Before talking about Prophet's marriage lets get things in perspective.
Some history lesson.“The founder of western Christian theology , now considered a saint. Augustine was sexlessly betrothed to a ten-year-old girl who was “pleasing unto him”, until he elected to lead an ascetic lifestyle for religious reasons. Augustine writes in his Confessions, Book VI, Chapter XIII:.
The Roman tradition served as the base for Christian Europe as well as the Christian Church itself which generally, essentially based upon biological development, set it at 12 or 14 but continued to set the absolute minimum at seven
Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality-Vern L. Bullough
(Professor State of New York University, History and Sociology Emeritus, SUNY College, Buffalo )
Adolescence, Sexuality, and the Criminal Law
According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, Prophet Isaac (peace be upon him) was forty years old when he married Rebecca (Rivka) who was only three years old at the time! Other rabbis, however, conclude from calculations that she was fourteen years old.
REBEKAH - JewishEncyclopedia.com
"Sri Sarada Devi was born in 1853 . At the age of six she was betrothed to Sri Ramakrishna nineteenth-century Hindu mystic and saint. "
Sarada Devi - Wikipedia
Saint Hedwig of Silesia At the age of twelve, married Henry I
Mary Stewart *married* Henry VIII when she was only six
“Mary Hathaway was only nine when she was married to William Williams. “
“Marchioness Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach was 8 years old when she was married to Duke Heinrich IX”
“Margaret I Queen of Denmark, in 1359 as a six- year old engaged to the 18-year-old King Haakon VI of Norway,”
“Mary Stuart, Princess Royal and Willem II, Prince of Orange and stadholder of Holland, She was only 9 when they *married”*
“Maria Adelaide married Louis, Duke of Burgundy by proxy in 1696 when she was about 10”
“James Hamilton 1 Duke of Hamilton b. Jun 19 1606 was almost 16 on his wedding (Jun 16 1622) with 9 years old Mary (Margaret) Fielding.”
“Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk was six when she married the four-year-old Richard of Shrewsburry, Duke of York. ”
“Mary of Serbia married Stephen Tomašević, heir-apparent to the throne of Bosnia, when she was 12 years old”
“Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby was married to Suffolk's son, John de la Pole. The wedding was held between 28 January and 7 February 1444, when she was perhaps, a year old, but certainly, *no* more than three”
“princess, Urraca of León and Castile (b. 1079 r. 1109-1126) was a child bride at age eight to Raymond of Burgundy”
“Isabella of Angoulême, Queen consort of England and Countess of Angouleme suo jure, was *married* at age 12 to the odious King John”
“Isabella of Valois was only 6 years old when she *married* Richard II of England who were 32 years”
“Margaret of Bohemia (or Luxembourg) was married to Louis I of Hungary at the age of seven”
“Isabella of Hainault aged 10 at the time of marriage , daughter of Baldwin V of Hainaut and Margaret I”
“Joan I of Navarre aged 10 at the time of marriage , daughter of Henry I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois”
“Theodora Comnena was aged 13yo when she was *married* King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (1158)”
“Agnes of France was 12yo when, widowed, she was married to Andronicus Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (1182)”
“St Elizabeth of Portugal was aged 12yo when she was married to King Denis of Portugal and gave birth to three children shortly thereafter”
“Caterina Sforza was betrothed aged 9yo, *married* aged 14yo, and gave birth aged 15yo”
Stephen Milutin, the Kral of Serbia, married Simonis, the daughter of Emperor Andronikos II, when she was only five years old. At the time of the marriage, Stephen Milutin was fifty years old
Medieval Marriage
And some more to widen the perspective.
Celebrity Couples with age gap.
MELANIE HAMRICK AND MICK JAGGER
Age difference 43 years.
TONY BENNETT AND SUSAN CROW
Age difference 40 years
AIMEE ANN PRESTON AND STEVEN TYLER
Age difference *40 years
ARLENE SILVER AND DICK VAN DYKE
Age difference 46 years
ALEJANDRA SILVA AND RICHARD GERE
Age difference 34 years
HUGH HEFNER AND CRYSTAL HARRIS
Age difference 60 years
WOODY ALLEN AND SOON-YI PREVIN
Age difference 35 years
DOUG HUTCHISON AND COURTNEY STODDEN
Age difference 34 years
CLINT EASTWOOD AND DINA RUIZ-EASTWOOD
Age difference 35 years
SUNNY OZELL AND PATRICK STEWART
Age difference 39 years
Charlie Chaplin & Oona O'Neill
Age difference 36 years
Doug Hutchison & Courtney Stodden
Age difference 34 years
Cary Grant & Dyan Cannon
Age difference 33 years
Robert and Luciana Duvall
Age difference 41 years
James Woods and Kristen Bauguess
Age difference 46 years
Steven Bauer and Lyda Loudon
Age difference 39 years
Gabi Grecko and Geoffrey Edelsten
Age difference 46 years
Jimmy Page and Scarlett Sabet
Age difference 46 years
Shannon Williams and Gregg Allman
Age difference 40 years
let's widen the perspective even more
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts, and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity.
