Prophet Mohammad’s (S.A.W) Marriage to Aisha & A Detail Analysis & Removing The Misconceptions.

 

A Detailed analysis of the Prophet’s Marriage to Aisha

 

1-  Did the Prophet Marry Aisha at the age of 6?

 Authentic Hadith reports do show us that the prophet Muhammad did marry Aisha at the age of 6, but they also show the consummation of the marriage was complete when she was 9 years old.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234:

Narrated Aisha:

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.

Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Number 236:

Narrated Hisham’s father:

Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married ‘Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed that marriage when she was nine years old.

 

Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3310:

‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.

 

Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3311:

‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) married her when she was seven years old, and he was taken to his house as a bride when she was nine, and her dolls were with her; and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old.

 

Now some may object to this saying how could the Prophet marry Aisha at such a young age. One must first understand that 1400 years ago was very different than now, times have changed and so have humans. 1400 years ago it was something very common to marry young girls, in fact they were not considered young girls, rather they were considered young women back then. It is a historic fact that girls from the ages of 9 to 14 were being married in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in fact even in the United States girls at the age of 10 were also being married just more than a century ago.

Yet with these facts no historian claims that all these people were sick perverts, historians would call anyone who made such a claim to be arrogant and very stupid who has no grasp or understanding of history.

Furthermore as to the prophets Marriage with Aisha, something people will notice is that the completion of the marriage was done when Aisha was 9 years old, not when she was 6, and there is a reason for that. The reason why this happened is because Aisha had been through puberty by the age of 9, and in Islam a female who under-goes puberty is considered a lady and is fit for marriage. Now some may say how does a girl go through puberty at the age of 9? :

Muhammad bin Hakam said, “I heard Shafaee (born 150 Hijri say, “Women in Yemen would get pregnant by the age of Nine or Ten” AADAAB ASH SHAFAEE PAGE 38 WITH A SAHEEH

When does puberty start? Although puberty usually starts between ages 8 to 13 in girls, it may start earlier or later. Everyone’s body changes at a different time. Whether you have breasts at age 10 or have not started your period by age 14, do not worry. Everyone goes through puberty eventually. ( http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/puberty.html )

So note, a period for a girl occurs from the age of 8 to 14, though this is not always the case as a girl can also start her period by 14 or maybe 15. However so for Aisha it is most likely her puberty started at 8, and continued till she was 9, and once she was going through puberty and her menses, this made her a lady and not a girl anymore since she was fit for a baby therefore she is no child anymore.

In fact early symptoms of a girl going through puberty is described as:

You may get PMS. PMS or “premenstrual syndrome” is a group of changes you may see and feel before your period. You may have headaches, dizziness, or feel sick to your stomach before your period. You may feel like crying more, feel a little sad, and feel more emotional about everything. PMS may cause you to retain (hold onto) water. Retaining water means that your body tries to keep more body fluid in before and during your period. This may make your breasts tender and cause you to feel bloated, restless, or grumpy.

If we read the hadiths, we find that right before Aisha got married off to the prophet that she was sick and not feeling to well:

 

Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234:

Narrated Aisha:

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.

So as we can see, Aisha got ill and her body was going through some changes, indicating that she was going through her puberty. In fact during puberty a girl will want to be away from her family, meaning her mother and father:

• Want to be away from your family: During puberty, you may want to spend most of your time with friends instead of family members. You may feel embarrassed by your family or parents. You may feel like your parents have no idea what you are going through during puberty. It is normal for you to want to be with and dress like your friends most of the time. Just remember that sometime your family may be a better support for you than your friends. 

Aisha had no problems when she moved in with the Prophet, nor did she show signs of distress from being away from her mother or father, rather she was very happy, obviously not the type of emotion you would get from a supposed child now would you? A child will want to be with its mother and father, and if it is taken away from them it will cry a lot and will be very distressed, yet no such signs were shown from Aisha.

So therefore as we can see, there was nothing wrong with the marriage, Aisha was going through puberty, she was fit to have a child, meaning she was not a child anymore, and under God a lady who goes through puberty is officially considered fit for marriage, this is something that many Christians agree on as do the Jews.

 

2- Was the Prophet a paedophile? (Astaghfurillah may Allah curse those who call the prophet such a name!)

Now what is a paedophile?

“Low self esteem. Many pedophiles, although by no means all, do not have a great sense of capacity for adopting a sexual demeanor towards adults or those of their own age or older. They feel unhappy and fearful at the prospect of sexual behaviour with adults and hence turn to children due to the fact that they are unable to have the strength of personality to seek adults for sexual demeanor. When considering treatment therefore it is important to establish and develop a higher sense of self-esteem in such individuals.”

This obviously cannot be referring to the prophet Muhammad, the prophet sure did not have low self esteem, the prophet had hundreds and hundreds of followers and a person with low self esteem would not be able to do what he did.

Secondly, the prophet Muhammad did not have any fear of having sexual intercourse with adults, for instance Khadijah the first wife of the Prophet was much older than he was

Khadijah Bint Khuwailid:

In Makkah — prior to Hijra — the Prophet’s household comprised him [pbuh] and his wife Khadijah bint Khuwailid. He was twenty-five and she was forty when they got married. She was the first woman he married. She was the only wife he had till she died. He had sons and daughters with her. None of their sons lived long. They all died. Their daughters wereZainab, Ruqaiya, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah.

