The logic that is usually presented to support the marriage of minors is that the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) married Ayesha® when she was six years old, and that by the
time she was nine, she was sent off with him. As this is a very important matter, we
thought it proper that the research on this issue be included here. For the first time, it
explains a very important and rather crucial fact.
There are a few matters that are unanimously agreed to in our society; that is nobody
has any difference of opinion about them. One of these is that Ayesha® was six years old
at the time of her Nikah, and that by the time she was nine, she was sent to live with her
husband. This misconception is accepted as a fact, to the extent that nobody ever feels
the need for any research in this respect. Its foundation is based on those accounts that
are in the compilations of "Bokhari", "Tabri" and "Tabqat Ibne
Saad" and others. However, one finds in these and other similar history books, such
assertions that in fact contradict these accounts. On the contrary, they prove that
Ayesha® was much older at the time of her marriage.
Before we analyze this matter in light of historical evidence, it is necessary to
understand one or two vital pre-requisites. Firstly, the laws in The Quran concerning
marriage and divorce were revealed long after the migration of Nabi Muhammad (PBUH) from
Makkah to Madina. Ayesha's® Nikah or sending-off happened either before or during the
years of Migration. Therefore it is obvious that it happened before the relevant Quranic
laws were revealed. As would be discussed later it was customary among Arabs to negotiate
or finalize a proposal before marriage. This was the same as what in our society is called
as giving one's word or getting engaged. The Quran mentions Nikah only, it does not
mention any promises or engagements. As such, when those historical accounts state that
Ayesha's® Nikah was performed at the age of six and she was sent-off at the age of nine,
they were according to Arab society, reporting on getting engaged or the proposal being
fixed; and 'sending-off' meant marriage. However, the real crucial question as to how old
she was at the time of marriage, still remains.
Secondly, Arabs did not have any calendar at that time, so they could not fix the date,
day or month and the year of an occasion like we do today. The Hijra year was in fact
first recognized in the time of Omer®. Till then they used to fixe the time of death or
the birth of a person with reference to some special occasions or they referred to the
birth of other children. Even in our society, elderly ladies fix or estimate or determine
ages in this manner. For example, they will say that when Kangra was struck by an
earthquake, Zaid was still a nursing baby and Umar was born three years after Zaid. Even
our Messenger of God (PBUH) has been mentioned in history as having been born in Am
Alfeel, the 'year of Elephants', which is the time when the governor of Yemen attacked
Makkah with an army of elephants. It is obvious, when the time references to events are
fixed in this manner, then it would not be surprising if ages varied, not by months, but
by years. (Further examples would-be given in this section). Furthermore, if on the
occasion of birth you do not mention the month, but just count the year, then when fixing
somebody's age the difference of more or less of a year would be quite likely. For
instance, if it is said that so and so was born in 1920; then if that person was born in
January, the year 1920 should be counted while calculating the age; but if that person was
born in December, then the age would be counted from 1921. Therefore for the purpose of
estimating time in our history, this phenomenon should be kept in mind.
Thirdly as mentioned above, we started our calendar during the time of Omer® and on a
regular basis it was promulgated from the time of Migration (Hijra). Although migration
happened in the month of Rabiul Awal, the year of Hijra was counted from Muharram and the
whole year was completed. Prior to the Migration, years were counted from the time when
the Messenger of God (PBUH) started receiving the Revelation. He was forty years old when
he was made the Messenger of God, (PBUH) and after that he stayed in Makkah for thirteen
years. Then he migrated. That is, at the time of Migration he had completed fifty-three
years of his age, and the fifty-fourth year had started. If the year of revelation is
included, that is the fortieth year of his age, then the time of Migration would be the
fifteenth year of the Revelation. On the other hand, if this first year is not included,
then it would be the fourteenth year of Revelation. It is necessary to keep these points
in mind because they affect the problem under consideration.
(1) "Asad Alghaba" (Vol. IV, p. 377) mentions:
Fatima® was approximately five years older than Ayesha®
Therefore to gauge the year of birth of Ayesha®, we will have to find Fatima's® year
of birth.
