Aisha's age- the 17 years old argument

I found this interesting, an argument in support of the idea that Aisha was 17 years old when she was married. By Jamal Badawi.

Some background information, he rejects the hadiths in Bukhari that say she was 9 because they all go back to one person who, although he was trustworthy, suffered from bad memory at later age.

5. It is known that between the marriage contract and Aisha's moving to the Prophet's household, there was a 3-year gab during which she stayed with her parents.

6. It is also known that her moving to the Prophet's household took place in the first or second year after migration from Makkah to Madina. It is also known that the Makkan period lasted for 13 years, and the famous biographer Ibn Is-haq lists the name of Aisha among the very early persons who accepted Islam in the first few months of the Prophet's mission. If we were to add a minimum age of Aisha to understand what she was accepting, say 4 + the 13 years in Makkah + 1 or 2 years in Madina, it adds up probably to 19 years and not only 9, which is the number reported in Al-Bukhari.

7. While the above is more than enough, it is noted also that many historians have debated the age of Aisha when she married the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One is that some say that Aisha died at the age of 50 after migration, at the age of 67, which means that she was born 17 years old before migration, and since her marriage was consummated one or two years after migration, it must have taken place at the age of 19.

8. It is also known that her sister Asmaa was 10 years her senior. It is interesting to note that Asmaa died in the year 73 after migration, at the age of 100, this means she was born 27 years before migration (100-73). Since she was 10 years older, then Aisha was born 17 years before migration, which is consistent with these other reports.

http://www.islamonline.net/livedialo...GuestID=s905I1

Wallahu a'lam!