Aisha and Puberty

The problem with hadiths is that they do not sound logical at times. In Islam, it is necessary that you can only have sexual encounters with women who go through menstruation.Some Hadiths are clearly not reliable and need to be re-evaluated. Not just topics regarding Aisha's age but a host of other topics.Aisha's age at the time of marriage is uncertain and is still debatable. There are facts that we can be certain about, example; Aisha did not have children (Malatant of Shadow's valid point about them not engaging is sex). Was happy about her marriage. Became a great Scholar of Islam and military leader, role model for women, etc.Even if she was in fact 9 years old, this marriage is still justified for the following reasons: (a) She reached the age of puberty. (b) The marriage happened 1400 ago, not today. At that time, their marriage was not considered unusual and the proof is that the enemies of Muslims at that time did not criticize this marriage. They attacked prophet Mohammad on many issues, yet they didn't criticize his marriage to Aisha.Let us analyse from the authentic sources of Islam (Quran and Hadiths) what the minimum age for marriage is for a human being. The Quran says in: Surah Nisa 4:6: "Make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; if then ye find sound judgment in them, release their property to them; but consume it not wastefully, nor in haste against their growing up. If the guardian is well-off, Let him claim no remuneration, but if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable. When ye release their property to them, take witnesses in their presence: But all-sufficient is God in taking account." From this verse, we can see that there is an age limit of marriage in Islam. The Arabic word used in this verse is "alnnikaha," which some translators have translated as "puberty." Surah Nisa 4:6: Shakir: "And test the orphans until they attain puberty; then if you find in them maturity of intellect, make over to them their property, and do not consume it extravagantly and hastily, lest they attain to full age; and whoever is rich, let him abstain altogether, and whoever is poor, let him eat reasonably; then when you make over to them their property, call witnesses in their presence; and Allah is enough as a Reckoner."Surah Nisa 4:6: Khalifah: "You shall test the orphans when they reach puberty. As soon as you find them mature enough, give them their property. Do not consume it extravagantly in a hurry, before they grow up. The rich guardian shall not charge any wage, but the poor guardian may charge equitably. When you give them their properties, you shall have witnesses. GOD suffices as Reckoner." "To reach the age of marriage means to be adolescent. According to Shariah, it is fixed on the manifestation of the natural growth of the human parts of the body. It means that according to Quran the age for marriage of a boy or a girl is on his or her reaching the age of adolescence.""Along with the injunction of maturity (bulugh) in this verse, the Holy Qur'an has also answered the question as to the 'age' when a child would be taken as mature (baligh) by saying: اذا بلغوا النكاح translated as 'until they reach marriageability'. Here, it has been indicated that real maturity is not tied up with any particular count of years. Rather, it depends on particular indicators and signs experiences by adults entering the threshold of adulthood. When, in terms of these indicators and signs, they would be regarded to marry, they would be considered mature, even if their age does not exceed thirteen or fourteen years."also read in the following verse that marriage is a strong promise/covenant according to:Surah Nisa 4:21:"And how could ye take it when ye have gone in unto each other, and they have Taken from you a solemn covenant?" From these 2 verses in combination, we understand that marriage is a agreement between men and women at the age of maturity where they can make good judgments. When a person reaches puberty, he/she can decide to get married if he/she wants to. If you marry someone before puberty, the marriage is NOT complete till both reach puberty. You cannot have intercourse with the person you marry, till the marriage is completed (which is at puberty). No-one can force you to marry, or stay married. We see that there is no specific limit to when a person can complete the marriage, because puberty can start earlier for some people and late for others. Interestingly, in the USA 100+ years ago, people could participate in sexual activity, at the age of 10:"The common law, from which America gets much of its precedents in the legal field, set the age of consent at age ten. In other words, participating in sexual activity with someone above the age of ten did not result in the crime of "statutory" rape or child molesting. The activity may have come under other statutory or informal social regulations, but anyone over the age of ten could consent to a sexual activity." In California over 100 years back, you could marry above the age of 7:"If the infants were under seven years of age the marriage