Muhammad(pbuh)
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Ive read the koran a few times and i am convinced it is from god. I strongly agree with the practice of following islam through the koran only. However i question my faith sometimes only because of early islamic history recorded in hadiths.
Such as muhammad's(pbuh) marriage to aisha at 6 and consummation of their marriage when she was only 9 and he was in his 50's.
The conquests of surrounding nations by caliphs and companions of the prophets who clearly showed first aggression which is supposedly suppose to be forbidden in islamic teachings. the conquests of these nations is in history. Is this really what muhammad(pbuh) taught? Did he also conquer the arabian peninsula against koranic teachings or were each of his battles in self-defence?
Help strenghten my faith by providing evidence if u can. Jazakallah Khair
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Peace to all,
Welcome Alifaiz, you answered your own concerns, the Quran is from God , not Mohammad, so even though he relayed Gods message to us, he was still only human as were his early followers, so any transgression they committed was there fault and they answered for it to God, dont confuse the message from the messenger.
Kurt
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<a href="http//realdeen.wordpress.com/2006/07/30/real-age-of-hazrat-aisha/">here</a> is a rebuttal to the aisha being 9 legend. its a clever clear and concise series of points. i often link to it when i am challanged over the issue on various websites. though i am guilty of never thanking the author. below is a small selection of his points.
• Ibn Hisham?s recension of Ibn Ishaq?s Sirat Rashul Allah, the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad, records Aisha as having converted to Islam before Umar ibn al-Khattab, during the first few years of Islam around 610 CE. In order to accept Islam she must have been walking and talking, hence at least three years of age, which would make her at least fifteen in 622 CE.
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Tabari also reports that Abu Bakr?s four children were all born during the Jahiliyyah, the pre Islamic period, which could be said to have ended in 610 CE, making Aisha at least twelve in 622 CE. -
I believe there are many articles along the lines of exposing the "was Islam spread by the sword" myth etc, feel free to google it.
Secondly, if you believe the Koran to be the Word of God or feel that following "Koran only" is the right way to go, then why does corrupted, contradictory, politically influenced, sectarian traditional narrations/hadith bother you? They hold no weight here.
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Peace,
According to Hans K?ng, the militant muslims didn't want non-muslims to convert. For them it was simple "The more non-muslims, the more tax.".
Nadeem
Hey Nadeem where there ever muslims and non muslims or simply the goodies and the baddies? during those times?
Salaams.
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Peace simple,
You need to explain that question a bit. Thanks
Nadeem
Hi Nadeem,
i thought you was one of those guy's who didn't believe muslim was a name but a description. So no conversion would be involved in that case- but a readiness to comply with everything good.
Thanks.
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Such as muhammad's(pbuh) marriage to aisha at 6 and consummation of their marriage when she was only 9 and he was in his 50's. Help strenghten my faith by providing evidence if u can. Jazakallah Khair
This is another lie by the enemies of God and His messenger. They tried to create a moon-splitting, tree-moving, child-crippling superman with the sexual power of 30 males (Verse 2411-12 with its non-specific language, prophetically addresses this lie too). Muhammad was an honorable person and would not have a sexual relationship with a child (684; see 45-6). Discrepancies in the historical account show a deliberate attempt to reduce Aisha's age. This lie is perhaps produced to justify the sexual excesses of kings and the wealthy. They tried to justify their violence, oppression, injustice, sexual transgressions, and many other crimes through the fabrication and promotion of hadith.
Here is one of the articles by a Sunni analizing the hearsay stories
Was Ayesha A Six-Year-Old Bride?
The Ancient Myth Exposedby T.O. Shanavas
A Christian friend asked me once, ?Will you marry your seven year old daughter to a fifty year old man?? I kept my silence. He continued, ?If you would not, how can you approve the marriage of an innocent seven year old, Ayesha, with your Prophet?? I told him, ?I don?t have an answer to your question at this time.? My friend smiled and left me with a thorn in the heart of my faith. Most Muslims answer that such marriages were accepted in those days. Otherwise, people would have objected to Prophet?s marriage with Ayesha.
However, such an explanation would be gullible only for those who are naive enough to believe it. But unfortunately, I was not satisfied with the answer.
The Prophet was an exemplary man. All his actions were most virtuous so that we, Muslims, can emulate them. However, most people in our Islamic Center of Toledo, including me, would not think of betrothing our seven years daughter to a fifty-two year-old man. If a parent agrees to such a wedding, most people, if not all, would look down upon the father and the old husband.
In 1923, registrars of marriage in Egypt were instructed not to register and issue official certificates of marriage for brides less than sixteen and grooms less than eighteen years of age. Eight years later, the Law of the Organization and Procedure of Sheriah courts of 1931 consolidated the above provision by not hearing the marriage disputes involving brides less than sixteen and grooms less than eighteen years old. (Women in Muslim Family Law, John Esposito, 1982). It shows that even in the Muslim majority country of Egypt the child marriages are unacceptable.