Till 1880..Russia 10 year old could legally have sex.
Denmark 12 year old could legally have sex.
United States
Arkansas 10 year old could legally have sex.
California 10 year old could legally have sex.
Colorado 10 year old could legally have sex.
Delaware 7 year old could legally have sex.
Florida 10 year old could legally have sex.
Georgia 10 year old could legally have sex.
There are many more states with 10 years minimum age.➡ Children and Youth in History
As for Marriage in Islam is concerned,
A girl cannot be married without her permission."O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may Take away part of the dower ye have given them,-except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good." (Al Qut'an 4:19)
As for the minimum age for marriage for individual, Age is not the criteria
The Qur'an says:_“Test the orphans until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement (rushd), release their property to them. Do not consume their property excessively and quickly, that they will grow up and take it back. And (the guardian) who is rich should behave honestly (by not spending their wealth); and who is poor should spend only as much as is fair. Then when you release their property to them, bring witnesses upon them. Allah is sufficient to call to account.”_ (Al-Qur'an 4:6)
an-Nisa` 4:6
"marriageable age" in the above verse is translated from the Arabic word "balighoo" means:
"to reach, to arrive, to mature, to come of age, to reach puberty; to exhaust; to attain a high degree; to be eloquent;"
An English and Arabic dictionary
Minimum Age For Marriage In The Quran
There could be different age limitations because, maturity may vary regionally and by era."Marriageable Age in Islam: A Study on Marriageable Age Laws and Reforms in Islamic Law"
By Jeremiah Bowden
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=lux
Now coming to marriage of prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
If we are asked to prove our age.
we would simply produce our birth certificate.
My mom claimed she was 80 years old.
How she knew this?
And this is how she explains.
I'm 3 years younger than my brother and he is 2 years younger than his cousin Ahmed who was born during the great flood of 1932.
so that's makes me 80 years.
In seventh century people arrived at their age approximately by association with some major event or incidents.
It is said that Aisha was 9 year old when she was married to the Prophet according to Hadith.
And
We know this is an approximate age,
The age of Aisha(RA) is not set in stone at 9 years
In fact some scholars have argued she must have been at least 17 years old,
they argued that since according to Noble Qur'an a girl not only must have started her menses but must be physically and intellectually of sound mind to be married.
and by using association with certain Incidences and events, they arrived at the figure of 17 or may be older.
AYESHA AGE THE MYTH OF A PROVERBIAL WEDDING EXPOSED
The point is whether she was 9 or 19 makes no difference because in Islam age is not the criteria for marriage but being of sound mind and being mature enough to handle sex is.
If at this point of time, if the Prophet was in United States, he could have "easily and legally"* married Aisha even if she was 9 years old...!!!
Because she was married to the Prophet with parental consent.
Even at present time in United States a minor can be married with parental consent...!"all states allow minors to marry in certain circumstances, such as parental consent.... _*Over the past 15 years, more than 200,000 minors married in US, and in Tennessee girls as young as 10 were married in 2001."
Marriage age in the United States - Wikipedia
The Prophet married Aisha when she was mature, physically and emotionally.
In fact she was already engaged to be married to man by the name Mutʿim ibn ʿAdiyy which was put aside by common consent.
and marriage to prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was proposed by women named Khawlah bint Hakim.
Aisha(RA) played an important role in early Islamic history, both during prophet Muhammad's life and after his death.
She is also known for narrating 2210 hadiths, not just on matters related to the Prophet's private life, but also on topics such as inheritance, pilgrimage, and eschatology. Her intellect and knowledge in various subjects, including poetry and medicine, were highly praised.
she even lead troops in Battle of the Camel riding on her camel..
She was a very strong and awesome women and is known as Mother of believers.
The truth about Muhammad and Aisha | Myriam François-Cerrah
Aisha - Wikipedia
"Aisha was married in 622 C.E., and although her exact birthday is unknown, Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari recorded that it happened before Islam was revealed in 610. The earliest surviving biography of Muhammad, Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Malik bin Hisham’s recension of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah — The Life of the Messenger of Godrecords that Aisha accepted Islam shortly after it was revealed — 12 years before her marriage — and there is no way she could have done so as an infant or toddler."
"Furthermore, it is a matter of incontrovertible historical record that Aisha was involved in the Battles of Badr in 624 and Uhud in 625, in neither of which was anyone under the age of 15 allowed."
"Finally, Imam Wali-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Khatib, dead for more than 700 years, recorded in the biographical section of Miskat al-Masabih that Asma, her elder sister of 10 years, died at the age of 100, 72 years after Aisha’s wedding. This makes Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage at least 14, and at the time of her marriage’s consummation almost 20. "
Rejecting The Myth Of Sanctioned Child Marriage In Islam
The marriage of prophet Muhammad(saw) is and was perfectly acceptable, socially, morally and legally even in today's time…!
Allah alone knows best.
