Aishah’s Age

The marriage of the Prophet to Aishah [عائشة أم المؤمنين رضي الله عنها] is brought up again, now by the Hindu politicians – who try to attack his honour.

How do we respond?

There is nothing in our religion that is shameful: we don’t apologise to anyone and we are proud of our religion. We should not resort to vigilante mob-justice, but insulting the symbols of our faith are a red line. We should raise awareness and the Muslim governments have a duty to protect the symbols of Islam.

Now getting to the topic:

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

Did Aishah CLAIM that the Prophet married her at 6 and consummated the marriage at 9?

Yes , it is authentically established that she said this:

Imam Bukhari narrates:

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم تَزَوَّجَهَا وَهْىَ بِنْتُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ، وَأُدْخِلَتْ عَلَيْهِ وَهْىَ بِنْتُ تِسْعٍ

‘𝗔𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗵 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 (ﷺ) 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱.’

[‘Sahih Bukhari’, 5133].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5133

These are her words… any attempt to weaken the chains of these Ahadith is futile.

About 8 different students of Aisha reported her words – so its a solid report – mass-transmitted.

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

Could Aishah be mistaken about her age?

Yes , this is entirely possible:

1- The Prophet (ﷺ) said:

إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ، لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ
“𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻; 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀.”
[‘Sahih Bukhari’, 1913].
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1913

2- The Qur’an states:

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا

‘𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.’ [62:2].

3- The Qur’an states:

وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْأُمِّيِّينَ أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ
‘𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 (𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱)?” [3:20].

In those times, dates were guess work from memory….

The Arabs remembered dates by linking them to big events, like “the year of the elephant” or “the year of the famine”. These things were not always written down. She had one of the greatest minds no doubt, but she was not infallible, so it is possible that she was mistaken.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Is there any historic evidence that suggests that Aishah may have been mistaken?

Yes – The Syrian Hadith specialist, Salahudin al-Idlibi has provided 10 historical evidences which indicate that Aishah must have been 14 at the age of marriage and 17 at the age of consummation.

Read the English translation of his research here: https://hawramani.com/aisha-age-of-marriage-to-prophet-muhammad-study/

What indicates that Aishah was guessing as well is that she sometimes said her marriage was at 6 and sometimes 7, and that the consummation was sometimes 9 and sometimes 10 – so she herself wasn’t sure. These are all authentic narrations.

Even today in some lands, many people don’t know how old their are…they just use guesses.

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

Did scholars rely on History to cross-check narrations?

Yes, they did: Imam al-Sakhawi dedicated an entire book to this topic – its called:

الإعلان بالتوبيخ لمن ذم أهل التوريخ

It’s a 400 page book in which he argues the importance of history and criticises those who downplay its importance. History was not some external tool – it had become an integral part of the process in Hadith sciences.

He brings many examples from the Salaf, relying heavily on History, such as:

1- Sufyan al-Thawri said (p. 38):

لَمَّا اسْتَعْمَلَ الرُّوَاةُ الْكَذِبَ اسْتَعْمَلْنَا لَهُمُ التَّارِيخَ
“𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.”

2- Hassan Bin Zayd said (p. 39):
لَمْ نَسْتَعِنْ عَلَى الْكَذَّابِينَ بِمِثْلِ التَّارِيخِ
“𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.”

3- A man was narrating from Khalid bin Ma’dan (p. 39). Ismail bin Ayyash asked him: “In which year did you write narrations from Khalid bin Ma’dan?” He replied: “In the year 113.” Ismail said:

أنت تزعم أنك سمعت من خالد بن معدان بعد موته بسبع سنين ؟
“𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵?”