(2) "Asad Alghaba" quotes again:
Abbas® went to Ali's® place, where he heard Fatima® saying to Ali®, "I am
older than you". This prompted Abbas® to say that Fatima® was born when the Quraish
were building Kaaba, and Ali® had been born a few years earlier (Vol. IV p. 280).
The same book mentions at another place on (p. 377):
Fatima® was born in the year when Kaaba was being built, and Messenger of God's (PBUH)
age was then thirty-five years.
"Tabqat Ibne Saad" (a book) tells us (Vol. VIII, p. 11):
Fatima® is the daughter of Allah's Messenger (PBUH). Her mother is Khadija®, daughter
of Khuwailad bin Asad bin Abdul Uza bin Qasa. Fatima® was born to Khadija® during those
days when the Quraish (the tribe) were building the "House of God". And this
happened five years before revelation.
At another place it says:
Once Abbas® visited Ali's® house. There, Fatima® was saying to Ali® that she was
older than him in age. Abbas® informed her, "Look Fatima, you were born during that
time when Quraish were building Kaaba and the Messenger of God (PBUH) was thirty-five year
old. And listen, Ali® you were born a few years before that" (Vol. VIII, p. 17).
One finds this statement about Fatima's® death in "Isteeab" (a book):
How old was Fatima® at the time of her death? There is difference of opinion. Zubair
bin Bakar quoted from Abdullah Bin Alhasan that he was with Hasham Bin Abdulmalik, and
Kalbi was there, too. Hasham inquired from Abdullah bin Al-Hasan "O Abu Mohammed, how
old was Fatima® daughter of Allah's Messenger (PBUH)?" Abdullah Bin Alhasan replied,
"Thirty years". After this Hasham asked Kalbi, "How old was Fatima®?"
Kalbi answered, "Thirty-five years". This made Hasham point out to Abdullah Ibne
Alhasan, "O Abu Mohammed, listen to what Kalbi is saying" Hasham preferred
Kalbi's statement more. This made Abdullah Ibne Alhasan remark, "O leader of the
Momins, ask me about my mother, and ask Kalbi about his mother". (Vol. VI, p. 752).
Fatima® died in 11 A.H. If she was thirty years old at that time, then she must have
been born five years before the Revelation to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). (The
difference of months should be taken into account).
There is no doubt that, like other incidents, one finds many accounts about Fatima's®
age at the time of her death. For example one quotes her age as twenty-four years; another
estimates it at a little over eighteen years. But it appears that the correct estimate is
that she was about thirty years old at the time of her death, and that she was born about
five years before the Revelation.
This shows that Ayesha® was born when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was forty years
old, about five years after the birth of Fatima®, meaning the year when he was made the
Nabi (PBUH) (Refer to historical account at the end).
(3) If we accept the account that Ayesha's® age was six years at the time of Nikah or
engagement as correct, then it would mean that she was born in the fourth year of their
calendar. This would be the fourth year after the Revelation or when Messenger of God
(PBUH) was forty-four years old. Since the occasion of Nikah (or engagement) is also
quoted as having happened in the tenth year of Revelation, this meaning that Messenger of
God (PBUH) was fifty at that time. This statement has many reasons to be wrong. For
example, Ibne Saad has quoted in "Tabqat" to have said that when the Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) sent his proposal for Ayesha® to Abu Bakr®, he replied, "O
Messenger of Allah (PBUH), I have already promised her to Mutam Bin Adi Bin Nofil Bin Abd
Munaf for his son Jabeer. Therefore, give me enough time to get her back from them"
So Abu Bakr® acted accordingly.
If Ayesha® was six year old at that time, then it would mean that she had been engaged to
Jabeer at the age of four or five years. One never finds such examples among Arabs, that
they would get their four or five year old girls engaged for marriage. Besides,
"Bokhari" quotes in (Vol. 2, p. 204):
Ayesha® said, "When verse (54:46) of Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon) was revealed, I
was a toddler playing about".
Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon) of the Quran was revealed in 5th year of Revelation Ayesha®
must at least have been of such an age at that time, that she knew that these were Quranic
verses, and also that she remembered this incident afterwards. If we can imagine the
fourth year of Revelation as her year of birth, then in the fifth year she would be a year
old. A baby of one year cannot walk or play about much, and neither is it possible for
such a small child to remember Quranic verses. Contrary to this, if her year of birth is
considered to be the first year of Revelation, then she would be about five or six year
old at the time of Surah Al-Qamar's revelation. At that time she would have been about
five or six years old; and capable of remembering something about Quranic verses. (In this
respect, it is worth noting that account which has been written at the end).
