When prophet Muhammed (saw) married Aisha he probably waited a few years from the age of 9 years old to 12 years old to have sex with her. who knows?
Just wanted to point out that the marriage was when Aisha was 6 years old, and the marriage was consumated when she was 9 years old, as it is recorded that this was the age she reached puberty.
I do see today in the modern world girls having sex at the age of 9 years old. If they can do it in this soceity, what is so phenomenal about doing it back during the Prophet's time?
What society are you refering to? I live in a western country and if it came out someone had sex with a girl at the age of 9 they would get several years in prison. Our country is very protective towards children.
Of course the Prophet was married but today in the modern world how often do you see a 9 year old girl married compared to having sex out of wed lock?
Honestly, I have never heard of a girl having sex at the age of 9 here, unless she was raped or forced to have sex.
The numbers surely do vary. This day and age you see 9 year old girls being prostitues that are bound to get viral diseases but when you hear the Prophet Married to a 9 year old girl..you flip and why is that?
That is because in my society you have to be an adult (18 yrs) in order to get married and 16 to have sex. A child at the age of 9 is not able to decide wheter a marriage is a good thing or not, and noone has the right to make that decision for her, not even her parents. After all, a marriage has a great impact on a person and anyone should have the right to choose who to live their life with themselves. You may find it odd, but as you may know, not all parents are good parents and hence not all parents would make good decisions and find a good husband for their child. Money could be the reason for marrying her to someone, etc. In our society a person has to decide for themselves who will be a good husband/wife, and in order to do that, they have to be adults. Children don't know their own good.
By the way, prostitution is illegal here.
Most of the people today are so afraid of peodhiles and rapists lurking around but when a man like the Prophet Muhammed(saw) choose to MARRY a 9 year old girl you they think that is absurd and may I ask why is that?
We grant the children the right to be children until they are old enough to make good choices themselves. Marriage is a serious matter, and children needs the time to grow up before becoming someones wife/husband. Here, it is also normal for girls to finnish their education before getting married.
Research subsequent to the time of Maulana Muhammad Ali has shown that she was older than this. An excellent short work presenting such evidence is the Urdu pamphlet Rukhsati kai waqt Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa ki umar (‘The age of Lady Aisha at the time of the start of her married life’) by Abu Tahir Irfani.[4a] Points 1 to 3 below have been brought to light in this pamphlet.
1. The famous classical historian of Islam, Ibn Jarir Tabari, wrote in his ‘History’:
“In the time before Islam, Abu Bakr married two women. The first was Fatila daughter of Abdul Uzza, from whom Abdullah and Asma were born. Then he married Umm Ruman, from whom Abdur Rahman and Aisha were born. These four were born before Islam.” [5]
Being born before Islam means being born before the Call.
2. The compiler of the famous Hadith collection Mishkat al-Masabih, Imam Wali-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Khatib, who died 700 years ago, has also written brief biographical notes on the narrators of Hadith reports. He writes under Asma, the older daughter of Abu Bakr:
“She was the sister of Aisha Siddiqa, wife of the Holy Prophet, and was ten years older than her. … In 73 A.H. … Asma died at the age of one hundred years.” [6]
(Go here to see an image of the full entry in Urdu.)
This would make Asma 28 years of age in 1 A.H., the year of the Hijra, thus making Aisha 18 years old in 1 A.H. So Aisha would be 19 years old at the time of the consummation of her marriage, and 14 or 15 years old at the time of her nikah. It would place her year of birth at four or five years before the Call.
3. The same statement is made by the famous classical commentator of the Holy Quran, Ibn Kathir, in his book Al-bidayya wal-nihaya:
“Asma died in 73 A.H. at the age of one hundred years. She was ten years older than her sister Aisha.” [7]
Apart from these three evidences, which are presented in the Urdu pamphlet referred to above, we also note that the birth of Aisha being a little before the Call is consistent with the opening words of a statement by her which is recorded four times in Bukhari. Those words are as follows:
“Ever since I can remember (or understand things) my parents were following the religion of Islam.” [8]
This is tantamount to saying that she was born sometime before her parents accepted Islam but she can only remember them practising Islam. No doubt she and her parents knew well whether she was born before or after they accepted Islam, as their acceptance of Islam was such a landmark event in their life which took place just after the Holy Prophet received his mission from God. If she had been born after they accepted Islam it would make no sense for her to say that she always remembered them as following Islam. Only if she was born before they accepted Islam, would it make sense for her to say that she can only remember them being Muslims, as she was too young to remember things before their conversion. This is consistent with her being born before the Call, and being perhaps four or five years old at the time of the Call, which was also almost the time when her parents accepted Islam.