So, I believed, without solid evidence other than my reverence to my Prophet, that the stories of the marriage of seven-year-old Ayesha to 50-year-old Prophet are only myths. However, my long pursuit in search of the truth on this matter proved my intuition correct. My Prophet was a gentleman. And he did not marry an innocent seven or nine year old girl. The age of Ayesha has been erroneously reported in the hadith literature. Furthermore, I think that the narratives reporting this event are highly unreliable. Some of the hadith (traditions of the Prophet) regarding Ayesha?s age at the time of her wedding with prophet are problematic. I present the following evidences against the acceptance of the fictitious story by Hisham ibn ?Urwah and to clear the name of my Prophet as an irresponsible old man preying on an innocent little girl.
EVIDENCE #1 Reliability of Source
Most of the narratives printed in the books of hadith are reported only by Hisham ibn
Urwah, who was reporting on the authority of his father. First of all, more people than just one, two or three should logically have reported. It is strange that no one from Medina, where Hisham ibnUrwah lived the first 71 years of his life narrated the event, despite the fact that his Medinan pupils included the well-respected Malik ibn Anas. The origins of the report of the narratives of this event are people from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have shifted after living in Medina for most of his life.Tehzibu?l-Tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet, reports that according to Yaqub ibn Shaibah ?He is highly reliable, his narratives are acceptable, except what he narrated after moving over to Iraq? (Tehzi?bu?l-tehzi?b, Ibn Hajar Al-`asqala?ni, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, 15th century. Vol 11, p. 50).
It further states that Malik ibn Anas objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people in Iraq ?I have been told that Malik objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq? (Tehzi?b u?l-tehzi?b, Ibn Hajar Al-`asqala?ni, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Vol.11, p. 50).
Mizanu?l-ai
tidal, another book on the life sketches of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet reports ?When he was old, Hisham?s memory suffered quite badly? (Mizanu?l-aitidal, Al-Zahbi, Al-Maktabatu?l-athriyyah, Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Vol. 4, p. 301).CONCLUSION Based on these references, Hisham?s memory was failing and his narratives while in Iraq were unreliable. So, his narrative of Ayesha?s marriage and age are unreliable.
CHRONOLOGY It is vital also to keep in mind some of the pertinent dates in the history of Islam
? pre-610 CE Jahiliya (pre-Islamic age) before revelation
? 610 CE First revelation
? 610 CE AbuBakr accepts Islam
? 613 CE Prophet Muhammad begins preaching publicly.
? 615 CE Emigration to Abyssinia
? 616 CE Umar bin al Khattab accepts Islam
? 620 CE Generally accepted betrothal of Ayesha to the Prophet
? 622 CE Hijrah (emigation to Yathrib, later renamed Medina)
? 623/624 CE Generally accepted year of Ayesha living with the ProphetEVIDENCE #2 The Betrothal
According to Tabari (also according to Hisham ibn ?Urwah, Ibn Hunbal and Ibn Sad), Ayesha was betrothed at seven years of age and began to cohabit with the Prophet at the age of nine years.
However, in another work, Al-Tabari says ?All four of his children were born of his two wives during the pre-Islamic period? (Tarikhu?l-umam wa?l-mamlu?k, Al-Tabari (died 922), Vol. 4, p. 50, Arabic, Dara?l-fikr, Beirut, 1979).
If Ayesha was betrothed in 620 CE (at the age of seven) and started to live with the Prophet in 624 CE (at the age of nine), that would indicate that she was born in 613 CE and was nine when she began living with the Prophet. Therefore, based on one account of Al-Tabari, the numbers show that Ayesha must have born in 613 CE, three years after the beginning of revelation (610 CE). Tabari also states that Ayesha was born in the pre-Islamic era (in Jahiliya). If she was born before 610 CE, she would have been at least 14 years old when she began living with the Prophet. Essentially, Tabari contradicts himself.
CONCLUSION Al-Tabari is unreliable in the matter of determining Ayesha?s age.
EVIDENCE # 3 The Age of Ayesha in Relation to the Age of Fatima
According to Ibn Hajar, ?Fatima was born at the time the Ka`bah was rebuilt, when the Prophet was 35 years old... she was five years older that Ayesha? (Al-isabah fi tamyizi?l-sahabah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Vol. 4, p. 377, Maktabatu?l-Riyadh al-haditha, al-Riyadh, 197.
If Ibn Hajar?s statement is factual, Ayesha was born when the Prophet was 40 years old. If Ayesha was married to the Prophet when he was 52 years old, Ayesha?s age at marriage would be 12 years.
CONCLUSION Ibn Hajar, Tabari an Ibn Hisham and Ibn Humbal contradict each other. So, the marriage of Ayesha at seven years of age is a myth.