All the accounts written above attempt to explain that Ayesha® was born when the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was in his fortieth year of age.
(4). The incident that is considered as Nikah or engagement, happened in Shawal (a
lunar month) in the tenth year of Revelation, ("Tabqat Ibne Saad" Vol. 8, p. 40)
when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was fifty years old. As such, if the first year is not
counted, this, makes Ayesha's® age approximately ten years at that time. If you count the
first year then her age would be eleven. The issue of real importance is of actual
marriage and not the engagement, so we should go further.
(5). As regards marriage, consensus of opinion agrees upon its taking place after the
Hijra (The Migration). Therefore we should first examine the timing of Migration.
How many years did the Nabi (PBUH) stay in Makkah after the Revelation? There are varied
accounts about this. One of these states that when the Revelation descended upon him, he
was forty-three years old, and he stayed in Makkah for ten years after that.
Another account runs like this:
A person came to Ibne Abbas® and said that the Revelation descended upon the Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) for ten years in Makkah, and for ten years in Madina. Ibne Abbas® said,
"Who says this? The Revelation descended upon him in Makkah for fifteen years or
more".
In an another account, however, Ibne Abbas® has also been quoted as saying that he
stayed in Makkah for thirteen years. Thus it is generally accepted that the Nabi (PBUH)
stayed for thirteen years, and after that he migrated. (Refer to "Tabqat
Ibne-Saad" Vols. 1, pp. 333-334; "Tarikh Tabri" Vol. I, p. 54 and 135-36).
Per chance, I have in front of me the Urdu translation of these Vols. that were published
in Hyderabad Deccan, India. Both these references are from there. The reason for the
contradiction that shows up between thirteen and fifteen years, may be because the
Messenger of God (PBUH) was fifty-three years old and fifty-fourth had started when he
migrated; and he was in his fortieth year when the Revelation commenced. Now if the
fortieth year of this age is not counted then the stay of Makkah would be of thirteen
years, and the Migration would have commenced by the beginning of the fourteenth year. If
the fortieth year is counted then the stay in Makkah would be of fourteen years, and
Migration would then happen in the fifteenth year. Most probably Ibne Abbas® was quoting
the same in that account. Taking this into consideration, Ayesha® was either thirteen
years old at the beginning of Migration; or she might have completed her thirteen years
and would be in her fourteenth year; or she might have completed her fourteenth year, and
would be in her fifteenth. (Again refer to the account quoted at the end).
(6). Now we have to see how long after the Migration, she got married? According to the
general records, at the time of matrimony or engagement Ayesha's® age was six years and
at the time of the send-off she was nine years old. Her wedding took place in the month of
Shawwal (10th Lunar Month) at Madina. As she got engaged three years before Migration,
according to this account she should have married in the first year of Migration, during
the month of Shawwal. But this is not true for the following reasons:
a. In "Tabqat Ibne Saad", Ayesha® has told in detail that when the Nabi
(PBUH) and Abu Bakr® migrated to Madina, the Nabi (PBUH) left his daughter and Abu Bakr®
left his family behind in Makkah. After their resettlement they called them to Madina
("Tabqat", Vol. VIII, p.43).
b. In Bokhari's compilation, Ayesha® is quoted to have said, "When we came to
Madina, I had fever and I lost all my hair on my head. Then when my hair started-growing
again and become shoulder length we got married.
("Bokhari", Vol. II, p.204).
These assertions show:
(i) Ayesha® remained in Makkah for a while after the Migration. It should be
remembered that the Migration occurred during the month of Rabiul Awal (3rd Lunar Month).
(ii) After coming to Madina she lost all her hair from her head, due to her illness.
(iii) After all her hair grew again and became shoulder length, did she get married.
