HOW OLD WAS AISHA (RA) WHEN SHE MARRIED PROPHET MUHAMMAD PBUH?

An exotic flower blooms in South Africa……..untended

A review of Hadith and the age of Aisha (RA ) at the time of marriage to RasoolAllah pbuh.

There is no Hadith about the age of Ayesha,r,a.

Lack of knowledge leads to defense of non-issues

In 1986 I wrote an article which showed that the narrative about the age of the wife of the Prophet, pbuh, Ayesha Siddiqa, r.a., which is published in Imam Bukhari’s Sahih, is contradicted by many other narratives in books of hadith.

It was the first article in English on the subject in America and was well liked by people who wanted to contradict the attacks of the Perwaizi sect and answer the abuse by neo-cons like General Boykin and Spencer.

Many people published my article, often with minor changes, but without noting that they had gotten it from me, thus contradicting the first rule of Hadith that you must give your source.

As I have continued my hadith studies, I have found that there is NO hadith from the Prophet, pbuh, giving the age of Ayesha, r.a., when he married her.

Bukhari himself does not say that the narrative in his book about her age is from the Prophet, pbuh. His book has so much prestige that we took it or granted that whatever is in his book must be from the Prophet, pbuh. It is not and he does not say it is.

A hadith of the Prophet, pbuh, is about what he said, did or approved of or is about his qualities.. [1] None of these three aspects relate to the narrative about the age  of  Ayesha, r.a.

Even a hadith which is from the Prophet, pbuh, but is not narrated by a sahabi [Companion of the Prophet, pbuh]  but is from a taba’i, [generation after the Sahaba], is called MURSAL and lacks authenticity and does  not have  HUJJAT [religious acceptability] in Islam.[2]. The only exceptions are Taba’i narrators who had met numerous sahaba. [3]

What is important about Ayesha, r.a. is that the Prophet, pbuh, loved her and died in her arms.[4] She was a scholar, teacher, faqih, leader, orator, fighter and pious beyond all requirements. The verses of the Qur’an which defend her and reveal Islamic laws owing to her actions, show that she was a person of great mental and spiritual maturity.

The issue of her age is meant to trivialize her significance.

We fell into the trap.

The Mother of the Believers needs no  defense.

May Allah forgive our sins and shortcomings.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1]. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, d. 852 Hijri, in Tehzeeb al-Tehzeeb, Urdu translation.

[2]. Khateeb Baghdadi, d. 463 Hijri, in al-kifaya if ‘ilm al-riwaya. Urdu translation.

[3]Modern scholars agree. See See Khalil-ur-Rahman Chishti’s Hadith ki ahmiat awr zaroorat, [Urdu], published in 1420 H.

[4] “Dying became easier for me when I was shown Ayesha in paradise. It was as if I could see her hands.” [Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, narrated by Ishaq bin Talha, in Tabqat al-Kubra, biographical collection of Hadith compiled by ibn Sa’ad in 230 Hijri.]

THE HADITH AND “THE BEATING OF WOMEN”

Women are the flowers of Islam

Aisha RA has described Prophet Muhammad pbuh as “the living Quran”

When a section of a story from the Hadith is picked up and related without the head or the tail it turns into a headless monster and that is what some people who are adversarial to Muslims are doing online. They relate stories in which the relevant sections have been removed leaving only the violent part of the story. (Astighfirullah)

COYOTES ATTACKING THE WEAKLING CALFS

Muslims who don’t have access to or who have not studied Hadith (weak in their knowledge of Hadith) are being told by adversarial forces that Hadith goes against the rights of women or that perhaps that it was even fabricated.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS & PURPOSE OF HADITH?

Some people genuinely do misunderstand Hadith because they are unaware of the purpose of Hadith. The Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, did not right away change the conditions of oppressed people, including women.

It took 23 years through a process of teaching, organizing, hijra, jihad and consolidation of the Islamic community. To change human behavior that was impregnated in centuries of tribal traditions in less than quarter of a century is in it self a miracle.

WHAT DOES THE HADITH RECORD?

Hadith record the words and achievements of the Prophet, pbuh, but they also record the terrible conditions of oppression, which continued to exist for years and were gradually removed.

EXAMPLES GIVEN IN HADITH

For instance, the Hadith tells us that some men used to beat women. It also tells us the methodology the Prophet, pbuh, used to put an end to beatings as well as psychological mistreatment of women.

GO BY THE ACTIONS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD PBUH

The Prophet, pbuh, knew more women than any man ever has but the Hadith tells us that he NEVER RAISED HIS HAND AGAINST A WOMAN.

WHO HAS THE FINAL WORD AND THE FINAL ACT IN ISLAM?

In Islam the Prophet’s, pbuh, interpretation of Islam is final in all matters.

Excerpt from: Women’s History Conference in Atlanta

Muslim Women’s Leadership Summit: Sis. Hadayai Majeed Presiding