I have not yet been able to find a single reliable 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.
The age of Ayesha (ra) has been grossly misreported in the
narratives of the
incident.
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 ibn
`urwah 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 shifted after living in Medinah for seventy-one
years.
Tehzeeb al-Tehzeeb, one of the most well known books on the life
and reliability
of the narrators of the traditions ascribed to 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).
Meezaan al-Ai`tidaal, 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. However, according to another narrative in
Bukhari (Kitaab
al-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 even
only 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 ibn
`urwah. I see
absolutely no reason that after the comments of the experts on the
narratives of
Hisham ibn `urwah, why should we 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 indicates that
she was not
nine or ten years old at that time. After all, women used to
accompany men to
the battlefields to help them, not to be a burden upon 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
Taqreeb al-Tehzeeb
as well as Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah that Asma (ra) died in the 73rd
year after
hijrah[2] when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Asma (ra)
was 100 years
old in the 73rd year after 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 even
have been born during the first year of Islam.
Tabari has also reported that at the time Abu Bakr (ra) planned on
migrating to
Habshah (8 years before Hijrah), he went to Mut`am - with whose son
Ayesha (ra)
was engaged at that time - and asked him to take Ayesha (ra) in his
house as his
son's wife. Mut`am refused, because Abu Bakr had embraced Islam.
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.