If it is accepted that she was sent off in the first year of Migration in Shawwal, (10th
Lunar Month) then it means that the above mentioned incidents happened within eight
months. (From Rabiul Awal to Shawwal). If it is accepted that after the Migration, it must
have taken her three or four months to come to Madina from Makkah, and she remained sick
for a month, then this would leave only three or four months till marriage. It is clear
that in this time, new hair cannot grow shoulder length under any circumstances. This is
so obvious that even Ainee, "Bokhari's" narrator had stated that her wedding
took place seven months after Migration. She was sent off, after the Battle of Badar in
Shawwal, 2 A.H. (Ainee's Vol. VIII, p .96).
c. "Istiab", too, has supported this as follows:
The Messenger of God had engaged Ayesha® three years before Migration in Shawal, tenth
year of Revelation, and he brought her home eighteen months after Migration in the month
of Shawal. (Vol. II, p.744)
d. In "Asad Alghaba" it is stated:
Fatima®, daughter of the Nabi (PBUH) was married four months after Ayesha's®
marriage". (Vol. IV, p. 377)
Fatima® got married in Muharram (1st month of Lunar year). Hence the question is in
Muharram of which year of Migration? "Bokhari" (Vol. III, p. 8) gives a long
narration of it as follows:
Ali® 'cousin of the Nabi (PBUH)' said that he had one (female) camel that he received
as his share from the booty of the Battle of Badr, and one more (female) camel that the
Messenger of God (PBUH) gave him out of his share. (This constitutes a gift from the
bounty of the commander, which is one-fifth of the spoils of war as per Quranic
injunctions). I thought I could bring Fatima®, daughter of the Nabi (PBUH) home in
marriage. I talked to a goldsmith from the Banu Qainuqah tribe that he should come along
with me to get some Azkhar grass. I intended to sell it to the goldsmith, and whatever
money I would collect, I would use for the wedding party.
After that it has been described how Hamza®, the Nabi's (PBUH) uncle, ripped open
these camel's stomachs, but as this is irrelevant to our purpose, it has not been copied
here.
This makes it quite clear that till the Battle of Badr, Ali® had not been married. The
Battle of Badr was fought in Ramadhan (9th Lunar month) 2 A.H. Therefore, the earliest his
marriage could have taken place, would be in Muharram 3, A.H. ("Asad Alghaba"
had erroneously written it as 2 A.H.).
Since Ayesha® got married four months earlier, her marriage could have happened in
Shawwal in the second A.H. and not in the first A.H.
(7). The above details explain that Ayesha® was fifteen years old at the time of her
marriage if her year of birth is not added; but if it is added then, she would be sixteen
years old. This is two years older than she was at the time of Migration.
According to the account from Abbas® which has been quoted earlier, the Messenger of
God (PBUH) remained in Makkah for fifteen years after the Revelation. There we tried to
explain the discrepancy in the duration of the stay whether it was thirteen or fifteen
years. But if the account that the Nabi (PBUH) stayed in Makkah for full fifteen years and
migrated in the sixteenth year is taken as literally correct, then this makes Ayesha's®
age as seventeen years at the time of marriage. Ibne Abbas® account is supported by
"Tabri's" following statement.
"Ibne Abbas® and Ibne Khantalah related that Messenger of God (PBUH) died at the age
of sixty-five. ("Tabri" translated in Urdu, Hyderabad, India Vol. I, part III,
p. 599). In brief, he became a Nabi at the age of forty, remained in Makkah after that for
fifteen years, and thereafter was in Madina for ten years; sixty-five years as a
whole".
Besides this evidence, there is another stronger testimony that tells us that Ayesha®
was seventeen years old at the time of Migration. As such she was nineteen years old at
the time of her sending-off from her house. Asmaa®, daughter of Abu Bakr®, was
Ayesha's® elder sister. Sheikh Wali-ud-Din Abi Abdullah Mohammed Bin Abdullah Khatib
writes about her in his book (Akmal Fi Asma Ur-Rijal):
Here is Asmaa®, daughter of Abu Bakr Siddique®. She is famous as Zat Al-Nataqain,
because the night the Nabi (PBUH) migrated, she tore her scarf into two pieces. She used
one piece to tie her tiffin carrier, and the other was used either to fasten the leathered
water carrier or as her head-scarf. She is the mother of Abdullah Bin Zubair®, embraced
Islam in Makkah. It is stated that at that time only seventeen people had embraced Islam.