Zainab was married to her maternal cousin Abu Al-‘As bin Al-Rabi‘ and that was before Al-Hijra. Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum were both married to ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan successively (i.e. he married one after the death of her sister). Fatimahwas married to ‘Ali bin Abi Talib; and that was in the period between Badr and Uhud battles. The sons and daughters thatFatimah and ‘Ali had were Al-Hasan, Al-Husain, Zainab and Umm Kulthum.

It is well-known that the Prophet [pbuh] was exceptionally authorized to have more than four wives for various reasons. The wives he married were thirteen. Nine of them outlived him. Two died in his lifetime: Khadijah and the Mother of the poor (Umm Al-Masakeen) — Zainab bint Khuzaima, besides two others with whom he did not consummate his marriage.

Let us see what else a paedophile is:

“Lack of impulse control. Many pedophiles find it extremely difficult to deal with the impulsive nature which inclines them towards sexual behaviour to children. They simply cannot control their need for engaging children in sexual practices. They might be said to suffer from an obsessive-compulsive condition. Here again treatment would involve developing better impulse control and of course redirecting the sexual inclinations.”

Thankfully the prophet does not fit this description, in fact Aisha herself testifies to it:

Sahih Al-Bukhari

Volume 1, Book 6, Number 299:

Narrated ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad:

(on the authority of his father) ‘Aisha said: “Whenever Allah’s Apostle wanted to fondle anyone of us during her periods (menses), he used to order her to put on an Izar and start fondling her.” ‘Aisha added, “None of you could control his sexual desires as the Prophet could.“

Sahih Muslim 

Book 006, Number 2439:

‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to kiss (his wives) while fasting and embraced (them) while fasting; but he had the greatest mastery over his desire among you.

 

The Reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah despite the age difference :

 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) after he married Sawdah bint Zam’ah (may Allaah be pleased with her). She – ‘Aa’ishah – was the only virgin whom he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married. And he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine years old. 

Among her virtues was the fact that the Revelation did not descend when he under one cover with any of his wives other than her. She was one of the dearest of all people to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and news of her innocence was revealed from above the seven heavens. She was one of the most knowledgeable of his wives, and one of the most knowledgeable women of the ummah as a whole. The senior companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to refer to her opinion and consult her. 

With regard to the story of her marriage, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had grieved over the death of the Mother of the Believers Khadeejah, who had supported him and stood by his side, and he called the year in which she died The Year of Sorrow. Then he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married Sawdah, who was an older woman and was not very beautiful; rather he married her to console her after her husband had died and she stayed among mushrik people. Four years later the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and he was over fifty. Perhaps the reasons for the marriage were as follows: 

1 – He saw a dream about marrying her. It is proven in al-Bukhaari from the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her: “You were shown to me twice in a dream. I saw that you were wrapped in a piece of silk, and it was said, ‘This is your wife.’ I uncovered her and saw that it was you. I said, ‘If this is from Allaah then it will come to pass.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 3682). As to whether this is a prophetic vision as it appears to be, or a regular dream that may be subject to interpretation, there was a difference of opinion among the scholars, as mentioned by al-Haafiz in Fath al-Baari, 9/181. 

2 – The characteristics of intelligence and smartness that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had noticed in ‘Aa’ishah even as a small child, so he wanted to marry her so that she would be more able than others to transmit reports of what he did and said. In fact, as stated above, she was a reference point for the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) with regard to their affairs and rulings. 

3 – The love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for her father Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him), and the persecution that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) had suffered for the sake of the call of truth, which he bore with patience. He was the strongest of people in faith and the most sincere in certain faith, after the Prophets. 

It may be noted that among his wives were those who were young and old, the daughter of his sworn enemy, the daughter of his closest friend. One of them occupied herself with raising orphans, another distinguished herself  from others by fasting and praying qiyaam a great deal… They represented all kinds of people, through whom the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was able to set out a way for the Muslims showing how to deal properly with all kinds of people. [See al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah fi Daw’ al-Masaadir al-Asliyyah, p. 711]. 

With regard to the issue of her being young and your being confused about that, you should note that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) grew up in a hot country, the Arabian Peninsula. Usually in hot countries adolescence comes early and people marry early. This is how the people of Arabia were until recently. Moreover, women vary greatly in their development and their physical readiness for marriage. 

If you think – may Allaah guide you – that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry any virgin other than ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and that all his other wives had been previously married, this will refute the notion spread by many hostile sources, that the basic motive behind the Prophet’s marriages was physical desire and enjoyment of women, because if that was his intention he would have chosen only those who were virgins and beautiful etc.    

Such slanders against the Prophet of Mercy (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by kaafirs and others of their ilk, are indicative of their inability to find fault with the law and religion that he brought from Allaah, so they try to find ways to criticize Islam with regard to issues that are not related to sharee’ah. 

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. 

For more information see Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/106.

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For More Information Must Watch Below Video By Zaid Patel