paedophiles whom we all regard as immoral.

But the problem is that you haven't substantiated your claim that a nine year old who attains puberty is still considered a child. Nor have you demonstrated that the Prophet Muhammad saws suffered from a psychosexual disorder which caused him to be attracted to children. As historical records demonstrate, the marriages of the Prophet saws were for very clear and self-less purposes, always aimed at the welfare of the muslims collectively.

Regards