EVIDENCE #4 Ayesha?s Age in relation to Asma?s Age
According to Abda?l-Rahman ibn abi zanna?d ?Asma was 10 years older than Ayesha (Siyar A`la?ma?l-nubala?, Al-Zahabi, Vol. 2, p. 289, Arabic, Mu?assasatu?l-risalah, Beirut, 1992).
According to Ibn Kathir ?She was elder to her sister by 10 years? (Al-Bidayah wa?l-nihayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol. 8, p. 371, Dar al-fikr al-`arabi, Al-jizah, 1933).
According to Ibn Kathir ?She saw the killing of her son during that year , as we have already mentioned, and five days later she herself died. According to other narratives, she died not after five days but 10 or 20, or a few days over 20, or 100 days later. The most well known narrative is that of 100 days later. At the time of her death, she was 100 years old.? (Al-Bidayah wa?l-nihayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol. 8, p. 372, Dar al-fikr al-`arabi, Al-jizah, 1933)
According to Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani ?She lived a hundred years and died in 73 or 74 AH.? (Taqribu?l-tehzib, Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, p. 654, Arabic, Bab fi?l-nisa?, al-harfu?l-alif, Lucknow).
According to almost all the historians, Asma, the elder sister of Ayesha was 10 years older than Ayesha. If Asma was 100 years old in 73 AH, she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of the hijrah.
If Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Ayesha should have been 17 or 18 years old. Thus, Ayesha, being 17 or 18 years of at the time of Hijra, she started to cohabit with the Prophet between at either 19 to 20 years of age.
Based on Hajar, Ibn Katir, and Abda?l-Rahman ibn abi zanna?d, Ayesha?s age at the time she began living with the Prophet would be 19 or 20. In Evidence # 3, Ibn Hajar suggests that Ayesha was 12 years old and in Evidence #4 he contradicts himself with a 17 or 18-year-old Ayesha. What is the correct age, twelve or eighteen?
CONCLUSION Ibn Hajar is an unreliable source for Ayesha?s age.
EVIDENCE #5 The Battles of Badr and Uhud
A narrative regarding Ayesha?s participation in Badr is given in the hadith of Muslim, (Kitabu?l-jihad wa?l-siyar, Bab karahiyati?l-isti
anah fi?l-ghazwi bikafir). Ayesha, while narrating the journey to Badr and one of the important events that took place in that journey, says ?when we reached Shajarah?. Obviously, Ayesha was with the group travelling towards Badr. A narrative regarding Ayesha?s participation in the Battle of Uhud is given in Bukhari (Kitabu?l-jihad wa?l-siyar, Bab Ghazwi?l-nisa? wa qitalihinna maa?lrijal) ?Anas reports that on the day of Uhud, people could not stand their ground around the Prophet. I saw Ayesha and Umm-i-Sulaim, they had pulled their dress up from their feet .? Again, this indicates that Ayesha was present in the Battles of Uhud and Badr.It is narrated in Bukhari (Kitabu?l-maghazi, Bab Ghazwati?l-khandaq wa hiya?l-ahza?b) ?Ibn `Umar states that the Prophet did not permit me to participate in Uhud, as at that time, I was 14 years old. But on the day of Khandaq, when I was 15 years old, the Prophet permitted my participation.?
Based on the above narratives, (a) the children below 15 years were sent back and were not allowed to participate in the Battle of Uhud, and (b) Ayesha participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud
CONCLUSION Ayesha?s participation in the Battles of Badr and Uhud clearly indicates that she was not nine years old but at least 15 years old. After all, women used to accompany men to the battlefields to help them, not to be a burden on them. This account is another contradiction regarding Ayesha?s age.
EVIDENCE #6 Surat al-Qamar (The Moon)
According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha was born about eight years before hijrah. But according to another narrative in Bukhari, Ayesha is reported to have said ?I was a young girl (jariyah in Arabic)? when Surah Al-Qamar was revealed (Sahih Bukhari, kitabu?l-tafsir, Bab Qaulihi Bal al-sa
atu Mawiduhum wa?l-sa`atu adha? wa amarr).Chapter 54 of the Quran was revealed eight years before hijrah (The Bounteous Koran, M.M. Khatib, 1985), indicating that it was revealed in 614 CE. If Ayesha started living with the Prophet at the age of nine in 623 CE or 624 CE, she was a newborn infant (sibyah in Arabic) at the time that Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon) was revealed. According to the above tradition, Ayesha was actually a young girl, not an infant in the year of revelation of Al-Qamar. Jariyah means young playful girl (Lane?s Arabic English Lexicon). So, Ayesha, being a jariyah not a sibyah (infant), must be somewhere between 6-13 years old at the time of revelation of Al-Qamar, and therefore must have been 14-21 years at the time she married the Prophet.
CONCLUSION This tradition also contradicts the marriage of Ayesha at the age of nine.