4- [Al-Mu’allā] said (p. 41): ‘Abū Wā’il narrated to us, he said: ‘Ibn Mas’ūd attacked us on the day of Siffīn’. So Abū Nu’aym said:

أَتُرَاهُ بُعِثَ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ
‘𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵?’
[Ibn Mas’ūd passed away in 32 or 33H, several years before the day in question]

5-Hafs Bin Ghyath said:

وروينا عن ‏حفص بن غياث أنه قال : ” إذا اتهمتم الشيخ ، فحاسبوه بالسنين‏ ” ، يعني احسبوا سنه وسن من كتب عنه‏ . ‏

6- A man narrated something from Ibn Humaid and they asked him about his age. When he told them his age, he was born 13 years after Ibn Humaid had died. They said:

سمع هذا الشيخ من عبد بن حميد بعد موته بثلاث عشرة سنة
‘𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗸𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱.’

7-Al-Zarkhashi : معرفة التاريخ المتعلق بالمتون

8- Muhadith Al-Mu’allimi Al-Yamani says ‘Al-Fawaid al-Majmua’ (353):

النظر في متن الخير ، كل من تأمل منطوق الخبر ، ثم عرضه على الواقع ، عرف حقيقة الحال
“… 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 [𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻] 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.”

9- It is reported in ‘Mizan al-‘itidal’, [3/225]:

يحيى الوحاظى، حدثنا عفير بن معدان، قال: قدم علينا عمر [بن موسى] (1) حمص، فاجتمعنا إليه، فجعل يقول: حدثنا شيخكم الصالح. فقلنا: من هذا؟ فقال: خالد بن معدان. قلت له: في أي سنة لقيته؟ قال: في سنة ثمان ومائة في غزاة أرمينية [قلت: اتق الله] (1) يا شيخ، لا تكذب. مات خالد في سنة أربع ومائة، وأزيدك أنه لم يغز أرمينية قط.

𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗶’𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱: ‘𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵’, 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮!

So they used historical evidences against him… if they didn’t know history, they would have believed him.

10- It has been reported:

كان في عهد الخطيب البغدادي قد أظهر بعض اليهود كتاباً وادعى أنه كتاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم بإسقاط الجزية عن أهل خيبر وفيه شهادات الصحابة وأن خط علي بن أبي طالب فيه فعرضه رئيس الرؤساء ابن المسلمة على أبي بكر الخطيب فقال: هذا مزور. قيل: من أين لك ؟ قال: في الكتاب شهادة معاوية بن أبي سفيان ومعاوية أسلم يوم الفتح وخيبر كانت في سنة سبع، وفيه شهادة سعد بن معاذ وكان قد مات يوم الخندق فاستحسن ذلك منه. ينظر هذه القصة في: المنتظم في تاريخ الملوك والأمم لابن الجوزي: 8/265، وسير أعلام النبلاء للذهبي: 18/280، والطبقات الكبرى للسبكي: 4/35، وغيرها.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗯 𝗮𝗹-𝗕𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗶, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗶𝘇𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗿. 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗯 𝗮𝗹-𝗕𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗶 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱: ‘𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆’. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆? 𝗛𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝘂’𝗮𝘄𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀! 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮’𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘂’𝗮𝗱𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗾, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗿.

So, he used history to proof this document was fake. ——–

So, what scholars did in terms of gathering these historic evidences to show Aisha was older is not a deviation, but perfectly in line with the methodology of Hadith scholars.

This is why Imam Bukhari wrote: ‘Tarikh al-Kabir’ [التاريخ الكبير] [The Great History], in which he listed the bioagraphies of about 40,000 narrators, when they were born, when they died, who they met, where they lived, etc. History has always been important to scholars of Hadith.

And history is not only used to catch liars – but also genuine mistakes of truthful people, who may have mixed up some issues.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:

We could easily turn the tables on them, but we also don’t have to fight every battle and defend every accusation people make … especially when the evidences are not conclusive.

If someone accuses our Prophet of these things, then simply say:

Yes, it is confirmed that Aishah made that claim, but we also have multiple historic evidences which indicate that she may have been mistaken about her age.

That’s it.

And if they then reject history and insist that she cannot be wrong, we can then put 100s of Ahadith in front of them in which these same Sahaba & Sahabiyat witnessed miracles of the Prophet with their own eyes. They should then accept those as well and embrace Islam if they’re truthful.