Ayesha's Age at Marriage?
Sunday, 26 May 2013 00:00 | 
Author: Historical | 
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"Why did Mohamed marry a child,
only 9 years old?"
Another very important question with an amazing
answer.
Read . . "The World's Greatest Love Story"
But first . .
A young Muslim school girl wrote to
us, asking about the age of Ayesha at the time of her marriage with prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him. She like many Muslims today was concerned about
this issue due to questions coming from non-Muslims.
Here's her question:
HELP! I am 9th grade student of Catholic
school here in Karachi, Pakistan.
Help us please! We have been given
assignment: "Why did
Muhammad marry an immature, nine year old girl?"
The teachers here at St. Patrick's
Church of course, are not Muslim and they are giving us this assignment to
explain something we don't know anything about.
Here is the assignment question they
gave to us girls.
Answer this question in detail: Why
did Mohamed marry little Ayesha when she was only an immature girl of 6 years?
Here is the simple answer:
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not marry a
girl who was too young to be married.
Let's start at the beginning and put
this all in perspective.
First of all, not all questions are
true questions. Sometime people put statments in the questions that are not
true.
Therefore, we have to clarify some
facts before we go any further:
"Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not marry Ayesha when she was an immature little girl."
"Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not marry Ayesha when she was an immature little girl."
Let us rephrase the question in the
proper way, inshallah:
"
Did Muhammad, peace
be upon him, marry a girl too young for marriage?"
And the answer is: "NO. He did not"
And the answer is: "NO. He did not"
This is a misunderstanding of stories
(ahadeeth) of Muhammad, peace be upon him, in
Saheeh Al Bukhari.
OK! So - What Was Ayesha's Age At Marriage to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
OK! So - What Was Ayesha's Age At Marriage to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
From: "Answering Harsh Questions
About Islam" - by Sheik Yusuf
Note:
1. It was the custom of the Arab
people to make arranged marriages of their children to insure tribal relations
and protect social status, etc.
Note:
2. Ayesha's father (Abu Bakr) was the
one offering her in marriage to the prophet, peace be upon him.
Note:
3. Her parents had already offered
her in marriage to someone else before offering her in marriage to the prophet,
peace be upon him.
Note:
4. Islam came to correct all of the
wrong things people were doing.
First, consider the source of
information. What we know of the relationship between Aisha and Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, is coming directly from Aisha herself. So this is
the place to start.
We know that she is one of the major
narrators of ahadeeth (traditions, narrations and stories of the prophet, peace
be upon him). According to scholars count, she has narrated over 2,200
authentic traditions, more than many of the companions of Muhammad, peace be
upon him.
Her parents offered their daughter in
marriage to Muhammad, peace be upon him, as was customary in their culture at
the time. However, the prophet, peace be upon him, did not accept this and they
waited a a few of years, and then again offered their daughter to him in
marriage.
From the hadeeth narrated by Aisha
herself, it appears she was at the age of 6 when her mother came to her while
she was playing outside in the dirt. Her mother took her into their home where
her father, who was a life long best friend of Muhammad, was sitting with the
prophet, peace be upon him, and the offer of marriage was being discussed. She
then tells us she went back outside to play. This was at the age of six.
Cleary she was offered to him in
marriage, but obviously it was not accepted until some years later, when she
again narrates a similar incident and at that time she was married to the
prophet, peace be upon him.
She tells us they had consumated the
marriage when she was old enough and ready (and she tells us she was very
pleased about the whole entire thing). So, if she is having no problem with any
of this, then who is complaining? What is wrong with some people, that they
superimpose their hangups and personal issues with other people, supposing what
they would do in similar cases is what they think everyone would do.
We have to understand Islam is all
about the worship of only one God, and not making any partners with Him in
worship. That is the focus of Islam.
Next, we have to understand that
Islam is all about "Rights and Limits".
The Quran clarifies what everyone's rights are and what the limits are as well.
The Quran clarifies what everyone's rights are and what the limits are as well.
At the time of this occurance, women
around the world had very little or no rights in those days and the men knew no
limits in their dealings with the women.
One of the problems was that a man
could marry off his daughter at any age and she could not refuse.
It was at that time when Allah
revealed the verse in the fourth chapter of the Quran, entitled
"The Women" to offer protection for women in such
circumstances. Read:
"O you who believe! You are
forbiddent to inherit women against their will." - Surah An-Nisaa'
(Chapter 4:19)
It was through this matrimony of
marriage to the prophet, peace be upon him, that we found the example of the
meaning of the limitations set forth by Almighty God (Allah) in His Quran.
Let's go over the information in more
detail:
First of all, Prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him, was offered the marriage to Ayesha by her father and mother on more
than one occasion. Once when Ayesha was six, her mother summoned her into the
house where she heard the proposal of marriage being offered by her father to
his life long friend, Muhammad, peace be upon him, as was the custom of the
Arabs in those days. Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not accept this offer at
that time, even though it was customary for them, as she was not yet of age.
[Note: it is her father offering the
marriage to his lifelong friend (Muhammad, peace be upon him)] The prophet,
peace be upon him, did not marry her and take her to his home at the time and
she says she returned back to place outside.
She did not marry him and returned to
her friends and went back outside to play. [Again - please
note: they did not get married at all on this occassion]
A few years later when she was old
enough to marry according to Islam (she was able to bear children) she did
accept the proposal of marriage and she did marry the prophet, peace be upon
him.