EVIDENCE #7 Arabic Terminology
According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the death of the Prophet?s first wife Khadijah, when Khaulah came to the Prophet advising him to marry again, the Prophet asked her regarding the choices she had in mind. Khaulah said ?You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a woman who has already been married (thayyib)?. When the Prophet asked the identity of the bikr (virgin), Khaulah mentioned Ayesha?s name.
All those who know the Arabic language are aware that the word bikr in the Arabic language is not used for an immature nine-year-old girl. The correct word for a young playful girl, as stated earlier, is jariyah. Bikr on the other hand, is used for an unmarried lady without conjugal experience prior to marriage, as we understand the word ?virgin? in English. Therefore, obviously a nine-year-old girl is not a ?lady? (bikr) (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Vol. 6, p. .210, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-`arabi, Beirut).
CONCLUSION The literal meaning of the word, bikr (virgin), in the above hadith is ?adult woman with no sexual experience prior to marriage.? Therefore, Ayesha was an adult woman at the time of her marriage.
EVIDENCE #8. The Qur?anic Text
All Muslims agree that the Quran is the book of guidance. So, we need to seek the guidance from the Quran to clear the smoke and confusion created by the eminent men of the classical period of Islam in the matter of Ayesha?s age at her marriage. Does the Quran allow or disallow marriage of an immature child of seven years of age?
There are no verses that explicitly allow such marriage. There is a verse, however, that guides Muslims in their duty to raise an orphaned child. The Quran?s guidance on the topic of raising orphans is also valid in the case of our own children. The verse states ?And make not over your property (property of the orphan), which Allah had made a (means of) support for you, to the weak of understanding, and maintain them out of it, clothe them and give them good education. And test them until they reach the age of marriage. Then if you find them maturity of intellect, make over them their property...? (Quran, 45-6).
In the matter of children who have lost a parent, a Muslim is ordered to (a) feed them, (b) clothe them, (c) educate them, and (d) test them for maturity ?until the age of marriage? before entrusting them with management of finances.
Here the Quranic verse demands meticulous proof of their intellectual and physical maturity by objective test results before the age of marriage in order to entrust their property to them.
In light of the above verses, no responsible Muslim would hand over financial management to a seven- or nine-year-old immature girl. If we cannot trust a seven-year-old to manage financial matters, she cannot be intellectually or physically fit for marriage. Ibn Hambal (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hambal, vol.6, p. 33 and 99) claims that nine-year-old Ayesha was rather more interested in playing with toy-horses than taking up the responsible task of a wife. It is difficult to believe, therefore, that AbuBakr, a great believer among Muslims, would betroth his immature seven-year-old daughter to the 50-year-old Prophet. Equally difficult to imagine is that the Prophet would marry an immature seven-year-old girl.
Another important duty demanded from the guardian of a child is to educate them. Let us ask the question, ?How many of us believe that we can educate our children satisfactorily before they reach the age of seven or nine years?? The answer is none. Logically, it is an impossible task to educate a child satisfactorily before the child attains the age of seven. Then, how can we believe that Ayesha was educated satisfactorily at the claimed age of seven at the time of her marriage?
AbuBakr was a more judicious man than all of us. So, he definitely would have judged that Ayesha was a child at heart and was not satisfactorily educated as demanded by the Quran. He would not have married her to anyone. If a proposal of marrying the immature and yet to be educated seven-year-old Ayesha came to the Prophet, he would have rejected it outright because neither the Prophet nor AbuBakr would violate any clause in the Quran.
CONCLUSION The marriage of Ayesha at the age of seven years would violate the maturity clause or requirement of the Quran. Therefore, the story of the marriage of the seven-year-old immature Ayesha is a myth.
EVIDENCE #9 Consent in Marriage
A women must be consulted and must agree in order to make a marriage valid (Mishakat al Masabiah, translation by James Robson, Vol. I, p. 665). Islamically, credible permission from women is a prerequisite for a marriage to be valid.
By any stretch of the imagination, the permission given by an immature seven-year-old girl cannot be valid authorization for marriage.
It is inconceivable that AbuBakr, an intelligent man, would take seriously the permission of a seven-year-old girl to marry a 50-year-old man.
Similarly, the Prophet would not have accepted the permission given by a girl who, according to the hadith of Muslim, took her toys with her when she went live with Prophet.
CONCLUSION The Prophet did not marry a seven-year-old Ayesha because it would have violated the requirement of the valid permission clause of the Islamic Marriage Decree. Therefore, the Prophet married an intellectually and physically mature lady Ayesha.
SUMMARY
It was neither an Arab tradition to give away girls in marriage at an age as young as seven or nine years, nor did the Prophet marry Ayesha at such a young age. The people of Arabia did not object to this marriage because it never happened in the manner it has been narrated.
