Age of Ummul Momineen Aishah Tayibah radhiyAllahu 'anha from Sahih Bukhari

Age of Ummul Momineen Aishah Tayibah radhiyAllahu 'anha from Sahih Bukhari

Hadith No. 121

Hadhrat ‘Aishah says,
‘When Nabi sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam married me, I was 6 (sittah) years old and at the age of 9 years I entered the marital relationship with him and I remained in his (sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam) nikah for 9 (tis’ah) years.’

(Kitabun Nikah, chapter 21, volume 3, page 45)

Hadith No. 938

Ummul Momineen ‘Aishah radhiyAllahu 'anha says,
‘I was never jealous of a woman as I was of Khadijah radhiyAllahu 'anha though she had died three years before my marriage.’

(Kitabul Adab, volume 3)

Here we learn that Saiyidah Khadijah radhiyAllahu 'anha died in 10 nabawi. And Hadhrat ‘Aishah’s nikah fell three years afterwards i.e in 13 nabawi, exactly the year of emigration, a few days before emigration.
According to the first hadith (121), Ummul Momineen were then 6 years old.

Hadith No. 1078

‘Abdullah said, ‘Khadijah radhiyAllahu 'anha died three (3) years before the emigration. He (sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam) waited for more or less two (2) years then he married Hadhrat ‘Aishah when she was six (6) years old. Then at the age of nine (9) years, she departed (to the house of Prophet).’

(Kitabul Ambiya, volume 2)

So Ummul Momineen were 6 years old, 2 years after Hadhrat Khadijah’s death (Hadith No. 1078), and they were 6 years old still after 3 years of Hadhrat Khaijah’s demise (Hadith No. 938).
(SubhanAllah, unbelievable results)

Hadith No. 2101

Ummul Momineen said, ‘When I was small and used to play, in those days this verse revealed on Rasoolullah sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam:
Balis-sa’atu maou-‘idu hum…. and it was learnt by me.’

(fadha’il-al-Quran, volume 2)

This verse is from surah Al-Qamar and surah Al-Qamar descent in 5 nabawi. This is the chapter of lunar fissure (shaq-qul-qamar). At that time Saiyidah Siddiqah radhiyAllahu 'anha were so intelligent, that they learnt this verse.
Now if at the time of her nikah which fell in either 10 or 12 or 13 nabawi, they were 6 years old then in 5 nabawi (lunar fissure) they were 1 year old or not even born. SubhanAllah!

Hadith No. 1087

Ummul Momineen radhiyAllahu 'anha says, ‘Since when I reached the age of discretion (understanding), I found my parents following Islam. There passed no day that Rasoolullah sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam didn’t come to us in the morning and evening.’

(Kitabul Ambiya, volume 2)

Now we should learn when exactly a girl reaches the age of discretion. By coincidence we have learnt when Imam Bukhari reached this age.

In the preface of ‘Fathul Bari’ (sharh Bukhari), it says:

‘Muhammad bin Waraq says, ‘I myself heard from Imam Bukhari. He said, “Allah granted me the fondness of learning hadith by rote when I was in maktab (school).” I asked, “When you had this desire, how old you were.”
He said, “Ashara sineena aou aqalla” i.e. 10 years old or less than that.’

This shows that Ummul Momineen reached the age of discretion in 5 nabawi so they were around 10 years old at that time.

Tabari’s this statement verifies it that all the children of Nabi sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam and Abu Bakr radhiyAllahu 'anhu were born before the apostleship (i.e. at the times of ignorance).

These two narrations (Hadith No. 2101 and No. 1087) refute the first narration, No. 121).

The Purpose of such Narrations

It is obvious that through such narrations not only Ummul Momineen are slandered but the blasphemy of our Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam is also meant.
So Enemies of Islam today (christians and others) give our Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam the name of a Paedophile (ma’azAllah).
And it is too strange that the kuffar of the past i.e. the worst and contemporary enemies of our Holy Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, the mushrikeen of Makkah, jews and others have never been reported to give this name to our Holy Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam.
Doesn’t this knock at something in our heads?

Certainly, there is no truth in this claim that our Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam married Ummul Momineen ‘Aishah radhiyAllahu 'anha when they were 6 or 9 years old.

At the same time do we have any example of the period of ignorance or the apostleship that Arab girls got married then at the age of 6 or 9?

Or do we see today’s Arabia, where 6 or 9 year old girls are married?

And the most important, do we see any Hadith Scholar who marries a 6 or 9 year old girl, or loves to marry his daughter when she is 6 or 9 years old, in order to follow the Sunnah (maazAllah).

Obviously all these questions have a Big NO, when answered.

According to Mumtaz Begum who writes in her book ‘Aurat ka aayeli maqaam’ (Family status of a woman):

‘It has been proven by historical evidences that the age of Hadhrat Ayeshah radhiyAllahu 'anha, at the time of nikah, was at least 16 years and when departing to the house of Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam, it was 19 years. Narrations in which the numbers of 6 and 9 are described, there the word of tens place (dahaai) has been omitted or is (deliberately) removed. That is to say, sittah ‘ashar (16) and tis’ah ‘ashar (19) are made only sittah (6) and tis’ah (9). And the following transmitters (muhadditheen) have transferred it to us with closed eyes.

And on this basis the reasoning of scholars that from this narration, nikah of minor girls (of tender age) is justified, is totally absurd and nonsense. Not a single civilization in this world has allowed to play the game of sexuality with under age girls, then how Islam can permit that.’
(Even animals abstain from such practise.
But in such blasphemous narrations we believe as though they are the verses of the Book of Allah and keepy trying to interpret them unsuccessfully.)

The writer has supplied some references in the foot note:

Hadhrat ‘Aishah radhiyAllahu 'anha were ten (10) years younger than her sister Asma radhiyAllahu 'anha. Asma died in 73 hijri when her age was 100 years. In this way Asma radhiyAllahu 'anha was 27 or 28 at the time of emigration and Hadhrat ‘Aisha radhiyAllahu 'anha would be 17 or 18 years old.
Ummul Momineen departed for the house of Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam in 2 hijri. At that time they had reached the age of 19 or 20 years.

(Mishkaat Asma-ar-rijaal - ‘Ayni sharh Bukhari, volume 8, page 96 – Iste’aab, volume 2, page 744)

Moreover it is narrated that Hadhrat ‘Aishah radhiyAllahu 'anha were 5 years younger than Hadhrat Fatimah radhiyAllahu 'anha. When Hadhrat Fatimah radhiyAllahu 'anha died in 10 hijri, their age according to the famous quote was 30 years and according to Kalbi (Kazzab) 35 years.

(Iste’aab, volume 2, page 752 – Asadul Ghabah, volume 4, page 773)

So at the time of emigration, the age of Hadhrat ‘Aishah radhiyAllahu 'anha is found to be 15 or 20 years. When, 2 years later, their departure to the house of Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wasallam took place, they were 17 or 22 years old.