She was ten years older than Ayesha®. After her son Abdullah Bin Zubair's® dead body,
which had been hung on a wooden peg following his murder, was taken down and buried, she
died about ten or twenty days later, at the ripe old age of hundred years. It was year
seventy-three of Migration (A.H.). Many people have quoted her for the Nabi's (PBUH)
customs and historical accounts. (Akmal has been published with Mishkat's Urdu
translation. See p.472)
Asmaa® was one hundred years old at the time of her death in the year seventy-three of
Migration (A.H.). This tells us that her age at the time of Migration, was twenty seven
years. Since Ayesha® was ten years younger than Asmaa®, Ayesha® was approximately
nineteen years old at the time of her marriage.
This also conforms what Kalbi said to Hisham Bin Abdul Malik (Ummayad Caliph), that
Fatima's® age was thirty-five years. Thus it can be estimated that if Ayesha® was
seventeen years old at the time of Migration, then Fatima® would be approximately twenty
two years old and nearing thirty-three at the time of her death. If the year of birth and
the year of death, too, are added then she would be thirty-five years old.
In any case, the above details explain the fact that Ayesha's® age at the time of her
marriage was seventeen years according to some accounts, or nineteen years according to
others. It was definitely not less than fifteen or sixteen years. Therefore, all these
historical accounts show that she was nine years old at the time of her marriage; that she
used to play on the swings with other children; that even after her marriage to the Nabi
(PBUH) she used to play with her dolls, are not rational and are hence unacceptable. The
Nabi (PBUH) got his own daughters married, and none of them was sent-off as a minor.
Fatima® was married off last, and she was at least twenty one or twenty two at that time.
This was the marriage age, although Ali®, to whom she was to be married, was present in
the house all along.
Finally, it seems prudent that I should repeat once again that important fact about
history that I have mentioned many times before. It is a fact we find many conflicting
narrations about the same event. For example Tabri himself has all these statements about
the age of the Nabi (PBUH) saying that he was sixty years old, sixty-three years old or
also that he was sixty-five years old. ("Tabri" Vol. I, part II). Take, for
instance, the accounts about Fatima's® death. It has been narrated that she remained
alive only three days after the Nabi's (PBUH) death; or one month;
or two months; or three months and five days; or four months and some think she lived for
six months after his death (The Nabi's (PBUH) biography by Shibli-Vol.1, p. 427). This
difference is, nevertheless, of a few days or months, but in the case of Sodah's® (The
Nabi's (PBUH) wife) death, Waqdi writes that it happened in 54 A.H.; but Bokhari writes in
history that the death occurred during Omer's® period of caliphate, that is before 23
A.H. (The Nabi's (PBUH) biography by Shibli-Vol.1,
p. 404). Just see how glaring the difference is.
If these contradictions do not touch a Quranic principle or reflect adversely upon the
Nabi's (PBUH) character, then either of the accounts could be acceptable without
objection. For example, Sodah's® death whether it happened in 23 A.H.
or 54 A.H. does not affect The Quran or the character of the Nabi (PBUH). But for those
accounts and matters that do reflect upon the Nabi (PBUH) or The Quran, utmost care should
be taken about them. The principle in this respect should be
that anything that goes against The Quran or the character of the Nabi (PBUH) can never be
true, no matter how authentic it is regarded by the standards of history. The narrations
and statements on historical events cannot reach an absolute level of surety. The Quran in
comparison, is a certain evidence, and it is definitely known fact that the Messenger of
God (PBUH) never said or did anything that would go against The Quran, or against human
honour! Therefore, we should always rate opinions below sterling facts. If we are careful
enough about our history then this would save us from many entangling problems in respect
of Islam. Importantly, this would also extricate us from unjustified criticism which daily
the non-Muslims direct at us, on the basis of these historical narrations. A vital need of
the day is that the history of Islam's early phase be reviewed according to the above
standards, so that all the false and fabricated narrations that mar the character of
Messenger of God (PBUH) and his companions be deleted from the history of Islam.
Unfortunately until someone can do that, we should always assert that such accounts are of
doubtful authenticity and that more research is needed to ascertain their status.