Obviously, the narrative of the marriage of nine-year-old Ayesha by Hisham ibn
Urwah cannot be held true when it is contradicted by many other reported narratives. Moreover, there is absolutely no reason to accept the narrative of Hisham ibnUrwah as true when other scholars, including Malik ibn Anas, view his narrative while in Iraq, as unreliable. The quotations from Tabari, Bukhari and Muslim show they contradict each other regarding Ayesha?s age. Furthermore, many of these scholars contradict themselves in their own records. Thus, the narrative of Ayesha?s age at the time of the marriage is not reliable due to the clear contradictions seen in the works of classical scholars of Islam.Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the information on Ayesha?s age is accepted as true when there are adequate grounds to reject it as myth. Moreover, the Quran rejects the marriage of immature girls and boys as well as entrusting them with responsibilities.
T.O. Shanavas is a physician based in Michigan. This article first appeared in The Minaret in March 1999.
? 2001 Minaret
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Hi
I am new to this site.I thank you Edip for this article refuting a wrong concept.
I have also heard about the objection concerning number of wives of the prophet? Do you have any refuation about it also ?Historical sources attest that the Prophet had a number of wives and I don't see that as something objectionable. Most of the women that he married were widows or women that were divorced and they married him of their own free will.
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Historical sources attest that the Prophet had a number of wives and I don't see that as something objectionable. Most of the women that he married were widows or women that were divorced and they married him of their own free will.
He could not go against God's order which is narrated in the Quran.It shows that he might be having only one wife.History is all rubbish.
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He could not go against God's order which is narrated in the Quran.It shows that he might be having only one wife.
3328 You, you the prophet, say to your wives "If you were (F) wanting (F) the life the present/worldly life and its decoration/beauty, so come, I make you (F) enjoy, I divorce/free you (F), divorce/freeing gracefully (peaceful/quiet)."
3330 You, the prophet's women (wives), who does/commits from you (F) with an evident enormous/atrocious deed , the torture be doubled/multiplied for her two doubles, and that was/is on God easy/little.
3332 You, the prophet's women (wives), you are not as anyone from the women, if you feared and obeyed so do not soften/submit/obey with the word/opinion and belief, so wishes/desires who in his heart/mind (is) sickness/disease, and say (F) a kind/generous word/opinion and belief.
3359 You, you the prophet, say to your wives and your daughters and the believers' women they (F) near (lengthen) on them from their shirts/gowns/wide dresses, that (is) nearer that (E) they (F) be known (better than being identified), so they (F) do not be harmed mildly/harmed, and God was/is forgiving, merciful.
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Here is one of the articles by a Sunni analizing the hearsay stories
I made an assumption based on where the article was published (Minaret magazine), but yesterday I decided to contact the author of the article on Aisha's age, to my surprize I learned that he rejects hadiths like we do.
Peace,
Edip -
I made an assumption based on where the article was published (Minaret magazine), but yesterday I decided to contact the author of the article on Aisha's age, to my surprize I learned that he rejects hadiths like we do.
Peace,
EdipHe's Mr. T.O. Shanavas, isn't he...
Please ask him to join us in this forum, bro Edip!
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I made an assumption based on where the article was published (Minaret magazine), but yesterday I decided to contact the author of the article on Aisha's age, to my surprize I learned that he rejects hadiths like we do.
Peace,
EdipSalaam
I read this article few years back maybe it was by the same author, I did pasted it ( I think) on this forum but there wasn't much interest shown. I am glad this subject is discussed and you can also read counter arguments on this website below.
peaceWhat was Ayesha?s (ra) Age at the Time of Her Marriage?
What was Ayesha?s (ra) age at the time of her marriage?
It is normally believed that she was nine years old at the time of her marriage with Mohammad (sws) was consummated. I do think it was according to the traditions of the Arab culture, as otherwise people would have objected to this marriage. But unfortunately, the modern day man is not satisfied with an answer as simple as that.
Reply1
To begin with, I think it is the responsibility of all those who believe that marrying a girl as young as nine years old was an accepted norm of the Arab culture, to provide at least a few examples to substantiate their point of view. I have not yet been able to find a single dependable instance in the books of Arab history where a girl as young as nine years old was given away in marriage. Unless such examples are given, we do not have any reasonable grounds to believe that it really was an accepted norm.
In my opinion, the age of Ayesha (ra) has been grossly mis-reported in the ahadith. Not only that, I think that the narratives reporting this event are not only highly unreliable but also that on the basis of other historical data, the event reported, is quite an unlikely happening. Let us look at the issue from an objective stand point. My reservations in accepting the narratives, on the basis of which, Ayeshas (ra) age at the time of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh) is held to be nine years are
Most of these narratives are reported only by Hisham ibn
urwah reporting on the authority of his father. An event as well known as the one being reported, should logically have been reported by more people than just one, two or three. It is quite strange that no one from Medinah, where Hisham ibnurwah lived the first seventy one years of his life has narrated the event, even though in Medinah his pupils included people as well known as Malik ibn Anas. All the narratives of this event have been reported by narrators from Iraq, where Hisham is reported to have had shifted after living in Medinah for seventy one years.
