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Marriage of the Prophet (s) to Aisha

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The marriage of the Prophet (s) with Aisha is a controversial historical topic that has been used, particularly by some Orientalists and contemporary writers, as a pretext to level accusations against the character of Prophet Muhammad (s). Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, is introduced in famous Sunni reports as the only virgin wife of the Prophet after Khadija (a) and is considered in some sources to be his most beloved wife; although a number of researchers have raised doubts about the accuracy of these claims. This marriage took place after the death of Khadija (a) and after the Prophet's marriage to Sawda bt. Zam'a, and some have evaluated it in line with the Prophet's social and political goals, including strengthening ties with the Banu Taym tribe.

The most significant point of disagreement among historical researchers regarding this event in the Prophet's life is Aisha's age at the time of marriage. The famous Sunni view considers her age to be six or seven at the time of the marriage contract and about nine at the time of consummation; however, a group of contemporary researchers, by re-examining historical data, have rejected this report and estimated Aisha's age to be between thirteen and eighteen or even nineteen years old. To refute the theory of Aisha's young age at the time of marriage, evidence such as comparing her age with her sister Asma' bt. Abu Bakr, reports about the birth of all of Abu Bakr's children in the pre-Islamic era, and the point that most narrations regarding Aisha's age are from her own narrations or those of 'Urwa b. Zubayr, have been cited.

Some studies have considered the motivation for portraying Aisha as young to be creating a kind of privilege and exclusive characteristic for her among the wives of the Prophet (s). The time of this marriage has been considered to be two or three years before the Hijra.

Significance

The marriage of the Messenger of God (s) at the age of about 55 to the young Aisha is one of the historical propositions that has led some writers, especially Orientalists, to level accusations against the Messenger of God (s).[1] Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, is considered the only virgin wife of the Prophet (s) among his wives after Khadija (a),[2] who, according to some Sunni sources, was the most beautiful and beloved of the Prophet's wives.[3] However, some, citing reports from Sunni writers,[4] have doubted Aisha's virginity[5] as well as her being the most beloved.[6] Aisha was married to the Prophet (s) after the death of Khadija (a) and after the Prophet's marriage to Sawda.[7][8]

It is said that most of the marriages of the Prophet (s) were to gain the support of tribes and strengthen the political influence of Muslims, and the marriage to Aisha from the Banu Taym tribe has also been evaluated in this context.[9]

Aisha's Age at the Time of Marriage

Aisha's age at the time of marriage has been reported between six and nine years old.[10] The famous opinion is that she was six or seven years old at the time of the contract[11] and about nine years old at the time of consummation.[12] However, some researchers, by analyzing historical data, have considered her age to be about eighteen years[13] and others thirteen to seventeen years.[14]

Arguments have been mentioned to reject Aisha's young age:

  • Aisha as the Nineteenth Muslim: Sayyid Ja'far Murtada 'Amili, a biographer and scholar from Lebanon, does not accept Aisha's young age and, citing the words of historians who have considered Aisha as the nineteenth Muslim,[15] concludes that she was about seven years old at the beginning of the Bi'tha and about seventeen years old at the time of the contract.[16]
  • The Narrator being Aisha Herself: It is said that in no narration from the Prophet (s) is anything mentioned about Aisha's age, and the bulk of these narrations are from Aisha herself, and certainly, feminine nature has been involved in portraying herself as young in these reports.[17]
  • Comparing Aisha's Age with Her Sister: Some, by comparing the age of Asma' bt. Abi Bakr (Aisha's sister), who was born 27 years before the Hijra[18] and on the other hand, the statement of historians who have considered Asma' to be ten years older than Aisha,[19] have concluded that Aisha was born 17 years before the Hijra and was nineteen years old in the second year of Hijra when she married the Prophet.[20]
  • Birth of All of Abu Bakr's Children in Pre-Islamic Era: Some, considering the report of the historian al-Tabari who said that all of Abu Bakr's children were born in the pre-Islamic era[21] and considering Aisha's age at the time of death (year 58/678)[22] to be seventy years old,[23] have claimed that the theory of her being nine years old is questionable.[24]

Motivation for Portraying Aisha as Young at Marriage

The motivation for portraying Aisha as young at the time of marriage to the Prophet (s) by herself or her nephew ('Urwa b. Zubayr) has been considered to create a special and exclusive characteristic for her among the wives of the Prophet (s).[25] According to some researchers, to achieve this goal, Aisha considered herself the only virgin wife of the Prophet who married him at a young age and introduced Khadija as an older woman and a widow.[26] While there is disagreement about Khadija being a virgin; some Sunni historical sources have introduced her as a widow,[27] but many Shi'a scholars believe that Khadija was a virgin when she married the Prophet (s).[28]

