Aisha's Age: Difference between revisions

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 ==Introduction==
-Some [[apologists]] have recently claimed that Aisha was actually older than nine [[Islamic Lunar Calendar|lunar years]] at time of the [[The Meaning of Consummate|consummation]] of her [[marriage]] to Prophet [[Muhammad]]. They have attempted to explain that Aisha was in fact not nine-years-old as the [[Sahih]] hadiths of her own testimony claim, but some other ages derived from misquotations, indirect sources, fuzzy dating techniques and slander. These dubious research techniques have led to several conflicting ages to be proposed for Aisha at the time of consummation, including  12, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 21 years.  This article analyzes every single argument that has been put forward, and provides additional information on the origins and history of the "Aisha was older" apologetic arguments, and the only logical purpose behind making them.
-===Purpose===
-The arguments raised by some apologists have given many the false impression that Aisha's age is a long contested issue in [[Islam]], and that it is a valid argument over interpretation that could eventually lead to reforms within mainstream Islam. This is certainly not the case. There is no argument over interpretation. The text clearly say one thing and one thing only. For those who have actually read the source material, it is disingenuous to claim otherwise. Lying about what sources say may be effective in apologetic pieces, but they are useless if the intentions behind them are to reform the religion. There is not a single serious Muslim scholar, someone who is accepted in the Muslim world and by mainstream Muslims as being representative of their beliefs, who would repeat these claims. Thus, the only purpose they serve is to deflect valid criticism from a belief that continues to result in millions of young girls being forced into [[Contemporary Pedophilic Islamic Marriages|pedophilic child marriages]] by individuals, and even entire nations, all of whom explicitly use Aisha's relationship with Muhammad as justification.
-===History===
-The majority of Muslims today, including both scholars and the general Muslim population, agree that Aisha was 9 when her marriage to Prophet Muhammad was consummated. This has been the mainstream Muslim understanding throughout Islam's 1,400 year history.
-The first ever pro-Muhammad and provably faulty objection raised to Aisha's age was by Maulana Muhammad Ali who lived from 1874 to 1951.<ref name="Zahid Aziz"></ref> He is neither a respected nor a notable figures as far as Islam is concerned, since he belonged to the [[Ahmadiyya]] whose beliefs drastically differ from mainstream Islam. The Ahmadiyya and their writings are also heavily focused on missionary work.
 Adding to Ali's objections, there is Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi (1924-1991) who in his Urdu booklet, "Tehqiq e umar e Siddiqah e Ka'inat" (English trans. 1997), laments that he is "tired of defending this tradition" that is "laughed" at and "ridiculed" by English-educated individuals he meets in Karachi who claim it is against "sagacity and prudence" and "preferred English society to Islam over this", and he readily admits his "aim is to produce an answer to the enemies of Islam who spatter mud at the pious body of the Generous Prophet".<ref>All  Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi quotations are taken from the Preface of the 2007 English translation of his Urdu booklet, "''Tehqiq e umar e Siddiqah e Ka'inat''", translated by Nigar Erfaney and published by Al-Rahman Publishing Trust under the title, "''Age of Aisha (The Truthful Women, May Allah Send His Blessings)''"</ref> A posthumous [[fatwa]] was issued against him in November 2004, labelling him a "Munkir-e-Hadith" (hadith rejector) and a "Kafir" (infidel) on the basis of being a rejector of hadith.<ref>The original fatwa and the English translation branding Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi's beliefs outside of Islam, thus making him a 'kafir', can be viewed here: [{{Reference archive|1=http://marifah.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3036|2=2012-09-24}} Fatwa's on hadith rejectors?]</ref>