Tehzibu'l-tehzib, one of the most well known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) reports that according to Yaqub ibn Shaibah "narratives reported by Hisham are reliable except those that are reported through the people of Iraq". It further states that Malik ibn Anas objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq. (vol 11, pg 48 - 51)
Mizanu'l-aitidal, another book on the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) reports that when he was old, Hisham's memory suffered quite badly. (vol 4, pg 301 - 302) According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born about eight years before Hijrah. But according to another narrative in Bukhari (kitabu'l-tafseer) Ayesha (ra) is reported to have said that at the time Surah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Qur'an, was revealed, "I was a young girl". The 54th surah of the Qur'an was revealed nine years before Hijrah. According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only been born before the revelation of the referred surah, but was actually a young girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. Obviously, if this narrative is held to be true, it is in clear contradiction with the narratives reported by Hisham ibnurwah. I see absolutely no reason that after the comments of the experts on the narratives of Hisham ibnurwah, why we should not accept this narrative to be more accurate. According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (ra) accompanied the Muslims in the battle of Badr and Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reported in books of hadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years was allowed to take part in the battle of Uhud. All the boys below 15 years of age were sent back. Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of Badr and Uhud clearly indicate that she was not nine or ten years old at that time. After all, women used to accompany men to the battle fields to help them, not to be a burden on them. According to almost all the historians Asma (ra), the elder sister of Ayesha (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha (ra). It is reported in Taqri'bu'l-tehzi'b as well as Al-bidayah wa'l-nihayah that Asma (ra) died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Asma (ra) was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Ayesha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Ayesha (ra), if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, was between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage. Tabari in his treatise on Islamic history, while mentioning Abu Bakr (ra) reports that Abu Bakr had four children and all four were born during the Jahiliyyah -- the pre Islamic period. Obviously, if Ayesha (ra) was born in the period of jahiliyyah, she could not have been less than 14 years in 1 AH -- the time she most likely got married. According to Ibn Hisham, the historian, Ayesha (ra) accepted Islam quite some time before Umar ibn Khattab (ra). This shows that Ayesha (ra) accepted Islam during the first year of Islam. While, if the narrative of Ayesha's (ra) marriage at seven years of age is held to be true, Ayesha (ra) should not have been born during the first year of Islam. Tabari has also reported that at the time Abu Bakr planned on migrating to Habshah (8 years before Hijrah), he went to Mutam -- with whose son Ayesha (ra) was engaged -- and asked him to take Ayesha (ra) in his house as his son's wife. Mut`am refused, because Abu Bakr had embraced Islam, and subsequently his son divorced Ayesha (ra). Now, if Ayesha (ra) was only seven years old at the time of her marriage, she could not have been born at the time Abu Bakr decided on migrating to Habshah. On the basis of this report it seems only reasonable to assume that Ayesha (ra) had not only been born 8 years before hijrah, but was also a young lady, quite prepared for marriage.
According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the death of Khadijah (ra), when Khaulah (ra) came to the Prophet (pbuh) advising him to marry again, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her regarding the choices she had in her mind. Khaulah said "You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a woman who has already been married (thayyib)". When the Prophet (pbuh) asked about who the virgin was, Khaulah proposed Ayesha's (ra) name. All those who know the Arabic language, are aware that the word "bikr" in the Arabic language is not used for an immature nine year old girl. The correct word for a young playful girl, as stated earlier is "Jariyah". "Bikr" on the other hand, is used for an unmarried lady, and obviously a nine year old is not a "lady".
According to Ibn Hajar, Fatimah (ra) was five years older than Ayesha (ra). Fatimah (ra) is reported to have been born when the Prophet (pbuh) was 35 years old. Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct, Ayesha (ra) could by no means be less than 14 years old at the time of hijrah, and 15 or 16 years old at the time of her marriage.These are some of the major points that go against accepting the commonly known narrative regarding Ayesha's (ra) age at the time of her marriage.
In my opinion, neither was it an Arab tradition to give away girls in marriage at an age as young as nine or ten years, nor did the Prophet (pbuh) marry Ayesha (ra) at such a young age. The people of Arabia did not object to this marriage, because it never happened in the manner it has been narrated.
I hope I have been of some help.
Best Regards
The Learner Read Next Comment
http//www.understanding-islam.com/ri/mi-005.htm
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Firstly i would like to thank everyone that has shown me how unreliable and conflicting the hadiths regarding aisha's age are. But i have yet to find convincing evidence that muhammad(pbuh) and the first caliphs fought only defensive wars. Below are some instances of the caliphs who were guaranteed paradise by muhammad(pbuh) being quite brutal.
