So how old was Aisha when she and the prophet…

Omar del Sur

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6 and then consummated at 9. Not according to me, according to authentic hadith in Saheeh Bukhari.

Many non-Muslims use this all the time to negatively depict Islam but I would challenge any of them to show any critic of Islam who attacked Islam on this basis prior to 1900.

Cultural standards were very different 1,400 years ago.

Some "modernist" types will try to dispute what is reported in Saheeh Bukhari but this is more serious than some of them may realize. Saheeh Bukhari is the most authentic book after the Quran. So I don't agree with undermining Bukhari.
 
No clue, some say that because they didn’t keep track of age back then in like saying I’m 22 or so, they claim it to be around that age.

but in the end that’s how it was globally back then.

maybe in like the future when people can live 500 years due to advancements in science they will say marrying a 75 year old is pedophilia because they are too young.
 
Our blessed mother Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها was 6 when she was married to the Prophet ﷺ and she was 9 when the blessed marriage was consummated with the holy Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to Aisha رضي الله عنها was a beautiful union which was based on mutual love, respect and care. Not only was our blessed mother Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها was pleased with her union to the Prophet ﷺ, but Aisha’s رضي الله عنها parents and relatives were also happy with this beautiful union and we too are are pleased with their union as it brought many blessings to Islam.

The Prophet ﷺ married her with the consent of her parents and did not consummate the marriage until she was physically mature enough. In Pre-modern societies, especially among aristocratic royals, a girl could be betrothed at any age but consummation of the marriage would not occur until the girl was deemed physically fit and ready, usually around the onset of some signs of puberty (menstruation for a girl and pupic hair for a boy) or whenever the parents decided and puberty coincided with Adulthood in many Pre-modern societies.

In fact, our blessed mother Aisha رضي الله عنها tells us this herself:

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said: “My mother was trying to fatten me up when she wanted to send me to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (when she got married), but nothing worked until I ate cucumbers with dates; then I grew plump like the best kind of plump.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 3324


What we learn from this beautiful Hadith above of our mother رضي الله عنها is that her parents took great care of her and they would not send her to the Prophet ﷺ until she reached physical maturity. Our blessed Prophet ﷺ was a great example in this regard as he taught the Ummah the harm principle of not causing harm or reciprocating harm. The harm principle is a legal maxim in Islamic law which all scholars unanimously agree that harm should be prevented if its evident.

Abu Ja'far [al-Tabari]: “The Messenger of God did not marry another woman during the life of Khadijah until she passed away. When she died, the Messenger of God got married, but (opinions] differ as to whom he married first after Khadijah. Some say that it was 'A'ishah bt. Abi Bakr al-siddiq, while others say that it was Sawdah bt. Zam'ah b. Qays b. 'Abd Shams b. 'Abd Wudd b. Nagr. As for 'A'ishah, when he married her she was very young and not yet ready for consummation”

The history of al-Tabari 9/128

In other words, marriage in Islam doesn’t automatically mean consummation. It’s permissible to marry someone at any age but consummation of the marriage can only occur if the individual is physically ready and fit to have intercourse without it causing them harm. Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ married Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها when she was not suitable for intercourse (a mere marriage contract) but did not consummate the marriage until our blessed mother رضي الله عنها was physically suitable and ready to engage in intercourse. It’s also important to mention that Adulthood in Islam isn’t the magical arbitrary subjective number of 18 as it is in many modern societies today. In Islam, you reach legal Adulthood when you reach the Islamic definition of puberty and we find this similar example in other legal systems as well.

For more on the overview of age of consent in Pre-modern societies, check out my thread below:
A brief overview of the age of consent in pre-modern societies:

The paper begins by emphasizing that historically, age of consent almost always coincided with the age of puberty, unlike the notions of the age of consent today.


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The paper, then goes on to describe an important reason why women were married off as young as possible, often immediately when they hit puberty.

Some physicians still argue, that biologically, women at 14 are capable of childbearing.


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Age of consent (and hence marriage), was around 12-14 for girls, in the Greek and Roman empires.

Women could be betrothed without their consent, and it was not uncommon for marriages to be consummated even before the girl attained puberty.


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The paper then quotes the example of the Prophet ﷺ, along with St Augustine further strengthening the fact that it was perfectly acceptable to be betrothed to biologically pre-pubescent girls, but consummation would often be delayed until they were mature.

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The blessed Prophet ﷺ had many enemies and critics during his life and after he ﷺ passed away. His enemies who hated him with a burning passion and would do anything in their power to discredit him could not even think of his ﷺ marriage to Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها as a flaw. In fact, Anti-Islam polemacists for the last 1300 years who studied the Prophet’s ﷺ life and many who knew Arabic and could read our sources could not even think of this marriage as a flaw and did not even use this marriage to slander the Prophet ﷺ as his ﷺ marriage was socially acceptable. It’s only in the modern world and in the last century or so, due to changing social attitudes and customs did this blessed marriage between the Prophet ﷺ and Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها become a contraversy. But at the end of the day, we Muslims have an objective source of morality which is flexible and effective whereas critics and haters of Islam do not have anything other than slanderous insults. If modern day Anti-Islam critics and haters cannot prove their moral paradigm or their criticisms to be objectively correct (and they have failed to do so) then we Muslims have won and we shouldn’t be bothered by what they say.