was absolutely void, but parties over seven years of age and under the age of consent, could enter into a voidable marriage."Notice that States of America over 100 years ago set a SPECIFIC age in which you can marry and participate in sexual activity. In other words, if you have not reached puberty at 7-10 years old, you could easily 100 years back in USA, have had prepubescent intercourse! Why?Because not everyone reaches puberty that young. In contrast, the Islamic law which came centuries before the USA law, it is far superior because it does NOT give any chance of prepubescent intercourse to occur, based on the teachings. This is because there is no specific age limit of marriage, because puberty can occur at different ages for different people. This means the consummation of the marriage has to occur at least at puberty.Science tells us today that females attain puberty quicker than the males. We also come to know from modern science that a person CAN reach puberty at the age of 9 years old, or even at the age of 8."Although puberty usually starts between ages 8 to 13 in girls, it may start earlier or later."When we read these Hadiths, we will clearly see that Muhammad never consummated the marriage at 6 years old, but rather at 9. Now, let us analyse what age Muhammad actually married Aisha, based on the following authentic Hadiths:Sahih Bukhari, Book 58, Number 234:"Narrated By 'Aisha : The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house.There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age."Sahih Bukhari, Book 62, Number 64: "Narrated By 'Aisha : That the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death)."The contract was conducted when she was 6, but the Prophet waited 3 years to consummate the marriage. If Muhammad was a paedophile as you Justin claim, he could have consummated the marriage before she even reached 7, leave aside 9. A womanizer would not wait 3 years to get married to someone, yet Muhammad did. Does this sound like a paedophile? No!!! Moreover, the forthcoming narration of Aisha substantiates that the Prophet didn't marry based on his own desires.here read "On the authority of 'Alee bin Zaid bin Jad'aan that his grandmother informed him that 'Aaishah said: "I have been given 9 things which were not given to any other woman after Maryam bint 'Imraan. Jibreel came with my picture in a piece of silk until it was commanded to the Prophet to marry me. He married me, a virgin, and he did not marry any virgin other than me. His soul departed while he was in my house. He was buried in my house. The Angels had surrounded my house. And when the Revelations used to come down and he was with his other wives, they would be separated from him. Whereas the Revelations used to come down and I would be with him in the same bedding. And I am the daughter of the Khaleefah and the truthful one.Revelation was sent from the sky about my chastity. I was created in goodness to a good person. And I have been promised forgiveness and good sustenance." When Muhammad was around 53 years old, he consummated the marriage at 9 years old. If Muhammad married Aisha for his own sexual urge and own selfishness, HE WOULD HAVE MARRIED WOMEN THIS AGE WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER! In fact, we know that the he 1st marriage of Muhammad took place when he was 25 years of age and he married Khadija who was twice widowed, and was 40 years old. Muhammad's first marriage was at 25, so why didn't he marry a much younger woman? A man who would want to marry for his own sexual lusts would have married at a younger age, to a much younger woman. Moreover, the elder a man gets, the less sexual he gets. This disproves that Muhammad wanted to marry Aisha for his own sexual interests, and prove he was NOT what the critics falsely claim he was...Justin It was quite normal for females (Muslim or non-Muslim) to get married at ages of 9 or 10, back then. I'm justifying marriage at this age merely because people back then did it but rather, I'm showing that what typical westerners might consider today as immoral was not seen like that back then. Moreover, this shows morals in Islamic law are consistent and do not change on what the majority want. If the skeptic claims Muhammad was a pedophile for marrying Aisha with her consent, then the same standards should be applied to the people who did the same thing (i.e. Christians, Jews, etc), and all those who didn't condemn the marriage. Furthermore, from the ages 9-14 in Europe, Asia, Africa etc, females were married at these ages. In the USA about 100 years ago, people could participate in sexual activity, at the age of 10..Aisha was also mature for her age both mentally and physically due to modest and far superior discipline. She was not like your common 9 year old kid, who is still dependant on the parents. Aisha was very mature for her age, and acted like an adult mentally and knew right from wrong. Let us read what Aisha said about herself:""Aisha said, if the little girl reaches nine then she is a woman." (Tirmidhi - Classed Hasan Sahih By Sheikh Albani In: Jami' Sahih