"The Rightly Guided Caliphs" by Dr. Abu Zayd Shalabi
Dr. Abu Zayd Shalabi discusses the Islamic wars which were initiated by the four caliphs who succeeded Muhammad and who, at the same time, are his favored relatives. These caliphs are Abu Bakr, ?Umar, ?Uthman and ?Ali. Muhammad married ?Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr, and Hafesa, daughter of ?Umar. ?Uthman married Ruqayya, the daughter of Muhammad, then after her death, he married her sister Um Kalthum. ?Ali was married to Muhammad?s youngest daughter, Fatima al-Zahra.
On pages 35-38, Dr. Abu Zayd remarks,
"Muhammad had prepared an army to invade the borders of Syria. When Muhammad died Abu Bakr sent an army headed by Usama Ibn Zayd and ?Umar Ibn al-Khattab. The army marched towards southern Palestine and invaded some parts of the land, frightened the people and captured some booty."
At the beginning of page 70, Dr. Abu Zayd talks about the Islamic conquests and indicates that at the inception of the year 12 of Hajira, Abu Bakr ordered Khalid Ibn al-Walid to invade Persian lands and to seize the ports near Iraq. Khalid marched with the army, but before he started the war, he sent his famous message to Hermez, one of the Iraqi generals, "Embrace Islam, or pay the poll-tax, or fight." The Hermez declined to accept any of these terms but war. The Persians were defeated in this battle and Khalid seized the booty and sent Abu Bakr one-fifth of the spoils of war, exactly as they were accustomed to send to Muhammad. One-fifth of the booty belonged to God and to Muhammad.
Abu Bakr presented Khalid with the Hermez?s tiara which was inlaid with gems. Dr. Abu Zayd says the value of the gems amounted to 100,000 dirham (p. 73). After that, the successful, savage invasions continued against other countries which could not repel the forces of Islam. This Azhar scholar tells us that in the battle of Alees which took place on the border of Iraq, Khalid killed 70,000 people! He was so brutal in his attack that the nearby river was mixed with their blood (p. 75).
On p. 77, Dr. Abu Zayd mentions another country which surrendered to Khalid. Khalid demanded that they pay 190,000 dirhams. When he attacked Ayn al-Tamr in Iraq, its people took shelter in one of the fortresses. Khalid laid siege to the fortress and forced them to come out. He killed all of them mercilessly. They had done nothing against him or against the Muslims except that they refused to embrace Islam and to recognize Muhammad as an apostle of God. The Muslims seized all that they found in the fortress along with forty young men who were studying the Gospel. Khalid captured them and divided them among the Muslims (refer to p. 81).
It is well-known that Khalid Ibn al-Walid was a very brutal, vicious man. His relentlessness made ?Umar Ibn al-Khattab ask Abu Bakr to kill him or at least to depose him because he killed another Muslim in order to marry his wife! Abu Bakr did not listen, but when ?Umar became the second caliph, he deposed him immediately This was ?Umar?s opinion about Khalid. Yet, to Muhammad, the prophet of Muslims, Khalid was one of the best among his relatives and warriors.
On page 134, Abu Zayd relates that when Khalid besieged another town called Qinnasrin which belonged to the Byzantine Empire, its people were so afraid that they hid themselves from him. He sent them a message in which he said "Even if you hide in the cloud, God will lift us up to you or He will lower you down to us." They asked for a peace treaty, but he refused and killed them all. Then he eradicated the town. These are the words of Dr. Abu Zayd which we faithfully relay to you.
Dr. Abu Zayd continues to list the names of the towns and the regions which the Islamic army invaded after the fall of ?Ain al-Tamr. He says
"By the end of the year 12, Hajira Abu Bakr became interested in Syria (Al Sham). He issued orders to four of his great generals and designated for each one of them a country which he was given to invade. He assigned Damascus to Yazid, Jordan to Sharhabil, Homs to Abu ?Ubayda and Palestine to ?Umru Ibn al-?As.
We wonder Are these wars defensive wars or are they definitely offensive wars and unjustified military invasions? Abu Bakr?s era ends during the famous battle of Yarmick in which tens of thousands were slain for no reason except to impose religion by force, capturing women and plundering the properties. Muslims claim that Abu Bakr died from eating poisoned food a few months before.
When ?Umar was elected to the Caliphate, he deposed Khalid Ibn al-Walid and replaced him immediately with Abu ?Ubayda.
The Caliphate (ruling period) of ?Umar Ibn al-Khattab
The Invasion of Persia
?Umar Ibn al-Khattab sent Sa?d Ibn Abi Waqqas to invade Persia. He camped in al-Qaddisia near the river Euphrates. Dr. Abu Zayd narrates for us a very important incident (pages 117-11 which we would like to examine. The author says
"Sa?d sent some of his followers (among them the Mu?man Ibn Maqrin to Yazdagird, one of the Persian generals) who asked him, ?What enticed you and brought you to invade us?? (Ibn Maqrin) said to him, ?Choose for yourself either Islam or the poll-tax or the sword.? The Persian general became very angry and said to him, ?Had it not been (the custom that messengers should not be killed), I would have killed you. Go; you have nothing to do with me."?