Two further evidences cited by Maulana Muhammad Ali
In the footnotes of his Urdu translation and commentary of Sahih Bukhari, entitled Fadl-ul-Bari, Maulana Muhammad Ali had pointed out reports of two events which show that Aisha could not have been born later than the year of the Call. These are as follows.
1. The above mentioned statement by Aisha in Bukhari, about her earliest memory of her parents being that they were followers of Islam, begins with the following words in its version in Bukhari’s Kitab-ul-Kafalat. We quote this from the English translation of Bukhari by M. Muhsin Khan:
“Since I reached the age when I could remember things, I have seen my parents worshipping according to the right faith of Islam. Not a single day passed but Allah’s Apostle visited us both in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were persecuted, Abu Bakr set out for Ethiopia as an emigrant.” [9]
Commenting on this report, Maulana Muhammad Ali writes:
“This report sheds some light on the question of the age of Aisha. … The mention of the persecution of Muslims along with the emigration to Ethiopia clearly shows that this refers to the fifth or the sixth year of the Call. … At that time Aisha was of an age to discern things, and so her birth could not have been later than the first year of the Call.” [1
Again, this would make her more than fourteen at the time of the consummation of her marriage.
2. There is a report in Sahih Bukhari as follows:
“On the day (of the battle) of Uhud when (some) people retreated and left the Prophet, I saw Aisha daughter of Abu Bakr and Umm Sulaim, with their robes tucked up so that the bangles around their ankles were visible hurrying with their water skins (in another narration it is said, ‘carrying the water skins on their backs’). Then they would pour the water in the mouths of the people, and return to fill the water skins again and came back again to pour water in the mouths of the people.” [11]
Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in a footnote under this report:
“It should also be noted that Aisha joined the Holy Prophet’s household only one year before the battle of Uhud. According to the common view she would be only ten years of age at this time, which is certainly not a suitable age for the work she did on this occasion. This also shows that she was not so young at this time.” [12]
If, as shown in the previous section above, Aisha was nineteen at the time of the consummation of her marriage, then she would be twenty years old at the time of the battle of Uhud. It may be added that on the earlier occasion of the battle of Badr when some Muslim youths tried, out of eagerness, to go along with the Muslim army to the field of battle, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sent them back on account of their young age (allowing only one such youngster, Umair ibn Abi Waqqas, to accompany his older brother the famous Companion Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas). It seems, therefore, highly unlikely that if Aisha was ten years old the Holy Prophet would have allowed her to accompany the army to the field of battle.
We conclude from all the evidence cited above that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was nineteen years old when she joined the Holy Prophet as his wife in the year 2 A.H., the nikah or betrothal having taken place five years previously.
What about Mary, Jesus' Mother peace be upon both of them? How old was she when she got pregnant?
Not only was it a custom in the Arab society to Engage/Marry a young girl it was also common in the Jewish society. the case of Mary the mother of Jesus comes to mind, in non biblical sources she was between 11-14 years old when she conceived Jesus. Mary had already been "BETHROED" to Joseph before conceiving Jesus. Joseph was a much older man. therefore Mary was younger than 11-14 years of age when she was "BETHROED" to Joseph. we Muslims would never call Joseph a Child Molester, nor would we refer to the "Holy Ghost" of the Bible, that "Impregnated" Mary as a "Rapist" or "Adulterer".
This paragraph was sent to me by brother Mike, who embraced Islam recently; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him: According to the Priest of Saint Mary's Catholic Church: "Mary was approximately 14 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus. Joseph, Mary's Husband is believed to be around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged with Joseph she was between 7 to 9 years old."
According to the "Oxford Dictionary Bible" commentary, Mary (peace be upon her) was was 12 years old when she became impregnated.
So if I want to be as silly and ridiculous as many of the Christians, I would respond to them by saying that Mary was psychologically and emotionally devastated for getting pregnant at a very young age. And speaking of "child molesting", since most Christians believe that Jesus is the Creater of this universe, then why did GOD allow himself to enter life through a 12-year old young girl's vagina? Please note that we Muslims love and respect Allah Almighty, Mary, Jesus and Allah's Message to the People of the Book (The Jews and Christians). In other words, we Muslims would never make fun of Christianity through such childish topic like this one as many ridiculous Christians do make fun of Islam through our Prophet's (peace be upon him) marriage.
The point is:
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was not a child molester as the haters of Islam claim. He was a Noble Messenger of God. Muhammad peace be upon him lived in a society and culture that existed 1400 years ago, and we must not judge what he or others did based on our standards today. It is wrong and foolish to do so !.
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was not a child molester as the haters of Islam claim. He was a Noble Messenger of God. Muhammad peace be upon him lived in a society and culture that existed 1400 years ago, and we must not judge what he or others did based on our standards today. It is wrong and foolish to do so !.
