This is a subject that has been bothering me for months. However, I have been able to rationally resolve issues that I wish to share with all of you.
To begin with, there is a minority opinion that Aisha was 19 years old at the age of marriage. I'm not sure about the legitimacy of this, but I also don't want to dismiss it. Arabs didn't keep good records of birthdates back then. They usually guess a person's age based on life events that occurred around that time.
In any case, my point of view is the commonly held one. Which has only recently become a point of contention in the last 50 years or so.
(I'll come back to this.)
Let us begin with the biological reality of the time. 1400 years ago, the average lifespan was around 30 years. Add to that the early Muslims' persecution, war, infant morality, and famine. In order for a society to reproduce, the age at which one could be considered an adult had to be much lower. It is not feasible for them to raise the consent age to 18 because by the time the average person is 18, they would be halfway through their life.
To be considered fit for marriage in Islam, a person must be both physically and mentally fit. Take note that there is no set age of consent, so it is up to an Islamic ruler to decide. I believe that because we live in privileged times, we mature at a much slower rate, and that the age of consent should be where it is.
Aisha was also recommended by her father and the angel Gabriel (which means Allah(SWT) ordered it because angels cannot act on their own volition).
Here are the average ages of women Mohammed(SAW) married.
Back to my earlier point... this has only been a contentious issue in the last 50 years. Because it was the norm to marry young. It was done by almost everyone. I don't believe the majority of people back then were pedo’s because that would be an absurd assumption. So why do we remove all context when discussing Aisha's marriage?
Some may argue that Muhammad (SAW) was not meant to be an example for all humanity throughout history. Yes, he is... He married Aisha after they determined that she was mentally fit and healthy. This translates to the age of consent being fluid for the nation's condition. We live in luxury, so it's high, but in a war-torn country, it could be lowered. I am not an Islamic legislator, as you may be aware. So i cant say where it should be at any given time.
She was very intelligent and wrote many books about her life and Muhammad (saw) people parse through all of her works and find no evidence of abuse in her writings.
In Conclusion, There is a lot of context when added to the story make the marriage look ordinary however if we were just to rip it from its time and judge it with our modern standards it would look bad.
To begin with, there is a minority opinion that Aisha was 19 years old at the age of marriage. I'm not sure about the legitimacy of this, but I also don't want to dismiss it. Arabs didn't keep good records of birthdates back then. They usually guess a person's age based on life events that occurred around that time.
In any case, my point of view is the commonly held one. Which has only recently become a point of contention in the last 50 years or so.
(I'll come back to this.)
Let us begin with the biological reality of the time. 1400 years ago, the average lifespan was around 30 years. Add to that the early Muslims' persecution, war, infant morality, and famine. In order for a society to reproduce, the age at which one could be considered an adult had to be much lower. It is not feasible for them to raise the consent age to 18 because by the time the average person is 18, they would be halfway through their life.
To be considered fit for marriage in Islam, a person must be both physically and mentally fit. Take note that there is no set age of consent, so it is up to an Islamic ruler to decide. I believe that because we live in privileged times, we mature at a much slower rate, and that the age of consent should be where it is.
Aisha was also recommended by her father and the angel Gabriel (which means Allah(SWT) ordered it because angels cannot act on their own volition).
Here are the average ages of women Mohammed(SAW) married.
The average age is 25. This trend does not show a man who has a sick pervasion of children. Many of these women were widows, elderly, or otherwise destitute and in need of his aide.
Back to my earlier point... this has only been a contentious issue in the last 50 years. Because it was the norm to marry young. It was done by almost everyone. I don't believe the majority of people back then were pedo’s because that would be an absurd assumption. So why do we remove all context when discussing Aisha's marriage?
Some may argue that Muhammad (SAW) was not meant to be an example for all humanity throughout history. Yes, he is... He married Aisha after they determined that she was mentally fit and healthy. This translates to the age of consent being fluid for the nation's condition. We live in luxury, so it's high, but in a war-torn country, it could be lowered. I am not an Islamic legislator, as you may be aware. So i cant say where it should be at any given time.
She was very intelligent and wrote many books about her life and Muhammad (saw) people parse through all of her works and find no evidence of abuse in her writings.
In Conclusion, There is a lot of context when added to the story make the marriage look ordinary however if we were just to rip it from its time and judge it with our modern standards it would look bad.