Ibn Khaldun confirms this incident in the end of the second volume of his famous history book (pages 94-96). He says,
"Rustan, the Persian general, said to one of Sa?d?s messengers, ?You were poor and we used to provide you with plenty of food. Why do you invade us now?"?
It was obvious that the Persians had never thought to invade the Arabs, but they used to send them plenty of food because of the poverty of the Arab peninsula. Never-the-less, the Arabs seized the opportunity to invade Persia after they realized that the Persians had been weakened by its wars with the Byzantine Empire and their own internal problems. Thus, they repaid compassion with wickedness and goodness with evil. The question which the Persian general Sa?d asked was a logical one, "Why do you attack us? Did we mistreat you?" The answer was also very clear, "You have three options!" Dr. Abu Zayd says on in p. 123
"Sa?d seized (after the battle of Qadisiyya) all that was in the treasury of Khusro of money and treasure. It was so plentiful that each Arab horseman received 12,000 dirham."
The Invasion of Damascus
On pages 131 and 132 of the same book, "The Rightly Guided Caliphs," the author indicates,
"Abu ?Ubayda marched towards Damascus and besieged it for seventy nights. He cut off all supplies while its inhabitants were pleading for help and assistance. Then Khalid attacked the city and massacred thousands of people. (They were forced) to ask for a peace treaty. Abu ?Ubayda turned over the rule of Damascus to Yazid and ordered him to invade the neighboring (cities). He attacked Sidon, Beirut, and others."
The Attack on Jerusalem
On pages 136 and 137, we read about the attack of ?Umru Ibn al-?as on Jerusalem. He besieged it for four months. Then its Christian inhabitants agreed to pay the poll-tax and to surrender to ?Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the caliph. ?Umar made the trip to Jerusalem and laid the foundation of the mosque. With that, the conquest of Syria was accomplished, but as the pestilence (plague) raged, many of the high-ranking generals of the Islamic army died, among them Abu Ubayda, Yazid and Sharahbil.
The Invasion of Wealthy Egypt
On pages 141 and 142, the author narrates how the invasion and occupation of Egypt were accomplished. Among the justifications which ?Umru Ibn al-?As presented to ?Umar which convinced him to allow ?Umru to attack Egypt were the following
"Egypt?s abundance and yields are plentiful. The conquest of Egypt would gain for the Muslims a foothold in Syria and make it easier for them to invade Africa to spread Islam."
It is important to mark ?Umru?s statement that "Egypt?s abundance and yields are plentiful." Eventually Egypt and Africa were both conquered.
On pages 145 and 146, the professor of civilization at the Azhar relates how ?Umru besieged the Fortress of Babylon (south of ancient Egypt) for a full month, and that he said to the messengers of the Muqawqis, the governor of Egypt,
"There is nothing between us and you except three things
(1) Embrace Islam, become our brethren and you will have what we have and you will be subjected to what we are subjected (in this case they would pay alms to the treasury of the state).
(2) If you refuse that, you are obligated to pay tribute with humiliation.
(3) War.
"The Muqawqis attempted to offer them something different, but they rejected it. At last, after a fight, he accepted the second condition, namely to pay tribute and to be subjugated to Islamic rule. The Muslims entered Egypt. "
On page 147 and 148 Abu Zayd describes the conquest of Alexandria and denies that the Muslims burned the famous library of Alexandria. Yet he admits that many chroniclers have mentioned that ?Umar Ibn al-Khattab ordered ?Umru to burn it entirely.
After the conquest and the occupation of Egypt, the author says (page 151) that ?Umru wanted to secure this conquest from the west by conquering Tripoli of Libya, and from the south by seizing Ethiopia. Thus at the close of the year 21 H. as Ibn Khaldun and Yaqut al-Kindi remarked (that is in the first half of the year 643 A.D. as Ibn al Athir and other chroniclers said), "?Umru marched on with his horsemen towards Tripoli."
On page 153 he adds
"?Umru besieged Tripoli for a month. It was a well-fortified city. At last a group of Muslims infiltrated the city and fought some of the Byzantines who soon fled. ?Umar entered the city and captured all that was in it, then he assailed the city of Sabra without warning and conquered it by force. He seized all that could be seized from it. Then he sent his army to Ethiopia, but he failed to enter it and suffered great losses. The skirmishes continued until a peace treaty was signed during the time of ?Uthman Ibn ?Affan."
Are these wars considered defensive? What is an offensive war then?
Are the hadiths that grossly DISTORTED!!?? These recollections had to have come from somewhere! History shows companions of the prophet whom were promised paradise conquering nations aggressively. How can one argue this? Ne evidence?