I hope u get my point!
Good point! And I am not a hater of Islam. But does this mean that many other things in the Quoran also has to be seen in the light of the age when it was written?
Hi Christian dove and malsidab,
Am I going to get a response?
I haven't looked at this thread for a day or so, sorry I missed your question. I read back and think you are wanting to know what my first question was that I found an answer for. That question was answered a couple of days ago and I cannot recall what it was now. I have read back in threads to try to find it and cannot, sorry. Once I find answers I usually accept it, file the answer in my mind and move on, it is as if I always knew that. (I know, that's a little wierd, but it is efficient - information gets processed quickly) If it comes back to me what the question was in the first place I'll message you. Sorry.
Do you have a problem with a girl who has attained puberty and is medically known to be able to birth, getting married? Please answer this question. What is the difference if a 20 year old girl marries a 30 year old man or a 40 year old man?
What we see is that the age of the man is largely irrelevant to the question, so long as he is still reasonably within the age of marriage.
The only issue that is important here, then is the age of the girl. If she is mature enough and has reached puberty, able to give her consent, then this is the defining criteria for marriage. As we know, in different places of the world and in different societies and cultures, medical studies prove that the age at which boys and girls reach this point fluctuates. Hence, the marriage should be based on social norms. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh married according to the social norms of his society, and we marry according to the social norms that we live in.
Regards
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]
Therefore, with all the arguements above, we have come to the conclusion that our beloved, Muhammad s.a.w is not paedophile. And his marriage to Aisha is accepted by all....
Good point! And I am not a hater of Islam. But does this mean that many other things in the Quran also has to be seen in the light of the age when it was written?
actually, f.y.i, not all, some parts of the Quran is directed to the pple from the past(at the time when Muhammad.s.a.w was still alive)
however, some other parts of the Quran is directed directly to us!!!to pple from the time Muhammads.a.w was still around till now!
Please do not post in this section without providing evidence and references or posts will be deleted. This section works a little differently from other sections on the forum.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]
Some scholars say that the hadith collectors Bukhari and Muslim applied less stringent standards to hadith relating to history than they did to hadith relating directly to prayer and family law. Hence a historical tradition included in Bukhari or Muslim cannot be presumed to be "strong".
According to Abd ar Rahman ibn Abi Zannad, Aisha was 10 years younger than her sister Asma. That is also confirmed by Ibn Kathir Virtually all other historical reports also agree in this matter. Ibn Kathir also reports that Asma was present when her son died in 73 AH and she herself died 5 days thereafter (other reports differ slightly, giving between 5 and 100 days between the deaths of the two). At the time of her death she was 100 years old This is also confirmed by Ibn Hadschar who reports that she died in 73 or 74 AH at the age of 100 years But this means, of course, that Asma was 27 or 28 years old at 1 AH and the 10 years youger Aisha already 17 or 18, so when Muhammad and Aisha started to live together she was already 19 or 20.
I'd like more research to be done about Aisha's actual age because what I've read may conclude that she wasn't 9 at all. In any case if the point of marriage is to have kids that will serve God, then of course the Prophet, and Muslims after him are striving to have sex for this purpose and not only out of lust.
The whole Aisha argument seems to be one of the big barriers for many would-be Muslims. I had to overcome it myself. I took my judgements as programming from my western culture that I grew up in, but either way it'd be nice to not have to refute that point any more and just get straight to more important issues when giving da'wa. :P
So what do you guys think? I think there's evidence to support that Aisha's age was older, but either way it's not very relevant.
kososhahab sargon and others,
i think it should be pointed out that islamic sources are hadith and quran. And as the hadith. hadiths such as in Sahîh al-Bukhârî, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64 and number 65
Those hadith clearly indicate marriage was consumated at 9, so unless those hadith are proven to be Da3eef, i dont think we can say marriage age was higher.
kososhahab sargon and others,
i think it should be pointed out that islamic sources are hadith and quran. And as the hadith. hadiths such as in Sahîh al-Bukhârî, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64 and number 65
Those hadith clearly indicate marriage was consumated at 9, so unless those hadith are proven to be Da3eef, i dont think we can say marriage age was higher.
Totally correct.
In the face of unfouinded western criticism, we should not change the hadith so as to please them.
The Hadith in Bukhari and Muslim both state that Aisha was 6 when nikah was done and that she moved in with the prophet when 9. Ithink some of these hadith even come from Hadhrat Aisha herself.
'Aishah, may God be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet was betrothed (zawaj) to her when she was six years old and he consummated (nikah) his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years. (Saheeh al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64)
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