Al-Adhkar & Tirmidhi) "Aisha knew (she hit puberty) when she reached nine years old." (Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri - Tuhfat Al-Ahwadhi ) Justin Here see that Aisha went through her menses, which is a sign of puberty. This proves that Aisha was indeed in puberty and was physically mature. A female who has not yet hit puberty would not have had menses, yet Aisha did which is proof she was physically mature. Not only that, but BEFORE her marriage with Prophet Muhammad, she felt ill going THROUGH her menses. It is mentioned in:Sahih Bukhari, Book 58, Number 234:Narrated By 'Aisha : The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became alright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.Sahih Bukhari:"Narrated 'Aisha I had seen my parents following Islam since I attained the age of puberty. Not a day passed but the Prophet visited us, both in the mornings and evenings. My father Abii Bakr thought of building a mosque in the courtyard of his house and he did so. He used to pray and recite the Qur'an in it. The pagan women and their children used to stand by him and look at him with surprise. Abu Bakr was a Softhearted person and could not help weeping while reciting the Quran. The chiefs of the Quraish pagans became afraid of that (i.e. that their children and women might be affected by the recitation of Quran)." Notice the above narration states Aisha had reached puberty while she was still living with her parents. So, before Aisha moved in with the Prophet and before the marriage consummation occurred, she had reached puberty.Also Aishah said: "The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six years old and he finished the wedding when I was 9 years old." Malik (Ibn Anas), Imam Abu Hanifa and Ash-Shafi'ie have said: The period before the perfection that they had until that time would be physically prepared for the community. "Al-Dawudi said:" And Aishah body had been really mature." (Sharh Sahih Muslim, Imam Nawawi) This is proof that Aisha was indeed in puberty before she even got married, which disproves the anti-Islamic argument that she was "allegedly" a prepubescent child.No Hadith indicates or shows Aisha was unhappy for being married or that she was forced. If Muhammad was what critics claim he was, surely Aisha would have objected from day one. Why do you find no mention of Aisha ever complaining against the marriage with Muhammad? That is because she clearly agreed to marry him. In reality, we find that Aisha was proud to be married to the holy Prophet."Narrated Aisha: I am honored with some of the advantages that no other woman has them honored! The Messenger of Allah married me when I was 7 years old, the angel showed him my picture so he saw me, he completed our marriage when I was 9 years old was, I saw the angel Gibrail, I was the Prophet's favorite wife and I was the one who stayed with him during his illness until he died and nobody was there except me and the Angels." (Ibn Hajar Alasqalani - Isabah Fi Tamyiz Al-Sahabah) History shows us clearly that Aisha became one of the best scholars of her time. She narrated numerous hadiths.She was a scholar in where men would ask her specific and challenging questions about Islam, and she was able to answer them. She was also very good at mathematics, so she was also able to answer questions about Islamic finance, a field which is difficult to grasp. We read that Aisha was married to Muhammad until he died, according to:Sahih Muslim, Book 8, Number 3311:'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) married her when she was seven years old, and he was taken to his house as a bride when she was nine, and her dolls were with her; and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old.That's 10 years of marriage with Muhammad. A wife of a pedophile could not become such a scholar in a subject. A person married to a pedophile for a week would mentally suffer and would be NEVER be willing to learn from the SAME pedophile. 10 years of marriage to person you don't want to will NEVER make you become a student of the same person. But natural, Muhammad was not a pedophile, which is why Aisha was able to learn a huge degree of information from the Prophet Muhammad, and become a scholar of scholars. The following proves this:"A wife in the house of the prophet - may Allah's prayers and peace be on him - would encourage women to call on her to enquire about things related to their religion, just as men did. They asked Al Sayeda Aisha about matters, which they would feel embarrassed to ask the Prophet himself about. Al Sayeda Aisha was an intelligent woman, which a sharp memory, renowned for relating the Traditions (Ahadith) and for her skill in matters of religion. When the prominent companions faced a problem, they used to ask her and she always answered their queries satisfactory. Abu Mossa El Ash'ari said: "Whenever we, the companions of Allah's Prophet - may Allah's prayers and peace be on him - met with a Tradition (Hadith) that needed explanation, and asked Aisha, we always found her with a satisfactory answer." Masruq said: "I have seen