We find that the girl must be old
enough to have children and to be able to determine what her will is. The
prophet, peace be upon him, married her at the youngest age a girl can get
married. That is, she was old enough to be considered eligible for marriage and
having enough wisdom to make such a choice even at her young age.
Also, she was a virgin. This was to
show Muslims about how to treat the young girls when they get married and not
to rush into having sex with them until they are ready and fully prepared.
All of this is recorded in the
hadeeths narrated by Ayesha herself in regard to the treatment that she
received from the prophet, peace be upon him.
Now we call attention to something
very interesting about the subject of adultery and what some people accused
Aisha of doing while married to the prophet, peace be upon him.
As a reward for her commitment to
Allah and to Islam, Allah honoured her in surah an-Nur by clearing her of any
suspicion of illegal sex with a companion, as some liars had charged against
her. There were ten verses revealed in regard to this incident alone about
Ayesha.
Surah An-Nur (chapter 24, verses 11 -
21)
Surely, those who
brought forth the slander (against Ayesha) are a group among you. Consider it
not a bad thing for you. No - it is good for you. Every many among them will be
paid that which he has earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the
greater share in it, his will be a great torment.
Why then, didn't you (the) believing men and the believing women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of your own people and say, "This is an obvious lie"
Why didn't they produce four eye witnesses? Since they have not produced witnesses, then for Allah, they are liars.
Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy unto you (those who did not defend Ayesha) in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken.
When you were propagating it (the lie) with your tongues and uttering with your mouths something of which you had no knowledge, you considered it a small thing, while with Allah - it was very great.
And when you heard it, why didn't you say, "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory is to You (O Allah) this is a great lie"
Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of this forever, if you are believers.
Why then, didn't you (the) believing men and the believing women, when you heard it (the slander) think good of your own people and say, "This is an obvious lie"
Why didn't they produce four eye witnesses? Since they have not produced witnesses, then for Allah, they are liars.
Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy unto you (those who did not defend Ayesha) in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken.
When you were propagating it (the lie) with your tongues and uttering with your mouths something of which you had no knowledge, you considered it a small thing, while with Allah - it was very great.
And when you heard it, why didn't you say, "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory is to You (O Allah) this is a great lie"
Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of this forever, if you are believers.
These verses make it clear for believers. We must
never engage in accusing anyone of adultery or fornication, without being an
actual eyewitness to such an act. Even then, it requires four eyewitnesses, all
at the same time. Spreading such tales around is nothing but the worst kind of
slander and it will be a source of punishment for those who do so.
MOTHER OF THE BELIEVERS
Ayesha was also given the distinct
title of Ummul Mu'mineen (Mother of the
Believers) even though she never had a single child. Allah has honoured her so
much for her patience and dedication.
Again, it is Ayesha herself, may
Allah be pleased with her, who tells us in her own words all about the offers
of marriage from her father to the prophet, peace be upon him, and of the
actual marriage when it did take place years later. She also describes in
glowing terms their engagement, marriage, life together and life after his
death - all in the best of terms.
Ayesha never said a single bad thing
against her husband and described him as the best of men and the example of the
Quran itself. She learned from him and passed on the most valuable knowledge of
family relations in general and marriage in particular through her explanation
of her own relationship of our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
She tells of running races and
playing together, enjoying sporting and competition events together, and
mentions her personal intimacy with prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the
most wonderful terms. Her advice and instructions to both men and women
regarding establishing and maintaining the best relationship between man and
wife is still the best of counsel we find today.
As noted above, even Allah the
Creator and Sustainer of the universe, has defended her honor and integrity in
His Book.
Ayesha gave a beautiful account of
marriage to the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. She mentioned the detailed
descriptions of events and happenings before and during their marriage. And
very important - she demonstrated here continued commitment to the memory of
her husband, peace be upon him, and her firm belief about being reunited with
him in the Paradise.
You could really say about their
story - "..and they all lived happily ever
after - in Paradise."
This represents the very best of marriages between a man and a woman in human history.
This represents the very best of marriages between a man and a woman in human history.
COMPARED TO ROMEO AND JULIET
Now let's Compare the English Classic
of William Shakespere's "Romeo And Juliet" to the story
of "Muhammad and Aisha"
William Shakespeare might have done the western world a much better service if, instead of telling a story of two young teenagers sneaking around behind their parents backs, having an affair, then when they couldn't get what they wanted, both committed suicide (by the way, according to Judaism, Christianity and Islam - they both went to Hell forever) -
William Shakespeare might have done the western world a much better service if, instead of telling a story of two young teenagers sneaking around behind their parents backs, having an affair, then when they couldn't get what they wanted, both committed suicide (by the way, according to Judaism, Christianity and Islam - they both went to Hell forever) -
Shakespere could have done the world
a much better service by telling the true story of "Muhammad and
Aisha" = these were real people, who did believe in the One God of Adam,
Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them), they lived blessed lives on
earth and will live beautiful lives in Paradise - "Happily ever
after" (really!)
GOODNESS COMES TO BELIEVERS
I would like to encourage all of our
brothers and sisters everywhere, to keep in mind what Islam teaches us
regarding all such issues:
Goodness only comes to those who are
the true believers and the bad only reaches those who deny Almighty God and are
of the evil doing disbelievers.
This life is but a test for all of
us. And in the end, Allah Almighty will bring us all back in front of Him, for
the Judgment. Then the disbelievers will see what it was they were denying and
lying about.
We ask Allah the Almighty One God to
guide all of the people and save all of us, ameen.
Read more about the
real stories of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him
at:www.ProphetOfIslam.com
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