For more on submission and objective morality, see my thread down below:
I didn't write this, someone else did & I thought this is a powerful message so I decided to share it here:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The theological & moral issues that are usually the first to chip away at the faith of Muslims (who become Apostates/drowning in shubuhāt) that lead to greater doubts are known by all:

So; the committed Muslim & the one in doubt BOTH know about the "issues":

The existence of hellfire, existence of evil or offensive warfare to conquer disbelieving lands (jihād at-talab), concubinage, the marriage of the Messenger ﷺ with Sayyidah A'isha رضي الله عنها, the hudūd etc.

So what makes the difference?

It truly comes down to submission. Submission is what separates both groups. Most of the heresies we find in modern man are rooted in (if I was to summarize) man's inability to realize that he is the slave and Allāh is the Lord. One must know, numerous apostasy cases include huffāz of the Qur'ān, or those who were once upon a time giving da'wah themselves, and those who do actually know about the religion. So know, that one could learn all the rebuttals against the arguments of Islam thrown at him from an intellectual standpoint, but still have uncertainty in his Islam, simply because his heart never completely submitted, for imān isn't just an intellectual exercise for the mind, rather it's a spiritual conviction in the heart (that Allāh gives His slave) tied with the intellectual certitude.

Imām Abū Ja'far Al Tahāwī رَحِمَهُ الله beautifully summarized:

"For none is safe in his religion except those who surrender themselves to Allāh Almighty and to His Messenger (ﷺ), and relinquishes the knowledge of what is ambiguous to the One who knows it.'' The Imām رَحِمَهُ الله also says: "A man's footing in Islām is not firm unless it is based on SUBMISSION and surrender."

The one in doubt thinks "how can Allāh possibly legislate this”? Whereas he, the committed Muslim is content in whatever Allāh wills and whatever He revealed.

One can argue, only if these people who had left the religion grounded themselves in foundational 'Aqīda (creed) with a firm grounding, I say:

This is a fair point, yet first of all we must know that Allāh guides whom He wills and secondly one should realize that even if people learn the foundational creed for a 1000 years from the greatest theologian to have ever lived, BUT if this person never internalized what he learned in his heart by complete & total submission to Allāh, His Will, His Decree, His rulings & His Divine Wisdom, he would still waiver!

This is why it is not a matter of just knowing, but a matter of submitting like the story of Ibrahīm عليه السلام, Allāh raise his ranks, was commanded to slaughter his own!

So what truly separates the believer and people of doubt and those who went astray is:

Submission - to know that we are broken slaves of Allāh who have limited knowledge and affirming Allāh is our Lord, the King of Kings!
And Allāh knows best.

He also wrote:

"Many Muslims don't realise that many murtaddīn ("ex-Muslims") were practicing & serious about the Dīn and it isn't the case they abandoned this path merely because 'they wanted to do zina/alcohol'. Rather, it's simply the case, many looked at Islam through the lens of the world, so couldn't reconcile their values (usually subjective secular humanist values) with the Sharī'ah, and left. This is why it's important to seek the aid of Allāh for we never know our state tomorrow let alone at our deaths."

And also:

"By Allāh, I'll tell you what this all comes down to:

Belief in the Messenger ﷺ. This is the foundation

One either sincerely, genuinely and firmly believes him as a true Prophet, and so believes in everything he came with or they reject/doubt his Prophethood and so there is no foundation."
 

induction

Nothing is true; everything is permitted
some say 17-18 and others say 9. to me personally, it doesn't matter really. but one thing i can say for sure is that marrying a 9 year old today is BS and should be absolutely banned.
 
The Prophet wife of Prophet Mohamed (SAW) wife khadija age is disputed if she was actually 40 years old. Some even say she was 27 years the thing is people age were never record at time. Currently if you were to go to somalia you probably will find out people who don't know what year or month they were born. There many scholars that say she was 15 some say she was 9. I recommend watching this video from shaykh uthman
 
Born in Mecca around 601 or 602 CE,
She was married before August 610 to Utbah ibn Abi Lahab, but the marriage was never consummated.[3] Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 314.
By 615 Ruqayya was married to a prominent Muslim, Uthman ibn Affan.
  1. Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume pp. 146, 314.
Zainab bint Muhammad (Arabic: زَيْنَب بِنْت مُحَمَّد)‎ (598/599—629 CE),
She married her maternal cousin, Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi', before December 610
Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم (1955). Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Translated by Guillaume, Alfred. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 88–589. ISBN 978-0-1963-6033-1.
 
She was probably 17 or so, given that a sahabah was turned away from badr for being too young to fight while Aisha fought at it.
 

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