the leading companion of Muhammad - may Allah's prayers and peace be on him - ask her about the ordinances of Islam." Al Dhahby said: "She was one of the most prominent scholars among the Companions of Allah's Messenger - may Allah's prayers and peace be on him - used to refer to her.Her excellence was not confined to relating the Traditions and Islamic Legislations, but she was also eloquent and convincing."It should be borne in mind that, like all acts of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him), even this marriage had a Divine purpose behind it. Hadrat Aisha was a precocious girl and was devolving both in mind and body with rapidity peculiar to such rare personalities. She was admitted to the house of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) just at the threshold of her puberty, the most impressionable and formative period of her life. It was the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) who nurtured her sensibilities and directed the growth of her faculties to the most fruitful channel and thus she was made to play an eminent role in the history of Islam."If it wasn't from Aisha, Islam wouldn't be what it is today. We wouldn't have 2000+ Hadiths we have today from Aisha, if it wasn't for Aisha. How could the wife of a so called "pedophile" become a scholar and learner for a decade, from the same man? Who would want to become a student of a pedophile? Yet, Aisha did, because even she knew he wasn't a pedophile.This should be sufficient proof to prove to an unbiased secularist that the marriage between Muhammad and Aisha was and is legal in Islam, and that Muhammad is NOT a pedophile, womanizer or whatever other filthy name the skeptics use.But, since many Christians bring this argument up against Muhammad, let us take a look what their own Bible says:1) The Bible clearly allows you to marry at the age of puberty, which in other words means when you "pass the flower of the age." It is mentioned in: 1 Corinthians 7:36: KJV: "But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry." 1 Corinthians 7:36-38: NIV: "If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin - this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better." So according to the Bible which Christianity is based on, you can clearly get married as soon as you reached puberty. We need to ask those Christians who throw slanders about the Prophet being a pedophile that: Will you agree that marrying at the age of puberty is lawful? If the Christian says "no," then he/she contradicts the Bible, and is the last person to claim to be a follower and a believer in the entire Bible. If the Christian says: "yes, I agree that marrying at the age of puberty is lawful," then according to the same standards, the Christian should have no problem with the marriage of Aisha. You can't have double standards and still be consistent by condemning Muhammad's marriage with Aisha while simultaneously agreeing with what the Bible says.We read in the following verses in the Old Testament that a girl after her BREASTS & PUBLIC HAIR were formed, she had intercourse. This is mentioned in: Ezekiel 16:4-14: "On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. " 'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare. " 'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine. " 'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD."as we can see here that during puberty, a female had intercourse and then this goes on to speak about nudity, descriptions of the girl, etc. So, the Christian's very own Bible allows you to marry and have intercourse at the age of puberty. EVERY Christian must believe in the Old Testament, because it is part of the Bible and Jesus even used to quote verses of the Old Testament in the New Testament, so claiming that "we don't have to follow or believe in the Old Testament," is not a valid argument.

In summary, Dr Muhsin Khan in the official text published in the Islamic University; Al-Medina Al-Munauwara, Saudi Arabia, says in two related ahadith that Aisha had not reached puberty when she was 15 years old, and in another two it is shown she first menstrated at the age of sixteen. The text is published by Dar Al-Fikar, with a signed prologue of many scholars, and is attested by Muhammad Amin Al-Ansari PhD, Adviser and Head of Sharia Department, in the same University.

Hence, from the original Arabic, it is clear that Aisha was below the age of puberty at the age of 14 (at the time of the raid on the Bani Mustaliq) or 15 (at the time of the Ethiopian slaves dancing incident), and begun her first menstrual period at the age of 16 (during the journey for hajj). We know that Muhammad ‘udkhilath’ (sexually penetrated) her when she was nine years old, and that the average age at menarche was between 12 to 13 years of age. Thus, putting all the evidence together, it is without a doubt that Muhammad had sex with a child below the age of puberty.

• Aisha's Age of Consummation
• Refutation to Muslim Apologetics against Aisha's Age of Consummation

• Average age at menarche in various cultures - Medieval Middle East, 12-13 Years