Time of Marriage to Aisha

Regarding the time of this marriage, some have considered it to be two or three years before the Hijra.[29] According to the famous report, the Prophet (s) married Aisha in the eleventh year of the Bi'tha[30] and set her mahr at four hundred dirhams.[31] Sayyid Murtada 'Askari, the author of the book "Naqsh-i Aisha dar Islam" (The Role of Aisha in Islam), believes that the contract took place in the eleventh year of the Bi'tha in Mecca and the consummation took place in Medina after the Battle of Badr (2 AH/624) and at the insistence of Abu Bakr.[32] The joint life of the Prophet (s) and Aisha lasted for nine years and five months.[33]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṣamīmī, Muḥammad dar Urūpā, p. 419-421; Anṣārī, Bāzshināsī-yi Qurʾān, p. 362-363.
  2. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 406.
  3. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 8, p. 68; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa al-nihāya, vol. 8, p. 99.
  4. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 8, p. 47; ʿAsqalānī, Al-Iṣāba, vol. 8, p. 232.
  5. ↑ "Jubayr b. Muṭʿim hamsar-i awwal-i ʿĀʾisha", Pāygāh-i takhaṣṣuṣī-yi Ḥaḍrat-i Khadīja (a).
  6. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Ṭarāʾif, vol. 1, p. 290; Taqī-zāda Dāwarī, Taṣwīr-i khāniwāda-yi Payāmbar dar dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Islām, p. 97–104.
  7. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 8, p. 46; Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿārif, p. 133-134.
  8. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1881.
  9. ↑ Qadrdān Qarāmalikī & Muḥarramī, Pāsukh bi shubuhāt-i kalāmī: darbāra-yi Payāmbar-i Aʿẓam, p. 298.
  10. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 8, p. 232; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 22, p. 191.
  11. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 8, p. 47–48.
  12. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 2, p. 644; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 8, p. 47–48.
  13. ↑ Taqī-zāda Dāwarī, Taṣwīr-i khāniwāda-yi Payāmbar dar dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Islām, p. 92–93.
  14. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīra al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 3, p. 285-287.
  15. ↑ Ibn Isḥāq Hamadānī, al-Siyar wa l-maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 143.
  16. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 3, p. 285-287.
  17. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 3, p. 287; Jalālī Līqwān & Mīr-sipāh, "Bāzpazhūhishī dar sinn-i ʿĀʾisha hangām-i izdivāj bā Payāmbar (ṣ)", p. 33.
  18. ↑ Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq, vol. 69, p. 9; Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, vol. 2, p. 288.
  19. ↑ Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, vol. 24, p. 77; Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 7, p. 11.
  20. ↑ Jalālī Līqwān & Mīr-sipāh, "Bāzpazhūhishī dar sinn-i ʿĀʾisha hangām-i izdivāj bā Payāmbar (ṣ)", p. 34.
  21. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, p. 426.
  22. ↑ Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa al-nihāya, vol. 8, p. 101; Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Ṭarāʾif, vol. 2, p. 503.
  23. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, Al-ʿIqd al-farīd, vol. 5, p. 7.
  24. ↑ Jalālī Līqwān & Mīr-sipāh, "Bāzpazhūhishī dar sinn-i ʿĀʾisha hangām-i izdivāj bā Payāmbar (ṣ)", p. 33.
  25. ↑ Jalālī Līqwān & Mīr-sipāh, "Bāzpazhūhishī dar sinn-i ʿĀʾisha hangām-i izdivāj bā Payāmbar (ṣ)", p. 36.
  26. ↑ Jalālī Līqwān & Mīr-sipāh, "Bāzpazhūhishī dar sinn-i ʿĀʾisha hangām-i izdivāj bā Payāmbar (ṣ)", p. 36.
  27. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 406; Ibn Ḥabīb, Al-Munammaq, 1495 AH, p. 247.
  28. ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 1, p. 159; Kūfī, al-Istighātha, vol. 10, p. 70; ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 20, p. 212.
  29. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 22, p. 235; Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 8, p. 232.
  30. ↑ Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-athar, vol. 2, p. 368.
  31. ↑ Suhaylī, al-Rawḍ al-unuf, vol. 7, p. 534.
  32. ↑ ʿAskarī, Naqsh-i ʿĀʾisha dar Islām, vol. 1, p. 45.
  33. ↑ Ibn Ḥazm, Jawāmiʿ al-sīra al-nabawiyya, p. 27.

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